Based at Ormskirk, near Liverpool, Edge Hill is one of the fastest growing universities in the UK, as well as one of the newest. It has almost doubled its complement of students since the millennium to reach the 20,000 mark. Applications increased three-fold in that time, culminating in a 13 per cent rise in 2008, although growth had stalled when the official deadline passed for courses beginning in 2009.

Development

There are plans for significant expansion with the purchase of land adjoining the existing site, but the next generation of students will have to make do with improvements to the current campus. Over £100 million has been spent on it already and more is on the way. A £14-million home to house the Faculty of Health, the SOLSTICE e-learning centre and a 900-seat theatre were completed in 2007. A new £8-million Business School opened early in 2009 and additional student residences will be ready for the new academic year.

Although university status arrived only in 2005, Edge Hill has been training teachers since the 19th century. Having moved to its 75-acre landscaped campus in the 1930s, it has long since expanded into other subjects, but it remains the largest provider of secondary teacher training and courses for classroom assistants. It has also won the lion’s share of funding to deliver further training for qualified secondary school teachers.

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Other big recruiters are health, business, sport and media courses. A £5-million expansion of resources for the performing arts opened in 2005 and there are industry-standard facilities for animation, TV and other media areas. Nursing, midwifery and other health care programmes were commended by inspectors in 2005 and the university’s primary and secondary teacher training courses were rated as outstanding by Ofsted in 2007/08.

Courses

Courses are determinedly job-related – three-quarters of graduates leave with professional accreditation. Among the latest additions is Chinese studies, which is available as a joint honours programme with English or business.

All students have a personal tutor, as well as access to counsellors and financial advice. Satisfaction levels have been above average in the National Student Survey, with good scores for students’ personal development, as well as for assessment and feedback – the main bone of contention for undergraduates at most universities. Law and criminology produced by far best results, with 100 per cent overall satisfaction among final-year undergraduates.

Location

Beyond Ormskirk, there are seven satellite campuses in Liverpool, Manchester and other parts of the North West to facilitate local learning. The largest is based in the grounds of University Hospital Aintree, where students in the Faculty of Health can see at first-hand how a busy hospital runs. In addition, a range of further education colleges in the North West teach the university’s Foundation degrees.

Access

Four in ten undergraduates have a working-class background and almost a quarter come from areas without a tradition of higher education. Almost two thirds of the university’s fee income goes on bursaries and outreach activities. Edge Hill won an award for a student finance support package that rewards achievement, as well as encouraging students to complete their studies, rather than simply offering incentives for enrolling. The dropout rate has been falling: the latest projection of 18 per cent is only slightly above the national average for the university’s courses and entry qualifications.

There are almost 700 hall places on the Ormskirk campus, with a further 144 due to be completed for the 2009-10 academic year, and 25 acres of sporting facilities. The £3.9-million Sporting Edge complex, which was part funded by a Lottery grant, is open to staff, students and the local community. The university has been chosen as a pre-Olympic training centre for athletics, road cycling and archery.

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