The picturesque Roman city of Chester is one of those places that outsiders probably always expected to have its own university. Indeed, William Gladstone was among the founders of the first Church of England teacher training college there in 1839. Although it took until 2005 for that college to achieve university status, it had been building up a solid reputation in a number of subjects beyond education. Applications were up by much less than the national average at the start of 2009, but the demand for places remains more buoyant than in pre-university days.

Location

The main campus is only a short walk from the centre of Chester, a 32-acre site boasting manicured gardens and a number of new developments. A new students’ union is just one of a stream of improvements, the latest of which include a new building for health and social care. The university has also converted a former school into a base for the Faculty of Arts and Media.

The Warrington campus, which has seven halls of residence, focuses on media courses and has seen the addition of state-of-the-art production facilities in collaboration with Granada Television and a new students’ union. The university has also signed a partnership agreement with the BBC, which is intended to open up new employment opportunities in the media industry and develop new talent ahead of the transfer of parts of the corporation to Salford in 2011. The library has been extended to three times its original size and a business centre opened for students and local firms. The campus is expected to be the focus of future development to accommodate modest increases in student numbers.

Multimedia

• The Times University Guide table

Related Links

• University of Chester

Multimedia

• University of Chester home page

Rankings

Chester was among the top 10 universities in the first National Student Survey. Although it has slipped out of the top 50 since then, geography and development studies has twice achieved the rare feat of registering 100 per cent satisfaction, while English and maths also produced good scores. Chester was the first of the universities created in 2005 to be granted the power to award research degrees. Four of the ten subject areas entered for the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise contained at least some ‘world-leading’ work. History was the most successful, with nearly half of its submission placed in the top two categories.

With 14,500 students, including part-timers, Chester is among the biggest of the new universities established that year. About one undergraduate in five is a mature student and three quarters are female. Nearly all are state-educated, and more than a third have working-class roots. The projected dropout rate of 15 per cent was back to the national average for the university’s courses and entry standards in the latest statistics. About a third of the undergraduates take combined honours degrees and many courses of all types include a period of extended work experience. There is also a limited range of Foundation degrees, mainly in health subjects but now including courses in business or leadership and management for RAF personnel. The Foundation degree in Muslim youth work is the first of its kind, as is one in mortuary science. Among the more traditional subjects are new degrees in English language, politics and accountancy and finance.

A student contract of the type that is likely to become commonplace elsewhere in the higher education sector sets out clear conditions on the offer of a place, as well as detailing the university’s responsibilities. Students promise to “study diligently, and to attend promptly and participate appropriately at lectures, courses, classes, seminars, tutorials, work placements and other activities which form part of the programme.” The university undertakes to deliver the student’s programme but leaves itself considerable leeway beyond that.

Facilities

However, Chester offers considerable support and facilities for its students. It was the first UK university to receive the maximum five-star rating from the British Quality Foundation for its student support and guidance and careers and employability departments. There are libraries on both sites and extensive sports facilities, especially on the main campus, catering partly for the large physical education programme. Most first years are offered one of the growing number of hall places, although there is not yet enough university accommodation to make this a guarantee. Student union facilities form the basis of the social scene on both campuses, but Chester has more to offer for those looking further afield.

Times recommends

• Students face big rise in university fees
• Students to rate lecturers online
• Lord heads team to look at raising tuition fees