UNIVESITY OF BEDFORDSHIRE

The University has a growing global reputation. The number of applications to the University has nearly doubled in two years (UCAS) and our popularity makes us the most ‘upwardly mobile’ university in the country according to the Times Higher Education.

This year alone our UCAS applications were up 54.5 per cent, plus the total number of international students taught on our UK campuses has more than doubled.

The university has maintain an excellent academic reputation – high-quality teaching, academic support and personal development were just some of the University’s key strengths to come out of the National Student Survey 2010, with a number of courses scoring 100 per cent on a number of aspects related to quality of teaching.

What's more, the University of Bedfordshire has been awarded top marks – a ‘confidence’ rating – in a recent Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) audit 2009, which checks how UK universities maintain their own academic standards and quality.

This year the university is pleased to introduce a new, state-of-the-art £34m Campus Centre ready for use in autumn 2010, as part of a major £89m redevelopment project to enhance our Luton campus. This massive investment will also include the building of brand-new £40m en-suite student halls located on campus, on track for completion in 2011-12, and a new £15m Postgraduate Centre, which is scheduled to be ready in 2012.

To top it all, the university has also completed a £51m investment in our campuses over the past four years, and was delighted when His Royal Highness, the Earl of Wessex, opened the new facilities at our Bedford campus.

These include a £6m Campus Centre which houses a £4.5m 280-seat theatre, and an £8m Physical Education and Sport Science Centre which will be used to support 2012 Olympic athletes. See our Bedford campus launch brochure for further details.

The Luton campus has seen a total of £1.4m ploughed into our business facilities including a new Law Moot Court and unique 'Business Pods', and £12m which is being invested in our Media and Computing facilities. They have also spent £1.5m on an award-winning new site for healthcare students at Butterfield Park, Luton and at Oxford House, Aylesbury.

In the Government’s recent UK-wide Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2008, much of our research was described as 'world-leading' and of 'international significance'. As a consequence, our research funding has more than doubled.

The university is awarded a £1.1m grant and has set up a major centre for social work research, the Tilda Goldberg Centre, in addition to our nine Research Institutes. They work closely with employers on our curriculum whilst forging close links with more than 5,500 UK companies to provide a broad range of training and industry accredited courses.

The university is proud of their excellent track record on employability, with 92 per cent of graduates in work and/or further study within six months of graduation (Destination of Leavers from Higher Education 2009).

The University continues to value diversity and takes pride in its student-centred learning experience. They stand for high-quality teaching, outstanding student support and excellent personal, career and professional development.