University of Kent

Infobox University
name = University of Kent
native_name =
latin_name =

---

motto = "Cui servire regnare est"
(literal translation: 'whom to serve is to reign')
(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, "From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury" (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) page 36 ISBN 0-904938-03-4 As Martin notes "Our former Information Officer has ventured the opinion that Cranmer would not have got very high marks had this phrase appeared in an O-Level Latin paper!"]
established = 4 January 1965
type = Public
endowment =
staff = 600
chancellor = Sir Robert Worcester KBE DL
vice_chancellor = Julia Goodfellow
head_label = Visitor
head = The Archbishop of Canterbury "ex officio"
students = 18,385cite web|url= http://www.hesa.ac.uk/dox/dataTables/studentsAndQualifiers/download/institution0607.xls|title= Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2006/07|accessdate= 2008-04-10|format= Microsoft Excel spreadsheet|publisher= Higher Education Statistics Agency]
undergrad = 14,610
postgrad = 3,770
doctoral =
other =
city = Canterbury, Medway and Tonbridge
state = Kent
country = United Kingdom
campus = Rural
colours = scarf startcell|#010963cell|#66CCFFcell|#FF1493cell|#66CCFFcell|#010963cell|#010963cell|#010963cell|#010963cell|#66CCFFcell|#FF1493cell|#66CCFFcell|#010963
affiliations = University Alliance
Association of Commonwealth Universities
European University Association
website = http://www.kent.ac.uk/

The University of Kent is a plate glass campus university in Kent, England.

Name

The university's original name, chosen in 1962,cite web| url = http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/history/history59.html| title = About Kent - History - 1959-1969 | accessdate = 2007-08-05| date = 2007-01-11| publisher = University of Kent] was the University of Kent at Canterbury, reflecting the fact that the campus straddled the boundary between the county borough of Canterbury and Kent County Council. At the time it was the normal practice for universities to be named after the town or city whose boundaries they were in, with both "University of Kent" and "University of Canterbury" initially proposed. The name adopted reflected the support of both the city and county authorities, as well as the existence of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, which officially opposed the use of a name too similar to its own.cite news|title=Second University Sponsor Resigns|publisher="The Times"|date=1962-10-17] The abbreviation UKC became a popular abbreviation for the university.Graham Martin, "From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury" (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) pages 29-30 ISBN 0-904938-03-4] Part of the original reasoning for the name disappeared when local government reforms in the 1970s resulted in the Canterbury campus falling entirely within the City of Canterbury, which no longer has county borough status, and Kent County Council.

During the 1990s and 2000s the University expanded beyond its original campus. It now has campuses in Medway, Tonbridge and Brussels, and works in partnership with Canterbury College, South Kent College and Mid-Kent College. In 2003 the title was changed to University of Kent.While Canterbury ceased to be a county borough in the 1970s, Medway is now a unitary authority - the modern form of a county borough. However the current overall title of the University does not reflect this.] "University of Kent at Canterbury" and "UKC" are still used to refer to the Canterbury site, with other variants such as "University of Kent at Medway" and "University of Kent at Brussels" in use for the other sites. The term "UKC" is also still heavily used by both students and alumni for the University as a whole.

Canterbury has another university, Canterbury Christ Church University.

History

A university in the ancient city of Canterbury was first considered in 1947, when an anticipated growth in student numbers led several localities to seek the creation of a new university, including Kent. However the plans came to nothing.Graham Martin, "From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury" (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) page 14 ISBN 0-904938-03-4]

