Wolverhampton Polytechnic

.The University is currently second in the UK for graduate employability - 96% of students who graduated from the University of Wolverhampton in 2015 were in work or further study six months after they had left - for universities of its size (with 2,000-3,000 full-time undergraduate graduating students), according to the Destinations of Leavers From Higher Education (DHLE) survey.In addition, the university was commended with the highest level of commendation by the Quality Assurance Agency in 2015 for the 'enhancement of student learning opportunities', whilst the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) exercise rated all submitted Research Centres as having 'world-leading' elements.HistoryThe university's roots lie in the Wolverhampton Tradesmen's and Mechanics' Institute founded in 1827 and the 19th-century growth of the Wolverhampton Free Library whose evening classes were formalised as the Science, Technical and Commercial School in 1899, and grew into the Wolverhampton and Staffordshire Technical College in 1926. It was renamed Wolverhampton and Staffordshire College of Technology in 1951 and became Wolverhampton College of Technology in 1966 following county boundary changes. Wolverhampton School of Art was founded in 1851, becoming the Municipal School of Art in 1878, and finally Wolverhampton College of Art in 1950. Wolverhampton College of Technology merged with Wolverhampton College of Art in 1969 to form The Polytechnic, Wolverhampton in 1969. The Polytechnic changed its name to Wolverhampton Polytechnic in 1988 and gained university status as the University of Wolverhampton in 1992.