Third Level Institutions
The principal universities in Northern Ireland are Queen’s University, Belfast, and the University of Ulster. St. Mary’s University College and Stranmillis University College are constituents associated with Queen’s University. Magee College, Jordanstown, Coleraine, and Belfast colleges are associated with the University of Ulster.
Queen’s University was chartered in 1845 and opened in 1849 as Queen’s College Belfast. It succeeded the Royal Belfast Academical Institution.
The Irish Universities Act dissolved the Royal University of Ireland which would replace Queen’s University of Ireland in 1879 and created two separate universities: the National University of Ireland and Queen’s University of Belfast.
Queen’s University was a University constituency represented in the House of Commons from 1918 until 1950.
Several institutes are associated with Queen’s, including the Institute of Professional Legal Studies at Queen’s offering training to solicitors and barristers. A number of Institutes of Theology are associated, each with a Christian emphasis. This includes St. Mary’s Catholic Union Theological College, the Presbyterian Belfast Bible College, non-denominational as well as the Baptist and Methodist College.
The Colleges of Education (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 established a body corporate to govern Stranmillis University College, a College of Queen’s University of Belfast. This was done to make it consistent with other education providers, which are legally independent bodies accountable to a Governing Body with ultimate responsibility for all aspects of the institutions.
Stranmillis University College is a University College of Queen’s University. It was initially non-denominational, but Catholic Bishops issued a statement that graduates would not be allowed to teach in Catholic schools, so it became identified as a Protestant-only institution. St. Mary’s University College offers teacher training with a Catholic emphasis.
The University of Ulster was formed by Royal charter. The charter is supplemented by the University of Ulster (Northern Ireland) Order 1984. The Order transferred the assets of the New University of Ulster. The Governors of the Ulster Polytechnic and the Ulster College, plans held under the Ulster College Act Northern Ireland 1968 for the purpose of the Ulster Polytechnic to the New University of Ulster.
The University of Ulster is a multi-campus coeducational university. It was established in 1968 as the New University of Ulster. It can be traced back to Magee College, which was established in Derry in 1849. The university incorporates four campuses at Belfast, Coleraine, a slice of the headquarters, Magee College, Derry, and Jordanstown. It is the largest university in Northern Ireland with 26,000 students.
All bequests, gifts, trusts, and endowments in relation to the New University of Ulster; the Governors of the Ulster Polytechnic and that Department for the purpose of the Ulster Polytechnic are deemed to refer to the University of Ulster. Provision was made for the transfer of staff.
The Magee University College Londonderry Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 provided for the transfer of certain assets from the trustees of Magee University to the New University of Ulster for amounts payable and compensation.
The New Universities (Acquisition of Land) Act (Northern Ireland) 1966 authorized local authorities to assist in the establishment of new universities by acquiring land for presentation to them and by making payments to work expenditure incurred in such acquisitions.
There are six further and higher education colleges with almost 200,000 students.
The Belfast Metropolitan College was created by the merger of Belfast Institute of Further Higher Education and Castlereagh College. It operates on a number of different campuses, the largest of which is at Millfield Campus, Castlereagh, and Titanic Quarter.
The North Regional College has eight campuses in the northeast of Northern Ireland in Antrim and East County Londonderry, at Antrim, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine, Felden, Larne, Magherafelt, and Newtownabbey. The Northern Regional College has 35,000 students at seven campuses.
The Northwestern Regional College has 24,000 students at three campuses in Derry, Limavady, and Strabane. The Southern Regional College has 50,000 students at Armagh, Banbridge, Kilkeel, Lurgan, Newry, and Portadown. The Southeastern Regional College has six campuses at Ballynahinch, Bangor, Downpatrick, Lisburn, Newcastle, and Newtownards. The Southwest College has 18,500 students at four campuses in Cookstown, Dungannon, Enniskillen, and Omagh.
There are five Local Education and Library Boards covering different geographical areas: Belfast, Northeast, Southeast, Southern, and Western.
The Education (Unrecognized Degrees) (NI) Order 1988 makes it an offence to grant, offer, or issue an invitation relating to an award that might reasonably be taken to be an award granted by a United Kingdom institution and either is described as a degree or purports to confer on its holder the right or title of Bachelor, Master, or Doctor, or might reasonably be taken to be a degree.This provision does not apply to anything done in relation to any recognized award.
A recognized award is any award granted or to be granted by a college, university, or body authorized by Royal Charter or Act of Parliament to grant degrees; to awards granted by anybody for the time being permitted by the above entity to award degrees; or such other awards as the Department may designate as recognized awards. The Department may designate bodies as recognized bodies for the purpose of the legislation.
The Education (Academic Tenure) (Northern Ireland) Order establishes a body of Commissioners known as the University Commissioners for Northern Ireland. The legislation applies to Queen’s University and the University of Ulster.
In undertaking functions, the Commissioners may make modifications of University statutes as they consider necessary or expedient. Modifications may be made for the purpose of securing the statutes for qualifying institutions mentioned below shall not apply to a person unless his appointment was made prior to the legislation (1988); or he is promoted unless he is promoted after that date.
The Commissioners are to exercise powers with a view to securing the statutes of a qualifying institution, include provisions enabling the body to dismiss any member of the academic staff by reason of redundancy, for good cause. They are to provide provisions dealing with complaints made against members of academic staff relating to appointment or employment.
They contain provisions establishing procedures determined by Commissioners for hearing and determining appeals by members of the academic staff who are dismissed or are under notice of dismissal or are otherwise disciplined and provisions establishing procedures for affording members of academic staff opportunities seeking redress of grievances relating to appointment or employment. The purpose is to remove restrictions on dismissing, making redundant, or disciplining members of academic staff, who are protected by terms of tenure under college statutes.