The original focus of the polytechnic institutions was [[Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics|STEM]] subjects, especially degrees in engineering, applied science, and life sciences, but soon after they formed, they developed faculties in humanities, law, architecture, journalism and other professional occupations. With the [[Further and Higher Education Act 1992]], this era ended when polytechnics became \"[[new university|new universities]]\", broadening their educational scope and conferring degrees in their own right. The [[University of Ulster]] was formed in 1984 from a merger between the New University of Ulster and the Ulster Polytechnic — the only such \"trans binary merger\" that crossed the divide."}},"i":0}}]}" id="mwRw">The creation of polytechnics is regarded by many as a controversial experiment, with no clear consensus as to its overall effectiveness. [4] The original focus of the polytechnic institutions was STEM subjects, especially degrees in engineering, applied science, and life sciences, but soon after they formed, they developed faculties in humanities, law, architecture, journalism and other professional occupations. With the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, this era ended when polytechnics became "new universities", broadening their educational scope and conferring degrees in their own right. The University of Ulster was formed in 1984 from a merger between the New University of Ulster and the Ulster Polytechnic — the only such "trans binary merger" that crossed the divide.[ citation needed ]
For many years, a central admissions system for polytechnics was not seen as necessary. However, a large increase in applications resulted from funding cuts to universities in the early 1980s. The Polytechnics Central Admissions System was introduced, and handled the years of entry from 1986 to 1992.[ citation needed ]
Under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 they became fully fledged universities. After 1992, the former polytechnics ("new universities") awarded their own degrees. Most sub-degree BTEC qualifications have been phased out of the new universities, and transferred to colleges of further education.[ citation needed ]
The polytechnics changed their names when they gained university status. Some simply dropped "polytechnic" and added "university" to their titles. For example, the Huddersfield Polytechnic became the University of Huddersfield. However, this was often not possible as there was another university with the name. One alternative title was "Metropolitan University", because the institution was situated in a city or other large metropolitan area. Such examples are the Manchester Metropolitan University and London Metropolitan University. These titles are often shortened to "Met" (Man Met, London Met) or an acronym (MMU, LMU). Others adopted a name which reflects the local area, such as Nottingham Trent University (named after the River Trent which flows through Nottingham) and Sheffield Hallam University ("Hallam" refers to the area of South Yorkshire in which much of Sheffield is situated). Ulster Polytechnic remains the only polytechnic to unite with a university; this occurred in 1984.[ citation needed ]
The last degree-awarding institution to hold on to the name "polytechnic" after 1992 was Anglia Polytechnic University (which had only attained polytechnic status the previous year). The word was soon identified as being off-putting to potential students, and the university became known as Anglia Ruskin University from 2005.[ citation needed ]
At their peak there were over thirty polytechnics in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the English ones being primarily located in urban areas large enough to support industry or commerce, from which they usually took the city name. These are now universities.[ citation needed ]
In England, there are:
In addition, Wales has
and Northern Ireland has:
In Scotland there were comparable Higher Education institutions called Central Institutions but these very rarely used the designation "Polytechnic" in their titles; these also converted into universities.
The University of Brighton is a public university based in Brighton on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieved university status in 1992.
Universities in the United Kingdom have generally been instituted by royal charter, papal bull, Act of Parliament, or an instrument of government under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 or the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. Degree awarding powers and the 'university' title are protected by law, although the precise arrangements for gaining these vary between the constituent countries of the United Kingdom.
The University of North London (UNL) was a university in London, England, formed from the Polytechnic of North London (PNL) in 1992 when that institution was granted university status. PNL, in turn, had been formed by the amalgamation of the Northern Polytechnic and North-Western Polytechnic in 1971. In 1996, the university celebrated its centenary, dating from the year of the Northern Polytechnic's founding. UNL existed until 2002, when it merged with London Guildhall University to form London Metropolitan University. Its former premises now form the university's north campus, on Holloway Road and Highbury Grove, Islington.
Middlesex University London is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is derived from its location within the historic county boundaries of Middlesex.
