February 2, 2009
DEARNE UNIVERSITY PLANS REACH MILESTONE
PLANS for a university centre in the Dearne have reached another major milestone.
Staffordshire University has teamed up with Rotherham Council and Dearne Valley College as primary partners in a bid championed from the start by Dearne MP John Healey.
A ‘statement of strategic intent’ has now been submitted to the government and Mr Healey, Staffordshire executive pro-vice chancellor Gill Howland and Dearne Valley College principal Sue Ransom personally handed over the plan to Higher Education Minister David Lammy today (Tuesday February 2).
It is hoped a Dearne Valley University Centre (DVUC) would encourage more people to go on to higher education and attract new businesses.
The statement says DVUC would be “dynamic and distinctive” and could be based at Humphrey Davy House, next to Dearne Valley College’s Manvers campus.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England have to approve the bid before more detailed planning can be done, but the Dearne Valley Higher Education Partnership – which has Dearne Valley College and Rotherham Council as primary partners alongside Staffordshire University – is seeking £1m to get the centre off the ground.
If it is successful, DVUC could start taking students next year and would expect to have 600 enrolled by 2013/14.
Mr Healey first came up with the idea of a Dearne university and has helped drive work on the bid for more than two years.
He said: “The partnership has made a convincing case for a university centre which would complete the transformation of the Dearne and help people in our area fulfill their potential.
“Staffordshire University have already done in other coalfield areas exactly what we aim to do in the Dearne.
“Our school exam results are improving faster than elsewhere and more young people than ever are going to university from the Dearne, but our rates still lag behind the rest of the country. This bid signals a determination to shatter this last economic and social barrier.
“There are ambitious plans for the continuing regeneration of the Dearne and I want local people of all ages to be able to take advantage of the thousands of new jobs to be created here in the next decade.”
The Dearne’s three other MPs – Ed Miliband, Caroline Flint and Jeff Ennis – are also behind the bid and said in a statement of support: “We strongly back the proposal by Staffordshire University and Dearne Valley College to create a vibrant new university centre with a curriculum closely linked to employer needs and to future plans for the Dearne, and that emphasises the vocational learning that appeals to many people in this area.”
Although increasing, the number of people going on to higher education in the Dearne is much lower than levels for the national, regional and South Yorkshire. The university centre would seek to attract young people and mature students who might not have considered going on to higher education before.
The economy of the Dearne has changed dramatically over the last decade, with regeneration attracting many new companies and job opportunities. But many of these are taken by ‘in-commuters’ – Dearne people fill less than a third of the nearly 10,000 new jobs. Thousands more jobs are expected to be created in the Dearne by 2020.
The university would offer courses in business, ICT and sciences to make sure local people have the right qualifications in future. Courses would complement those already on offer elsewhere in Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham.
It would also link in to the Dearne Valley Eco-vision, a strategy to move the area from one of the highest polluting areas in Europe as a hub of coal mining to a low carbon environment where knowledge of sustainable energy and environmental technologies will be vital.
Gill Howland, Executive Pro-Vice Chancellor, said: “Staffordshire University has an excellent track record in widening participation and working with further education partners to provide flexible, vocational higher education opportunities for communities who can benefit.
“We are delighted to be working with Dearne Valley College and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council towards creating a dedicated University Centre which will equip young people and adults with the knowledge and skills that local employers want.
“There is strong evidence to show that while there is a high number of people who are ready to benefit from higher education, there is insufficient provision in the local area. A University Centre would help to realise people’s aspirations as well as driving up achievement levels and economic success.”
Sue Ransom, Dearne Valley College principal, said because of restrictions on student numbers the college is currently unable to meet demand.
She added: “The partnership with Staffordshire University would bring a wider range of opportunities for more young people and adults to realise their potential and develop the higher level skills needed for the future. This is and exciting prospect one which individuals, communities and employers in the Dearne Valley need and deserve.”
Cllr Roger Stone, the leader of Rotherham Borough Council, described the bid as “brilliant” for the Dearne Valley and Rotherham as a whole.
He said: “Rotherham Borough Council is right behind the bid because the Dearne really needs this kind of higher education facility. If the bid is successful it will be really good news for both local people and employers as we need to raise skills among the local population. A facility such as this will not only raise personal ambitions but is vital in meeting the growing demands of local employers in the future.
“It will also underpin our aim to protect long-term jobs across the borough and will be at the forefront of providing the necessary skills required by the proposed eco-vision for the area.”
The university centre proposal has also been backed by Yorkshire Forward, Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce, Doncaster College and Doncaster Council.