University of Bolton

The University of Bolton (formerly Bolton Institute of Higher Education, Bolton Institute of Technology or simply Bolton Institute) is a public university in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It has approximately 6,000 students and 700 academic and professional staff. Around 70% of its students come from Bolton and the North West region.

University of Bolton
legal name: The University of Bolton Higher Education Corporation[1]
Motto: "SAPIENTIA SUPERAT MORAS" ~ 'Wisdom overcomes difficulty'
MottoLatin: Sapientia Superat Moras
TypePublic
Established2004 – gained University Status
1982 – Bolton Institute of Higher Education
Endowment£160,000[2]
Vice-ChancellorGeorge Holmes
Administrative staff
700+[3]
Students6,945 (2018/19)[4]
Undergraduates5,605 (2018/19)[4]
Postgraduates1,340 (2018/19)[4]
Location
Bolton
,
Greater Manchester
,
United Kingdom

CampusUrban
ColoursGold, navy blue
AffiliationsMillion+
North West Universities Association
Universities UK
Websitewww.bolton.ac.uk

The university is a member of the North West Universities Association, Universities UK and Million+.

History
Chancellor's Building

The University of Bolton traces its origins back to 1824[5] with the founding of Bolton Mechanics' Institute. In 1887, the Committee of the Mechanics' Institute decided that the town's apprentices required technical instruction for the rapidly expanding engineering advances being made at the turn of the nineteenth century. This resulted in the creation of the new Technical School with student numbers rising to more than 1,500.

In 1926, Bolton Technical School became a college. Fifteen years later a new building was opened offering a wide range of technical education choices, with engineering the most popular. In 1964, Bolton Technical College and Bolton Institute of Technology were divided into two separate organisations. A J Jenkinson was Principal of the Technical College, Bolton College of Education (Technical) and then the first Principal of Bolton Institute of Technology.

Bolton Institute of Higher Education was formed in 1982 by the merger of the Bolton Institute of Technology and Bolton College of Education. The first principal of BIHE was John McKenzie, who was succeeded by Bob Oxtoby. Oxstoby began the campaign for university status.

An £8.3 million extension project began in 1991 with the purchase of the former Eagle Factory. Bolton Institute was awarded the right to award taught degrees in 1992, with the powers to award research degrees in 1996.[5] In 1998, Mollie Temple became the third principal and successfully led the institution to achieve university status in 2004.[5]

Campus

The university is primarily situated on an urban campus between Deane Road and Derby Street in Bolton. There are two halls of residence, although the university intends to relocate all services on to a single site in the centre of Bolton. There is an academic centre in Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates.

Senate House

Formally known as Deane Tower, Senate House underwent refurbishment in 2004 to become a centre for design disciplines, research and consultancy services.

The Chancellor's Building

Following the remodelling and centralisation of the University campus in 2007, a new £2.5 million Social Learning Zone for student study and Students' Union bar was built. The building also houses the university library, student services and coffee shop.

Eagle Tower

The five-storey building houses subject areas such as Art & Design, Photography, Graphics, Media Studies, Special & Visual Effects and Psychology as well as academic offices.

Bolton One
Bolton One building on University campus

The Bolton One facility is a £31 million, three-way partnership with Bolton Council and NHS Bolton situated on the university's campus. The university contributed around £7 million to the development. The purpose-built centre houses new health, science and sports teaching and research facilities – as well as a sports complex.[6]

Halls of Residence

The University has approved and recommends Orlando Village halls of residence, which is owned by McComb Bolton Limited.[7]

Other accommodation is provided by private landlords. The Cube on Bradshawgate was one such building; it was seriously damaged by fire in November 2019.[8][9] Eyewitnesses say the cladding on the building encouraged the spread of the fire. Manchester metro-mayor, Andy Burnham said, “It does have a type of cladding which does cause concern. There will be many people living in buildings with this cladding today who will be very worried.”[10] Residents in buildings with the wrong cladding are very angry about lack of urgency for removing existing combustible panels. Matt Wrack of the Fire Brigades Union said, “It’s deeply troubling to see fire spread rapidly up a building’s exterior again – a shocking indictment of the government’s shameful inaction after Grenfell. This is not how any building should react to a fire in the 21st century, let alone a building in which people live. We need to end the deregulation agenda and the disastrous cuts to our fire and rescue service. It’s time for a complete overhaul of UK fire safety before it’s too late.”[11]

University Collegiate School

UTC Bolton, a university technical college sponsored by the University of Bolton was established at the university campus in September 2015. In November 2015 the UTC was officially opened by Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and named the 'Stoller Building' after the philanthropist Sir Norman Stoller.[12] In September 2020 the schoolwas renamed University Collegiate School. It is now a full secondary school sponsored by the university.

Growth and future plans

The university has also announced plans for a new £10m facility for Science and Engineering, which will house its Centre for Advanced Performance Engineering. Construction was set to begin following the completion of the UTC building in September 2015.[13]

There was also to be a renovation and expansion of the current campus through to 2017.[14]

In 2015 the university and Bolton Council announced plans for a new £40 million student village, which was planned to accommodate up to 850 students in the heart of Bolton town centre, facing the iconic Le Mans Crescent.[15]

International presence

The University has an academic centre in Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates and established international links with a number of overseas academic establishments in (Germany), China, Singapore, Malaysia, Malawi and Greece.[16]

Since 2009 the University of Bolton has had a partnership with Western International College Ras Al Khaimah with programmes available at Undergraduate and Postgraduate level.[17] In December 2011, the University of Bolton launched its academic centre in Colombo, Sri Lanka,[18] in partnership with the KES Group of Institutions.

