The announcement indicates that Newport has agreed to the Welsh funding council¡¯s recommendation that it merge with the University of Glamorgan and the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (Uwic).

But it said that it would only agree to join a new university ¡°if it further strengthens Newport¡¯s mission to widen access, promote social justice and drive economic regeneration¡±.

The Welsh funding council has argued that the number of universities in the country should shrink from 10 to six in order to boost their research clout.

Peter Noyes, Newport¡¯s vice-chancellor, is reported to have said that Glamorgan and UWIC were ¡°prime candidates¡± to be part of the institution but that the option was also open to others.

ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

Dr Noyes said that Newport was behaving in a ¡°principled and non-predatory¡± way.

¡°In endorsing the creation of a genuinely new institution, the governing body has made it very clear that any move that would weaken the role that we currently play in the region would be unacceptable,¡± he said.

ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

¡°We have therefore set out a blueprint for the new institution, which would ensure the continuation of our mission, the preservation of a distinct identity for higher education in Gwent and the best deal for our students and the communities that we serve.¡±

The new institution should only have one senior management team and vice-chancellor, but should keep ¡°locally focused brands and missions for its constituent parts¡±, Newport suggested.

In July, Uwic pulled out of plans to create a ¡°super-university¡± by merging with the University of Wales Trinity Saint David and Swansea Metropolitan University.

david.matthews@tsleducation.com