Last September (2004) I gained a place at UCE studying Radiotherapy through Clearing. Initially I had wanted to do a different course at Derby University but spontaneously changed my mind about a week before the course was to start, much to the dismay of my family, as it meant we had to move.
So ... Read review
Advantages: P/T study, range of courses, low entry requirements Disadvantages: Scary area, poor reputation
Last September (2004) I gained a place at UCE studying Radiotherapy through Clearing. Initially I had wanted to do a different course at Derby University but spontaneously changed my mind about a week before the course was to start, much to the dismay of my family, as it meant we had to move.
So move to Coventry we did, and I started my course on 20th September.
I've decided to give each category 'marks out of ten' to ... .../>
~~~TRAVELLING~~~
I know this is not particularly relevant to the actual university but as mature students by far exceed 18 year old school leaver students, I figured that a large proportion of these students will live off-campus, that is away from the university itself. Also, probably 90% of the students I spoke to at UCE, told me they lived at least on the other side of Birmingham, if not further affield.
Last September (2004) I gained a place at UCE studying Radiotherapy through Clearing. Initially I had wanted to do a different course at Derby University but spontaneously changed my mind about a week before the course was to start, much to the dismay of my family, as it meant we had to move.
So move to Coventry we did, and I started my course on 20th September.
I've decided to give each category 'marks out of ten' to help summarise the whole op at the end.
~~~TRAVELLING~~~ I know this is not particularly relevant to the actual university but as mature students by far exceed 18 year old school leaver students, I figured that a large proportion of these students will live off-campus, that is away from the university itself. Also, probably 90% of the students I spoke to at UCE, told me they lived at least on the other side of Birmingham, if not further affield.
The methods of travelling to the University campus are: ~TAXI - from Birmingham City Centre is around £8-£9 (I did this on my first day as I got completely lost in B'ham and didn't want to be late). ~BUS - there are several buses from around the city centre (apart from the train station) to the campus, which run every 5-7 minutes throughout the day, and the bus fare is £1 though you can buy Day Saver tickets that allow you to travel all around B'ham for £2.70 ~TRAIN - I got the train as it worked out cheaper, and also because the nearest bus stop from B'ham New Street train station was a good 15 minute walk. My train ticket was £15 something for the week. There are two trains per hour and they have a strange habit of continually changing the times of these. :-\ Anyone who's familiar with New Street train station will know how much of a nightmare it is, and those who aren't. Imagine Victoria Station. The train station at Perry Barr is terrifying, but I will mention this further on... ~ CAR - Oh yes, some will have a car. Birmingham rush hour is appalling, but there is car parking on campus. MY SCORE 3/10
~~~PERRY BARR~~~ Perry Barr is situated approximately three miles north of Birmingham city centre. The campus is easy to spot from the main street in Perry Barr and there is a shopping centre opposite the campus which, admittedly, is quite impressive. There are a couple of banks, an Asda, a market, and a lot of studenty cheap shops such as TK Maxx, Next Clearance, Poundstretcher, B Wise etc, and a few places to get something to eat (Greggs, BK, McDonalds, Subways, cafes etc). The train station is tiny and located a short walk down a dirty road away from the campus and shopping centre. You almost miss the entrance as it is a tiny passageway located between two shops, one selling Class A drugs, the other guns. Sorry, no that's a lie...
There is a main road and roundabout separating the campus from the shopping centre and there are subways linking them. I originally come from 'up North' and have never seen subways before so I was a little afraid of these anyway; but on my first day at UCE, a tutor remarked to the group that we should not use the subways at any time, as a lecturer the year before had been shot in one, mid-afternoon! Hmmm. Moving on... MY SCORE: 3/10 (for the shopping centre)
~~~THE CAMPUS~~~ The campus is large and made from 1960s type brick designs. There are approximately 10 buildings and each main course group is based in one of them, plus the library, lecture theatre and admin buildings. The buildings have names alphabetically, i.e. Attwood, Baker, Cox, Dawson, Edge, Feeney, Galton, Howes, Jackson, Kenrick, Leyland.
My course was based in Cox, but the majority of my first-year lessons were on either the 5th floor or the 7th floor of Baker building. :-\. However, not to worry, there are three lifts... MY SCORE: 7/10
~~~FACILITIES~~~ LIBRARY - The library is not all that large, with two floors and part of one of them separated off into a computer access suite. However, every book I ever needed I managed to find here, so perhaps this has more of a reflection on the range of courses UCE does. There are 5-week, 2-week or 2-hour loans depending on how popular the book is, but you can renew in person or online just by entering your library card number. If you don't renew, you will pay a hefty fine (upto 75p for being part of a day late!).Queues are very very long at all times, but there are self-service machines where you can print your own tickets off to take out books, or return them. However, these didn't seem to work for many of the books I needed. Opening hours are good: 7.15am - 11pm Mon-Thurs and 9pm Fridays.
