7th May 1998

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Professor Fabian Monds, Provost of Magee College is also Pro-Vice-Chancellor with responsibility for the University's corporate planning, so he is in a special position to present an authoritative view on academic developments at the campus. He says:

"The Magee College campus has enjoyed unprecedented expansion since the opening of the University of Ulster. In 1984, we opened with a student population of 526 which had grown by well over 400% at the opening of the current academic year. During the same period, the overall student population of the University grew by only 78%, a very significant indication of our faith in Magee College and the excellence of its staff and students. This is despite the refusal of successive Governments to lift the cap on student numbers in Northern Ireland.

"I am pleased to announce that the pattern of sustained growth is set to continue. The full-time student population at Magee, now 1,719, is set to rise to over 2,000 in the year 2001/2, an increase of 22%. In tandem with this, part-time numbers, which this year are 1,080, are planned to rise to 1,217 over the same period, an increase of 13%. If the University's public campaign to persuade government to remove the cap on student numbers as recommended in the Dearing report is successful, the level of growth will be even greater than this.

"The background has been a level of investment in physical development that has been designed to create the highest quality of academic, social and recreational life for each of our students and for our staff. During the first three phases, we invested £13m, followed by another £6.3m in further improvements. Other exciting developments are being discussed.

"Such a level of development must be accompanied, for the good of the academic health of the campus, by continuing review of the course programme in the light of the University's overall corporate plan. In doing this, we keep a number of factors in mind. These include influences such as changes in the employment marketplace or where it is best to locate a particular course so that it can enjoy the benefits of partnership with practising professionals in the wider world. Also, some courses come to the end of their natural life and new courses begin as part of the process of renewal. Our overall aim is to employ to the best of our ability the skills and scholarship of our staff and the specialist facilities and resources given to us. These are all very important factors in the process of course planning and development and they underpin all the plans for continuing growth in our student population that I have announced above.

"The years ahead promise much in terms of the economic and social regeneration of the North West. We all anticipate the possibility of peace, a peace that Magee College, through its INCORE initiative and the Centre for Conflict Studies and its course programme, has helped to play a part in bringing about. I assure you that the University and its Magee College campus will continue to be in the forefront of progress."

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
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