Universities and Colleges.

All in all, there are now seventy-nine universities in the United King­dom, including the Open University. They can be roughly divided into three main groups:

1) the old universities;

2) the redbrick and civic universities;

3) the new universities.

1. The old universities are those founded before the year 1600: Ox­ford, containing about 30 separate colleges, dating back to the 12th cen­tury; Cambridge, with about 20 separate colleges, dating from the 13th century (until the 19th century, Oxford and Cambridge were the only universities in England); four Scottish Universities, dating from the 15th and 16th centuries: St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. For centuries Oxbridge ruled the roost. They were in many ways finishing schools for the sons of the gentry, barred to all who were not members of the Church of England. Then in 1836 London University was founded non-denominational and non-residential, and today the largest university in the country. From the start the emphasis was more on the vocation­al and the specialist, a break with the Oxbridge emphasis on the arts or humanities. At London University colleges are teaching institutions and not residential units. One of the most interesting of these is the famous London School of Economics.

2. The redbrick universities include all the provincial universities of the period 1850-1930, which all started as university colleges preparing stu­dents for London degrees, but which now award degrees of their own:

Manchster Birmingham Sheffield

Beeds Liverpool Reading

Nottingham Bristol Exeter

The term "redbrick" is not used much today, but is useful for defining tills group of universities which were all built in the favourite building material of the period—red brick. They are often called "civic" universities as they were founded on the basis of funds provided by the local municipal authorities.

3. The "new" universities are the universities founded since the year 1945. Unlike Redbricks, which are situated mainly in large towns, the "new" universities are to be found in pleasant rural surroundings close to some cultural centre of some antiquity, e. g., in Kent, where the university was set up near Canterbury, and in Essex, which has a university near Col­chester, the oldest town in Britain.

Owing to their modernistic architecture they are sometimes referred to as the "plateglass" universities. They have introduced new degrees or courses of study, in an attempt to break away from the overspecialization of the past.

Two features of Oxford and Cambridge deserve to be noted. One is the college system whereby all students live in college during at least part of their course. The other feature is the tutorial system, whereby each student gets personal tuition once a week in his tutor's own room.

Other colleges for further education include:

Teacher Training. In England and Wales all new entrants to tea­ching must generally have taken a recognized course of teacher train­ing. Courses are offered by most universities and by many polytechnics and other institutions of higher education. Non-graduates usually qual­ify by way of a three- or four-year course leading to the Bachelor of Education degree; graduates take a one-year postgraduate Certificate of Education.

Polytechnics (Polys) could be called the "comprehensives" of further education. They are study centres that offer a wide range of full-time or part-time courses for students of all ages (usually over 18). Courses lead to diplomas or to degrees awarded by the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA). Some 10 CATs (Colleges of Advanced Technology) were recently upgraded as full universities.

The Open University, originally called the "University on the Air", is open practically to everybody, making it possible for a great number of people to qualify for a university degree. Instruction is provided partly by TV and radio, and partly by correspondence. There are also some classes in the evening and residential courses for two or three weeks in the sum­mer. At the end of the course, successful students are awarded a universi­ty degree.

Notes:

Colleges. In England and Wales, if you study at Oxford or Cambridge, you have to belong to a college. Each college has its own living quarters, chapel, dining hall, library, etc., and is really a residential unit. This sys­tem of colleges going right back to the Middle Ages, is one of the chief characteristics of Oxbridge. It is unlike that of any other university, whether in Britain or America. In order to enter the university, a student must apply to a college and become a member of the university through the college. The colleges are not connected with any particular study and are governed by 20 to 30 "fellows". Each fellow of a college is a tutor (a teacher, often called a don). The university is like a federation of col­leges. The university arranges the courses, the lectures, and the examina­tions, and awards the degrees.

The University of London could also be called a federation of colleges, but the system is entirely different. The largest of the London colleges are like universities in themselves, having many different faculties and depart­ments. Others specialize in certain subjects, for example the London School of Economics or the Imperial College of Science and Technology. All arrange their own lectures and classes, but the university organizes the examinations and awards the degrees.

Degrees. In England and Wales, studying for the first degree normally takes 3 years. At the end of this course the successful student is awarded a Bachelor's degree, usually a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BSc). In English and Welsh Universities a master's degree (MA or MSc) is awarded after a further period of study, except at Oxford and Cambridge where it is possible to buy an MA twelve years after graduating as a BA.

A PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) and other higher degrees are awarded for research work. In Scotland, an MA is the first degree, an equivalent of the British BA (only after four years of study).

Administration. In England and Wales the Chancellor is usually the nominal head of the university. The professional head of the university is the Vice-Chancellor, who in most cases is an academic of professional rank.

The Senate is the principal academic body of the university, responsible for academic policy, teaching, examinations and discipline. Academic work is the responsibility of faculties, each of which is headed by a Dean. A faculty consists of a number of departments and the head of department is usually a professor. The position of "reader" is usually reserved for senior members of the staff with strong research interests. Senior lecturers and lecturers are responsible for much of the teaching by the department.

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