Canterbury Christ Church University stop taking students at the Broadstairs Campus from September 2018.
The university will gradually relocate courses to Canterbury over the next few years as it carries out its 10 to 15-year Estate Master Plan in which it plans to invest £150million in new buildings and facilities in the city.
This includes a £11million new arts building on its Canterbury campus, due to open in September 2018, and the transformation of the former prison to create facilities for new courses, research and enterprise in engineering and technology.
‘Smooth transition’
A Canterbury Christ Church University spokesman said: “We will be working closely with our staff and students over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition.
“All courses will remain open and new ones will be created as part of wider, longer-term plans to invest in a student experience of the highest quality at our main campus in Canterbury.”
The Broadstairs campus was created in 2000 to provide access to higher education for local people. It has been successful with over 800 students from the area currently studying there.
‘Decline’
But university bosses say the majority of students from Thanet -650- are choosing to study at the main campus in Canterbury with declining numbers – just 135 – opting for Broadstairs.
The spokesman added: “The quality of our students’ experience remains our number one priority. With the previously planned transfer of arts and humanities students from Broadstairs to a new arts building on our main campus in September 2018, the student community will fall from 400 to around 130, unavoidably impacting on the quality of the student experience.”
‘Careful consideration’
Vice-Chancellor Professor Rama Thirunamachandran said: “This decision has been taken after careful consideration and in the best interests of our current and future students. I am personally aware of the importance of access to higher education in Thanet, having been involved in the creation of the campus 17 years ago while at the Higher Education Funding Council for England.”
The university has pledged to continue close partnerships with East Kent schools and East Kent College, particularly through outreach activity and the work of the Kent and Medway Progression Federation, and ties with health trusts in East Kent, Thanet Earth, laboratories at Discovery Park and Turner Contemporary.