In the United Kingdom (UK), a post-1992 university, synonymous with new university or modern university, is a former polytechnic or central institution that was given university status through the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, or an institution that has been granted university status since 1992 without receiving a royal charter. This is used in contrast to "pre-1992" universities.
Ulster University, legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It is the largest university in Northern Ireland and the second-largest university on the island of Ireland, after the federal National University of Ireland.
The Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) was the national degree-awarding authority in the United Kingdom from 1965 until its dissolution on 20 April 1993.
London Guildhall University was a university in the United Kingdom from 1992 to 2002, established when the City of London Polytechnic was awarded university status. On 1 August 2002, it merged with the University of North London to form London Metropolitan University. The former London Guildhall University premises now form the new university's City campus, situated on various sites in the City of London.
A plate glass university or plateglass university is one of a group of universities in the United Kingdom established or promoted to university status in the 1960s. The original plate glass universities were established following decisions by the University Grants Committee (UGC) in the late 1950s and early 1960s, prior to the Robbins Report in 1963. However, the term has since expanded to encompass the institutions that became universities as a result of Robbins' recommendations.
MillionPlus, formerly known as million+, the Campaign for Mainstream Universities, and the Coalition of Modern Universities (CMU), is a membership organisation, which aims to promote the role of "modern universities" in the UK higher education system; it describes itself as "The Association for Modern Universities in the UK". MillionPlus is not for profit and funded by subscriptions from its members, currently 23 UK universities. While all of the member institutions are "new" universities, many have long histories as colleges and polytechnics.
An institute of technology is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science, and natural sciences.
The Norwich University of the Arts (NUA) is a public university in Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom that specialises in art, design, media, architecture and performance. It was founded as Norwich School of Design in 1845 and has a long history of arts education. It gained full university status in 2013. The NUA is the smaller of two universities in Norwich, the other being the University of East Anglia (UEA).
A Bachelor of Architecture (BArch) is a bachelor's degree designed to satisfy the academic requirement of practising architecture around the world.
Colchester Institute is a large provider of further and higher education based in the city of Colchester. Colchester Institute provides full-time and part-time courses for a wide variety of learners including 16 to 19 year olds, apprentices, adults, businesses and employers. Undergraduate and Postgraduate Higher Education courses are delivered through University Centre Colchester and validated by the University of East Anglia, University of Huddersfield and University of Essex.
A central institution (CI) was a type of higher education institute in 20th and 21st-century Scotland, responsible for providing degree-level education but emphasising teaching rather than research. Some had a range of courses similar to polytechnics elsewhere in the United Kingdom while others were more specialised such as the art colleges and the conservatoire. Some subjects were not taught at CIs; for example, teacher training was only carried out by colleges of education, which later merged with universities.
Garnett College was a higher education college in London which trained lecturers in further and higher education colleges between 1946 and 1988. Its main focus was on teaching towards post-graduate qualifications awarded by the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA). Students had to be at least 25 years old and be qualified in their teaching subject.
A sandwich degree, or sandwich course, is an academic degree or higher education course involving practical work experience in addition to academic study. The work experience is often referred as an industrial placement or internship. Many universities offer sandwich degrees.
Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education (Dip.Engg.)and (B.Engg.) or (M.Engg.), and any advanced education and specializations that follow. Engineering education is typically accompanied by additional postgraduate examinations and supervised training as the requirements for a professional engineering license. The length of education, and training to qualify as a basic professional engineer, is typically five years, with 15–20 years for an engineer who takes responsibility for major projects.
Harare Polytechnic College, formerly Salisbury Polytechnic and commonly referred to as Harare Polytechnic, is a technical, public research university in Causeway, Harare. The university is known for its strength in science and engineering, and is one among a small group of technical schools or institutes of technology in Zimbabwe which are primarily devoted to the instruction of pure and applied sciences. The school was founded on the British polytechnic model offering standard and higher diplomas and undergraduate degrees, unlike European and American institutions which often offer postgraduate degrees and a strong emphasis on research. At the outset, the focus of polytechnics was on STEM subjects with a special emphasis on engineering.