~IT FACILITIES~ There are a few IT rooms situated around the campus, and in the library, but I never actually used one because they were always packed.
~STUDENT SERVICES~ There is an abundance of information on Childcare, Disabilities, Careers, Finance information, Counselling etc; and leaflets are distributed everywhere as well as talks given several times throughout induction. There is also help available if you are struggling with the academic side of your course, e.g. tuition, and free pens etc if you forget to bring your own.
~ FOOD AND DRINK~ There are an adequate amount of eateries and drinkeries at UCE Parry Barr. These include: The Quad - hot and cold meals and snacks, including foods from around the world. Scholars Restaurant - a wider range of meals and sandwich bar. A couple of other snack and coffee bars. And there is a pub on campus, as well as a Union bar, serving alcohol and more snacks. MY SCORE: 7/10
~~~STUDENT UNION~~~ The Student Union is a group of students interested in improving the lives of all other students. They have a real place where everything is organised and there are the usual bars and cafes, shops, insurance outlets etc. They also organise concerts throughout the year, have a newspaper and radio station and there are several students located throughout the campus dishing out copies of The Sun newspaper free to all students.
As with all SUs, you can join their clubs and societies, examples such as kickboxing, football and even salsa; and the non-sporting DJ society, Bollywood and Curry society. I didn't join any clubs or societies so I don't know what goes on in one, but they are easily accessible to anyone who might be interested.
The Union also operates STAR - where a representative from each course is allocated to be the spokesperson for the fellow students on their course. They put forward any complaints students might have such as essay deadlines, how many hours of study they have to do etc. MY SCORE: 8/10
~~~ACCOMMODATION~~~ I didn't stay in University owned accommodation but I know a few students who did, and have visited several rooms. All accommodatiopn is self-catered, with laundry, cctv and bike racks; and there are basically two choices: ~The Coppice - 432 students inc. some with disabilities. Located on the Perry Barr teaching campus. All rooms are the same and don't have en-suite, and are priced at £64 per week. ~Oscott Gardens - 419 students. Also located on Perry Barr campus and all rooms are ensuite. Generally, this is a bit more upmarket than the Coppice accommodation, and rooms start from £76.50 per week depending on size.
Non-university owned accommodation is plentiful and cheaper, e.g £45-£55 per week for a room in a shared house, but students will have some travelling as they must be out of their minds to consider living privately in Perry Barr itself!! :-\ Sorry. MY SCORE: 8/10
~~~COURSES & TEACHING~~~ The UCE has a wide range of courses, in broad subject ares, for example Health and Community Care; Law, Humanities and Social Sciences; Computing and Information.
Typical entry requirements are low, e.g for the course I studied, you would need two grade 'C' A levels or equivalent. Many students (about 2/3)are mature and have undertaken an access course.
Official university rankings are quite poor for UCE. According to InterStudent.co.uk, they are placed 80th in the tables. For individual subjects, the university still appears to be doing not so well, e.g. UCE is ranked the 52nd best institution for Law, and 23rd for Computing, according to the Guardian (these subjects were chosen at random).
However, I found teaching to be good on my course. Staff were friendly and were always available if you required extra help, and I feel I have learned a lot from my brief spell on the course (I left due to moving 200 miles away with hubby's job). The course has increased my interest in the subject tenfold and I am hoping to gain a place on a similar course where I live now. MY SCORE: 5/10 (Despite my good teaching, the poor rankings let it down).
**Please note, there are several campuses of UCE, though Perry Barr is the biggest. Students of Nursing will be based at Edgbaston, and arty type courses will also be based elsewhere. I have only visited Perry Barr so cannot comment on any of the others.**
Advantages: BIAD has good facilities and good location Disadvantages: Most SU things happen at Perry Barr so the other campuses miss out (but we have the city centre!) Transprt between campus isn't too good.
...Art and Design, University of Central England in September last month. The other UCE reviews all seem to be based on the Perry Barr campus but I am studying at Gosta Green and living at the Westbourne Road campus, so hopefully this should give you an idea of what some of the other campuses are like.
Gosta Green:
The course I have recently started is based at the Gosta Green campus which is in the middle of the Aston University campus in the city ... ...and is walking distance from the Cambrian Hall accommodation.
The facilities available for my particular course (Visual Communication - photography) are extremely good and cameras can be borrowed free of charge for a few days at a time. The only downside of the course so far is that it is so expensive as you have to buy loads of film, photographic paper, chemicals etc (but that is to be expected). At the moment I'm only in 3 mornings a week, which ...
katmabel 24.10.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Central England University
Advantages: A large, well established institute with some excelent courses. Good location. Disadvantages: Being widely spread over several campusses reduced students interaction with others.
