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Our name change - from UCE to Birmingham City University
On the 29th of September it was officially announced that the University of Central
England would change its name to Birmingham City University, much to the disappointment
of many of the university's students. It had been under discussion for a long time,
and three options had been given, two of them clearly less appropriate. The options
were:
- Birmingham City University
- Birmingham Metropolitan University
- Birmingham Chamberlain University
UCE to BCU
On Saturday 29th, the following email was sent from our Vice Chancellor, David Tidmarsh:
Dear Student,
A new name for the University – and new developments for you
Your University is going through a period of exciting growth and development, which
includes a change of name to Birmingham City University. When you come in
or log on, on Monday 1st October you will see the first new signs going up.
The University has done well under its University of Central England title, though
we have huge ambitions for the future.
Through our research and consultation exercise, we have confirmed that by using
the shorter, stronger title of Birmingham City University, we will have a more recognisable
and powerful name that will give us a much stronger identity in the market place.
We believe that we will all benefit if the University is more easily recognised
for its achievements by using a shorter, stronger name.
This is a name that clearly identifies both our status and location in Birmingham
and also chimes well with our mission to be a centre of excellence in learning,
creativity and enterprise, promoting economic, social and cultural well being.
Importantly, we believe that we will all benefit – including past, current and new
students – by adopting a title that ensures the University and its achievements
are more widely and easily recognised.
It will obviously take a while for our new name and new identity to be applied across
all areas but we are sure that it will soon become familiar and a welcome asset
to the University’s image.
University Awards
Students graduating after September re-sits this year will graduate under the UCE
name – the name of the University throughout all their time here. All UCE award
holders will be able to obtain a certificate linking their UCE award with Birmingham
City University.
Students graduating from January 1st 2008 will have an award from Birmingham City
University.
All award holders will be able to state on their CVs that they obtained an award
from the University of Central England (now Birmingham City University), making
it clear that the two institutions are the same. We will make sure that references
and confirmation of awards for employers, from the University, also make the link
between the two institutions clear.
The University’s Future
As one of our many ambitions, our long-term estates plan will create a major new
city centre campus at Eastside, near Millennium Point and we are committed to further
investment at Perry Barr and Westbourne Road, to improve and enhance facilities
at both campuses. We will be investing £250 million in new student facilities, which
will include social and recreational developments at all three sites. These will
include a new gym and sports hall at Perry Barr by summer 2009, as well as new IT
and learning and teaching improvements.
We are committed to taking the University forward in a new direction and the quality
of your student experience is of paramount importance to these plans. We will work
in partnership with the Student Union who will be involved in all relevant committees,
helping us to achieve and deliver our vision. We will also keep in regular communication
with you all as we move forward, letting you know what’s happening and how the plans
are progressing.
To help us, we have introduced new ways of keeping in touch with you this year:
- Digital signage screens will be installed in all buildings to relay course and Faculty
information as well as messages about the University
- You will access the new student intranet every time you log on and that will broadcast
messages and news items of interest to all students
- Your University e-mail address is being updated so that it will be easier for you
to remember and use
- We will be using your e-mail to send information and messages to you
- We will publish newsletters giving news and updates on our development plans
Of course, we do hope that you will continue to let us know your views on the new
developments, through your elected Student Representatives and the Student Union
as well as student surveys.
We hope that you enjoy your next year with us and join us in looking forward to
an exciting future for your University.
David Tidmarsh
Vice Chancellor
Follow up
On Wednesday 17th October the following email was sent, to follow up on the original
name change accouncement and answer some questions that have been asked about the
BCU name change.
Dear Students
Thank you for all the comments you have sent to us about the University’s change
of name.
Some of you will already have received a direct response to your comment or the
query you raised with us, but many of you raised similar points so we are responding
here to the most commonly asked questions.
Meanwhile, if you want to comment on the name change, or have a question that isn’t
covered here, please write to us at namechangecomments@bcu.ac.uk
Here are our responses to the comments and queries you have most often raised with
us so far:
Question: Why does the University need a new name?
Answer:
For all the reasons outlined the Vice-Chancellor’s letter. Briefly, we believe the
new name clearly identifies where we are and links us to the city. This will ensure
that the University and the achievements of its students are more easily recognised.
Question: Why was Birmingham City University chosen? I didn’t vote for it.
Answer:
We consulted widely on the new name and current, past, future students, staff and
other stakeholders were all asked to express a preference from three possible names:
Birmingham City University, Birmingham Metropolitan University and Birmingham Chamberlain
University. Overall, the preference was:
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Birmingham City University
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46.6%
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Birmingham Metropolitan University
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37%
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Birmingham Chamberlain University
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14.2%
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Current, future and past students voted as follows:
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BCU
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BMU
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BChambU
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Current UK & EU students
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47.1%
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31.3%
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13.7%
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Current International students
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50.5%
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36.9%
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9.7%
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UK & EU Alumni
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43.5%
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35.9%
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18.7%
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International Alumni
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52.6%
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30.5%
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16.8%
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UK & EU Applicants
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52.4%
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31.8%
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15.3%
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International Applicants
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52.9 %
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36.9%
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10.5%
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Question: This must be costing lots of money! Why can’t that be spent on student
facilities?
Answer:
The cost is being kept to an absolute minimum. For example, instead of ordering
new stationery and leaflets we’re using stickers to replace the name and logo. Signage
will be replaced soon but overall we envisage spending no more than 0.13% of our
annual turnover on direct costs arising from the name change.
We are committed to improving student facilities and over the next five years we
will be investing £250m in new facilities for teaching and learning as well as social
and recreational facilities.
Question: That’s good news about providing a gym, but what about indoor sports facilities?
Answer:
As well as a gym we will build a Sports Hall at Perry Barr, with facilities for
activities such as 5-a-side football, badminton and fitness classes. This should
be in place by summer 2009.
We will also provide access to fitness facilities at Westbourne Road and the major
new development in the city centre, around Millennium Point.
Question: Does the name mean we’re linked to the football club?
Answer:
We have no special relationship or association with Birmingham City Football Club.
We believe there’s more to our city than football!
Question: We’ve just bought clothing with the UCE name on it. Why did you keep selling
them?
Answer:
The Students Union sells University branded clothing and they have told us that
they mentioned the forthcoming name change to all customers.
Question: What about my UCE sports kit?
Answer:
This is also provided by the Students Union, but we are talking to them about the
necessary changes.
Question: And what about my UCE health care uniform?
Answer:
Health Care uniforms will not be replaced but we are looking at options for using
badges with the new name and logo.
Sally Westney
Pro Vice Chancellor
Student opinion
Some very strong feelings have been voiced regarding the UCE to Birmingham City
name change - some of these are shown below.
"I still want to know exactly why the name was changed. It's not going to give the
uni a 'new identity' at all. At least UCE had its own identity. Birmingham City
University basically gives the impression that it's in Birmingham and probably not
as good as Birmingham uni."
- J.B.
"The name change was based on about 8% of the student population saying that the
other 2 choices were worse. That's a pathetic amount by any count and gives the
uni no reason to change at all, the money would have been better spent on useful
things - the conservatoire still has no useable drum kits in the studios for a start."
- Anon
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"I want to know why they named us after a football club and why the logo uses the
same animal as Aston Villa. I thought this was meant to be an academic institution,
not copying the local football teams! Surely the people who teach graphic design
could've thought of something better than what looks like a 'cut & paste' job."
- C.P.
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to be contacted please include your contact details. |
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