Combined Universities in Cornwall

1. What is Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC)?

CUC is a unique partnership between Cornwall’s Higher and Further Education (HE and FE) providers which will massively increase opportunities for study, research and economic development in the County. By 2010, CUC will have created an additional 4,000 HE student places in Cornwall, producing 1,300 graduates a year. The main aim of CUC is to encourage the growth of higher education in Cornwall, to plan that provision, and to promote Cornwall as a good location for Higher Education.

The eight partners involved in the project are the universities of Exeter and Plymouth, University College Falmouth (known as Falmouth College of Arts until 1st March 2005), the Open University in the South West, the College of St Mark & St John, and the FE providers in Cornwall, namely Cornwall College, Truro College and Penwith College.

The link between FE (Further Education) and HE (Higher Education) is important, as this new partnership will enable students to study on more degree courses without leaving Cornwall.

CUC is built around a ‘hub and rim’ concept:

The Tremough Campus (the ‘hub’). Located on the outskirts of Penryn, near Falmouth, this campus has been occupied and developed since 1999 by University College Falmouth. The University of Exeter moved its existing provision in Cornwall, including Camborne School of Mines, to a new purpose-built centre there in October 2004. Both institutions are expanding the range of programmes they offer. The investment in academic facilities at the campus totals £50 million. In addition Exeter and Falmouth have invested £17.4 million in student residences, with 500 places. This was financed privately by the two institutions.

A further £15 million is being invested in new HE facilities at FE college sites across Cornwall (the ‘rim’), offering students a wide range of quality courses at a variety of locations.

In addition to the hub and the rim, the universities of Exeter and Plymouth have established jointly the Peninsula Medical School which took its first students in September 2002. Undergraduate students from the School spend part of phase 2 of their study at the Royal Cornwall Hospital. They will be joined by students from Plymouth University’s Institute of Health Studies, which is moving from Pool. The Institute delivers nursing, midwifery and health training in Cornwall.

2. Why is it needed?

Cornwall is one of the few counties in England without a large-scale HE institution of its own. Two specialist HE institutions already exist in Cornwall – Camborne School of Mines (part of the University of Exeter) and University College Falmouth. There is HE provision via the Open University and the College of St Mark & St John, and within the FE Colleges, most notably at Cornwall College and Truro College. Plymouth University offers nursing, midwifery and health degrees and diplomas, and Exeter runs a Department of Lifelong Learning and the Institute of Cornish Studies based in Truro. The Peninsula Medical School is also developing a base in Truro.

Taken together, however, this HE provision does not provide anywhere near the wide range of study or numbers of places that are available elsewhere in the country. The result is a massive outflow of young people from the County – many never return – with little inflow to compensate. CUC aims to provide a reason for more Cornish students to remain within the County and, crucially, to generate an inflow by attracting students from outside of Cornwall to study in the Duchy.

Having greater HE provision within Cornwall will of course provide extra revenue for Cornwall’s economy through spending by students and institutions. The CUC partners also represent a strong research capability. Research activity underlies a further major benefit in that HE institutions provide one of the most effective and sustainable routes to economic development. By attracting inward investment and producing spin-off companies, HE acts as an economic engine for the whole region.

3. Who’s paying for it?

Funding has come from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Objective One programme, the South West Regional Development Agency, the Higher Education Funding Council England (HEFCE) plus sums from charities and the CUC partners. The total capital investment so far adds up to £65 million. CUC is also supported by Cornwall County Council. In addition Exeter and Falmouth raised £17.4 million privately to pay for students residences at the Tremough campus.

4. Are you trying to create a University of Cornwall?

CUC differs from the traditional university model in being a partnership of eight HE and FE institutions which offer a diverse range of courses, research capabilities and services to business. CUC has not been created as a separate legal entity; it is therefore not a university in its own right, and it does not have its own degree-awarding powers. Our main aim is to increase Higher Education (HE) provision in Cornwall, and to do this as an association of HE providers.

Degrees will continue to be awarded by Exeter and Plymouth universities, the Open University and (from 1st March 2005) University College Falmouth. Degree courses offered through the other CUC partners are also validated by Exeter or Plymouth universities. This is the guarantee of excellence in teaching, research and working with business. The involvement of so many institutions in CUC is a strength of the project and gives customers a greater range of choice.

5. Courses

Courses are offered by the partner institutions of CUC, each of which is responsible for recruiting to its own courses. Once students have decided which course they wish to study then they will apply to the institution offering it. For part-time and postgraduate study they apply direct to the relevant institution. For full-time courses they apply by the normal UCAS (Universities & Colleges Admissions Service) process.

6. Are they CUC courses (what does it say on the certificate)?

No: CUC does not have degree-awarding powers. From 1st March 2005 University College Falmouth has had authority to award taught degrees in its own name; and the University of Plymouth, the University of Exeter and the Open University award or validate all of the other CUC courses, including those offered by the College of St Mark & St John, the Peninsula Medical School and the FE providers (Cornwall College, Truro College and Penwith College). The name on the certificate will therefore be Exeter, Plymouth, Falmouth or the OU. Research degrees at Falmouth carry the College name as well as Plymouth’s.

7. Where are the CUC buildings?

The Tremough Campus at Penryn.

Some £45 million has been spent on a stunning new building at Tremough. The unique design adds to Cornwall’s growing reputation for architectural excellence established through the Eden project and the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth. It features a landscaped roof and provides facilities for students of University College Falmouth and the University of Exeter. There is also a separate £17.4 million development of student residences.

