Edge Hill University has rapidly climbed up the national rankings and has been recognised for its exciting developments in the Complete University Guide for 2014 (published April 29).

The University rose nine places in the table – an increase bettered by only three other institutions.

Vice-Chancellor Dr John Cater said: “Edge Hill University is delighted to be one of the top three UK universities for year-on-year improvement in the 2014 Complete University Guide and to be ranked above almost fifty other providers.  This progress is consequent on the massive investment that is taking place in staffing and facilities at the Ormskirk campus and our increased popularity as a destination of choice for applicants, and we are confident that our upward curve will continue and accelerate.”

Universities are assessed on their performance in nine quality factors: Student Satisfaction, Research Assessment, Entry Standards, Student: Staff Ratio; Spending on Academic Services; Spending on Student Facilities; Good Honours degrees achieved; Graduate Prospects and Completion.

Edge Hill was particularly praised for its notable increases in facilities spend which is enhancing the student learning experience and its entry tariff for applicants.

Dr Cater said: “This year we are committing over £41m to construct a new Creative Edge building for media production, animation and computing students, new lakeside halls of residence and a sixty acre sports complex as we strive to become one of the very best campus universities in the country.

“These developments, coupled with some of the best graduate employment rates, an excellent teaching and learning environment and a supportive bursaries and scholarships scheme makes us a very attractive university choice for potential applicants.”

Data for the rankings have been derived from official sources and have been meticulously checked directly with the universities to create an independent and authoritative league table designed to match applicants’ needs. The interactive Guide can be viewed at www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk.

Nova Jayne Robinson, Director of The Complete University Guide, said: “Once again, The Complete University Guide is first to give university applicants reliable and comprehensive information on which to base one of the most important choices of their lives.”

Impressed visitors to the £15m ‘Student Hub’ at Edge Hill University have been singing the praises of the new addition to the Ormskirk campus.

The innovative and sustainable building has the ‘wow’ factor and has created an exciting one-stop shop for all student needs, as well as creating a visually exciting focal point for the University.

First impressions from people when they sample the new facilities themselves are of amazement and they are complimentary about the design work and what it has to offer. Watch some of the initial reactions in this video.

Housing a number of Edge Hill’s student services, retail and dining areas in one place for the first time, the new building marks the central point between the modern Western Campus and the iconic, 1930s main building.

There is also brand new accommodation for the Students’ Union, with dedicated space for societies and student groups, and offices for other student support teams. There is more classroom space and a range of learning facilities to support students with a mixture of computers and other IT resources.

In keeping with Edge Hill’s proven commitment to sustainable development, it is an energy-efficient building including eco-friendly features such as recycled heat, solar-powered hot water, LED lighting and high levels of insulation.

Construction work on the exciting new £13m ‘Student Hub’ at Edge Hill University is well underway for its September unveiling.

The innovative and sustainable building will effectively create a one-stop shop for all student needs and will further improve facilities for staff and students as well as benefit the local community.

Housing a number of Edge Hill’s student services, retail and dining areas in one place for the first time, the new building will mark the central point between the modern western campus and the iconic, 1930s Main Building.

The Hub will fundamentally redevelop and enhance the existing Main Building and will incorporate the Terrace café and Sages restaurant, opening up kitchen and seating capacity for both. Catering will include an area for hot meals as well as more formal dining requirements, a fresh sandwich ‘grab and go’ section and a quality coffee shop.

Retail facilities will include a small convenience store and space for selling University branded merchandise, as well as the possibility of an academic book retailer.

Upstairs there will be brand new accommodation for the Students’ Union, including dedicated space for societies and student groups, and offices for other student support teams. There will also be more classroom space and a range of learning facilities to support students with a mixture of computers and other IT resources.

Pro Vice-Chancellor Steve Igoe said: “Edge Hill  University is committed to providing a high quality student experience and  has invested over £130m  over recent years in creating an award winning  campus environment that is amongst the best in British higher education. The Student Hub is our latest development  and will enhance our facilities even further to the  benefit of both staff and students alike . If we want to continue to attract large numbers of high quality students, we have to ensure an outstanding student experience particularly in a future  environment dominated by increased expectations and demands. I’m delighted that work is progressing rapidly on this project and am confident that we will have it ready in time for the start of the new term in September.”

As well as creating a visually exciting focal point for the University, The Hub will also help to improve the flow of foot traffic around the campus. Its orientation will provide the future main entrance to the existing building, in accordance with the University’s masterplan which envisages an East/West transition across the Ormskirk campus.

The building will also demonstrate Edge Hill’s proven commitment to sustainable development. It will be thermally efficient with a design that promotes natural light and ventilation. Energy will be recycled, for example from cooking areas, to be re-used throughout the building.

Edge Hill University is set to add another innovative and sustainable building to its award-winning campus to further improve facilities for staff and students.

Exciting plans to create ‘The Hub’ were given the green light by planners from West Lancashire Borough Council last month, which will effectively create a one-stop shop for all student needs and will benefit the local community.

