In some parts of the world it simply refers to any organized on-campus housing, an example being University of Malaya.
Another variant at some US universities is residential colleges that do not cover all years at the institute, e.g. Princeton University's system of mandatory residency the first two years, with an option to move outside one's residential college as an upperclassman,[12] or Cornell University's West Campus House System, which only takes sophomores and above,[13] with most upperclass students either living off campus or in dorms unaffiliated with the residential colleges.
Another point of variance is whether colleges are multi-disciplinary (as at Oxford and Cambridge) or focused on certain subject areas such as at Fordham University, which has dedicated residential colleges (Integrated Learning Communities) for upperclass students for various themes including global business and science, as well as separate first year residential colleges, including one for students considering pre-med or science majors.
In addition, the members of a residential college are usually expected to eat their meals together, as a unified body.
[24] At the University of Virginia, students may apply to live in one of three residential colleges; acceptance rates vary widely.
"Tutorials" (Oxford) or "supervisions" (Cambridge) are generally given within the college, but lectures are organised by the wider university.
In most universities in the UK with residential colleges – Durham (from the 19th century) along with Kent, Lancaster and York (from the 1960s) – formal teaching is carried out only in academic departments.
Their colleges are primarily residential and the focus for social and sporting activities, as well as for student welfare.
Residential colleges or Halls of Residence in New Zealand are common across the country's universities, particular for housing first year students.
In Italy, the residential college model was adopted in 2003 by all of Milan universities, according to a joint program developed in collaboration with several private and public institutions, such as Microsoft and the Lombardy Region, at the Collegio di Milano.
Due to the lack of housing available to the students, only the freshmen year participate in the residential college.