by the University of Paisley before the merger that established UWS. Set in 20 acres (8 hectares) of the old parkland of Craigie House bordering the River Ayr, the campus also houses the West of Scotland Management Centre, the business school's management training and development facility.
=== University of the West of Scotland ===
On 1 August 2007, the University of Paisley merged with Bell College, Hamilton. On 30 November 2007, the Privy Council approved the name University of the West of Scotland for the merged institution. The name change was resisted by many in Paisley, seeing it as a break with tradition and the connections binding the previous university to the town. The 'Keep It Paisley' campaign attracted a number of supporters, amongst them local MP and then Secretary of State for Scotland, Douglas Alexander.
Today the University of the West of Scotland has over 15,000 students and remains one of Scotland's largest 'new universities'.
The university reported a cyber incident that happened in July 2023 which affected its systems and staff data. It was reported that the attack affected staff laptops, half of the university's systems, and student submissions. The hacking group Rhysida put the stolen information which reportedly contained staff's personal details and internal university documents.
== Campuses ==
=== Paisley ===
The Paisley campus of the University of the West of Scotland is situated in the centre of Paisley, Scotland's largest town. The campus is home to roughly 10,000 students of the universities enrolment, offering a range of courses and research opportunities in areas such as business, computing, social sciences, engineering, science and health, nursing and midwifery. Student accommodation at the Paisley campus is provided in a recently opened £13.2 million student residence development. The Paisley campus of the university spans 20 acres (8 hectares) and consists of four University of the West of Scotland academic schools.
=== Ayr ===
In August 2011, a new campus for the university …