A decade later both population growth and greater demand for university places led to new considerations. In 1959 Kent County Council explored the possibilities of a university through its Education Committee, formally accepting the proposal unanimously on 24 February 1960.cite news|title=Step Towards Kent University|publisher="The Times"|date=1960-02-25] Two months later the Education Committee agreed to seek a site at or near Canterbury, given the historical associations of the city, subject to the support of Canterbury City Council.cite news|title=Siting Of A Kent University - Canterbury Area Recommended |publisher="The Times"|date=1960-04-26] By 1962 a site was found at Beverley Farm, straddling the then boundary between the City of Canterbury and the administrative county of Kent.cite news|title=Site Of University For Kent |publisher="The Times"|date=1962-02-01] . The University was granted its Royal Charter on 4 January 1965 and the first students arrived in the October of that year. On 30 March 1966 Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent was formally installed as the first Chancellor.Graham Martin, "From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury" (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) pages 11-36 ISBN 0-904938-03-4]

The University of Kent at Canterbury was envisaged as being a Collegiate establishment, with most students living in one of the colleges on campus, and as specialising in inter-disciplinary studies in all fields.cite news|title=University Of Kent Sets Out To Be Different - Emphasis On Collegiate-Based Life |publisher="The Times"|date=1963-04-04] Over the years, changing demands have effectively destroyed this original concept, leading to the present state, near the "norm" for a British University.

The university grew at a rapid rate throughout the 1960s, with three colleges and many other buildings on campus being completed by the end of the decade."Kent Life" in "Kent: The Magazine for The University of Kent" Spring 2005 No. 44 page 4] The 1970s saw further construction, but the university also encountered the biggest physical problem in its history.Graham Martin, "From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury" (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) pages 225-231 ISBN 0-904938-03-4] The university had been built above a tunnel on the disused Canterbury and Whitstable Railway. In July 1974 the tunnel collapsed, damaging part of the Cornwallis Building, which sank nearly a metre within about an hour on the evening of 11 July.Graham Martin, "From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury" (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) page 228 ISBN 0-904938-03-4] Fortunately, the university had insurance against subsidence, so it was able to pay for the south west corner of the building to be demolished and replaced by a new wing at the other end of the building. Graham Martin, "From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury" (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) page 231 ISBN 0-904938-03-4]

In 1982 the university opened the University Centre at Tonbridge (now the University of Kent at Tonbridge) for its School of Continuing Education, helping to enhance the availability of teaching across the county."Kent Life" in "Kent: The Magazine for The University of Kent" Spring 2005 No. 44 page 5]

In the 2000s the university entered a collaboration with the University of Greenwich, Mid Kent College and Canterbury Christ Church University to deliver university provision in the Medway area.cite web| url = http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/history/history00.html| title = About Kent - History - 2000-2006 | accessdate = 2007-08-05| date = 2007-01-11| publisher = University of Kent] This led to the development of the "University of Kent at Medway", opened from 2001. Initially based at Mid Kent College, a new joint campus opened in 2004. As a consequence of the expansion outside of Canterbury the university's name was formally changed to the "University of Kent" on 1 April 2003.

In 2007 the university was rebranded with a new logo and website. The logo was chosen following consultation with existing university students and those in sixth forms across the country.cite web| url = http://www.kent.ac.uk/cdo/publications/corporate/UoK_Interim_Section_Guidelines.pdf| title = Our visual identity (pdf) | accessdate = 2007-07-25| date = 2007-03-14| publisher = University of Kent]

Coat of Arms

The University of Kent's Coat of Arms were granted by the College of Arms in September 1967. The white horse of Kent is taken from the arms of the County of Kent (and can also be seen on the Flag of Kent). The three Cornish Choughs, originally belonging to the arms of Thomas Becket, were taken from the arms of the City of Canterbury. The Crest depicts the West Gate of Canterbury with a symbolic flow of water, presumably the River Great Stour, below it. Two golden Bishops' Crosiers in the shape of a St. Andrews Cross are shown in front of it. The supporters - lions with the sterns of golden ships - are taken from the arms of the Cinque Ports.Graham Martin, "From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury" (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) pages 33-36 ISBN 0-904938-03-4]

The Coat of Arms is now formally used only for degree certificates, degree programmes and some merchandise, as a result of the University seeking a consistent identity branding.

