Talk:Robert Gordon University

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Hi - I actually work for the organisation concerned (original material is published on our website).

Is there a particular format that you require for permission to be granted for the material to be public domain?

Still a bit unsure how this works, but I work for the university and can grant permission to use this information - also confirmed with our public affairs department. Seajay 09:20, 2 Dec 2003 (UTC)

I've restored the article per your comment. As long as the university has no problem with it that's probably all that's necessary, but if you'd like, you could post a copy of an email (or a portion thereof) on the talk page (i.e. this page) granting this permission, just to be sure. --Delirium 05:24, Dec 5, 2003 (UTC)

Thanks - if someone wishes to contact me for extra confirmation they can email me at cDOTjonesATrgu.ac.uk (replacing the DOT and AT :-) ) Seajay 09:31, 5 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Moved to new title

The University name is not simply "Robert Gordon University", it is "The Robert Gordon University". Although this may seem a minor thing, it is actually considered very important and an integral part of the university name (despite the common abbreviation of RGU). Seajay 20:54, 16 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Someone seemed to have moved it back - so it has been returned to the correct title. Seajay 16:45, 16 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Moved it back AGAIN.

Please see the following Wikipedia help page on why using 'The' in this case is acceptable as it is the 'Official Name' of the university, and not simply a description:

Wikipedia:Naming conventions (definite and indefinite articles at beginning of name)

Seajay 20:28, 15 Oct 2005 (UTC)

See the section on that page you linked titled Universities:

The definite article should not be used for universities, even if the official name of the university uses the definite article, as indicated on the website links below. Thus, the most-common-name rule supersedes the official name.

Just about all other universities don't the "The" in front of them, even if it is the official name, eg see List of British universities. -- Vclaw 21:58, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

I've moved this back to Robert Gordon University. As the Vclaw mentions, the naming convention rules clearly state that the definite article should never be used for universities. This is for the sake of consistancy. Sorry. - Green Tentacle 13:50, 16 October 2005 (UTC)

OK. Will explain this reason. It is a strange rule - I can see the point of having it listed under 'R' in a list format, however given that this is supposed to be an article about the University, one would imagine that it would be important to actually use the correct name - and the one that the University uses in its communications - rather than perpetuating incorrect usage. Cheers for explaining reason though. Seajay 15:20, 18 Oct 2005 (UTC)

...and as of summer 2009, the decision has been taken to drop the definite article and we are now just "Robert Gordon University". And never, ever, use RGU on external communications, unless you're one of the departments that still do. 195.194.48.148 (talk) 23:57, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Update May 2012. I am not sure the 2009 comment above is appropriate and it is also inaccurate. Have added in the Order in Council as issued by the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in 1993 that created the university. I have provided a reference as a weblink to the order on the UK Government's National Archives pages. Paragraph 3 states that the official name of the university is "The Robert Gordon University" including the prefix "The". The 2009 rebranding created a logo for day-to-day use only and has not altered the official name of the university; in the UK this power resides solely in the Privy Council. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.63.235.253 (talk) 10:22, 9 May 2012 (UTC)

A few comments if I may:

Firstly there are plenty of sources that point to Robert Gordon not being the only university to "officially" have a 'The', for example looking at the Govenment, UKAS or Universities UK lists of Universities, and all of which don't have the 'The' in their Wikipedia article (although it is in some places inconsistent). Also note that two of the three just use "Robert Gordon University".

Secondly there is plenty of precedent: you saying "The 2009 rebranding created a logo for day-to-day use only and has not altered the official name of the university" is exactly the same situation the University of Durham faced (still officially under that name, but branded and trading as Durham University). The common name is used as the article title (and everywhere else on wikipedia with a few notable exceptions like 'History'), with the proper name in bold at the start. This is the current setup in this article and I don't see why it should be changed.

So as I say, I can't see any reason to change from what it is, and I also think that the 'The' should not be used in articles as in this edit which was the one that brought me here anyway.--23230 ^talk 06:55, 7 June 2012 (UTC)

School

The history section ought to clarify the relationship between the university and Robert Gordon's College - or if there is no relationship today, it should give some hint of how and when they became separate entities. --Doric Loon 12:38, 31 December 2005 (UTC)

Date of Establishment

Hi, I'm not sure of the correct date of establishment for RGU (1750, 1881, 1965, or 1992), however the current date on the page (1495) is that for Kings College, in Aberdeen University.

pcfreakshow 17:34, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

University ratings

(I'm posting this to all articles on UK universities as so far discussion hasn't really taken off on Wikipedia:WikiProject Universities.)

There needs to be a broader convention about which university rankings to include in articles. Currently it seems most pages are listing primarily those that show the institution at its best (or worst in a few cases). See Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Universities#University ratings. Timrollpickering 22:07, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Controversy section

I have no doubt that since this page has the university itself as a contributing editor, the section I've just added on the subject of Donald Trump's honorary degree will be objected to. However despite holding a degree from a Scottish University myself I'd never heard of Robert Gordon until I saw it featured in the film 'You've been Trumped'. Maybe Wiki etiquette requires that the positioning of the section should be changed, but the facts are substantially correct and I will defend their inclusion as relevant materialDean Morrison (talk) 01:25, 23 October 2012 (UTC)

Hi Dean, I also agree it is relevant material. There was some info on this in the article already (and as far I as I can see no-one has objected) but what you added expanded on it. However, it did seem in the wrong section for a uni wikipedia article, which usually have info on honorary graduates at the end, and controversies don't usually appear at the very top, so I've moved it to the "Honorary Graduates" section and integrated it with the small amount of info on the topic that was already there. This is not to sweep it under the carpet but so it matches the format of other university articles. I don't think the university itself makes many edits to this page, I seem to have done most of the writing and editing on it recently. Jackofhearts101 (talk) 16:08, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

Hi Jack of Hearts I hadn't noticed any material that was already there, which perhaps makes my point that this deserves higher billing. I agree that sticking a Controversy at the top is a bit much, but then burying the piece under 'Honorary Graduates' right at the bottom isn't right either. This isn't a story about an individual honorary graduate, its about the University taking a controversial action, and being portrayed in a negative light in an award-winning documentary feature film as a result. I think that's relevant information in its own right. I'd suggest a stand alone section named 'Donald Trump Controversy' as you suggest, but moved up a level. Where the right place in the running order I can't say, but after Honorary Graduates if you like. What do you think? Dean Morrison (talk) 17:12, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

As an afterthought I note that some other University pages have 'Reputation' as a heading. How about creating one here, and putting academic standards and Donald Trump controversy underneath it? Dean Morrison (talk) 17:15, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

Maintenance Template

Hello,

I think the maintenance template can be removed as article appears to be factually correct and up-to-date. However, as I don't know who created the template and specifically for what, I'm not keen to remove it (under Wiki's guidance notes) without first being sure it is no longer an issue. Can anyone advise?

EricaJD (talk) 11:21, 19 March 2019 (UTC)