Bishop Grosseteste University Gets Privy Council Seal of Approval
News release
14th December 2012
Bishop Grosseteste University can now officially use the title university after receiving written approval from Privy Council.
BGU unveiled its new name and logo last month after the Government indicated that ten university colleges had met the criteria to be called universities.
Now Privy Council has approved BGU’s application, which means that Lincoln is officially home to two universities.
“We hoped that Privy Council would give their approval quite quickly and receiving their letter this week was a wonderful early Christmas present,” said Professor Muriel Robinson, who becomes the university’s first Vice Chancellor.
“It’s fitting recognition for our hard-working and talented staff and for our students, who will be the first to graduate with a degree from Bishop Grosseteste University.”
Until last month only higher education institutions with 4,000 or more students could use the title university. Smaller institutions were called university colleges, but now all HE institutions with more than 1,000 students have the right to apply to call themselves a university.
Professor Robinson predicts that university status will help the institution to attract high-quality staff and students in the future. BGU has around 2,000 students and strict government number controls on all universities mean there are no plans to increase undergraduate student numbers for the foreseeable future.
“Last year our applications from prospective students bucked the national trend and increased, and we expect that university title will make BGU even more attractive to students,” she said.
“But there are many advantages associated with being a small university and we have no plans to increase the number of full-time undergraduate students who come here, though we do hope to attract more postgraduate and part-time students which will benefit the local economy without putting pressure on living accommodation.”
Bishop Grosseteste University’s new corporate identity retains the ecclesiastical purple used previously and now features a bishop’s mitre and two lions passant taken from Bishop Robert Grosseteste’s episcopal coat of arms. These can be seen on Robert Grosseteste’s monument in the South-East Transept at Lincoln Cathedral.
Notes to editors:
- Bishop Grosseteste University was established in January 1862 and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2012.
- It is an independent higher education institution based in Lincoln which awards its own degrees at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Jez Ashberry
Shooting Star PR
01522 528540
jez@shootingstar-pr.co.uk
www.shootingstar-pr.co.uk
t: @jezashberry
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