Caledonian is a great university. (Glasgow Caledonian University in general)

Member Name: il_cacciatore

Product:	Glasgow Caledonian University in general
Date:	08/01/07 (1168 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Central location, good facilities and good choice of courses

Disadvantages: None really to make a point of.

I am a level four student on the Building Surveying course at Glasgow Caledonian University.

:: HISTORY & BACKGROUND INFORMATION ::

Glasgow Caledonian is located on one campus on Cowcadden's Road across from Buchanan Street Bus Station in Glasgow. The University is quite young as it was Glasgow Polytechnic until 1993 when it became a fully fledged university.

The university has 90 undergraduate courses and 40 post graduate courses with over 14,000 students currently studying with 1500 staff.

It comprises of a number of 'schools':

School of Built and Natural Environment
School of business
School of Computing and mathematics
School of Engineering, Science and Design
School of Health and Social Care
School of Life Sciences
School of Law and Social Sciences
School of Built and Natural Environment

The principle of the university at the time of writing is Pamela Gillies.

The university offers degree courses including BSc, MA, BEng, BA & LLB and post grad such as MSc & Phd.

The university is in some way connected with the College of Building and Printing (Glasgow Metropolitan College) on North Hanover Street which again is easy 5 minute walking distance from the university campus - but I'm not sure if it is affiliated with the university. Some of my lectures were held there for 1st to 3rd year. This college offers HND, HNC, BSc NQ etc courses that provides a good range of course options.

:: THE CAMPUS ::

The buildings include:

Britannia Building
William Harley Building
Arc
North Hanover Street Building
Govan Mbeki Health Building
George Moore Building
Hamish Wood Building
Students' Association
Occupational Health Unit
The Saltire Centre
Charles Oakley Laboratories
Nursery
Teaching Block
Milton Street Building

The new library building of the Saltire Centre is a fantastic building, it utilises many innovative design features. It is situated in the center of Glasgow (giving access to the benefits of a city centre location) with great transport links within walking distance such as Glasgow Central train station, Queen Street train station, Buchanan Bus Station and a choice of underground station of either Cowcaddens or Buchanan Street. This means that if studying there you will not have any problems with transport.

:: THE FACILITIES ::

The library has a good selection of book and journals. IT facilities however are a joke. There are a good selection of computers in the library and labs however, I don't believe that there are enough. The computers are frequently left signed on by unscrupulous 'students' while they go and have a bite to eat or yap to their mates leaving people who would actually like to do some work without the facilities. Other students sit playing games or using internet 'chat' programs during busy periods depriving others of the computer. Also in the computer labs there are often classes of not many students taking a whole lab meanwhile the students wanting to use IT facilities without - many lecturers wont even let the excess computers be used by needy students. The university has threatened to sort out these problems but nothing has been done about it.

Car parking is non existant for students and you must use the Buchanan Galleries car parking or the Cowcaddens Road multi-storey car parking facilities. This however isn't a problem for myself as I use the bus to travel in, being very convenient as there is the bus station opposite the campus.

Lecture halls are fairly adequate and rooms for tutorials are also adequate most of the time although it has happened on more than a few occasions that there were too many students to fit in the room at the one time.

:: THE STUDENT UNION ::

It is not the biggest union in the world, nowhere near as big as the Strathclyde university union but is well kitted out with two bars. The drinks selection is good selling ales, lagers, spirits etc and the drinks promotions are also very good usually with promotions at the weekend. The union sports a cafe which sells baguettes and other hot food at good prices. Often lecturers may be seen sitting at the bar getting drunk along with the students.

THE HALLS

I must point out that I have never been a resident at the Student Halls but I have visited various persons in there so will best describe and evaluate them as best I can.

The halls are located on the campus (well across one road, but generally speaking are on the same campus) and there are security keeping an eye on the place.

The facilities consist of one communal toilet, washroom and kitchen per 4 (or six) students. Each having their private bedroom with wash hand basin - basic facilities. As far as I'm aware there are no private showers but I may be wrong on that.

I've heard stories of the halls being noisy and there being frequent fire alarms at very unsociable hours.

Overall the halls seem to be modern and in good condition.

:: OTHER CAMPUS FACILITIES ::

The campus has a number of coffee shops (of the Costa variety) that sell all the things a Costa would sell at normal rates. I personally don't drink out of Costa as I have my own coffee machine sitting at home and if parched will just get a quick 50p espresso from the coffee machines in the refectory.

The refectory, which also doubles as an exam hall at exam time is next to the student union and joined to the Hamish Wood building. They sell a great selection of hot and cold foods for really nice prices. I never feel the need to have to leave the campus to buy food when such good food is available on campus. It has good seating capacity and has a variety of vending machines.

The campus also has a shop at the union which sells confectionery, drinks, stationary and cigarettes. The prices are just about normal and I have found the staff there to be a bit rude at times but I suppose it is normal.

The gym (the arc) has many facilities including sports hall and weight lifting, running machines etc but I can't say anymore than that. Having only been in the place once for registration. The membership is roughly £40 per year.

There are only two cash machines on the campus which is a little stupid given that there are so many students. They need to get this sorted.

:: CLUBS/SOCIETIES ::

There are a number of clubs and societies but I had not joined any of them in my time here so can't really comment other than there is a good selection.

:: TEACHING ::

I have always found the lecturers to be knowledgeable and know their job but some do not conduct themselves in a professional manner. Support has always been available when I've asked for it and would at this point like to thank the staff of the School of Built and Natural Environment and in particular the Building Surveying course for being excellent at their job.

The university always usually gets slated in the league tables but don't quite understand why. The courses seem to be fairly comprehensive with a minimum of micky mouse courses. I think the last time they came 100 out of 125 universities in Britain.

:: OTHER POINTS ::

As far as I'm aware the university does not have a shield. It has a large 'C' for it's logo which is a disappointment. All the greats have a shield - they need one too.

:: OVERALL ::

The university is great in so many different ways and I'm glad I chose to study there. I could have done a lot worse. ©il_cacciatore07

Summary: Review of the caledonian from a students perspective