and Joe Blackledge as vice principal. At its opening, the college was the first mixed-gender institution under lay control. The college accepted its first group of 182 students in 1968.
Initially, the college's degree qualifications were awarded by the University of Birmingham. In 1983, under threat of closure, the college entered into an agreement with nearby Westhill College to share facilities. This relationship ended abruptly in 1998 when Coventry University started to award all degrees and Westhill College was absorbed into the University of Birmingham. Between 2003 and 2008, the University of Leicester validated all degrees at the college. The Privy Council gave the institution degree-awarding powers in 2007, finally marking the institution's independence.
Between the years 2000 and 2008 the college expanded, student numbers increasing by 112%.
Originally called Newman College of Higher Education, the college was established as a centre for the training of teachers for local primary and secondary schools. …
