Paisley PA1 2BE

Tel 0800 027 1000

uni-direct@paisley.ac.uk

www.paisley.ac.uk

Sunday Times ranking 110 (118)

Teaching excellence 12.5%

Student satisfaction n/a

Head teacher ranking 114= (124)

Peer ranking 107 (119)

Research quality 9.6%

A/AS-level/Higher points 236/242

A-levels/Highers for entry 2%/65%

Unemployment 8.2%

Firsts and 2:1s 50%

Student/staff ratio 19.3:1

Dropout rate 24% (17%)

Undergraduates 5,619 (5,778)

Postgraduates 593 (1,044)

Teaching staff 305

Applications/places 7,209/2,071; 3.5:1 (+0.9%)

Clearing entry 21%

Bursaries No fees for Scottish students

Scholarships None

EU/overseas 7.3%/7.3%

Mature 45.7%

State school 98%

Lowest social classes 41%

Low-participation areas 39%

Live in 15% (90%) £52-£61

The erstwhile University of Paisley merged with Bell College, Hamilton, on August 1 to create Scotland’s largest modern university – with some 18,000 students – spanning Ayrshire, Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Paisley. By the time people are admitted next September, it will be known as the University of the West of Scotland to reflect its expanded regional role. More than half of those in the new institution will study outwith Paisley.

The marriage comes with a £160m dowry to develop facilities for teaching and research and to develop IT structures spanning all four campuses. More than £70m is earmarked for the Ayr site alone (home at present to mostly teacher trainees, nursing, media and business students) in a joint initiative with the Scottish Agricultural College. A centre for engineering excellence is under development at Hamilton, while the Dumfries campus will benefit from a £5.5m spend on library and student support facilities.

With a new name and new sites comes the opportunity for a new start. The university will remain an intensely job-focused place to study and is proud of its links with employers; it has more than 400 companies in its work placement network. This is the only UK institution to offer the Microsoft certified desktop support technician qualification, as well as being the first to be recognised by Macromedia, Microsoft and Cisco.

With one of the most diverse student populations of any university (none has more people recruited from areas with low higher education take-up), Paisley is always going to see larger numbers dropping out. The official figures from 2005 used in our survey show almost 50% more failing to complete courses than the funding council expected. A personal tutor system, stronger counselling support and attendance monitoring have been introduced to try to stem the flow.

Open days October 3 (Dumfries); October 4 (Paisley); October 25 and 26 (Ayr).

Student view Norman McBreen, students’ union president:

USP Our many campuses make us a local university.

Worst feature Sports facilities are dated.

Location Four campuses in Dumfries, Hamilton, Paisley and Ayr.

Social scene On St Andrew’s Day we have a collective ceilidh.

Rated excellent (3) Computing; economics; nursing and midwifery.

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