Organisation and administration

Chancellors

On 11 July 2016 the Board of Governors announced the appointment of Lord St. Andrews as Chancellor. The Earl commenced his responsibilities in January 2017.[19]

Vice-Chancellors
  • 2005–present: George E Holmes

On 21 February 2015[20] The Bolton News reported that the Vice-Chancellor George Holmes had been provided with a bridging loan of £960,000 from University funds to assist him in moving home.

Academic profile

Reputation and rankings
Rankings
National rankings
Complete (2021)[21]127
Guardian (2021)[22]50
Times / Sunday Times (2021)[23]118
Global rankings
British Government assessment
Teaching Excellence Framework[24]Silver

As well as offering research opportunities, Masters and PhD degrees, it is known for its vocationally focused and industry-relevant taught degree programmes. Its courses include Business and Media programmes.

The Guardian ranks the University of Bolton in the top 50 universities in the United Kingdom [25] and within top 5 based on students' satisfaction with teaching.

The Times states: "The university is not research-driven, but engineering, architecture and the built environment, social work and social policy all contained some 'world-leading' research in the 2008 assessments".[26] The Times made this statement despite the fact that The Times ranking favors research driven universities.

In November 2014, it became the first University in the North West to become a Living Wage employer.[27]

The Eagle library

On 17 February 2016, it was announced that the University of Bolton would become the principal shirt sponsors of the Manchester Giants basketball team for the 2016 season. On 2 April 2016, the University of Bolton became again the sponsors of the Bolton Wanderers, in an agreement which was initially planned to last until Summer 2016.[28]

Student life

The University of Bolton has a diverse student population. Around 13% of home students are from ethnic minority communities, with about 7% of its students being classed as international. This portion of students come from 70 countries outside the UK.[29] The university also has a Chaplaincy that accommodates several different faiths.

Students' Union

The main Students' Union building is on Deane Road at the centre of the University Campus. As well as being home to the SU bar (The Vista) and the hub of many social events, the union provides numerous other roles, such as student support and advice (The Advice Unit), representation and sporting societies.

Sport

Bolton has many different sports teams competing in the BUCS leagues. Teams include: Basketball, Netball, Football, Hockey, Rugby League and Rugby Union.

Bolton One also offers students an eight-lane, 25-metre competition swimming pool, 50 foot climbing wall and sports hall.

See also
  • Alumni of the University of Bolton
  • Academics of the University of Bolton

References
  1. https://www.bolton.ac.uk/about/governance/
  2. url=http://www.bolton.ac.uk/AboutUs/KeyFacts/Images%202009-10/Student%20Numbers.xls |format=PDF|title=Financial Report Year Ended 31 July 2009|publisher= University of Bolton |accessdate=12 July 2013}}
  3. "Key Facts". University of Bolton. Archived from the original on 13 October 2006.
  4. "Where do HE students study?". Higher Education Statistics Agency. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  5. MacLeod, Donald (27 April 2004). "Bolton Institute gets coveted university title". the Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  6. "Welcome to Bolton One". University of Bolton. Archived from the original on 7 June 2015.
  7. "University of Bolton's Student Accommodation Provider". Orlando Village. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  8. "Bolton fire: crews putting out 'last pockets of fire' at student housing building". The Guardian. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  9. Williams, Rob (16 November 2019). "Kind bar staff helped desperate student get her emergency medication after Bolton fire". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  10. Bolton fire: Government warned over laminate cladding risk before student flat block blaze The Independent
  11. Grenfell United raises concerns over cladding after Bolton student fire The Guardian
  12. "Royal visit 2015: Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, to visit Bolton School and University Technical College at the University of Bolton". Bolton News. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  13. "University Board approves further £25 million investment in student teaching facilities – University of Bolton". Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  14. "University Board approves further £25 million investment in student teaching facilities". University of Bolton. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  15. "New student village for Bolton town centre – University of Bolton". Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  16. "Off Campus Locations". University of Bolton. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  17. "University of Bolton Academic Centre: Ras Al Khaimah". University of Bolton. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  18. "UK university to launch centre here in Dec". ITpro. 9 November 2011. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012.
  19. "University of Bolton: By Royal Appointment". Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  20. "University of Bolton gives £1m 'bridging loan' to vice chancellor so he can move to town". The Bolton News. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  21. "University League Table 2021". The Complete University Guide. 1 June 2020.
  22. "University league tables 2021". The Guardian. 5 September 2020.
  23. "The Times and Sunday Times University Good University Guide 2021". Times Newspapers.
  24. "Teaching Excellence Framework outcomes". Higher Education Funding Council for England.
  25. "The best UK universities 2021 – league table". Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  26. "Profile: University of Bolton". The Times. London. Retrieved 27 May 2009. (subscription required)
  27. "University a Living Wage leader – University of Bolton". Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  28. http://www.bwfc.co.uk/news/article/club-statement-university-of-bolton-new-shirt-sponsors-3037834.aspx
  29. "Student Profile". University of Bolton. Archived from the original on 2 November 2010.
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