Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) is a public university in Lincoln, England. BGU was originally established as a teacher training college for the Diocese of Lincoln in 1862. It gained taught degree awarding powers in 2012 and was granted full university status on 3 December 2012. With around 2,300 full-time students currently enrolled on a variety of programmes and courses, BGU is distinguished by its academic coherence and strong sense of community, as well as its sustained successes in areas like graduate employability and levels of student satisfaction. BGU attracts a variety of students, including mature and local students - for instance 27% of the undergraduate body is aged 21 or above at the start of their course, and 50% come from a 30-mile radius. The courses often include a vocational element. As part of an ambitious five year growth plan, BGU recently set out a number of interrelated ambitions. These include expanding its student base to around 4,500 students by 2019; developing its portfolio of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes (including the introduction of Archaeology, Business (Team Entrepreneurship), Counselling, Health and Social Care, Psychology and Sociology BA or BSc. degrees), and widening access to its courses locally, nationally and internationally. Before 2006, the University of Hull and later the University of Leicester validated its qualifications. It was originally known as the 'Diocesan Training School for Mistresses', then 'Lincoln Diocesan Training College' and then 'Bishop Grosseteste College' before becoming a university college in 2006, finally becoming Bishop Grosseteste University in 2012. The college initially occupied the premises of an earlier, unsuccessful training establishment for male teachers, built in 1842 and still in use. The college takes its present name from Robert Grosseteste, a 13th-century Bishop of Lincoln, theologian and scholar. In 2008 Dame Judith Mayhew was made Chancellor of Bishop Grosseteste University College. In 2012 saw a change in government legislation regarding the use of the university title meaning that higher education establishments with more than 1,000 students can apply for the title. Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln applied for the University title in June 2012 and was approved to be renamed 'Bishop Grosseteste University'. The university is on a single-site campus in uphill Lincoln, a short walk from the historic Bailgate area, the Cathedral and Castle. Some of the buildings on campus date from the 1840s and are still in use today, however in recent years the campus has seen many new developments and new facilities. An extension to the Library (the Cornerstone building) was completed in 2012 and officially opened by Anne, Princess Royal in 2013. The development has doubled study space available to students and incorporated Student Support services within the same building. It has also provided dedicated space for two unique library collections: the Teaching Resources Collection and the Lincolnshire Collection. In 2012 the on-campus Bishop Greaves Theatre was upgraded with state-of-the-art cinema equipment and became The Venue. It holds regular screenings of both popular Hollywood releases and slightly more obscure independent films, and is also home to the Lincoln Film Society.The Venue is also still in use as a theatre, particularly by the university's drama students and its own BG Touring Ltd. In 2013 the main entrance to the campus was moved from Newport to Longdales Road and, as a result, the main reception was relocated to the Robert Hardy building. The space previously occupied by main reception was upgraded to a quiet study area for students and the previous external entrance was locked. Extensive development work took place on the university campus during 2013, refurbishing existing accommodation and providing a brand new £4.3m hall of residence. A new dining facility is also currently under development, expected to be completed during autumn 2013. There are 218 places in the on-campus halls of residence and an additional 78 in the off-campus hall of residence, Crosstrend House. The on-campus halls of residence are available to first years and those with disabilities. Some second or third years live in halls as Senior Residents, providing guidance, reassurance and a 24/7 on-call service to the first-year residents. All accommodation benefits from free wi-fi access, which is also available throughout the university campus. Extensive work to the on-campus accommodation was carried out during 2013.Constance Stewart Hall was renovated and upgraded to provide self-catering accommodation and improved facilities for students. The existing Wickham and Nelson accommodation blocks were demolished. Wickham was replaced with a new, larger accommodation building of the same name, and Nelson was replaced with a new dining facility. Crosstrend House, situated a short walk from the university campus, was open to new students from September 2012. Since there is a high proportion of mature students and local students, few first years actually need to live in. Those that do tend to live in private houses. Bishop Grosseteste University offers foundation and honours degrees at undergraduate and postgraduate level. This includes multiple routes into teaching such as BA's and BSc to the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). As well as joint honours options, many subjects can (alternatively) be studied as major/minor combinations. Teaching is through lectures, seminars, workshops, practicals and work-related placements. The University has an active Students' Union, commonly referred to as BGSU. With two sabbatical officers, an SU Manager, and a part-time executive of 12 students as well as Senior and Junior Administrators; they provide a variety of academic support, entertainment and activities throughout the year. The main function of the Union is to provision representational services to the student of Bishop Grosseteste, with a Student Representation Scheme consisting of over 100 representatives ensuring that the student voice if heard at all levels of the institution. The Students' Union team also provide students with regular entertainment chosen by students in various committees, ranging from live music, live comedy, quizzes, karaoke, themed pub crawls, and their new annual charity music and arts festival, 'The BG Fringe'. The current Students' Union President is Chris Robertson and the Vice-President Voice is Jamie Caress. The Welfare and Diversity Officer provides students with a strong student based support network and along with their confidential listening service, aim to support students throughout their studies at Bishop Grosseteste. The Welfare team provide a number of awareness campaigns during the year, promoting various sexual health issues and other contemporary issues prominent in today's society. The Union has a well established RAG presence, where they have raised money for charities for over 35 years. Social life Despite having limited funding, Bishop Grosseteste Students' Union has expanded its entertainment and activities provision over the last few years, having Comedy Dave from BBC Radio 1 DJ at Graduation Ball 2011 and The Loveable Rogues performing with support from I am Titch and Rita Payne the following year. The Hoosiers also performed at Graduation Ball 2013 and Scouting for Girls in 2014 Societies are offered by the Union as a way for students to meet new people, and pursue their interests. Societies are separated into clubs and societies, clubs are sporting societies who represent the Union in BUCS, and societies are non-sporting-competitive. Each society has electable executive positions of president, treasurer, and secretary, to maintain the running of the societies. Sport Bishop Grosseteste Students' Union represents the students in the British Universities and Colleges Sport leagues, as well as offering training for participation. All of the current sport clubs compete in their respective BUCS leagues. Netball have won successive promotions since their inauguration, whilst rugby union and badminton made their début in the 2012-13 season. The university has a sport and fitness centre, consisting of a non-standard dimension sports hall; a gym which holds cardio and resistance machines as well as a weights area; and a field which contains two football pitches. The football teams participate on the Sport and Fitness Centre field, the netball and badminton clubs participate in the Sport and Fitness Centre sports hall, now joined by the rugby union team due to the creation of a new rugby pitch. The rugby team formerly participated at Market Rasen rugby club.