Construction work has already begun on site with the demolition of the  previous boiler house and some service buildings to make room for the stunning new building.

With its glass walls, large open spaces and unusual elliptical shape, the new facility will be inspirational as well as functional. Housing a number of Edge Hill’s student services, retail and dining areas in one place for the first time, the new building will mark the central point between the modern western campus and the iconic, 1930s Main Building.

The Hub will fundamentally redevelop and enhance the existing  Main Building and will incorporate  the Terrace café and Sages restaurant, opening up kitchen and seating capacity for both. The ground floor will also feature high street-style retail outlets chosen to meet students’ needs and preferences. Upstairs there will be brand new accommodation for the Students’ Union, including dedicated space for societies and student groups, and offices for other student support teams.

“The Hub is the keystone in the development of the campus,” said David Oldham, Director of Capital Developments for the University, “as it is literally in the middle of the site and also sits at the centre of our overall ‘masterplan’ for long-term capital investment. It also shows our ongoing commitment to making Edge Hill a leading university of choice by 2015. “

“If we want to continue to attract large numbers of students, we have to ensure the student experience is as good as it can be, particularly in a future education environment dominated by increased expectations of our students.” 

The building will also demonstrate Edge Hill’s proven commitment to sustainable development. It will be thermally efficient with a design that promotes natural light and ventilation .  Energy will be recycled, for example from cooking areas, to be re-used throughout the building.

As well as creating a visually exciting focal point for the University, The Hub will also help to improve the flow of foot  traffic around the campus. It’s orientation  will provide the future  main entrance to the existing building , in accordance with the University’s masterplan which envisages an East/West transition across the Ormskirk campus.

“The Hub  marks the beginning of the next phase of the University’s investment in it’s long term campus plan”, says David . “The Hub will be the gateway to development on the eastern side of the campus, where we aim to create state-of-the-art sporting facilities for our students, staff and the local community to enjoy.”

Work on The Hub  is expected to be completed by September 2011. 

Find out what Edge Hill University is doing to protect the environment in double-click time by visiting a brand new section on the website.

Sustainability has always been at the heart of University life – not just in the role we play in creating sustainable communities through the provision of vital qualified public service staff such as teachers and nurses but also as a major employer and consumer of resources.

The University is committed to improving the environment to benefit staff, students and the local community and is involved in a number of initiatives to promote greener living.

To complement this work, a new web zone has been launched which highlights projects around greener travel, recycling, energy efficiency measures and Fairtrade. The pages also give advice to help departments and households be kinder to the environment.

Julia Dickinson, the University’s Environment and Safety Coordinator, said: “Our environment is the future of our world and it’s important that we look after it. We have been providing higher education for 125 years and we take great pride in ensuring that everything we do is sustainable and environmentally friendly. From our buildings and new facilities, to the way we manage the impact of travel, we are constantly looking at both technical fixes and behaviour change initiatives that help reduce our carbon footprint. The new web pages have been developed to highlight the positive work we are doing and to get people on board to ensure that we all adopt greener lifestyles.”

For example, as Edge Hill is one of the largest employers in the local area, a Travel Plan has been developed to reduce congestion and to promote alternative forms of transport.

The University has been accepted onto the Carbon Trust Higher Education Carbon Management Programme 2010 and is putting plans in place to reduce its carbon footprint.

Staff volunteers are also being recruited to develop a network of Sustainability Champions across the University to ensure that their departments become greener.

To find out what else Edge Hill is doing to encourage greener living, visit the new section of the website at edgehill.ac.uk/sustainability. For enquiries, you can also email the team at sustainability@edgehill.ac.uk.

For the first time ever Edge Hill University will host all of its graduation ceremonies on the Ormskirk campus when more than 3,000 students will don their caps and gowns in the week of 19^th to 23^rd July.

In previous years, ceremonies have taken place at Lancaster University but this will be the first time that all the graduations will take place at Edge Hill next week.

With a record number of First Class degrees awarded it makes it an even more historical moment for the University as it is also the same year that it celebrates its 125^th birthday.

During the week, a number of honorary awards will also be given out to deserving ambassadors, including:

• Anne Laing, Chair of the Edge Hill College Guild
• Baroness Shirley Williams, politician and academic
• Bob Wilson, former Chair of Governors
• Camila Batmanghelidjh, psychotherapist and social entrepreneur
• Dr. Mary Bousted, General Secretary of the Association of Teachers & Lecturers
• Sir Iain Hall, expert in education and school leadership

Vice Chancellor John Cater said: “This will be a very proud moment in Edge Hill University’s history because it is the first time that we will host all our graduation ceremonies on campus and it is even more special because it is happening in our 125^th anniversary year. I’m really looking forward to seeing the campus come alive with our graduates who have worked tirelessly to achieve their degrees and I’m pleased that we will be giving out six honorary awards to some outstanding people.”

If so, let the judges of this year’s West Lancashire Design Awards know by Friday, 1 May, 2009.

