London Metropolitan University Information

Coordinates: 51°33′06″N 0°06′38″W / 51.551574°N 0.110687°W / 51.551574; -0.110687

London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public research university in London, England. The University of North London (formerly the Polytechnic of North London) and London Guildhall University (formerly the City of London Polytechnic) merged in 2002 to create the university. With roots going back to 1848, it is one of Londons oldest educational institutions.

The university has campuses in the City of London and in the London Borough of Islington, a museum, archives and libraries. Special collections include the TUC Library, the Irish Studies Collection and the Frederick Parker Collection.

London Metropolitan University was formed on 1 August 2002 by the merger of London Guildhall University and the University of North London. In October 2006 the University opened a new Science Centre as part of a £30m investment in its science department at the North campus on Holloway Road, with a "Super Lab" claimed to be one of Europes most advanced science teaching facilities, and 280 workstations equipped with digital audio visual interactive equipment.

In 1848 Charles James Blomfield, the Bishop of London, called upon the clergy to establish evening classes to improve the moral, intellectual and spiritual condition of young men in London. In response, the bishop Charles Mackenzie, who instituted the Metropolitan Evening Classes for Young Men in Crosby Hall, Bishopsgate, London, with student fees at one shilling per session. Subjects on the original curriculum included Greek, Latin, Hebrew, English, History, Mathematics, Drawing and Natural Philosophy. This fledgling college came under royal patronage following the visit of Prince Albert to the classes in 1851. In 1860 the classes moved to Sussex Hall, the former Livery Hall of the Bricklayers Company, in Leadenhall Street. By this time, some 800 students were enrolled annually.

In 1861 the classes were reconstituted and named the City of London College. Over the next twenty years, the College was one of the pioneers in the introduction of commercial and technical subjects. The college built new premises in White Street at a cost of £16,000 (contributions were received from Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales) and were opened in 1881. In 1891 the college joined Birkbeck Institute and the Northampton Institute to form the City Polytechnic by a Charity Commissioners scheme to facilitate funding for these institutions by the City Parochial Foundation, and to enable the three institutions to work cooperatively. However this attempted federation did not function in practice, as each institution continued to operate more or less independently. The City Polytechnic concept was dissolved in 1906 and the City of London College came under the supervision of London County Council.

In December 1940 the colleges building was destroyed by a German air raid. City of London College subsequently moved into premises at 84 Moorgate in 1944. In 1948, the City of London College celebrated its centenary with a service of thanksgiving addressed by the Archbishop of Canterbury at St Pauls Cathedral. In 1970 the college merged with Sir John Cass College to form the City of London Polytechnic. In 1977 it also became the home of the Fawcett Society library, afterwards the Womens Library.

Under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 the Polytechnic was awarded university status (having previously awarded degrees of the Council for National Academic Awards). It was renamed London Guildhall University, to demonstrate its links with the City of London and the Citys many guilds/livery companies. It was unassociated with the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, based at the Barbican Centre. It was ranked 30th out of the UKs 43 new universities in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise. In August 2004, in the midst of a contract dispute with former LGU staff following the merger with the University of North London, it was reported that the management of the merged institution had ordered the destruction of the entire print run of a history of the university – London Guildhall University: From Polytechnic to University – authored by Sean Glynn, formerly a senior research fellow in the department of Politics and Modern History; the work had been commissioned by Sir Roderick Floud, the President of London Metropolitan University, when Provost of LGU.

The former LGU campus is now the city campus and is located at the intersection of the City of London financial district and the old East End, near Aldgate East, Tower Hill and Liverpool Street tube stations. There are buildings located at Minories, Jewry Street, Central House, Moorgate, Whitechapel High Street, Calcutta House, Commercial Road and Goulston Street. There is a gymnasium for the use of staff and students at the Whitechapel High St. building,

Founded as the Northern Polytechnic Institute in 1896, it merged in 1971 with the North Western Polytechnic which was established in 1929, to become the Polytechnic of North London. Until the passing of the Education Reform Act 1988, the Polytechnic was under the control of the Inner London Education Authority – part of the then Greater London Council and awarded the degrees of the former Council for National Academic Awards. Under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, the institution, a pioneer of widening participation and access to higher education, was granted university status and the right to award its own degrees. Following the merger with London Guildhall University, London Metropolitan University became the largest unitary university in Greater London.

