Collegiate university
The first college to be established was the Collège des Dix-Huit at the University of Paris, founded in 1180 by John of London shortly after he had returned from Jerusalem.
At around the same time Balliol College was founded by John de Balliol via a grant of land in 1263 as a penance imposed by the Bishop of Durham, and Merton College was founded with an endowment by Walter de Merton in 1264.
At the University of Coimbra, for example, many colleges were established in the 16th century, although these were limited to the study of theology with the other faculties remaining non-collegiate.
These colleges, joined by others in the 17th and 18th centuries, persisted until 1834, when they (along with the religious orders that ran then) were suppressed following the Portuguese civil war.
[16] This led to criticism in the 19th century, with William Hamilton alleging that the colleges had unlawfully usurped the functions of the universities as the tutors had taken over the teaching from the professors.
[15] Royal Commissions in the 1850s led to Acts of Parliament in 1854 (for Oxford) and 1856 (for Cambridge) that, among other measures, limited the power of the colleges.
There had been much dispute over UCL's attempt to gain recognition as a university, and the University of London was designed as a political solution to put an end to this dispute and to enable the students at both UCL and King's to receive degrees.
Another major difference was that both UCL and King's were non-residential, providing teaching but not accommodation.
This would provide the model for the civic colleges that were established in the major English cities, which later became the redbrick universities.
After 1858 the requirement for colleges to be affiliated was dropped and London degrees were available to anyone who could pass the examinations.
[26] More recently, the collegiate and federal traditions have been seen as separate in Britain, although both inspired by different aspects of the colleges at Oxford and Cambridge, e.g. "With the partial exception of Durham (and in the twentieth century York, Kent and Lancaster) there has been no serious attempt to create in Britain a collegial tradition in the mode of Oxbridge, but the federal principle has been widely emulated.
"[27] Similarly a conference on The Collegiate Way in 2014 concentrated entirely on universities with residential colleges (e.g. Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, etc.
[28] This was in keeping with the idea that "The collegiate way is the notion that a curriculum, a library, a faculty, and students are not enough to make a college.
[32] One definition of a collegiate university states that "it's the sense of community within a big environment that's the common feature".
[33] In many collegiate universities, the teaching is centrally organised through departments and faculties on a university-wide basis.
This system was pioneered at Durham University in the United Kingdom in the 1830s, and has been described as "a far better model for people at other institutions to look to, than are the independent colleges of Oxford and Cambridge".
In many collegiate universities, following the pattern of Oxford and Cambridge, membership of a college is obligatory for students, but in others it is either not necessary or only necessary for students in particular faculties, e.g. at the University of Toronto, where the colleges are all associated with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
As the colleges are primarily teaching institutions, they may not always be residential communities and many are effectively universities in their own right.
[36] Over time, the level of federation may evolve, particularly as independent colleges grow and seek to establish themselves as universities in their own right.
[45] Monash University runs an unusual "non-residential college" system for students living off-campus.
In Canada the University of Toronto has a collegiate system for students in the faculty of Arts and Sciences on its St George campus that took form from the mid 19th century, originally modelled after that of Oxford.
While all students of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on the St George campus are members of one of the colleges, students in other undergraduate faculties (Applied Science and Engineering, Architecture, Landscape and Design, Kinesiology and Physical Education, and Music) are only members of colleges if they live in a college residence, and the University of Toronto Mississauga and University of Toronto Scarborough are non-collegiate.
However, based on the advice of the Second Fulton Report, the teaching departments of the three colleges were gradually merged from 1976.
[52] Teaching and research were centralised under the university and the colleges became academic communities responsible for providing pastoral support and non-formal learning opportunities.
More established colleges may even offer PhD programs in some departments with the approval of the affiliating university.
Created during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, it is modelled on the collegiate universities of Cambridge and Oxford.
In Italy, independent halls of residence known as 'colleges of merit' operate in a number of university cities, offering tutoring, supplementary teaching, and additional diplomas.
[55] The university in which the collegiate model is most developed is the University of Pavia with four independent colleges (including two established in the 16th century: Collegio Borromeo, founded in 1561, and Collegio Ghislieri, founded in 1567) and 12 public colleges.
Most collegiate universities in the US were previously non-collegiate but have established residential colleges in the 20th or 21st century.
The colleges are spread over a square mile site and share certain departmental, library and research facilities.
