Civic Universities
Often a bit older (founded before the 1930s), civic universities are based in a town. Often they’re on a campus in the city centre, such as Newcastle — no green expanses, but only a short step from the shops. Or there’s Manchester, and Manchester Metropolitan, all civic universities on what’s basically the same super-campus — the largest educational complex in Western Europe.
But many civic universities are made up of individual buildings dotted about town or in small groups. That’s no problem if it’s a small city and you can get around them easily enough — but if you’re in London, say and the different parts of the university are right across town, well, then you’re in multi-site university territory.
Being at a civic university means it’s more important to like your host city. It’s where you’ll spend your time and your money. If you get it right, it can offer the best of both worlds — the cosy community of student life with the wider horizons (and opportunities) of the real world.
It’s also more important at a civic university that your host city likes you. In some places, students are about as popular as an undertaker in a terminal ward. There are cities where it’s so bad that student-bashing has been declared a local sport.
Most places, fortunately, aren’t that bad and there are plenty of towns where students (and their money) are welcomed into the bosom (and pockets) of the local community, either as honoured guests or as part of the city’s heritage (and economy). It’s what they call ‘town/gown relations’.
A few examples: Bristol, Edinburgh and Newcastle.
Last updated on: 21 May 2008