Campuses

Canterbury

The main Canterbury campus covers 300 acres (1.2 km²) and is in an elevated position just over two miles (3 km) from the city centre. It currently has approximately 11,000 full-time and 6,200 part-time students and some 600 academic and research staff.

Colleges

The university is now divided into four colleges, named after distinguished scholars. In chronological order of construction:
*Eliot (the poet T. S. Eliot) (1965)
*Rutherford (the physicist Ernest Rutherford) (1966)
*Keynes (the economist John Maynard Keynes) (1968)
*Darwin (the biologist Charles Darwin) (1970)cite web| url = http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/history/history70.html| title = About Kent - History - 1970-1979 | accessdate = 2007-08-05| date = 2007-01-11| publisher = University of Kent]

There was much discussion about the names adopted for most of the colleges with the following alternative names all in consideration at one point or another:
*For Eliot: Caxton, after William Caxton
*For Keynes: Richborough, a town in Kent; Anselm, a former Archbishop of Canterbury
*For Darwin: Anselm (again); Attlee, after Clement Attlee, the post war Prime Minister; Becket, after Thomas Becket, another former Archbishop (this was the recommendation of the college's provisional committee but rejected by the Senate); Conrad; Elgar, after Edward Elgar; Maitland; Marlowe, after Christopher Marlowe; Russell, after Bertrand Russell (this was the recommendation of the Senate but rejected by the Council); Tyler, after both Wat Tyler and Tyler Hill on which the campus stands. The name for the College proved especially contentious and was eventually decided by a postal ballot of members of the Senate, choosing from: Attlee, Conrad, Darwin, Elgar, Maitland, Marlowe and Tyler.Graham Martin, "From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury" (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) pages 122-126 ISBN 0-904938-03-4] (Both Becket and Tyler were eventually used as the names for residential buildings on campuses and the building housing both the Architecture and Anthropology departments is named Marlowe.)

Each college has residential rooms, lecture theatres, study rooms, computer rooms and social areas. The intention of the "colleges" was that they should not be just Halls of Residence, but complete "academic" communities. Each college has its own bar, all rebuilt on a larger scale, and originally its own dining hall (only Rutherford has a functioning dining hall; Darwin's is hired out for conferences and events; Keynes' closed in 2000 and converted into academic space; and Eliot's closed in 2006). It was expected that each college (more were planned) would have around 600 students as members, with an equivalent proportion of staff, with half the students living within the college itself and the rest coming onto campus to eat and study within their colleges. Many facilities, ranging from accommodation, tutorials and alumni relations, would be handled on a college basis. With no planned academic divisions below the Faculty level, the colleges would be main focus of students' lives and there would be no units of a similar or smaller size to provide a rival focus of loyalties.

This vision of a collegiate university has increasingly fallen away. The funding for colleges did not keep pace with the growth in student numbers, with the result that only four colleges were built. In later years when there was heavy student demand for scarce accommodation in Canterbury the solution was found in building additional on campus accommodation but not in the form of further colleges. The hopes that students living off campus would stay around to eat dinner in their colleges were not met, whilst the abolition of college amenities fees removed students' direct stake in their colleges. With the growth of specialist subject departments as well as of other university wide facilities, more and more of the role of colleges was transferred to the central university. Accommodation and catering were transferred to the centralised "University of Kent at Canterbury Hospitality" (UKCH).Graham Martin, "From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury" (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) ISBN 0-904938-03-4]

