Frequently asked questions
Our masterplan
Q What are the University’s goals?
A We want to continue to be one of the world’s leading academic institutions and in order to deliver the economic and social benefits of our University, we need to invest in our future. Many of our competitor universities have expanded in recent years and we need to do the same if we are to maintain our standards. By redeveloping our campus, through expanding and modernising our teaching spaces, housing and other facilities, we will be able to continue to attract the brightest and best academics, researchers and students.
Q When do you plan to modernise the University?
A The modernisation programme would be delivered in phases. We hope to begin delivering the first phase by the 2017-18 academic year.
Q What does the masterplan include?
A Acting as a framework, the masterplan is designed to improve and modernise our campus and will ensure that we are able to continue to be a leading international academic institution while bringing benefits to the local economy. This £500million programme of investment includes: new state-of-the-art academic buildings, including a new scientific research centre; a new sports centre, which would be open to the public; and a total of 2,500 new student bedrooms on campus supplemented by more purpose-built accommodation in the city. The work would be phased over several years and separate detailed applications will need to be submitted to Brighton & Hove City Council (and given approval) before any work could start on site.
Q Would the masterplan result in more jobs?
A The masterplan will support an estimated 2,400 new jobs in the local community. This is on top of the 3,700 permanent local jobs that the University currently supports, both directly and indirectly, as well as the 960 jobs that our students support.
Q Is the masterplan part of the University’s strategy to increase student numbers?
A As part of our long-term strategy to continue to thrive and provide the best academic experience, we aim to increase our student numbers to around 18,000 by 2018. As a research-intensive university, a good proportion of the growth is at postgraduate level, such as those on a one-year Masters programme. This would be 4,600 more students than we have at present, with around 940 of those students not requiring accommodation as they prefer to live at home or make their own arrangements. Although we do not need permission to take on these new students, the masterplan, coupled with other schemes, will allow us to house the proposed increase and remove some students currently living in the private sector.
Q Does the masterplan include enough teaching space for the additional students?
A Yes. We will create eight new academic and research buildings with 42,000 square metres of new state-of-the-art teaching and research facilities.
Q Why do you need more students?
A We need to increase our intake of students in order to maintain its leading position in both the national and international higher education sectors. We recruit many leading members of staff and deliver excellent research across each of our schools, but the future of this is dependent on our funding and the income we receive from teaching. By increasing our intake and redeveloping our campus, we will be able to keep this up in the future.
Q Where will the additional students live?
A We have a minimum target of housing at least 40% of our students who require accommodation and we currently exceed this target. We have also secured a good number of managed housing developments, such as that on London Road in Brighton. Housing sites such as this have helped to revive parts of the city and we have had excellent feedback from the local community about how it has transformed the area. We are also continuing to work with the Council and businesses to secure other managed accommodation sites for our students.
Q Will students be able to afford this new accommodation?
A There will continue to be a range of price points that are designed to meet the market demands of modern students.
Q How many students do you have at the moment?
A We currently have about 14,000 students.
Q How many students live on campus?
A At the moment we have space for more than 4,200 students on campus. In total, 5,000 of our students currently live in managed accommodation.
Q How does the University of Sussex help Brighton and Hove?
A The University of Sussex is one of the city’s biggest employers. We employ 2,200 people directly and our direct spend in the local economy (£200 million each year) supports a further 1,500 local jobs. Our students spend £106 million every year, supporting 960 local jobs. Around 1,000 of our students volunteer in the local community, providing more than 4,500 hours of volunteering time in local schools. The Sussex Innovation Centre on campus houses 85 local business start-ups, provides employment support for residents and gives entrepreneurs business advice and access to the facilities needed to get their ideas off the ground. Around 20% of our students come from the surrounding area. Most of these students choose to live at home, meaning that they can get a university education from one of the UK’s top universities, without having to incur the costs of living away from home. In addition, many of the University’s graduates choose to stay on in the city, contributing to the skills base that local employers can draw from.