Uwic changes name to Cardiff Metropolitan University

The university's logo has been rebranded in-house

A south Wales university is starting out life under a new name.

From 1 November, the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (Uwic), will be known as Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Last month the institution rejected a call to form a super-university with the University of Wales, Newport and the University of Glamorgan.

In a statement it said it looked forward to a bright future as a strong, student-centred university.

Uwic can trace its history back to 1865 when the School of Art opened in the Old Free Library Building on Cardiff's St Mary's Street.

In 1996 it became one of the colleges of the University of Wales.

Eleven thousand students from more than 125 countries attend the university which offers over 100 undergraduate courses.

It revealed its plan to re-brand last month in an email sent to staff and students saying it wanted its own degree-awarding powers.

'Recognised brand'

The decision came in the wake of controversies surrounding the University of Wales (UoW). A BBC Wales investigation uncovered a student visa scam at colleges offering UoW-validated qualifications.

The university said that as Uwic was a well-recognised brand in Wales the name would be incorporated with the new name Cardiff Metropolitan University for the foreseeable future.

"By handling the process internally we have been able to keep the costs of rebranding to a minimum," explained the university.

"Overall we look forward to a bright future under the new Cardiff Metropolitan University name as a strong, student-centred university focused on the economic, social and cultural well-being of Cardiff and south east Wales."

The proposed super-university merger was suggested by the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (Hefcw), which said Wales's current 11 universities should be cut to six.

Uwic had previously declined to merge with Swansea Metropolitan University and Trinity Saint David as The University of Wales, announcing in July its "regret" over the decision.

It later rebuffed a possible merger with the University of Glamorgan.