Bangor is another part of the University of Wales to assert its independence, taking the title of Bangor University while continuing to award the federal university’s degrees. It has recorded strong performances in the first three National Student Satisfaction surveys. While Bangor slipped slightly in 2007, it still finished only just outside the top 30 universities in the UK. Students in environmental science, geography, history, law and finance and accounting were the most satisfied. The “small and friendly” nature of the university and the city no doubt helped. Bangor’s community focus dates back to a 19th-century campaign which saw local quarrymen putting part of their weekly wages towards the establishment of a college. The College of Education and Lifelong Learning continues the tradition with courses across North Wales, but the university has also built a worldwide reputation in areas such as environmental studies and ocean sciences.

Research

The 2008 research assessments identified ‘world-leading’ work in all Bangor’s 19 subject areas. The university claimed the grades for accounting & finance to be the best in the UK, with electronic engineering second and both sports science and Welsh in the top ten in their respective subjects. Teaching assessments were impressive, with half of the subjects rated as excellent.There is a high proportion of small-group teaching and tutorials, as well as one of Britain’s largest peer guiding schemes, which sees senior students mentoring new arrivals.

Bangor merged with a nearby teacher training college, Colleg Normal, in 1996, and that site is now part of the university. All schools are within walking distance of each other, apart from ocean sciences, which is two miles away in Menai Bridge. The university estate is being redeveloped, with the addition of a £5-million environmental sciences building, while a £3.5-million Cancer Research Institute is attracting specialists of international repute.

An academic reorganisation has grouped the 26 academic schools into 6 colleges: arts and humanities; business, social sciences and law; education and lifelong learning; natural sciences; health and behavioural sciences; and physical and applied sciences. A combination of private funds and a £5-million European grant has been used to establish a new Management Development Centre on a waterfront site. A new School of Creative Studies and Media has been established, offering a variety of new courses including new media, film studies, creative studies with law and creative technologies. Other developments include new courses in music technology, cancer biology, electronics, information and communications technology, law with media studies, English with songwriting, and 4-year Masters degrees in marine science and environmental science.

Location and Access

Based little more than a stone’s throw from Snowdonia with its attractions for sports enthusiasts, Bangor is an expanding centre for Welsh-medium teaching. Although a majority of students come from outside Wales – there is a strong link with Ireland, for example – more than 10 per cent of the students speak the language and one of the seven halls of residence is Welsh-speaking. The university also has a flourishing international exchange programme, with some unusual partner institutions: Poland and Italy are favourite destinations for linguistics students, while biologists tend to head for Sweden or Norway.

Results

Bangor does better than most traditional universities when judged against access benchmarks. More than nine out of ten students come from state schools or colleges, and one in three come from working-class homes. Over £2.5 million has gone into a new bursary scheme, offering students from low-income families up to £1,000 a year on some courses, as well as 40 merit scholarships of £3,000 for high-fliers and new excellence scholarships worth up to £5,000 each in a range of subject areas. The university’s Talent Opportunities Programme, which operates in 11 schools across North Wales, targets potential applicants from lower socio-economic classes, who have little or no history of going on to university.

Applications have increased year by year, with the sole exception of 2008, when all the Welsh universities suffered. There had been another 9 per cent rise at the start of 2009.

Student Life

There is a strong focus on student support – the pioneering dyslexia unit, for example, offering individual and group support throughout students’ courses. New investment in residential accommodation means that all first-year students can be offered places. Bangor is also one of the most cost-effective places in which to study – one survey made it the second-cheapest university in the UK.

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