University of Winchester

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources:  –  ·  ·  · scholar · JSTOR (January 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

University of Winchester

Former names	King Alfred's College
Motto	Old English: Wisdom ond lar
Motto in English	Wisdom and Knowledge
Type	Public research university
Established	1840 - Winchester Diocesan Training School 1847 - Winchester Training College 1928 - King Alfred's College 2005 - University of Winchester
Chancellor	Alan Titchmarsh
Vice-Chancellor	Joy Carter
Administrative staff	650
Students	8,000 (2019/20)[1]
Undergraduates	6,700 (2019/20)[1]
Postgraduates	1,305 (2019/20)[1]
Location	Winchester , Hampshire , England
Campus	Semi-urban
Colours
Nickname	UoW
Affiliations	Guild HE Cathedrals Group Association of Commonwealth Universities Universities UK
Website	www.winchester.ac.uk

The University of Winchester is a public research university based in the city of Winchester, Hampshire, England. The university has origins tracing back to 1840,^[2] but was established in 2005.

Winchester University is a member of The Cathedrals Group (officially the Council of Church Universities and Colleges or CCUC), an association of universities and university colleges in the United Kingdom.

Every year the university holds its graduation ceremonies in Winchester Cathedral.^[3]

Graduates of the University of Winchester may use the post-nominals Winton., from the Latin Wintoniensis meaning 'of Winchester'.

History[]

The main building of the University of Winchester

The origins of the University of Winchester date back to 1840 when the Winchester Diocesan Training School was founded as a Church of England foundation for the training of elementary schoolmasters.^[4] The school was initially quite small, located in a house at 27 St Swithun Street, Winchester. In 1847 the school moved to Wolvesey, the Bishop's Palace, where it became Winchester Training College. Following an outbreak of cholera at Wolvesey a new building (now the main building on the university's King Alfred Campus) was established for the college in 1862, on land granted by the cathedral at West Hill, Winchester. The college was renamed King Alfred's College in 1928.^[5]

King Alfred's College trained thousands of teachers, at first men only, and then women too from 1960 onwards. Following changes in UK government policy towards further and higher education in the early 1970s, the college looked for partners to merge with and also sought to diversify its provision. Its educational partner, the University of Southampton, was lukewarm about offering other degrees, and the college sought approval for its own BEd and then BA degrees from the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA). Interdisciplinary degrees in History and English with Drama, Archaeology and American Studies were the first offered. Further programmes followed in the 1980s, but it was only when the college expanded in the early 1990s following CNAA approval for a modular degree programme that a large number of new fields of study grew at undergraduate level. At the same time Masters programmes were approved alongside an MEd programme. With the CNAA's demise in 1992, the college found itself once again accredited by the University of Southampton, resuming a partnership broken off 18 years earlier.

When in 1995 the UK government published criteria by which colleges of higher education could become universities, King Alfred's under its Principal, John Dickinson, set itself the target of becoming a university by 2005 by first acquiring Taught and then later Research Degree Awarding Powers.^{[citation needed]}

Paul Light, Principal from 2000, led the institution through the successful application for Taught Degree Awarding Powers in 2003 and a change of name to University College Winchester in 2004. His leadership culminated in the award of university title in 2005, achieving the target set 10 years earlier and entitling him to be the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of Winchester. In August 2008 the university was given the power to award research degrees.^[5]

2006–present[]

Professor Joy Carter became Vice-Chancellor in April 2006.^[6] In the period since, the university has seen significant development. On Tuesday, 29 January 2013, His Royal Highness the Earl of Wessex officially inaugurated the new "state-of-the-art learning and teaching building, St. Alphege" at the University of Winchester.^{[citation needed]}

The new University Centre opened in 2007, which includes the Student Union and forms the focus of the campus, providing facilities for the whole university community. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) awarded the University Centre the RIBA Award for the South region in 2008 in recognition of its high architectural standards.^[7]

The Winchester Sports Stadium, which opened in 2008, cost £3.5 million and includes an Olympic standard 8-lane running track and supporting field events and an all-weather astro turf suitable for hockey and football.^[8]

In 2013, the new St Alphege building received a RIBA regional award.^[9] The new Learning and Teaching Building provided additional state-of-the-art teaching spaces for lectures and group study and adjoins the existing 1970s St Edburga Building with a glazed atrium link. The new buildings combine to form a new landscaped piazza space fronting the Sparkford Road entrance.^[9]

In 2018, work began on the expansion of the West Downs campus, to include purpose built new lecture and exhibition spaces. This was completed by September 2020, a whole year after the scheduled completion date.