The former UNL campus is now the North campus and is located on Holloway Road, near Holloway Road and Highbury and Islington tube stations.

In May 2008, London Metropolitan University presented the 14th Dalai Lama with an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy, for "promoting peace globally". This move caused controversy among the Chinese public and the overseas Chinese community, who view the Dalai Lama as partly responsible for the 2008 unrest in Tibet. As a result, Chinese migration agents had been reported to "boycott" London Metropolitan University in advising clients who wish to study in the UK. The universitys Vice-Chancellor, Brian Roper, issued an apology letter to the Chinese Foreign Ministry via embassy officials in July. In an interview with the Global Times, a worker at a Chinese study abroad agency suggested that the university could repair the offence of the honours by refusing speaking platforms to Tibetan independence groups, such as the universitys own "Free Tibet Society". The university has also faced criticism for offering free scholarships specifically reserved for students from the Tibetan exile community in India, Nepal and the West, in a case of non-merit "racial quotas".

In July 2008 it was reported that a financial crisis was looming for the university. London Met had been misreporting data on student drop-outs for several years and, consequently, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) was proposing to claw back at least £15 million for the overpayment in 2008-9. In February 2009 the figure of overpayment was revised to £56 million by HEFCE, who were seeking to recover the money.

On 19 March 2009, in response to the crisis, vice-chancellor Brian Roper resigned his position with immediate effect but continued to receive his salary until December 2009. In May 2009 Alfred Morris, former vice-chancellor of the University of the West of England and University of Wales, Lampeter, was appointed interim vice-chancellor.

The government announced in May 2009 that there would be an independent inquiry, exploring the possibility that HEFCE had colluded with London Met by failing to query implausibly low drop-out rates. It concluded in November 2009 and was reported to cast responsibility to Brian Roper, other senior administrators and the Board of Governors. Following conclusion of the report, the chair of HEFCE called on "senior staff" and the entire Board of Governors to resign, noting that HEFCE was not convinced that the universitys management could effectively safeguard public funds. After the deadline indicated by HEFCE chief executive Alan Langlands had passed, there were ruminations among staff and ministers that HEFCE could withdraw funding, effectively forcing the university to close.

A report commissioned by the university, published in November 2009, found that Roper had "the major responsibility and culpability" for the financial situation: Roper and some members of the executive were aware that the university had been applying its own interpretation of funding rules on student drop-outs – rather than the funding council’s – since 2003, but took no action. The university’s board of governors and audit committee had an oversight role, which made them ultimately "accountable for a financial failure of this magnitude" and meant that they "must take overall responsibility".

In early 2011, London Metropolitan University announced an overhaul of undergraduate education for students entering courses in 2012. This included a reduction in the number of courses from 557 to 160. The announcement also signalled a move from semester-long to year-long modules, and thirty weeks of teaching, a gain of six weeks on the current average. The university argues that the longer learning time will help increase the opportunity for development and guidance before students move to final examinations. There will be a transition to this new course offering in 2011/12 and this has led to applicants for some courses being contacted and offered alternative programmes.

In April 2012 the university was reported to be considering creating alcohol-free zones and events to enable Muslim students (who form 20% of the student population) to take part more comfortably. This provoked criticism from the universitys Islamic societies, and other organisations such as the Muslim Council of Britain, but positive comments from representatives of the National Union of Students and the Federation of Student Islamic Societies.

On 16 July 2012 the UK Border Agency of the Home Office suspended the universitys "highly-trusted status" with the Border Agency, a status required in order for the university to be eligible to sponsor both new student visa applications as well as existing student visas, for foreign students from outside of the European Union and the European Economic Area (or Switzerland). The university was one of three institutions to have such a status suspended.

On 30 August 2012, the universitys highly trusted status was revoked, revoking the universitys right to sponsor new visa applications for non-EU/EEA foreign students, as well as revoking the existing visas of the universitys pre-existing non-European foreign students, causing them to be excluded from the university, and leaving thousands with the possibility of being forced to leave the country, unless places with alternative institutions and sponsors are secured.