The University of Hertfordshire (informally Hertfordshire) is a public research university in Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield Technical College, was founded in 1952 and was identified as one of 25 Colleges of Technology in the United Kingdom in 1959. In 1992, Hatfield Polytechnic was granted university status by the British government and subsequently renamed University of Hertfordshire. From the time it was awarded university status, Hertfordshire's enrolment has steadily increased. As of 2013, it has 25,130 students and 2,358 staff, 812 of which are academic members of staff.It has more than 5,200 international students and a global network of more than 160,000 alumni. Hertfordshire is a member of Association of Commonwealth Universities and University Alliance. The university has an annual turnover of £234m.
The university's academic activities are organised into 11 schools, within which there are around 50 academic departments and 24 research centres. The university has a unique history in training aerospace engineers.The university offers courses in architecture, astronomy, business, computing, education, engineering, humanities, natural sciences, pharmacy and social sciences. Hertfordshire is recognised as internationally excellent and world leading for research in the field of History.
The University of Hertfordshire is recognised as one Hertfordshire's largest employers with over 2,700 staff and a turnover of more than £235 million. With a student community of over 24,500 including more than 2,000 international students. The university exhibits an international character with 85 countries represented in its student body. It also has a global network of over 165,000 alumni. It has good transport links to the rest of the UK, with London only 25 minutes by train, and the University's own bus company providing student transport.
The original campus for the university was at Roe Green in Hatfield, where it was founded as a technical college. The Gape family of St Michael’s Manor in St Albans owned the land at Roe Green from the late 17th century. In the 1920s they sold it to Hill, a farmer, who then sold it to Alan Butler, chairman of the de Havilland Aircraft Company who lived at Beech Farm nearby. In 1944 he donated ninety acres of land at Roe Green to be used for educational purposes.
In 1946 the Ministry of Education approved plans for a technical college and secondary technical school on the site. In 1948 building commenced. The first principal Dr W.A.J Chapman started on the 1 January 1949 and in spring 1952 the 33 full-time and 66 part-time teachers were appointed. Hatfield Technical College opened with 1,738 students in September 1952 and in December officially opened by the Duke of Edinburgh. It was the first large technical college to be constructed in England after the war. Students attended the college on part-time or full-time courses.
In 1958 it was renamed Hatfield College of Technology and by 1960 offered four-year sandwich diplomas in technology. In 1961 it was designated a regional college in England and Wales by the Ministry of Education. The governors purchased a digital computer at a cost of £29,201 in 1962 so that a computer science degree could be set up. The Council for National Academic Awards was formed in 1965 and Hatfield College was recognised for 13 honours degree courses.Sir Norman Lindop became the Principal of the College of Technology in 1966. A year later L.E. Haines was made Chair of Governors, but died shortly afterwards and was replaced by F. Bramston Austin. In the same year Bayfordbury is acquired for the college.
In 1969 Hatfield College of Technology became Hatfield Polytechnic, offering honours degree courses in technology. The next year an observatory was built on the Bayfordbury Campus. Wall Hall and Balls Park Teacher Training Colleges merged in 1976 to become Hertfordshire College of Higher Education. In the same year Hatfield Polytechnic took over Balls Park. By 1977 more than ten per cent of the 4000 came from more than forty different countries. The Students’ Union Social Centre opened in 1977.
In 1982 Dr John Illston succeeded Sir Norman Lindop as the director. A sports hall was built on the Hatfield Campus in 1984 and the number of students in that year was more than 5000. The number of staff, in the same year, had increased to 824.
Professor Neil Buxton became its director in 1987. The following year, Sir Ron Dearing and Professor Buxton signed an agreement that gave the polytechnic accreditation from the Council for National Academic Awards. Hatfield was one of only 21 polytechnics, colleges and Scottish Central institutions to be accredited at the time. Hatfield was also, in that year, one of eight polytechnics accredited for research degrees. In 1989 it was given corporate status.
After John Major announced in 1991 that polytechnics were to be abolished, Hatfield Polytechnic announced its intention to apply for university status. In 1992 it became the University of Hertfordshire and Sir Brian Corby became the first Chancellor.[16] It was the first university to run a bus company by making Uno bus public. The Hertfordshire College of Health Care and Nursing Studies and the Barnet College of Nursing and Midwifery merged with the university in 1993.
In 1994 the St Albans Cathedral was chosen to hold the university's graduation ceremonies. The same year saw the first publication of league tables and Hertfordshire was named as the top new university. In 1995 its law school moved to St Albans. Sir Ian MacLaurin was appointed chancellor in 1996 and in 1997 the Learning Resource Centre opened.In 2000, Olivia de Havilland, cousin of Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, visited the university to mark the inauguration of a project to build a new campus named after her cousin. The university's 50th anniversary was celebrated in 2002, by which time it had 21,695 students. In 2003 Professor Tim Wilson succeeded Professor Neil Buxton as vice-chancellor and the de Havilland campus opened.
Hertfordshire Sports Village also opened in 2003.In 2005 the university launched the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Postgraduate Medical School and School of Pharmacy to enhance medical education, training and research in the region. In 2006 the University opened its School of Film, Music and Media. The university opened the MacLaurin building in 2007, named in honour of its former chancellor Lord MacLaurin followed by a new law building in 2011. During this period, Hertfordshire became a lead academic sponsor of Elstree University Technical College, a university technical college which opened in September 2013.Hertfordshire is also the academic sponsor of Watford University Technical College
In 2008 the university was shortlisted for the Times Higher Education University of the Year Award. In 2009 and 2010 it was shortlisted for the Times Higher Education Entrepreneurial University of the Year Award. In 2010, Professor Tim Wilson announced his intention to retire as vice-chancellor after more than 19 years at the university.The University of Hertfordshire was established as an independent Higher Education Corporation in 1989 under the terms of the Education Reform Act (1989). The institution is an exempt charity. The board of governors has responsibility for running the university, while the academic board is responsible for academic quality and standards, academic policies, research and scholarship. The vice-chancellor oversees its day-to-day running. The current chancellor is Robert Gascoyne-Cecil and the current vice-chancellor is Quintin McKellar.The university runs on a three-term calendar in which the academic year is divided into three terms: Autumn (September–December), Spring (January–April), and Summer(April–May).[26] Full-time undergraduate students take three to four courses every year for approximately eleven weeks before their quarterly academic breaks. The school year typically begins in late September and ends in mid-May.It is recognised as one of the Hertfordshire's largest employers with over 2,700 staff and a turnover of more than £235 million. With a student community of over 24,500 including more than 2,000 international students from over 85 different countries, the University has a global network of over 165,000 alumni.