University of Luton - Learning Resources Centre

The University of Luton is a university based in Luton in Bedfordshire, near London. The institution was founded as the Modern School in the 1890s. It became Luton College of Higher Education with the merger of Luton College of Technology and Putteridge Bury College of Education in the mid-seventies. With the passing of the Further and Higher Education Act, 1992 it converted to university status in 1993. The vice-chancellor is Professor Les Ebdon. On the 15 December 2005 the University announced that it was taking over the Bedford campus of De Montfort University from August 2006. The preferred name of the new university has been confirmed as The University of Bedfordshire. Final approval is being sought from the Privy Council. Image File history File links University-of-Luton. ... Image File history File links University-of-Luton. ... Western Illinois University A university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees at all levels (bachelor, master, and doctorate) in a variety of subjects. ... Luton is a town and local government district in England, located 33 miles (50km) north of central London. ... Bedfordshire is a county in England and forms part of the East of England region. ... For other uses, see London (disambiguation). ... The Further and Higher Education Acts 1992 made changes in the funding and administration of further education and higher education within the United Kingdom. ... December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, England. ... DeMontfort University is also the name of a fictional university in The Class Menagerie and i. ... Her Majestys Most Honourable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British Sovereign. ...

Education takes place on several campuses. The main site is Park Square campus in the center of Luton, and there is also the Putteridge Bury campus a few miles outside town. Nursing and midwifery degrees are taught at Stoke Mandeville, Wycombe General, Luton & Dunstable and Bedford Hospitals in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Nursing is a discipline focused on assisting individuals, families and communities in attaining, re-attaining and maintaining optimal health and functioning. ... Midwifery is the term traditionally used to describe the art of assisting a woman through childbirth. ... Stoke Mandeville Hospital is a large hospital in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. ... High Wycombe in the UK High Wycombe, (previously Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe) South Buckinghamshire, is 29 miles (46. ... Location within the British Isles Dunstable is a town in the county of Bedfordshire, with a population of 33,805 (2001 census). ... Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, England. ... Map of Bucks (1904) This article is about the English county. ...

Assessments by the Quality Assurance Agency between 1997 and 2000 judged teaching at Luton to be good (TQA scores of 22 or above in six subjects - Building (1997), Communication and Media studies (1998), Biosciences (1999), Nursing (1999), Psychology (1999) and Art and Design (2000)), but since then the University has made 64 academic staff compulsorily redundant, and completed voluntary redundancy agreements with at least 77 others, and has featured in several articles in the Times Higher Education Supplement about declining standards (for example, '40% of Luton students would not recommend alma mater', 24 September 2004, and 'Caught in vicious cycle of declining standards', 19 November 2004). On 8 February 2004, a story in the Sunday Telegraph about Luton was headlined 'Is this the worst university in Britain?' (see also earlier story on same theme in issue dated 21 December 2003).The following extract from the Quality Assurance Agency’s 2005 report on the University is indicative:

"As a result of its investigations, the audit team's view of the University is that: limited confidence can be placed in the soundness of the University's current and likely future management of the quality of its academic programmes and the academic standards of its awards. " [1]

In tables published by the Times Higher Education Supplement on 9 June 2006, which used official figures to rank all UK universities, Luton came fourth from bottom as regards student satisfaction and second from bottom as regards 'graduate destinations' (i.e. the proportion of UK graduates entering 'graduate level' employment).

In the 1996 Research Assessment Exercise the university came last although it received a grade of 3b for Communication, Cultural and Media Studies. In the 2001 RAE it moved up six places with grades of 4 (History) and 3a (Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, Linguistics, Social Work and Business and Management). The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) is an attempt by the government of the United Kingdom to evaluate the quality of research undertaken by British Universities. ...

However, the University closed down its History Department in the same year that it became the highest ranked subject for research. Also in 2001, the University shut down almost all its teaching in Politics, Foreign Languages, English, Mathematics, Geoography, Environment and a number of other subjects.

Along with many other UK Universities it is dependent on foreign (and thus fee-paying) students. [2]

In the Times Good University Guide 2007, Luton came 108th, second bottom.

ULSU, the student union, provides the Main Bar. The student radio station, Luton FM, broadcasts over the internet and in May every year on 87.9FM. Luton FM is a student radio station, managed, produced and presented by students at the University of Luton in Luton, Bedfordshire. ...

Alumni

Becky Jago - Presenter of BBC's Newsround - Media Performance. Becky Jago (born 20 April 1976) is a British television news presenter. ... Newsround (called John Cravens Newsround before the departure of John Craven) is a BBC childrens news programme, which has run continuously since 4 April 1972. ...

Gemma Hunt - Presenter of CBBC - Media Performance. The CBBC Logo CBBC (a contraction of the previously-used name Childrens BBC, used until 1997) is the brand for the BBCs childrens television output aimed at children over six, across BBC One, BBC Two and the CBBC Channel. ...

Charlie George - Presenter on MAX TV - Media Performance.

Matt Fisher - Presenter on Chiltern FM - Media Performance with Radio. This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Debbie Randle - News Editor for Chiltern FM - Modern English Studies This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Photo Gallery

University of Luton Park Square Campus Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (826x739, 368 KB) Summary University of Luton Park Square Campus Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

University of Luton Lecture theatre Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (945x601, 230 KB) Summary University of Luton Lecture theatre Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

University of Luton 'Sub Club' Nightclub Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (3008x2000, 3524 KB) Summary University of Luton Sub Club Nightclub Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

External links

• University of Luton website
• Luton Students' Union.
• Luton FM - student radio station.

News Items

• A new University for Bedfordshire.
• Three computing students are jailed for two years at Luton Crown Court in September 2003 for setting up bomb hoax at Bute Street halls of residence in March 2003.
• Army bomb disposal team called in after bomb device found at halls of residence.
• Head of Imperial College describes Luton as a 'third class institution'.
• £10,000 worth of drugs found at Bute St halls of residence.
• Luton student dies fighting for the Taliban against the US.