  As a student at UCN I feel that it is important to cover stories that involve the future of education within Northampton. It would be a huge boost to the town if UCN did get full University status, and would certainly attract even more students to study in Northampton. In my experience, University College Northampton is an outstanding institution. I have studied at two universities ( I left in my first year of study previously ), and in my opinion of UCN,&nbsp;the teaching standards are excellent, and the atmosphere and support given to students is superb. The only thing that UCN lacks is the ability to award research degrees. This is currently being addressed, and it has been an important aspect during this year. The student reps and many tutors have been involved in the application process&nbsp;for University status. Hopefully, if all goes well, then UCN should be awarded its University status by the end of this year.
There is also talk of backdating some awards so that degrees will state University of Northampton. There was news announced this week that the guidelines for becoming a university will change, and therefore if UCN did not achieve university status this year then it would reapply under the new rules. Unfortunately although the new rules would mean that UCN would become a university, they would be unable to award research degrees, and the general concensus is that the ability to award research degrees is vital.
A university in name alone would not be enough for many tutors and students. So, for the mean time, we wait for the decision to see whether we become a university or not. I'd love to hear from current students, ex students, tutors and ex tutors as well as anyone else who has an opinion on the issue. &nbsp; 
