Leeds Beckett University

Coordinates: 53°48′15″N 1°32′58″W / 53.80417°N 1.54944°W / 53.80417; -1.54944

Leeds Beckett University - LBU
Former names
 Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Polytechnic
Type Public
Established 1992 – gained University Status
1824 – Leeds Mechanics Institute
Endowment £139,022[1]
Budget £199.5M[2]
Chancellor Sir Bob Murray CBE
Vice-Chancellor Peter Slee[3][4]
Administrative staff
 3601[5]
Students 26,025 (2014/15)[6]
Undergraduates 21,565 (2014/15)[6]
Postgraduates 4,460 (2014/15)[6]
Location Leeds, England
Campus Urban
Colours Purple
Website http://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/

Leeds Beckett University (formerly Leeds Metropolitan University and Leeds Polytechnic) is a public university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, with campuses in the city centre and Headingley. The university’s origins can be traced to 1824, with the foundation of the Leeds Mechanics Institute. Leeds Polytechnic was formed in 1970, and was part of the Leeds Local Education Authority until it became an independent higher Education Corporation on 1 April 1989. In 1992, the institution gained university status. The current name was adopted in September 2014.[7]

The number of students is listed by the HESA 2014/15 data as the 20th largest in the UK out of 165.

History

Leeds Mechanics' Institute building, Woodhouse
A logo used by Leeds Metropolitan University in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The university traces its roots to 1824 when the Leeds Mechanics Institute was founded. The institute later became the Leeds Institute of Science, Art and Literature and in 1927 was renamed Leeds College of Technology. In 1970, the college merged with Leeds College of Commerce (founded 1845), part of Leeds College of Art (f. 1846) and Yorkshire College of Education and Home Economics (f. 1874), forming Leeds Polytechnic. In 1976, James Graham College and the City Of Leeds College of Education (f. 1907 as part of City of Leeds Training College) joined Leeds Polytechnic. In 1987, the Polytechnic became one of the founding members of the Northern Consortium.

After the Further and Higher Education Act came into effect in 1992, the Polytechnic became Leeds Metropolitan University, with the right to award its own degrees. In 1998, the university merged with Harrogate College, establishing the Harrogate campus until 2008 when the college left the university and merged with Hull College. In 2008 the university petitioned the Privy Council to be renamed "Leeds Carnegie University"; however, this was eventually dropped.[8] In 2009 a partnership with the University of North Florida was established to begin a student and faculty exchange programme.[9] The university also has an agreement with Bradford College by which it validates degrees for the college.

Name change

In 2013, it was announced that the Board of Governors had applied to the Privy Council to change the name to Leeds Beckett University,[10] after one of the university's founding colleges, Beckett Park, which in turn was named after Ernest Beckett, 2nd Baron Grimthorpe. The proposed change resulted in a backlash among students.[11] The Privy Council approved Leeds Metropolitan University's application to change its name to Leeds Beckett University in November 2013. The name change took place in September 2014.[12] The former logos of Leeds Metropolitan University were retained after the name changed, being adapted to fit the new name. Despite the name change, the university is often referred to as "the Met" or "the Poly" by local people. The Carnegie name is less commonly used by the university now but is still retained for the sporting faculty.

Campuses

City Campus

This comprises a number of locations on the northern side of Leeds city centre, largely between the Inner Ring Road and the University of Leeds campus. In addition to the former Polytechnic site, several other buildings have recently been acquired. These include: Cloth Hall Court, in the legal district of the city; Old Broadcasting House, the former home of the BBC in Leeds; Electric Press, a building on Millennium Square; and Old School Board, the birthplace of school education in Leeds. The latest additions for the 2008/09 year were the Rose Bowl, the new home of the Leeds Business School, opposite the Civic Hall and designed to reflect the facade of the Civic Hall and the Broadcasting Place complex, including Broadcasting Tower, a new set of buildings which fits in with the red stone brick buildings famous in Leeds and which provides teaching space for the Faculty of Arts, Environment and Technology and the Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design, as well as student accommodation. Two buildings on the site have been disposed of since becoming a university, the Brunswick building was sold and in 2008 demolished; it is now the site of the Leeds Arena. A further tower block has been sold and is now a Premier Inn. The remaining largely 1960s buildings of the former polytechnic were reclad in the early 2010s.

New high-rise student accommodation has been built around the City Campus and includes Opal Tower and the Sky Plaza. These are now the tallest buildings in the Northern half of the city centre.

Headingley Campus

The James Graham building seen across The Acre on the Beckett Park campus.

A 100-acre (40-hectare) campus sited in Beckett Park, Headingley. The oldest property on this site is the Grange, a 1752 farmhouse once occupied by John Marshall.[13] The site is mostly made up of low-rise 19th century buildings set around a central lawn. The site is in a park location and has many open areas on campus. In the 1990s, the university closed existing Halls of Residence on campus, converting the units to lecture theatres and teaching facilities. In 2006, the campus extended beyond the confines of Beckett Park to include the Carnegie Stand at the Headingley Stadium. This dual-purpose stand accommodates more than 4,500 spectators, and also provides teaching rooms and a hall. After bulldozing R.W.Rich Hall,[14] a student hall of residence built in the 1960s, the Carnegie Village was opened in August 2009, providing on-campus accommodation for 479 students.[15] The Beckett Park campus is connected to the city centre by Headingley railway station which is a short walk from the campus. Bus routes on Otley Road and Kirkstall Lane are also close by.

