University College of Estate Management
University College of Estate Management is the leading provider of supported online education for the Built Environment, with 100 years’ experience of providing the highest quality learning opportunities. At any one time, we have more than 4,000 students from more than 100 countries benefiting from our qualifications taught by tutors with extensive industry experience.
UCEM helps to enhance Built Environment professional careers through its accredited property-related and construction programmes, offered at Postgraduate, Undergraduate and Apprenticeship levels.
In 1891, Richard Parry, a Surveyor, decided to expand from Surveying practice into teaching and established a tutorial school to coach students for their professional examinations. In 1896, he was joined by E.H. Blake, a lecturer in Building Construction at Reading University Extension College, as well as B.W.Adkin and Albert Parry (Richard’s brother). The coaching school. ‘Parry, Blake and Parry’ had a sense of magic attached to the name, with students viewing it as a passport to success in their examinations.
In late 1918, Britain was recovering from four years of the First World War. As society rebuilt itself, there were calls for improved building standards and living conditions, including for city slums to be replaced with better quality housing, which put UCEM in context that in 1918, Sir William Wells – a respected leader in the profession – proposed the establishment of a College of Estate Management. CEM was established in 1919. In 2019, on its 100th birthday, UCEM’s vision and core purpose to provide truly accessible, relevant, and cost-effective education, enabling students to enhance careers, increase professionalism and contribute to a better built environment is supported by the Institution’s sustainability agenda, aligned with the ambition to become the ‘Centre of Excellence for Built Environment Education’.
The UCEM office ‘Horizons’, is recognised as ‘Excellent’ on the BREEAM rating scale (the world’s leading building sustainability assessment method) following its refurbishment. UCEM is also recognised through a Green Apple Gold Award for our environmental and social benefits, innovation, economic and environmental impact as well as UCEM’s commitment to educating others about the project approach. This award led to UCEM becoming Green World Ambassadors, where UCEM will be held up as a shining light ‘for helping others to help the environment’. Additionally, UCEM online sustainable project entitled ‘Sustainable futures through online learning’ was awarded ‘Highly Commended’ at the Green Gown Awards 2018.