Newport saw applications rise by 76 per cent in four years, starting with the biggest increase in applications anywhere in the UK following a change of status from college to university.

But, as in the rest of Wales, there was a big drop at the beginning of 2008.

All subjects had been experiencing increased demand for places, including areas such as computing, which are in decline nationally.

Students have also been attracted by a range of new courses in areas such as creative sound and music, cinema studies and scriptwriting, computer games design and internet technologies.

Newport had already embarked on an ambitious expansion strategy before attaining full membership of the University of Wales.

Development

A futuristic riverside campus that will practically double the number of students has begun to take shape, housing the Business School and part of the School of Art, Media and Design. At the same time, Newport will pursue closer links with the University of Wales Institute Cardiff, which was already a partner in a number of subjects.

Art, media and design was awarded a grade 5 rating for research in the last assessments, but other research and teaching ratings were disappointing. However, both students and employers appear enthusiastic.

Newport finished in the top ten in England and Wales in the first national student satisfaction survey, with the best results anywhere in finance and accounting, although it has slipped down the table subsequently. A poll of local employers was particularly positive about the university.

Research

Just one academic in ten was entered for the latest Research Assessment Exercise, the lowest proportion in the university system. As a result, only one university finished below Newport for average grades per member of staff, although there has been a significant increase in research activity with the launch of a dedicated Research and Enterprise Department.

Business and management was the most successful area in teaching quality assessments, but an overall audit by the Quality Assurance Agency in 2004 was positive. Estyn, the Welsh schools inspectorate, gave the best grades in Wales to the teacher-training courses, which also showed high levels of student satisfaction.

The university, which was previously Gwent College of Higher Education, now has over 9,000 students from 44 different countries. Virtually all the full-time undergraduates come from state schools and there is a higher proportion from working-class homes than at any other university institution in Wales.

However, the projected dropout rate of more than 23 per cent is still higher than the benchmark set according to the subject mix. Newport operates a number of access schemes, including one offering students at local schools and colleges guaranteed places if they fulfil certain criteria.

Business

The university is actively involved with a range of local businesses. It was rated the number one university in Wales for enterprise education by the Knowledge Exploitation Fund. Among its innovations is the Corus to Campus project for redundant steelworkers (previously employed by Corus), and it is also a leading player in the Community University of the Valleys.

The university also hosts the International Film School Wales, whose graduates include double-BAFTA winner Asif Kapadia, and Justin Kerrigan, director of the cult movie Human Traffic. There are currently two campuses. The smaller, Allt-Yr-Yn, campus focuses on engineering and computing, business and professional and social studies.

The larger Caerleon campus is further out, with impressive views, and caters for humanities, science, education and art, media and design. This is also where the student village of 661 self-catered study bedrooms is located, and a new building for fashion and other subjects is under construction. Free buses link the two sites, which are officially among the safest in Britain: the college was the first educational establishment to pass an industry-standard security inspection.

A well-equipped sports centre at Caerleon has transformed facilities that previously compared unfavourably with those of other universities. The city of Newport has established a reputation for producing successful rock bands and has plenty of clubs and entertainment venues, but students in search of serious cultural or clubbing activity gravitate to nearby Cardiff.

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