The Yorkshire and Humberside Japanese School (ヨークシャーハンバーサイド日本語補習校 Yōkushā Hanbāsaido Nihongo Hoshūkō), a weekend Japanese educational programme, is held at Macaulay Hall.[16]

Beckett Park Campus

Accommodation

Sugarwell Court residences in Meanwood.

The university provides 4,500 bedrooms in a variety of locations and all first year undergraduates are guaranteed a place in university accommodation, so long as Leeds Beckett University is the student's first choice university.[17]

Opal 3 student residences in Leeds city centre are shared with the University of Leeds.

Carnegie Village was newly built in September 2010 and provides Passivhaus standard townhouses and apartments at Headingley Campus. The largest hall is Kirkstall Brewery on Broad Lane which has places for over 1,000 students and is about 2 miles (3 kilometres) from the Headingley campus. As its name suggests, it is a former brewery property, but is mostly modern blocks. The second largest is Sugarwell Court, in Meanwood, which is about 1.5 mi (2.4 km) from the City campus, and accommodates 388 students. This is also a converted industrial site.

Two of the most popular accommodation buildings are next to each other in Burley near The Leeds Studios and 0.8 mi (1.3 km) from City Campus. Formerly owned by Opal Property Group and now owned by Greystar, they are Marsden House (previously Opal 1) and Leeds Student Village (previously Opal 2).

Accommodation types not owned by the university vary. Across North Leeds there are many sites which are primarily low-rise buildings, often converted from a former industrial use. The growing number of sites around the city centre has led to the building of new highrise complexes, these include CLV Leeds (previously Opal 3), The Skyplaza and Broadcasting Tower.

Organisation and governance

Peter Slee joined the university as Vice Chancellor in September 2015, succeeding Susan Price, who had been in post since January 2010.[18]

The current Deputy Vice Chancellors are Paul Smith (Strategic Development), Andrew Slade (Research & Enterprise) and Phil Cardew (Academic).[19]

Reputation and rankings

Rankings
THE[20]
(2016/17, national) 		77
THE[21]
(2016/17, world) 		601-800
Complete[22]
(2017, national)		 114
The Guardian[23]
(2017, national)		 114
Times/Sunday Times[24]
(2017, national)		 114

In November 2006, the university won the award for "outstanding contribution to the local community" at the annual higher education awards ceremony hosted by The Times Higher Education Supplement. It also came second in the main category, "the university of the Year", which was won by the University of Nottingham. In this category, the university was highly commended for its "low-charging, high impact" strategy.[25]

In June 2007, the university was recognised for its environmentally friendly attitude by being ranked number one in the UK in the Green League 2007: a ranking of sustainability in the higher education sector, compiled by People & Planet.[26][27]

In June 2013, Leeds Beckett University became only the third university in the UK to achieve the Customer Service Excellence standard, a Government benchmark awarded to public sector bodies who demonstrate a commitment to driving customer-focused change within their organisation.[28]

In 2013, the University obtained the Gold Investors in People standard, one of only a handful of higher education institutions to do so.[29]

In January 2015, Leeds Beckett University entered Stonewall’s nationally-recognised league table of gay-friendly employers at number 51 in the rankings.[30]

Leeds Beckett University Repository

In common with many institutions in the UK, and globally, the university maintains an open access repository that comprises an Open Access research archive and an OER repository: A store of Open Educational Resources produced at Leeds Beckett that are freely available for reuse under a Creative Commons (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 UK: England & Wales) licence.[31]

Partnerships

The university has established a number of sporting and cultural partnerships, both in the UK and overseas.

Simon Lee embarked on a controversial programme of partnerships with external bodies during his time as vice-chancellor, which were dubbed as "rubbing shoulders" after the university took a majority stake in the Leeds Tykes[32] rugby club, renaming it Leeds Carnegie. It was subsequently revealed that the club signed Waisale Serevi after he had been paid for other work at the university.[33] The university sold its stake in April 2009.[34]

The university spent large sums on other partnerships, including £423,000 to the Northern Ballet Theatre[35] and £283,000 on the Irish Football Association.

In April 2014, the Quality Assurance Agency confirmed the quality and standards of provision at Leeds Beckett University.[34] In October 2009, the Quality Assurance Agency gave the university a "limited confidence" rating,[36] due to concerns over maintenance of academic standards. In 2009 Simon Lee resigned[37] following a series of controversies over the university's fees strategy, allegations of bullying[38] and foreign travel for his wife paid for by the university.[39] The chancellor, Brendan Foster, also resigned less than a month later. The controversies that led to these resignations formed part of the 29 July 2010 edition of the BBC Radio 4 documentary "Face the Facts".[40]

Sporting

Cultural

Students' Union

Leeds Beckett University Students' Union operates out of offices at both the Beckett's Park and Civic Quarter Campuses. Its live music venue has played host to bands such as Kaiser Chiefs, The Fratellis and We Are Scientists. The Union runs two bars, with one at each study site. A Student Advice service as well as being a source of volunteers working in the local community.[44] A third Student Union bar at the Kirkstall Brewery halls of residence was closed and discontinued in 2012.