A further £4.5 million is being spent on specialist equipment for the new building. £3.6 million of this is devoted to science, including research and development facilities for Biological Sciences (£1.4 million), for Environmental Materials (£1.1 million), and Geo-Planetary Surveying equipment (£370,000). In addition, £900,000 is being invested in new facilities for University College Falmouth’s Design Centre, which contains state-of-the-art studios for 3D and Spatial Design, Textile Design, Garden Design and Contemporary Crafts. The Design Centre opened in October 2003.

The FE Colleges

Some £15 million is being spent on new buildings or the refurbishment of existing structures. These include:

Cornwall College Group - Camborne Pool Redruth College
New Student Sports Facilities (Sept 2002)
Refurbished Science and Design Facilities (Sept 2002)
New Teaching and Learning Centre (Sept 2003)
New Student Support and Union Centre (Oct 2003)

Cornwall College Group - St. Austell College
New Student Study Centre in college as it relocates to another site (Sept 2004)

Cornwall College Group - Newquay
New Teaching Centre for zoological studies (April 2003)

Cornwall College Group - Saltash College
New Computing and Teaching Centre (Oct 2002)

Cornwall College Group - Duchy College Rosewarne
New Horticulture and Environmental Studies Centre (Oct 2002)

Cornwall College Group - Duchy College Stoke Climsland
New Lecture and Study Centre - landbased subjects (Nov 2002)

Truro College
New 3-storey building (Aug 2002)
New 3-storey building (June 2003)

Peninsula Medical School and Institute of Health Studies
In addition to the hub and the rim, the universities of Exeter and Plymouth have established jointly the Peninsula Medical School which took its first students in September 2002. With effect from 2004 undergraduate students from the School will spend part of phase 2 of their study at the Royal Cornwall Hospital. They will be joined by students from Plymouth University’s Institute of Health Studies, which is moving from Pool. The Institute delivers nursing and midwifery training in Cornwall.

8. What are the future plans relating to CUC?

Phase 2 of CUC, with further Objective 1 and Government funding, is about to start. This will cover the period of development until 2007. The Learning Resource Centre, social spaces and academic space for Falmouth and Exeter will all be extended at Tremough.

9. How many extra student places will be created as a result of the CUC initiative?

By 2010, the CUC initiative will have led to an additional 4,000 HE student places in Cornwall, producing 1,300 graduates a year.

10. How will Clearing work (in respect of CUC)?

It will work as part of the partner institutions’ usual Clearing procedures. CUC isn’t registered as a separate institution with UCAS and therefore does not have its own Clearing code.

11. How many extra jobs have been created as a result of the CUC initiative?

It is estimated that Phase 1 of CUC will create 600 jobs in total. These are a mixture of academic and support staff and jobs created in the community as a result of the initiative.

12. How will CUC help Cornwall’s economic prospects?

Many HE institutions list working with business as part of their mission, but CUC is designed from scratch with economic development work recognised as being of equal importance to teaching and research. The new foundation degrees have been designed specifically to meet the needs of local employers and to support economic regeneration.

Even excluding its specific economic development work, the two phases of CUC are forecast to create in excess of 1,000 jobs and add £31 million to Cornwall’s economy by 2010. These benefits will flow largely from the creation of an extra 4,000 student places. Added to this will be the economic benefits of CUC’s Business Development Strategy which aims to bring about a sustainable step change in the development of the Cornish economy. The first objective of the Strategy is to create a CUC Business Unit to co-ordinate, develop and market business support activities delivered in Cornwall by the CUC partners. The partners’ existing HE-level business support activities will also come under this Unit providing in effect a ‘One Stop Shop.’

The Business Unit is responsible for building capacity for the delivery of high quality, business support initiatives. These will fall into several categories:
Promoting Best Practice and World Class Competitiveness
Two specific sectors are being targeted initially - creative industries and environmental and earth sciences.
Design, technology, process and service innovation.
Aimed at high growth, knowledge-based businesses including graduate ‘start-ups’ and FE/HE ‘spin outs’.
Technology and Knowledge Transfer.
Involving a range of activities, including TCS (formerly the Teaching Company Scheme) and graduate/vacation project schemes.
Promoting and supporting business networking and clustering.
Activity will focus on the Creative Industries and Environmental and Earth Sciences. Business incubation. Provision of incubation expertise and physical space such as science parks/ innovation centres/studio space.
Student and graduate placement and graduate retention.
CUC expects to place students with companies to undertake development studies on an ongoing basis.
Provision of bespoke advanced training, workforce development and Continuing Professional Development. CUC will provide a seamless approach to workforce development and will expect to develop innovative teaching methods using distance learning.

A bid to Objective 1, supported by other funding agencies, for a total of £2 million has been approved to cover the cost of this service, which will be unique in the UK.

13. What’s in it for the participating institutions?

The project is designed to aid the economic regeneration of Cornwall and it is that aim which has brought together such a wide range of organisations. Clearly it also represents an opportunity for expansion for the HE and FE institutions involved.

14. How does the Tremough campus operate?

Exeter and Falmouth students share academic, sporting and leisure facilities, as well as student residences, at Tremough under an agreement drawn up between the two institutions. Some of the support staff are employed by a joint company of the two institutions called Tremough Campus Services.