Anglia Ruskin University Totally Explained

Everything about Anglia Ruskin University totally explained

Anglia Ruskin University, formerly Anglia Polytechnic, is a university in England, with campuses in Cambridge and Chelmsford.

History

Anglia Ruskin University has its origins in the Cambridge School of Art opened in 1858 by John Ruskin, which became the Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology (CCAT) from 1960. This merged with the Essex Institute of Higher Education in 1989 to form the Anglia Higher Education College. The merged college became a polytechnic in 1991, going by the name Anglia Polytechnic, which was then awarded university status in 1992.
   Initially Anglia Polytechnic University ("APU"), it retained the word polytechnic in its title because "the term ‘polytechnic’ still had value to students and their potential employers, symbolising as it did, the sort of education that [they] were known for – equipping students with effective practical skills for the world of work" although in 2000 there was some self-doubt about including the term polytechnic - it was the last university in the country to have done so. Wanting to keep the "APU" abbreviation, a suggestion put forward by the governors was "Anglia Prior University" (after a former Chancellor), but the Governors decided to keep polytechnic in the title.
   The University eventually reconsidered a name change, because "Nowadays, few remember the old polytechnics and technical colleges, and there [was] no longer any added value to students or faculty in retaining the word ‘polytechnic’ in [the] title. Indeed, it [was] sometimes seen as a hindrance, especially in non-vocational subject areas." From over two hundred suggestions and consultations with staff, students and local residents, communities and businesses, the University chose Anglia Ruskin University (thus incorporating into the title the surname of John Ruskin, who founded Cambridge School of Art in 1858, which eventually became the university), with the new name taking effect following the approval of the Privy Council on 29 September 2005.
   Past lecturers include Odile Crick, the wife of Francis Crick who with James Watson, aided by Maurice Wilkins and Rosalind Franklin, discovered the structure of DNA in 1953. Odile created the simple iconic image of DNA, as two intertwined ribbons linked by 10 rungs per turn of the double helix, that appeared in the scientific paper in the journal Nature announcing the discovery of the structure of DNA, and it has never been bettered since. The discovery of the "code for life" - the structure of DNA - was revealed to a few bemused drinkers at The Eagle pub in Benet Street in Cambridge in 1953 by Francis Crick and James Watson. Odile was a lecturer at CCAT, now Anglia Ruskin University (External Link

). The author Tom Sharpe was a lecturer in History at CCAT between 1963 and 1972 and Anne Campbell (External Link

), the Labour MP for Cambridge from 1992 to 2005, was formerly a lecturer in Statistics at CCAT .

Organisation

There are five Faculties of study at Anglia Ruskin University:

Ashcroft International Business School
Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences
Faculty of Education
Faculty of Health and Social Care
Faculty of Science and Technology

Faculties are sub-divided into departments or divisions.
HSHS, the former Homerton School of Health Studies, was acquired by the University from the Trustees of Homerton College in 2005, after working closely in partnership for a number of years. The two organisations have now integrated to form the Faculty of Health and Social Care.

Profile and reputation

Anglia Ruskin University is the 13th largest university in the United Kingdom, and the largest provider of face-to-face part-time training in the country.
Recent evaluation discrepancies were noted. The Guardian University Guide 2008 ranked Anglia Ruskin 72nd of 119 institutions in UK, a gain of 32 places compared to last year ranking. However, The Sunday Times University Guide ranked Anglia Ruskin 123 over 123 institutions and The Times Good University Guide ranking was 104 over 123 institutions. The Sunday Times University Guide rely heavily on the undergraduate student evaluation performed annually (NSS). Anglia Ruskin fared "comparatively badly" mainly due to poor ratings for teaching organisation and management. The Sunday Times University ranking is basically based on the NSS survey which even students from University of Cambridge are arguing that results are meaninglessness. NSS survey is widely contested and boycott by several student unions. Despite this, there has been recent controversy over the NSS at Anglia Ruskin when in 2008 it was reported that students had been pressured into giving good marks to the university.
Anglia Ruskin's Cambridge Campus is home to one of only 5 Optometry schools in England (with there being only 8 in the whole of the UK) having its own Optometry Clinic offering free eye tests and a full range of optometric services to members of the public throughout the academic year. (External Link

) Anglia Ruskin's undergraduate course in English was rated third in the UK by The Guardian in 2006, behind Cambridge and Oxford. and they still boast about this on the departmental website, however in the latest Guardian data their English department is ranked 25th, a fall of 22 places in 3 years.
The University was, in June 2007, rated joint 8th in the first "Green League" of British universities, compiled by People and Planet for The THES. Factors taken into account in the survey included carbon emissions and recycling rates. Stephen Fry, on receiving an honorary degree from Anglia Ruskin, compared the University favourably with Cambridge University where he'd received his own undergraduate degree, saying ""Here at Anglia Ruskin University they've the advantage of not having all that pressure and not being surrounded by idiots who think they're in Brideshead Revisited but still have all the same architecture and facilities".

Partner organisations

Anglia Ruskin's regional partners are: Braintree College, Cambridge Regional College, Cambridge Theological Federation, Chelmsford College, The College of West Anglia, Epping Forest College, Harlow College, Huntingdonshire College, Norwich School of Art & Design, Peterborough Regional College, SEEVIC College, Suffolk Postgraduate and Research Centre and Thurrock & Basildon College.
Anglia Ruskin is also partnered with Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia in a student exchange program. This allows credits earned at one university to count towards the other's degree programs. A similar agreement is in place with Valparaiso University in the United States and University of New Brunswick in Canada.
Anglia Ruskin University is a founder member of the Cambridge Network. (External Link

)

Notable alumni

Alumni include Pink Floyd members Syd Barrett and David Gilmour. Other alumni include Patricia Scotland, Britain's first black female QC, Ronald Searle (creator of St Trinian's), Harry Potter illustrator Thomas Taylor, Australian architect Harry Seidler (Cambridge Polytechnic) and Michael Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft. Kafeel Ahmed, a suspected terrorist in the 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack, was a research student in computational fluid dynamics at Anglia Ruskin.

Further Information

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