People

List of Chancellors

List of Vice-Chancellors

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Leeds Metropolitan University Financial Statements for the year ended 31st July 2013" (PDF). Leedsbeckett.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Leeds Beckett University Financial Statements For the year ended 31st July 2014" (PDF). Leeds Metropolitan University. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Professor Peter Slee". Leeds Beckett University. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  4. ↑ Office, Press (1 September 2015). "Leeds Beckett VC takes up post". leedsbeckett.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  5. ↑ Staff Profile at April 2012 – from official website
  6. 1 2 3 "2014/15 Students by HE provider, level, mode and domicile" (XLSX). Higher Education Statistics Agency. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "Leeds Beckett University drops 'Metropolitan' name". BBC. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  8. ↑ Roberts, John (31 July 2009). "Leeds Met's name change put on hold as troubled university unveils its new head". Yorkshire Post. Johnston Press Digital Publishing. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
  9. ↑ "International Partners" (PDF). Leeds Beckett University.
  10. ↑ "Leeds Metropolitan aims to become Leeds Beckett University". BBC News. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  11. ↑ "Students' backlash at Leeds Met Uni name change plan". BBC News. 31 May 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  12. ↑ "Beckett given go ahead". Leeds Beckett University. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "Blue Plaque Unveiling at Beckett". Leeds Metropolitan University. 7 February 2007. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  14. ↑ "History and Heritage". Leeds Beckett University. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  15. ↑ "Carnegie Village open for business". Leeds Beckett University. 14 August 2009. Archived from the original on 23 February 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  16. ↑ "欧州の補習授業校一覧（平成25年4月15日現在）" (). Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Retrieved on 10 May 2014. "c/o Macaulay Hall, Leeds Metropolitan University, Headingley Campus, Leeds LS6 3QS, U.K."
  17. ↑ "Leeds Met Accommodation Service] Accommodation 2009" (PDF). Leedsmet.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  18. ↑ http://www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/news/0915-leeds-beckett-vc-takes-up-post/
  19. ↑ "Leadership and Structure". Leeds Beckett University. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  20. ↑ "World University Rankings 2016-17 - United Kingdom". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  21. ↑ "World University Rankings 2016-17". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  22. ↑ "University League Table 2017". The Complete University Guide. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  23. ↑ "University league tables 2017". The Guardian. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  24. ↑ "The Times and Sunday Times University Good University Guide 2017". Times Newspapers. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
  25. ↑ "Leeds Met – finalist in the Times Higher University of the Year award". Retrieved 24 August 2009.
  26. ↑ "People & Planet Green League 2007". People & Planet. Retrieved 17 June 2007.
  27. ↑ "Leeds Met tops green university league table". The Guardian. 15 June 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2007.
  28. ↑ "Commitment to customers recognised at Leeds Metropolitan". Leeds Metropolitan University. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  29. ↑ "Leeds Beckett University". Investors In People. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  30. ↑ "Presentation recognises Stonewall achievements". Leeds Beckett University. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  31. ↑ "Leeds Beckett Repository Open Search". repository.leedsbeckett.ac.uk. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  32. ↑ "In it for the long haul with sights on Europe". The Yorkshire Post. 3 April 2008. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  33. ↑ "Leeds Met exclusive: Fijian had started work when agreement drawn up". The Yorkshire Post. 15 September 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  34. 1 2 "Leeds Carnegie : A History". Leeds Carnegie. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  35. ↑ "Exclusive: Leeds Met's £423,000 bill for ballet sponsor deal". The Yorkshire Post. 17 December 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  36. ↑ "Quality Assurance Agency Higher Education Review". Leeds Beckett University. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  37. ↑ "Yorkshire university chief resigns as vice-chancellor". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  38. ↑ "LeedsMet Unison Website". Leedsmetunion.org. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  39. ↑ "Foreign travel of former v-c's wife under scrutiny". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  40. ↑ BBC. University Waste. Face the Facts. 29 July 2010
  41. ↑ "Rugby League News: New sponsor for Challenge Cup". Retrieved 19 January 2007.
  42. ↑ "Ground Breaking Ownership for Leeds Rugby". Leeds Rugby Limited. 14 May 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2007.
  43. ↑ "Familiar faces back in control of Leeds Carnegie to try and preserve top-flight dream". The Yorkshire Post. 15 May 2009. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
  44. ↑ "Volunteering Archives - Leeds Beckett Students' Union". Leeds Beckett Students' Union. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  45. ↑ "Chancellor". Leedbeckett.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  46. ↑ Hefce news 2003 Professor Wagner leads the development of a new enhancement academy
  47. ↑ "Vice Chancellor". Leedbeckett.ac.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  48. ↑ "HBO: True Blood: Alexander Skarsgård: Bio". Hbo.com. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  49. ↑ "Notable alumni". Thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk. Retrieved 29 September 2014.

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