Campus[]

The University Centre opened in 2007

The University Centre canteen

The King Alfred Campus[]

The main University Campus, King Alfred, is located close to the city centre of Winchester. Some of the buildings on this campus are named after former staff or governors. The Tom Atkinson and Herbert Jarman buildings are named after former staff and the Kenneth Kettle and Fred Wheeler Buildings are named after long-standing Governors. Others are named after Anglo-Saxon saints: St Alphege, , and St Swithun and St Elizabeth's. The Martial Rose Library is named after a former Principal. A subsidiary campus, home to the Winchester Business School, is located a short distance away at the West Downs site.

Recent and future campus development[]

Major redevelopment has taken place in recent years to modernise the campus. In 2007, work finished on the University Centre on site of the former refectory, at a cost of £9 million. The building includes a new Student Union as well as catering facilities, main reception, a bookshop, a mini-mart convenience store and a social learning space in the WiFi-equipped Learning Café. It was designed by architects Design Engine.

In 2010, a new several-storey student residence, Queens Road, was completed. In 2012, St. Alphage, a new teaching block which contains state-of-the-art teaching spaces was opened. Work also finished on providing the university library with six new private study rooms for student use. In 2013, the Burma Road Student Village finished construction, providing the university with five blocks that make up a third student village. In 2013, the Kenneth Kettle building was converted into a second social learning space. Plans are underway to modernise the remaining buildings on campus.

The redevelopment of the university's sports grounds at Bar End in Winchester was completed in 2008 after Sport England formally pledged the funding required for the project's completion, in partnership with Winchester City Council. The facilities at Bar End include an Olympic-standard 400m eight-lane athletics track with supporting field events, an all-weather hockey and general sports pitch, floodlighting and an extended pavilion.

The University of Winchester's new landmark buildings. The new project will be built on undeveloped land within the West Downs site next to the Grade-II-listed West Downs Centre. It will provide teaching and learning facilities and will be home to the university's new computer and digital-related degree programmes. Completion date is set for 2019.^[10][11]

University motto[]

Wisdom-ond-lar (from old English), Modern English translation: Wisdom and Knowledge

The motto was inspired by the preface of King Alfred's translation into Old English, during the late 9th century, of Pope Gregory the Great's Regula Pastoralis, which frequently refers to both wisdom and knowledge. Alfred's translation of Regula Pastoralis was instrumental in the pursuit to improve education in Anglo-Saxon England.

Organisation and administration[]

Winchester's academic structure consists of four faculties and a Degree Apprenticeship Programme, each home to teaching and learning in a wide-ranging variety of subject areas such as:

Governance[]

Dame Mary Fagan, the former Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire, was appointed the first Chancellor of the university in 2005. She was succeeded by Alan Titchmarsh, who was designated as the new Chancellor of the university in 2014.

Joy Carter is the current Vice-Chancellor and was appointed in 2006. She succeeded Paul Light, appointed in 2000 as Principal of King Alfred's College, and who became the first Vice-Chancellor in 2005.

Programmes[]

A boarding college, Winchester Shoei College at the University of Winchester (formerly the Shoei Centre at King Alfred's College), is an affiliate of the Shoei Gakuin. It opened in 1982.^[12][13] As of 1983, at one time circa 40 students, all female and aged 18–20, were a part of this programme. They took special courses in British studies and English Language Teaching (ELT).^[14]

Academic profile[]

Reputation and rankings[]

Winchester is ranked the 106th best university in the UK by the Complete University Guide Rankings, 107th in the Guardian Rankings, and 106th by the Times / Sunday Times. Winchester received a silver award in the Teaching Excellence Framework, which indicates that "the university is of high quality and regularly exceeds the baseline quality expected of higher education institutions".^[19] Winchester is outside the listings of the major international rankings of universities (QS, THE, ARWU and CWTS Leiden).

Research standing[]

In the most recent Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014), 82 per cent of research was considered to be recognised internationally.^[20]

Student life[]

Winchester Student Union[]

Winchester Student Union is an organisation run for and by the students of The University of Winchester. Established in the 1960s, it has been known as both King Alfred's College Students' Union and King Alfred's Student Union. The not-for-profit charitable organisation, which is funded by a university grant and commercial services revenues, became known as Winchester Student Union in June 2004, and continues as the main representational body for all students. The National Student Survey 2015 ranked Winchester Student Union 7th out of 108 universities in England.

The Student Union is based in the University Centre and has a 550 capacity venue that includes a cinema screen, three bars and a shop. BOP and Ctrl Alt Dlt are regular events held there during the semester.

It runs over 40 sports teams, including football, netball, hockey, the Rugby Union, Rugby Sevens, tennis and basketball teams. The majority of the teams take part in BUSA, SESSA or local leagues.

All student media are the responsibility of the Student Union, except for the weekly internet bulletins released, produced, and created by "Winchester News Online" or WINOL, as part of the BA Journalism course.