I've been a student and a lecturer at UCE and so have seen how it works from both sides of the fence. What's more I have had the benefit of inside knowledge. On student numbers UCE is actually one of the biggest universities in the country. Normally associated with the Perry Barr campus, about 3 miles north of Birmingham, there are actually many other sites, some of them are not immediately identifiable as being part of UCE. Take, for example, the ... ...the School of Jewelry, the Faculty of Nursing and the Technology Innovation Centre - TIC - (recently re-located to Millennnium Point - Brum's newest building), all of these are located near the city centre, away from the main campus. I believe there are about ten sites altogether. The fact that it is a former Polytechnic is actually a big advantage. Instead of being lectured at you will actually be taught - there's a significant difference. The staff ...
petehall 20.04.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Central England University
Advantages: Compact area of study, easily mix with others Disadvantages: Spread out campuses, not much interaction with these
The University of Central England, the former Birmingham Polytechnic has now been rebranded yet again as Birmingham City University to give it that metropolitan edge. Its main campus at Perry Barr is a 15 min walk across playing fields to where I live.
City University, by sheer student numbers is one of the largest Universities in the country, matching that of many of the 'red-brick' universities. Moreover, its size is not apparent when you arrive ... ...is the only university with campuses spread out over a city wide area (I think at least 6 campuses) totalling to about 25,000 students. Financially, it has been one of richer universities and certainly one of highest cashflow universities from the former polytechnics. And yes, it is true their was talk of taking some more of Aston University, but this was purely a financial arrangement since Aston University was struggling. However, it was always ...
makro74 24.07.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Central England University
Advantages: Friendly, accessable, good mix of people Disadvantages: Ageing Campus, area can be a drawback for some
Perry Barr Campus;
An ex 60's polytechnic building which has seen better days mixed in with newer, plusher buildings. Some buildings such as Baker are being renovated at the moment so I look forward to being pleasantly suprised, although demolition would seem the better option. Lecture rooms in the older buildings can be cramped with nowhere to put your bags and coats.
Plenty of canteens/cafes but with fairly expensive prices. Gone are the days ... ...car park £1 a day, also parking on nearby roads and the One Stop car park is often used by students.
The library is pretty good although it can be noisy at times. If your group all need the same books get in there early!
It's a friendly Campus with a good mix of students of all ages, backgrounds and cultures
Perry Barr itself;
A lot has been said about Perry Barr, basically it's a built up urban area on the northern tip of a deprived district, ...
insectseige 06.09.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Central England University
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Advantages: good location Disadvantages: poor admin, too many students not enough staff, bad feelings from staff to students
Having spent 3 years at the University of CentralEngland I feel I must tell others about this place. In a good location 3 miles from Birmingham city centre, this is about the only good thing going for the university. The students are spread all over the city, so there is no "student community" feeling to the place. The student's union is almost non-existent, doing very little for the actual students. What they do do appears to be very much for themselves, not for the good of the student body. There is a limited library on site which I found under-orders its books, resulting in most essential reading being permanently out of stock. Administration is almost a disaster, there is very little communication between staff and students and I ended up with the feeling that the students were only getting in the way. Overall, if you are ...
Advantages: Some very good lecturer's, so many courses Disadvantages: look at the league tables
I am currently a student at the university of CentralEngland. And I have to say it is sad what I have seen.
The university is no good, who's to blame the Lecturer's ar the students. In my opinion BOTH.
So many students waste the time of lecturer's and the lecturer's are not tough enough on the students. Onething that I have noticed in this uni, there is no discipline. In the engineering faculty the courses look to nice in the proppectus, they look so interesting. I honestly believe that that nearly all the engineering courses offered at this uni are top. BUT, the standard and level of eduacation is not so top. Alot of students do so little towards their studies and get away with so much. Exams and coursework are of a low standard for university level. The courses have so much to offer for the student but the outcome is shameful ...
Advantages: Good location,excellent cheap cake shop near by! Disadvantages: Poor communication between staff and students. Lack of equipment.
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The engineering department is understaffed and under equipped! At college we had an oscilloscope each, multi meter each etc.. at U.C.E. you are lucky to have an oscilloscope between 3 or 4 students, simple cutters are shared between 10 students.
Some lectures are very good and helped me a lot though my studies. However some are just the to get money and couldn’t care whether you pass your course or not.
The communication between staff and students is a joke! The admin there is a waste of time and they even lost some of my course work, luckily it was found last minute!!
The computers there are a sorry affair, some are good Pentium 3’s but the network is so slow you would think they are 486’s. Also there are not enough computers for the number of students.
I only went to this uni because they were waving the tuition fees ...