Today the University cannot be considered collegiate in any true sense - applications are made to the University as a whole, and many of the colleges rely on each other for day-to-day operation. Academic departments have no formal ties to colleges other than those that are located within particular college buildings due to availability of space, with lectures, seminars and tutorials taking place wherever there is an available room rather than on a college basis. Many students are allocated accommodation in their respective college, but some are housed in developments with no defined collegiate link whilst others are housed in different colleges. In addition to these college accommodations there are also:
*Darwin Houses, a set of 26 student houses next to Darwin College, opened in 1989cite web| url = http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/history/history80.html| title = About Kent - History - 1980-1989 | accessdate = 2007-08-05| date = 2007-01-11| publisher = University of Kent]
*Becket Court, next to Eliot College, opened in 1990cite web| url = http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/history/history90.html| title = About Kent - History - 1990-1999 | accessdate = 2007-08-05| date = 2007-01-11| publisher = University of Kent]
*Tyler Court, three blocks of halls of residence. Block A was opened in 1995 mostly for postgraduates; Blocks B and C were completed in 2004cite web| url = http://www.kent.ac.uk/about/history/history90.html| title = About Kent - History - 2000-2006 | accessdate = 2007-08-05| date = 2007-01-11| publisher = University of Kent] for undergraduates.
*Parkwood, a mini student village comprising 262 two-storey houses and a recently built apartment complex, about 10 minutes walk from the main campus. The initial houses were opened in 1980. A large addition to the Parkwood area was completed in 2005, comprising a number of en-suite fitted rooms grouped into four, five and six bedroom flats.

A fifth college, to be named Virginia Woolf College after the writer Virginia Woolf,cite web| url = http://www.kent.ac.uk/estates/projects/darwin_field/virginia_woolf.html| title = Virginia Woolf | accessdate = 2008-01-10| date = 2007-11-23| publisher = University of Kent] is currently under construction.cite web| url = http://www.kent.ac.uk/estates/projects/darwin_field/index.html| title = Virginia Woolf College | accessdate = 2008-01-10| date = 2007-11-22| publisher = University of Kent] The new college will accommodate postgraduate students.

Library

The Templeman Library (named after Dr Geoffrey Templeman, the University's first Vice-Chancellor) contains over a million items in stock including books, journals, videos, DVDs, and archive materials (for example, a full text of "The Times" from 1785 onwards), yet it is still only half its planned size. It has a materials fund of approximately £1million a year, and adds 12,000 items every year. It is open every day in term time. It receives 800,000 visits a year, with approximately half a million loans per annum.

It also houses the British Cartoon Archive, [http://library.kent.ac.uk/cartoons/ British Cartoon Archive website] ] (established 1975) a national collection of, mainly, newspaper cartoons, with over 90,000 images catalogued.

Other facilities

The Gulbenkian Theatre acts as the front door to the Canterbury campus. The building includes a foyer and cafe bar and is a meeting place for students, staff and the general public. The theatre seats 340 and presents student, professional and amateur shows throughout the year. The theatre was opened in 1969 and was named after the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation which helped fund its construction.

The Gulbenkian Cinema is a public cinema in the Gulbenkian complex open to students and the general public. It is Kent's independent film theatre showing new mainstream and non mainstream releases as well as archive and foreign language films not otherwise available in the region. In the daytime the cinema is used as a lecture theatre.

Additionally, a £1.5 million sports facility called the Sport Centre was completed in 2003. Its facilities include tennis and squash courts, hockey and football pitches, a state of the art gymnasium, a cardio theatre, a dance studio, a multi purpose sports hall and a fair trade cafe, but no swimming pool.

There are five dining areas on campus. In addition to these main eating outlets there are many vending machines and some bars.

Medway

In 2000 the University joined with other educational institutes to form the "Universities for Medway" initiative, aimed at increasing participation in higher education in the Medway Towns. The following year the "University of Kent at Medway" formally opened, initially based at Mid Kent College. By 2004 a new campus for the university had been established in the old Chatham Dockyard, sharing a campus with Canterbury Christchurch University and University of Greenwich.

Tonbridge

In 1982 the university established the School of Continuing Education in Tonbridge, aiming to make teaching available across the entire county. Development of the campus has continued almost constantly, with many new buildings added in the 1980s and 1990s. The campus is now called the "University of Kent at Tonbridge".