Anyone can nominate their building, so if you study or work at Edge Hill University and are proud of your building, nominate now at the West Lancashire Design Awards website or pick up a form from any local library or from the council’s customer service points in Derby Street, Ormskirk and the Concourse, Skelmersdale.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, the design awards are a key part of West Lancashire District Councils Design Champion initiative, which aims to encourage good design in the area.

In previous years, Edge Hill has scooped the top prize in the landscaping category for the area outside the Faculty of Education.

The categories this year are: residential developments; commercial or non-residential schemes; refurbishment or conversion of existing buildings and sustainable, green developments, including landscaping.

The competition is only open to schemes completed after June 2007.

For more information ring on 01695 585167.

Taking care of business and laying down the law >>

Stunning £14 million eco-friendly building to be unveiled >>

Edge Hill University’s Chancellor, Professor Tanya Byron, has officially opened the revamped Social and Psychological Sciences building on the Ormskirk campus following a £1m refurbishment project.

The building, previously known as the Business Management Centre, has been transformed into a sleek, modern facility where Big Brother-style social analysis can take place.

Major remodelling of the exterior has seen the addition of an attractive, glass entrance, solar shielding around the façade and new window installations.

Extensive internal alterations have included creating a light and airy central space on the first floor and installing nine research booths with specialist IT facilities to support practical and dissertation work.

An exciting new feature is a state-of-the-art, Big Brother-style observation suite, comprising two rooms separated by a two-way mirror.   Equipped with wall-mounted cameras, the suite can be used to record and analyse the group behaviour of volunteers set a particular task. 

A new glass meeting room boasting a stunning view of the lake and piazza area has also been added and new skylights fitted to flood the building with natural light.

The building will be a dedicated base for Social and Psychological Sciences students and staff, who were previously accommodated in various locations across the campus.

The previous occupants of the then Business Management Centre have now moved into the showpiece £8m Business and Law School which opened in January.

Edge Hill University Vice-Chancellor, John Cater, said: “This is the latest milestone in the development of the Ormskirk campus, ensuring our students are offered the very highest standards in teaching and learning facilities and that our staff have an inspiring environment in which to work. 

“This continued investment will further enhance one of the most exciting and vibrant campuses in the UK, while still retaining its unique charm.”

Professor Byron opened the building in front of an invited audience of staff and external partners.

The University’s Department of Social and Psychological Sciences offers a wide range of social science programmes.

Undergraduate courses cover the subject areas of Childhood and Youth Studies, Early Childhood Studies, Sociology, Social Work and Psychology. New undergraduate programmes to be launched in September include Health Psychology, Educational Psychology and Sports and Exercise Psychology.

A Postgraduate Certificate in Social Research Methods and MSc in Psychology are also available.

Prospective students will get the chance to look around Edge Hill University on Saturday, 28 March, 2009.

It will be the first opportunity that hopeful students and their families have had to explore the brand new £8 million Business and Law building, with its roof garden and mock court room.

A tour of the facilities in the Social and Psychological Sciences faculty will also be available for the first time since they were opened by Edge Hill Chancellor, Professor Tanya Byron earlier this week.

The programme of activities will run from 11am-4pm and will include the opportunity to tour the campus, attend subject presentations, join accommodation tours given by current students and chat to subject tutors.

For more information, please visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/opendays.

Veteran broadcaster Fred Talbot, best know for his animated weather reports from the floating map during ITV’s This Morning, visited Edge Hill University yesterday.

As a guest of the media department, Fred was given a tour of the University’s Ormskirk campus where he was impressed with the new health and business and law buildings.

Fred spent time with media students, offering valuable advice to third year film and TV students on how best to present their work or how to pitch ideas for documentaries or programme content. He said: “The first 20 seconds of any show reel is by far the most important. Think about whether or not to use music. Is it going to add to your idea, or is it just going to irritate the very person you are trying to impress?”

Fred Talbot started his media career in 1979, while he was still a full-time biology teacher at a boys’ school in Altrincham. His first television appearance was on Granada Reports, a regional ITV news programme in the North West.

He was still a regular presenter on Granada Reports when he started presenting the weather from the Albert Dock, Liverpool, on This Morning, hosted by Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan.

Fred presented the weather from a floating map in the Albert Dock. Each morning he would make the jump from the UK mainland to Ireland, much to the amusement of onlookers and viewers.

On one occasion, a diver swam near the map to distract Fred, and in a memorable incident, a streaker swam naked up to the map and jumped on during his weather report.

When asked about his time presenting the weather from the Dock, Fred said: “It is amazing the number of people who think I fell into the water, but I actually never did, even though I certainly did come close to it on several occasions.”

Fred will return to the University during the next academic year to deliver a series of master classes with students from across all media subject areas.

Senior lecturer Peter Berry, a former Granada colleague of Fred’s said: “There is no substitute for experience in any discipline, and Fred has more than 25 years experience of live television, both regional and network, which he can bring to our students. They after all are the future of the media industries.”

Study media at Edge Hill University >>