Staffordshire used to describe itself as a “university in the community” but it is increasingly reliant on overseas students, both at home and abroad.

There are 6,000 students taking Staffordshire courses outside Britain, almost half of them located around the Pacific Rim, as well as a growing cohort of foreign students in the university’s domestic campuses.

There are more than 12,000 UK students and, while applications had increased for the first time in three years at the start of 2009, it by less than half the national average.

The university is based on two main sites, in Stoke and 16 miles away in Stafford. Both have modern halls of residence, sports centres and lively Student Union venues.

Multimedia

• The Times University Guide table

Related Links

• Staffordshire University

Multimedia

• University of Staffordshire official site

Partners and facilities

But a quarter of the students taking qualifications either awarded or quality assured by the university are at partner institutions across Europe, in China, India or beyond. There are dedicated admissions offices in Oman, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Macedonia, and enrolment will begin in Slovenia and Kosovo this autumn.

There has been significant investment at the Stafford campus, which features the Octagon Centre, in which lecture theatres, offices and walkways surround one of the largest university computing facilities in Europe. The New Technologies Centre has some of the finest film production facilities at any university. Engineering and technology are based at Stafford, as well as the Faculty of Health, which has branches in Telford and Shrewsbury.

The large business school is based at Stoke, which also hosts the Law School, the Faculty of Arts, Media and Design and courses in Sport and Exercise. Developments are dominated by a £287-million plan to produce an attractive and thriving University Quarter – the largest collaborative project of its kind in the UK. New science facilities are due for completion in 2011, focusing on the university’s strengths in forensics, biology and psychology.

A third campus in Lichfield houses an integrated further and higher education centre, developed in partnership with Tamworth and Lichfield College, as well as 26 business start-up units.

The Staffordshire University Regional Federation also involves partner colleges in delivering a range of higher education awards to around 3000 students. A bespoke £520,000 higher education centre will open on the new Newcastle College campus in 2010.

The university is a pioneer of two-year fast-track degrees, which are now offered in accounting, business, English, geography, law and motor sport technology. Staffordshire academics will also be evaluating the national programme of accelerated degrees. There already was an extensive portfolio of two-year foundation degrees. Many programmes are available with a January start, a popular arrangement with overseas students who often take English language courses before beginning a degree.

Staffordshire is in the top three universities for secondary teacher training courses. Fine art produced the best results in the 2008 National Student Survey and was the only subject to register more than 90 per cent satisfaction. The university entered only a small proportion of its academics for the latest Research Assessment Exercise. Three of the ten subject areas had some world-leading research, with general engineering and education producing the best results.

Access

With 98 per cent of its undergraduates state-educated and more than a third coming from working-class homes, Staffordshire comfortably exceeds all the benchmarks set by the funding council for widening access to higher education. There is good provision for the 700 students with disabilities.

However, the projected dropout rate has risen to more than 21 per cent and is higher than average for the university’s courses and entry qualifications.

Location

Stoke is not the liveliest city of its size, but the University Quarter project should attract more social facilities to the area. The campus, which is close to the railway station, is within easy reach of the city centre and has a buzzing union. Stafford is much the more attractive setting and offers the best chance of a residential place, but the town is quiet and the campus is a mile and a half outside it.

Sports facilities are good, especially in Stafford, where there is a new £1.4-million sports centre and all-weather pitches. Good coaching has helped attract some outstanding athletes, who have access to a sports performance centre to help with training schedules, psychological support and dietary assessments.

Times recommends

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