Academic faculties and departments

The University is divided into three faculties:
*Humanities
*Social Sciences
*Science, Technology and Medical Studies (STMS)

The original plan was to have no academic sub-divisions within the three faculties (initially Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences) and to incorporate an interdisciplinary element to all degrees through common first year courses ("Part I") in each faculty, followed by specialist study in the second and final years ("Part II"). The lack of Departments encouraged the development of courses that crossed traditional divides, such as Chemical Physics, Chemistry with Control Engineering, Biological Chemistry and Environmental Physical Science.Graham Martin, "From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury" (University of Kent at Canterbury, 1990) pages 39-54 ISBN 0-904938-03-4]

However the interdisciplinary approach proved increasingly complex for two reasons. The levels of specialisation at A Levels meant that many students had not studied particular subjects for some years and this made it impossible to devise a course that both covered areas unstudied by some and did not bore others. This proved an especial problem in Natural Sciences, where many Mathematics students had not studied Chemistry at A Level and vice versa. Additionally many subjects, particularly those in the Social Sciences, were not taught at A Level and required the first year as a grounding in the subject rather than an introduction to several different new subjects. Problems were especially encountered in the Faculty of Natural Sciences where the differing demands of Mathematics and physical sciences led to two almost completely separate programmes and student bases. In 1970 this led to the creation of the School of Mathematical Studies, standing outside the Faculties. The addition of other subjects led to increased pressure on common Part I programmes and increasingly students took more specialised Part I courses designed to prepare them for Part II study.

The University now has the Faculties further divided into 18 Departments and Schools, ranging from the School of English to the Department of Biosciences, and from the Kent Law School to the Department of Economics. Also of note is the University's Brussels School of International Studies, located in Brussels, Belgium. The School offers Master's degrees in international relations theory and international conflict analysis, along with an LLM in international law. In 2005 a new department, The Kent School of Architecture, began teaching its first students. In 2008, Wye College came under Kent's remit, in joint partnership with Imperial College London.

tudent body

The student population is quite mixed, with approximately 16% of students coming from overseas.cite web |url=http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php/component/option,com_datatables/task,show_file/defs,0/Itemid,121/catdex,3/disp,institution0506.htm/dld,institution0506.xls/yrStr,2005+to+2006/dfile,studefs0506.htm/area,institution/mx,0/ |title=Table 0a - All students by institution, mode of study, level of study, gender and domicile 2005/06 |work=Higher Education Statistics Agency online statistics |accessdate=2007-08-06 There are 18,220 total students. 15,270 are United Kingdom students (3,385 postgraduates and 11,885 undergraduates), a total of 83.8%. 10,095 students are female (2165 postgraduates and 7390 undergraduates), a total of 55.4%.] No fewer than 128 different nationalities are currently represented. The female to male ratio is 55 women to every 45 men.

tudents' Union

The Students' Union is known as "Kent Union" and has a considerable presence on campus. Kent Union runs three shops on campus, "Essentials" (all-purpose food and essentials), "Parkwood Essentials" (ditto, but in student village Parkwood) and "Extras" (off-licence). The Union also runs the Parkwood bar "Woody's", Rutherford bar, the Atom and the two-storey nightclub "The Venue", which from 1999 played host to big names such as Zane Lowe, Pendulum, DJ Hype, Goldie, the former boxer Nigel Benn, Starsky & Hutch original Huggy Bear, the Scratch Perverts, members of B*Witched and Tim Westwood.

In the early 1980s the Students' Union had a strong reputation for live music and played host to such acts as U2, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, The Smiths', Echo & the Bunnymen and Elvis Costello.

The Student Bar

The Student Bar is an online community, developed by a student at the university, which currently has over 6,000 members that consist of people that either study or work at the University of Kent, or are members of the university's alumni.

