Good University Guide 2023

Bishop Grosseteste University

National rank

75
th
70.4
%
Firsts / 2:1s
88.6
%
Completion rate

Key stats

4
th
Teaching quality
13
th
Student experience
129
th
Research quality
65
th
Graduate prospects
Bishop Grosseteste University

Contact details

Address

Longdales Road, Lincoln , LN1 3DY,

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Telephone

Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) takes pride in offering students “a real family feel” — with fewer than 1,700 full-time undergraduates on the roll call at its campus just a few minutes walk away from Lincoln Cathedral.

Our analysis of the results of the latest National Student Survey shows that students agree: the university takes fourth place for satisfaction with teaching quality and 13th for the wider student experience. The results represent an extraordinary turnaround in rates of student satisfaction, which nosedived more than most in pandemic-affected 2021 but have recovered 52 places in our teaching quality measure and shot up 77 places in our wider experience ranking. 

Lectures have returned to full in-person delivery and the prevalent teaching model at BGU is face-to-face. Rated gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework, BGU was commended for an “outstanding learning environment and a personalised approach with high-quality support maximising retention, attainment and progression”. Course design and assessment were highlighted for providing outstanding levels of stretch, ensuring students are consistently challenged and engage with developments from the forefront of research, scholarship or working practice. 

Teaching degrees are the focus at BGU, which was founded as an Anglican teacher-training college for women in 1862 and named after Robert Grosseteste, a 13th-century bishop of Lincoln. The university now offers a range of degrees to people of all genders, and of all faiths and none. 

Theology produced by far BGU's best results in the latest Research Excellence Framework (REF 2021). The university increased its submission to eight subject areas submitted by four times more staff than were assessed in the previous REF in 2014.

Graduate prospects have fallen out of the top 50 to 65th. Our analysis of the Graduate Outcomes survey examined the proportion in highly skilled work or further study 15 months after finishing their degree.

New degrees in business (finance) and business (marketing) joined the curriculum in September 2022 — both offered either with or without a foundation year. A portfolio of three degree apprenticeships — in business-to-business sales, chartered management, and career development — has resulted in a steady increase in student numbers. More than 200 apprentices are expected to be signed up by September 2023. 

The leafy campus in historic Lincoln features two on-site halls of residence, one of them with modern teaching and learning facilities attached after a £2.2 million extension that doubled the teaching space. An extended library houses student advice and learning development teams.

At the heart of the campus is the Venue, mostly used as a theatre during the daytime by drama and performing arts students. By night it transforms into a cinema, with Dolby surround sound and the latest film releases. 

The campus grounds have a peace garden where students can relax. A round-the-clock mental health and wellbeing service has been introduced, linking students with counsellors over the phone or in structured sessions. The chaplaincy is another source of support.

Underpinned by the belief that every student has the right to consider higher education, BGU focuses its outreach work on school students in years 9-12. It provides presentations, campus visits and help with study skills. Students who complete the year 12 programme and apply to BGU qualify for a contextual offer under a reduced Ucas tariff — also extended to those from low-participation backgrounds and to those who have been in care.

About half of BGU’s 18-year-old applicants each year qualify for a contextual offer. The same proportion of entrants qualify for some form of financial help, such as bursaries or scholarships ranging from £600 to £3,600. A £150,000 budget annually supports students in need — including student parents and carers, mature students and those from low-income families. 

The university’s initiatives to widen participation pay dividends in our social inclusion ranking, where BGU is in the top four overall. Breaking down the figures, it is also fourth for recruiting students from areas with low take-up of higher education (28.2 per cent), in the top five for the number of students in receipt of Disability Support Allowance (15.9 per cent) and sixth for the recruitment of students who are the first in their family to attend university (60.7 per cent).  

BGU’s sports facilities include a sports hall, gym and acres of outdoor fields, offering opportunities to take part in activities from fitness classes and indoor tennis to hockey, volleyball and rugby.

All first-years are guaranteed student accommodation, although not necessarily on campus. The university has more than 300 spaces spread across Wickham Hall, Constance Stewart Hall and Cloud Houses.

A friendly city, Lincoln hasa more lively nightlife than you might think, boosted by the presence of the much larger University of Lincoln.

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Performance

Category Score Rank
Ranking - 75 (82)
Teaching quality 82.5 4th
Student experience 77 13th
Research quality 11.3 129th
Ucas entry points 107 119th=
Graduate prospects 73.4 65th
Firsts and 2:1s 70.4 114th=
Completion rate 88.6 50th
Student-staff ratio 19.8 113th

Vital statistics

Undergraduates

Full-time

1,707

Postgraduates

Full-time

506

Part-time

251

Applications/places 1,715/650
Applications/places ratio 2.6:1
Overall offer rate 95.1%

Accommodation

Places in accommodation 319
Accommodation costs £113 - £135
Accommodation contact https://www.bgu.ac.uk/student/accommodation

Finance

UK/EU fees £6,935 (Foundation) - £9,250
Fees (placement year) N/A
Fees (overseas year) N/A
Fees (international) £12,445
Finance website https://www.bgu.ac.uk/apply-now/fees-funding
Graduate salaries £23,343

Social inclusion and student mix

Social Inclusion Ranking 4
State schools (non-grammar) admissions 94.5%
Grammar school admissions 4.7%
Independent school admissions 0.9%
Ethnic minority students (all) 3.7%
Black achievement gap n/a
White working class males 5.8%
First generation students 60.7%
Low participation areas 28.2%
Working class dropout gap 1%
Mature 32.9%
EU students 0.3%
Other overseas students 0.6%

Student satisfaction with teaching quality

History 96.9%
English 91.9%
Education 82%
Psychology 61.7%