• 1. Introduction to the publication scheme
• 2. About your public authority
• 3. Preparing the publication scheme
• 4. Accessing information under the scheme
• 5. Information that we may hold
• 6. Our charging policy
• 7. Our copyright policy
• 8. Records management and archiving policy
• 9. Feedback
• 10. Complaints
• 11. How to access information, which is not available under this scheme
• 12. Classes of information
• Contact us

2. About your public authority

Founded in 1897 to offer courses with a vocational focus, the institution developed steadily in size and scope achieving university status under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Today, the University has just under 20,000 full and part-time students studying undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across its four campuses in Paisley, Ayr, Hamilton and Dumfries. Students can select from over 100 undergraduate and 30 postgraduate programmes in: Business, Education, Engineering, Science, Health, Nursing, Midwifery, Computing, Media, Music, Languages and Social Sciences.

The University Court was constituted under the University of the West of Scotland (Scotland) Order in Council 1993. Court is the supreme authority in the University and has retained the widest possible range of powers except in purely academic matters where Court has delegated powers to a Senate whose composition and powers are also set out in the University of the West of Scotland (Scotland) Order of Council 1993. It is an unusual feature of the constitution that the Court and not the University is a body corporate; the University has been established formally as a function of the Court.

The University Senate is responsible for the overall planning, co-ordination, development and supervision of the academic work of the University. It has particular responsibility for the granting of degrees, diplomas, certificates and other awards. The Senate consists of Deans of the three Faculties, other senior staff and some elected representatives. It is assisted in the discharge of its functions by its committees, including the Boards of the eight Schools:

• Business School;
• Computing;
• Creative Industries;
• Education;
• Engineering;
• Health, Nursing & Midwifery
• Science;
• Social Science

The University of the West of Scotland was created by the merger in 2007 of:

• Bell College at Hamilton; and
• the University of Paisley

The University of Paisley was created from:

• Craigie College of Education in Ayr
• Paisley College of Technology