Solent University (formerly Southampton Solent University) is a public university based in Southampton, United Kingdom. It has approximately 11,000 students. Its main campus is located on East Park Terrace near the city centre and the maritime hub of Southampton. Solent University students are represented by Solent Students' Union, which is based on the East Park Terrace campus. The university's origins can be traced back to a private School of Art founded in 1856, which eventually became the Southampton College of Art. Mergers with the Southampton College of Technology, and later the College of Nautical Studies at Warsash, led to the establishment of the Southampton Institute of Higher Education in 1984.