Combined Universities in Cornwall

The Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC) is a project to provide higher education in Cornwall, one of the few counties in the United Kingdom not to have a university within its boundaries, and also one of the poorest areas of the country in terms of GDP per head. Developed in the early 2000s, following the work of the Camborne and University of Cornwall Support Group (a pressure Group of largely Cornish graduates,professionals founded (1997)to seek a collaboration of all HE providers in Cornwall to work towards a future free standing Cornish University and to oppose the loss of the CSM from the depressed towns of Camborne/Redruth.), with funds from the European Union Objective One and the South West Regional Development Agency, the CUC serves to fight the "brain drain" of students to the rest of the United Kingdom. Historically most Cornish students have had to leave the county to obtain higher education, and then never returned to contribute their knowledge and skills to the Cornish economy. The establishment of CUC is itself a contribution to the expansion of the Cornish economy, and all proposed developments within the CUC umbrella are required to show how they will contribute to Cornish prosperity.

Like a number of other recent projects in UK higher education, CUC involves collaboration between several institutions, but it is probably unique in the number and range of institutions involved. It is conceived on a "hub and spokes" model, with different institutions offering different kinds of provision in different locations. The CUC central administration is based at Trevenson House in Pool, Cornwall, and the "hub" and "rim" sites have been placed at a number of different locations.^[1]There are in fact two "hubs". One is the Tremough campus, originally developed for the then Falmouth College of Arts (now University College Falmouth, UCF). Here degrees are offered by UCF and by the University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus; the University of Exeter has international standard research teams located here. Halls of residence are provided, and the campus attracts students on a national and international basis, though it is also intended to be attractive to local students. The second hub is the "health spa" at the Royal Cornwall Hospital, Treliske site, which provides facilities for the Peninsula Medical School (a joint operation of the University of Exeter, the University of Plymouth, and the National Health Service in Devon and Cornwall), and for the Institute of Health Studies of the University of Plymouth, which teaches nursing and other subjects allied to medicine.

The "rim" consists of three tertiary institutions: Cornwall College, Truro College and Penwith College, which in addition to their further education work offer a range of higher education courses from subdegree to master's degree level under franchise from the University of Plymouth.^[2][3] These colleges are part of the University of Plymouth Colleges network (UPC), and their courses are particularly (though not exclusively) aimed at encouraging wider participation in higher education by students from the South West of Britain.^[4]

The CUC partnership and institutions

CUC exists as an unincorporated association^[5] between the following universities and colleges^[6][7]:

• University of Exeter, including the Camborne School of Mines and the Institute of Cornish Studies
• University of Plymouth
• Peninsula Medical School (a joint operation of the two universities)
• University College Falmouth
• Cornwall College
• Penwith College
• Truro College

References

1. ^ CUC n.d. CUC Structure. Available Online at: http://www.cuc.ac.uk/about-cuc/cuc-team.htm (visited 18/06/09)
2. ^ Cornwall College 2009. University level courses at Camborne. Available Online at: http://www.cornwall.ac.uk/cc/index.php?sitesig=cc&page=shared&subpage=_Course_Finder&pagetype=2&tab=&searchfield=&keyword=ALL&type=HEF&x=39&y=8 (visited 18/06/09)
3. ^ Truro College/Higher Education 2008. Education - Teaching Courses Available Online at: http://www.trurocollege.ac.uk/page.php?pageID=442 (Visited 18/06/09)
4. ^ University of Plymouth n.d. University of Plymouth Colleges - Welcome. Available Online at: http://www.plymouth.ac.uk/pages/view.asp?page=6738 (visited 18/06/09)
5. ^ CUC n.d. CUC Structure. Available Online at: http://www.cuc.ac.uk/about-cuc/cuc-team.htm (visited 18/06/09)
6. ^ CUC n.d. BBC 2005. £55m expansion for universities. Available Online at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/4377061.stm (visited 18/06/09)
7. ^ CUC n.d. About CUC. Available Online at: http://www.cuc.ac.uk/about-cuc.htm (visited 18/06/09)

External links

• [1] Official website
• [2] OFSTED Report (on the FE provision)

External links

• Combined Universities in Cornwall official site