University Centre Colchester has announced a new academic partnership with the University of East Anglia, stating that its former long term partner, the University of Essex, is “more focused on international partnerships”.
University Centre Colchester (UCC), which is the degree provision at Colchester Institute’s Sheepen Road Campus, has decided instead to link up with the Norwich-based UEA.
Students entering on to selected degree programmes at UCC from as early as September 2019 will be working towards degrees and awards validated by UEA.
Colchester Institute has worked with the University of Essex for the last 12 years, and during that time, some 6,000 students will have graduated from University Centre Colchester with University of Essex degrees.
Like UCC, the University of Essex is also based in Colchester. But Colchester Institute’s principal and chief executive, Alison Andreas explained that although UCC has had a “very positive partnership arrangement” with the University of Essex for many years, “their strategic priorities are now more focused on international partnerships”.
She added: “We really look forward to building a new partnership with UEA, whose high quality is renowned, nationally, and who focus, as we do, on degrees and awards that genuinely enhance graduates’ career prospects.”
The University of Essex has widened its international remit in recent years, and is currently forging new partnerships in Kenya and China. However, the Colchester-based university is also cementing its reputation nationally, and was named University of the Year at the Times Higher Education Awards last month.
The UEA is ranked consistently in the top 15 in the country, and UCC’s dean of higher education, Nils Franke said it enjoys an “excellent reputation for its high quality academic provision and dynamic working relationships with other institutions”. “I regard the new partnership as a significant contributory factor to programme innovation and development in pedagogical practice at UCC,” he added.
The partnership between UEA and UCC starts with the launch of a new course for September 2019, a BSc Engineering (Mechanical and Electrical). From 2020, there will be no further enrolments to University of Essex awards.
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