The website itself is similar to other social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Members are able to provide a profile which can include information about their course of study, personal details and interests as well as upload photos. The mainstay of The Student Bar is the ability to create and join groups for discussion on a range of topics. It creates a closer unity between students at the university that wasn't usually provided for students prior to 2006 and adds an extra level of socialising. The Student Bar is now open to students at other universities in the UK.

inQuire Media Group

The university has an official student newspaper named inQuire which is supported by an online news website inQuireLive.co.uk which was launched in January 2008. The newspaper is published every 2 weeks and is edited by a group of unpaid students. While the newspaper and news website is funded by the student union it is independent in its content.

Famous alumni

Notable alumni of the University of Kent include Tom Wilkinson OBE - actor, Oscar nominee; Michael Baigent - author; William H. Kennedy - author; Valerie Bloom - poet; Robert Wade - screenwriter; Patrick Wright - journalist and author; Sir David Akers-Jones - Former acting Governor of Hong Kong, 1986/87; Alan Davies - English Comedian and Actor; David Fulton - Cricketer, former captain of Kent CCC; and Sir Hugh Orde OBE - Chief Constable of Northern Ireland.

The Chaplaincy

Whilst the University is secular, there is a strong chaplaincy consisting of permanent Anglican and Catholic priests, a Pentecostal minister, as well as part-time chaplains from other denominations and faiths.

The chaplaincy runs the annual Carol Service that takes place every year in the Cathedral at the end of Autumn Term.

League Table results

The 2009 Guardian Newspaper University League Tables" (published in 2008) placed Kent's ranking at 29th in the UK. While "The Times Good University Guide" 2009 (published 2008) puts Kent in 36th place. "The Sunday Times University League Table" (published in 2008) placed Kent in 41st place while the 2009 Complete University Guide published in association with "The Independent" (published in 2008) puts Kent in 35th place nationally. (There are some 125 ranked university institutions in the UK).

In the world university league tables, Kent is placed in the top 500 world Universities (441st in the world) by the 2007 Quacquerrelli-Symonds/Times Higher Education Supplement (QS-THES) league table [ [http://dev.topuniversities.com/sundaytimes/uk_ireland/ QS Top Universities: Guide to the World's Top Universities - the definitive international study abroad guide ] ] . Kent does not appear in the Shanghai Jiao Tong University's world rankings table.

In the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise the University of Kent was placed 46th (according to the RAE league tables in "The Times Higher Education Supplement").

Sixteen departments from Kent appear in the top 20 of either "The Times" or "The Guardian"'s British subject rankings from 2005 (including six departments in the top ten).

The Guardian's analysis of the National Student Survey in 2007 placed Kent in 18th place nationally for student satisfaction. [ [http://education.guardian.co.uk/students/tables/0,,2167510,00.html National Student survey 2007 overall ranking table | Students | EducationGuardian.co.uk ] ]

The Franco-British double degree programme

This bi-lingual programme combines subjects in one degree and is taught in two countries. The first year is spent at the University of Kent, the second year at the Institut d'études politiques de Lille (IEP), the third year at the University of Kent, the fourth year at the IEP of Lille and the fifth is either spent in Canterbury, in Brussels or in Lille.

The students of the Franco-British double degree programme receive at the end of the fourth year the BA (Bachelor of Arts) from the University of Kent, the Diplôme by the IEP of Lille and at the end of the fifth year, either the MA (Master of Arts) in Canterbury or in Brussels or the Master delivered by the IEP of Lille, chosen between "14 parcours de formation" by the IEP of Lille. [ [http://195.83.2.11/SCOLA/maquette/parcours_en.html "14 parcours de formation"] ] [ [http://195.83.2.11/formation/franco-britannique.html "Official Site of the Franco-British course at the IEP of Lille and at the University of Kent at Canterbury"] - French and English]

References

External links

* [http://www.kent.ac.uk University of Kent website]
* [http://www.inquirelive.co.uk inQuireLive (University of Kent students news website)]