We are a welcoming and robust community of students and staff. We are committed to the highest teaching standards across the wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses we offer. Also, we have a vibrant research culture and environment. We have consulted widely on this plan with students and staff across the institution, and we look forward to working with the St Mary's community on its delivery. We build on firm foundations. Established in 1850 with a distinctive Catholic identity, St Mary's is a University with a friendly, inclusive, and intellectually rigorous learning community that seeks to empower all our students to lead fulfilling lives both at St Mary's and beyond. As a public University with a faith identity, we work hard to strike the right balance between being faithful to our identity and ensuring openness to those who do not share it. We welcome students and staff of all faiths and none. The powerful sense of community that characterizes St Mary's is a product of our ethos and the core values that underpin it: inclusiveness, generosity of spirit, respect, and excellence.
Our vision for the future is focused on people and places to create a positive learning environment centered on our campus community in Strawberry Hill. We want to create the best possible conditions for our students and staff to develop into independent problem solvers and ethical leaders, enthusiastic about knowledge and learning, and able to get things done. Academic rigor is central to all our programs. We intend to build on those strengths to provide wide-reaching opportunities for students to grow and positively impact the world. we will:
- Invest £100m in our students and staff, including through the development of improved facilities for learning and research as well as new accommodation and sports grounds, to support them in reaching their full potential
- Raise our profile and increase our impact through a more active presence in the public square and the development of solutions to critical public policy concerns
- Develop our research and enterprise capacity alongside a renewed emphasis on teaching excellence
- Enhance our students' learning and personal development to help them achieve the best results
- Increase the diversity of our students and staff without undermining the powerful sense of community that characterizes St Mary's
- Expand our national and international reach, including through the development of new partnerships with overseas universities
- Build on our high level of student satisfaction to be the most welcoming learning community in the UK as we climb the national university league tables.
Our Teaching and Learning Development Framework (TLDF) supports the initial and continuing professional development of staff in their teaching or learning support roles to enhance student success. The TLDF is accredited by the Higher Education Academy (HEA). This helps colleagues adopt a systematic approach to their academic, professional development, aligned with the UK Professional Standards Framework for Teaching and Supporting Learning in Higher Education (UKPSF).
