http://www.online.edu/uop/uop.htm (PC Press Internet CD, 03/1996)
High Street, Paisley, PA1 2BE,
Scotland.
Tel : 041 848 3000
Fax : 041 887 0812
The University of Paisley has been at the forefront of educational development and excellence since its foundation in 1897 as Paisley Technical College and School of Art.
Long recognised as one of Scotland's leading institutions of higher education, Paisley's growth and innovation have been forged on a continuing commitment to vocationally oriented studies relevant to the demands of modern society.
The University's primary campus is situated in the heart of the Strathclyde Region of Scotland, with a second campus some 30 miles distant at Craigie in Ayrshire. Both are close to the "Silicon Glen" areas of high technology growth.
The University has full accredited status, and awards a full range of degrees and academic distinctions to rigorous national standards. It has achieved an excellent reputation for its undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Science and Technology, Engineering, Quality Management, Social and Management Sciences. Courses at Paisley have always been developed from a keen sense of awareness of the need to provide industry, commerce and the wider community with education and training of the highest quality and practical application.
The MSc / PgD in Quality Management is offered by the University of Paisley's Quality Centre which has "Centre of Excellence" status awarded by the Institute of Quality Assurance (I.Q.A.). This award requires the Centre to have extensive research and development facilities coupled with postgraduate teaching in the quality field. The Quality Centre brings together two resources with special interest in Quality - The Scottish School of Non-Destructive Testing, founded in 1974, and the Microelectronics and Quality Assurance Laboratory, founded in 1985. The Centre looks with pride at the partnerships it has made with local and international industry and commerce. Examples include company training schemes with the computer giant IBM, with National Semiconductor, Ethicon, Leyland-DAF, and with Scottish Enterprise, Glaxo, Digital Scotland, Motorola, Johnson and Johnson, Polaroid Camera, and Unilever.
International collaboration has been achieved in Russia with the Yaroslavl Polytechnic, together with training expertise in the establishment of small businesses and energy efficiency projects. There has been encouraging cooperation with the Taiwanese Government for students to come to the University, a collaborative venture with Festo Didactic AG, and a growing number of projects in the Middle East, Poland, Japan and France. In particular, Paisley has strong connections with the Japanese company Mitotoyo and with Renishaw : world leaders in high-tech metrology who have established a Centre of Excellence at the University.
The high quality courses now offered through Online Education in Hong Kong, are indicative of the exceptional caliber of learning with which the University of Paisley has been associated for almost 100 years.
Since its foundation nearly 100 years ago, the University has been at the forefront of educational development and today is recognized as one of Scotland's leading institutions of Higher education with a commitment to vocational applied studies professional studies
In its early years, the courses offered at the Paisley campus mirrored the industrial activity of the town. As a result, the interest and support of local industrialists ensured that its reputation grew steadily and, in 1950, it was designated a Central Institution. This recognition of its contribution to industry and commerce laid the foundation for rapid advances in its works. The years following 1950 have seen both physical and academic development. In 1966, degree and honours degree courses validated by the Council for National Academic Awards were offered for the first time leading to a rapid expansion in degree level work. At the same time Paisley began to build its research and postgraduate degree work. In the spring of 1992 the Government enacted the Further and Higher Education Acts for Scotland, England and Wales, effectively abolishing the binary division which separated Polytechnics from the University sector. Though an University, Paisley has retained its emphasis on vocationally oriented education, and intends to build further on the work which has ensured its expansion during the past century.
The quest for innovative courses that meets a defines needs and provide improved opportunities for access to higher education has resulted in very significant growth in student numbers in recent years. Today the University has over 8000 undergraduate and postgraduate students on both campuses. A further 8,000 people attend training part-time programmes, seminars and conferences. With some 1000 staff the University has a substantial impact on the local economies of Paisley and Ayr, while its wider activities contribute much to the well-being of region.
The University's new Faculty of Education will provide a centre of experience and knowledge in teaching and learning and further reinforce the overall commitment to providing the best possible learning environment for students. Faculty of Education staff will contribute to the development of programmes, not only where a direct link exists with course content but in all faculties where the development of a strategy to improve teaching and learning quality is important. For those undertaking teacher training programmes course delivery within an university environment remarks a fundamental change . Teacher training degree courses were traditionally offered by single subject institutions and students will benefit from an enhanced educational experience through exposure to a wider range of social and cultural influences. Public perception of the teaching profession will also be improved through a clearer appreciation of the university level of the courses.
The 1993 intake of students of the University at the Craigie Campus included the first cohort of a purpose-designed programme in Business Administration for holders of HNDs from Ayr College. Other courses in Business, Social Studies and Science are also planned and the University's presence in Ayr will allow the successful Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS) to be made available to the business and communities of Ayrshire , Dumfries and Galloway.
Established in 1964 in response to national teacher shortages, Craigie has long fostered a supportive and professional community, committed to the delivery of high quality vocational courses in partnership with schools. Staff will retain this fundamental mission whilst remaining receptive to new ideas and issues, and will actively seek to develop collaborations through the other academic departments of the University.
Whilst two new buildings have built on campus, pressures on space have meant the expansion of the main campus with the purchase and lease of halls in the town centre of Paisley. The Physical constraints of a town centre site mean that many of the University's expansion plans will be centered on the new Craigie Campus. This natural development will exploit the obvious potential offered by the spacious and modern site but will also fulfill the broader mission of expanding higher education in Scotland. At the same time, the University remains committed to its programme to develop residential accommodation for students at both sites. In Paisley, ambitious plans to establish Thornly Park as a major student 'village', with residential and sport facilitates, have received a major boost and a Craigie Campus expansion is also planned.
The University of Paisley now has to took to the future with the adoption of innovative teaching methods, development of Open and Distance Learning Programmes, continued development of wider access routes, such as Franchising, Articulation and CATS, and the increasingly international nature of its courses.
These developments will leave the University poised to expand student numbers further when funding becomes available to bring increasing numbers of school leaving group into higher education later in the decade. Above all however, the merger with Craigie College provides the strongest base for growth and development: a new geographical base; additional staff expertise and contacts; developing resources, excitement and enthusiasm driven by challenge will ensure that the University of Paisley is successful in satisfying its mission to deliver high quality vocational education to an ever widening audience, well into the next century.
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