Democracy and governance[]

The Union is a democratically run organisation. All students of the university are automatically members of the union, though are able to opt out if they so choose. The President and two vice-presidents are full-time sabbatical officers who are elected from amongst the student body every year to oversee the Union's operations and services. They are aided by an executive committee and Student Senate, which are elected from, and are accountable to, the student body. Continuity and professional expertise are provided by permanent staff, and there are opportunities for students to work in the bars, shops and offices.

The Union provides welfare, academic advice and representation to students. The Union can also support student appeals to the university. Along with the three full-time sabbatical officers, there are currently nine part-time officers responsible for specific areas. For example, the President acts as a Governor of the university, and the Entertainments Officer oversees student union bars and nights-out operations. Beginning the academic year 2014/2015, the Student Union administration increased the number of part-time portfolios by three to allow further engagement with the growing student body. These three roles are: Sports and Societies Officer, Part-time and Mature Students Officer and Volunteering and Community Officer.

Winchester Student Union is affiliated to the National Union of Students (NUS) and is committed to giving students everywhere representation at the highest level and coordinating national campaigns on student issues. Students are given the opportunity to attend national demonstrations and conferences on student issues and the right to be elected into national positions.

Winchester Student Union is currently ranked as one of greenest student unions within Britain, as measured by its Gold ranking in the NUS award system entitled: Green Impact: Unions. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, Winchester Student Union won NUS's national 'Best Bar None' competition, cementing its status as one of the best student union venues in the country.

Societies[]

Winchester Student Union is home to over 90 student societies, including performing arts, anime and manga, comic book, and debating societies. In addition to special interest groups, there are societies that provide support and social opportunities for those studying particular courses, like History, Politics or Archaeology. It is possible for a student to start a society with the backing of at least 15 peers, once it has been approved by the Student Union.

Sound Radio[]

Sound Radio, the Student Union's radio station, was set up on 10 June 2011, before launching as an official society in September. The station briefly was broadcast on 87.7FM, before becoming predominantly an internet station. Sound Radio rebranded as Venta Radio in 2013, but this was then reversed after a failed attempt at becoming a full-time community FM station.

Broadcasting from their studio inside the Student Union building, Sound Radio streams live on the Winchester Student Union website.^[21] Shows are broadcast on weekdays during term time, and occasionally on weekends. All shows are live and presented by members of the Student Union.

Sound Radio is an active member of the Student Radio Association (SRA), after joining in early 2017. The station regularly participates in the SRA Chart Show, which broadcasts every Sunday from 2 pm until 4 pm.

In 2018, Sound Radio won SRA Silver Award for Best Chart Show.^[22] They also won Most Improved Student Radio Station at the I Love Student Radio Awards 2019.^[23]

Halls of residence[]

University accommodation is available on campus and in the West Downs Student Village nearby. The halls of residence are:

• West Downs Student Village
• Alwyn Hall
• St Elizabeth's Hall
• Beech Glade
• Queens Road Student Village
• Burma Road Student Village

Notable people[]

Academic staff[]

• Eric Anderson – Sociologist and Professor of Sports Studies
• Imruh Bakari – Film maker and writer. Head of Film Studies.
• Harry Blamires – Anglican theologian, literary critic and novelist
• June Boyce-Tillman – Professor of Applied Music, and MBE
• Martin Day – Screenwriter and novelist^[24]
• Michael Hicks – Emeritus Professor of Medieval History
• Bernard McKenna – Screenwriter
• Elizabeth Stuart – Professor of Christian Theology and Deputy Vice Chancellor
• Judy Waite – Writer of children's fiction
• Barbara Yorke – Emerita Professor of Early Medieval History

Alumni[]

• Martin Bashir – television journalist
• Stuart Brennan – BAFTA-winning actor, writer and film producer
• Mike Bushell – BBC television journalist
• Sara Coburn – BBC business presenter
• Lauren Cohan – American-British actress
• Mark Diacono – food writer, grower and photographer
• Claire Fuller – novelist
• Steve Furst – comic actor
• Geoff Hampton – school principal
• Nick Helm – comedian
• Mark Johnson – horse racing commentator
• Shappi Khorsandi – comedian
• Dirk Maggs – radio producer
• Jill Marshall – writer
• Andrew Norriss – children's book author and TV sitcom writer
• David Prosho – actor and performer
• Angus Scott – television journalist and lecturer in journalism
• Anne Snelgrove – former Labour MP for South Swindon
• Bob Taylor – past president of the Rugby Football Union
• Stephanie Twell - middle- and long-distance runner, bronze medal winner in 1500 metres at 2010 Commonwealth Games
• Amy Pohl - former primary school teacher, social media influencer with a large following

See also[]

• Winchester Student Union

References[]

External links[]

• [*Official Website
• NUS