College
A college may be a tertiary educational institution, part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary school.
In most of the world, a college may be a high school or secondary school, a college of further education, a training institution that awards trade qualifications, a higher-education provider that does not have university status, or a constituent part of a university. In the United States, a college may offer undergraduate programs – either as an independent institution or as the undergraduate program of a university – or it may be a residential college of a university or a community college, referring to higher education institutions that aim to provide affordable and accessible education, usually limited to two-year associate degrees. The word "college" is generally also used as a synonym for a university in the US, and as used in phrases such as "college students" and "going to college" it is understood to mean any degree granting institution, whether denominated a school, an institute, a college, or a university.
Colleges in countries such as France, Belgium, and Switzerland provide secondary education.
Etymology
The word "college" is from the Latin verb lego, legere, legi, lectum, "to collect, gather together, pick", plus the preposition cum, "with", thus meaning "selected together". Thus "colleagues" are literally "persons who have been selected to work together". In ancient Rome a collegium was a "body, guild, corporation united in colleagueship; of magistrates, praetors, tribunes, priests, augurs; a political club or trade guild". Thus a college was a form of corporation or corporate body, an artificial legal person with its own legal personality, with the capacity to enter into legal contracts, to sue and be sued. In mediaeval England there were colleges of priests, for example in chantry chapels; modern survivals include the Royal College of Surgeons in England, the College of Arms in London, an electoral college ; all groups of persons "selected in common" to perform a specified function and appointed by a monarch, founder or other person in authority. As for the modern "college of education", it was a body created for that purpose, for example Eton College was founded in 1440 by letters patent of King Henry VI for the constitution of a college of Fellows, priests, clerks, choristers, poor scholars, and old poor men, with one master or governor, whose duty it shall be to instruct these scholars and any others who may resort thither from any part of England in the knowledge of letters, and especially of grammar, without payment".Overview
Higher education
Within higher education, the term can be used to refer to:- A constituent part of a collegiate university, for example King's College, Cambridge, or of a federal university, for example King's College London.
- A liberal arts college, an independent institution of higher education focusing on undergraduate education, such as Williams College or Amherst College.
- A liberal arts division of a university whose undergraduate program does not otherwise follow a liberal arts model, such as the Yuanpei College at Peking University.
- An institute providing specialised training, such as a college of further education, for example Belfast Metropolitan College, a teacher training college, or an art college.
- A Catholic higher education institute which includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical universities.
- In the United States, college is sometimes but rarely a synonym for a research university, such as Dartmouth College, one of the eight universities in the Ivy League.
- In the United States, the undergraduate college of a university which also confers graduate degrees, such as Yale College, the undergraduate college within Yale University.
Further education
Secondary education
In some national education systems, secondary schools may be called "colleges" or have "college" as part of their title.In Australia the term "college" is applied to any private or independent primary and, especially, secondary school as distinct from a state school. Melbourne Grammar School, Cranbrook School, Sydney and The King's School, Parramatta are considered colleges.
There has also been a recent trend to rename or create government secondary schools as "colleges". In the state of Victoria, some state high schools are referred to as secondary colleges, although the pre-eminent government secondary school for boys in Melbourne is still named Melbourne High School. In Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory, "college" is used in the name of all state high schools built since the late 1990s, and also some older ones. In New South Wales, some high schools, especially multi-campus schools resulting from mergers, are known as "secondary colleges". In Queensland some newer schools which accept primary and high school students are styled state college, but state schools offering only secondary education are called "State High School". In Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, "college" refers to the final two years of high school, and the institutions which provide this. In this context, "college" is a system independent of the other years of high school. Here, the expression is a shorter version of matriculation college.
In a number of Canadian cities, many government-run secondary schools are called "collegiates" or "collegiate institutes", a complicated form of the word "college" which avoids the usual "post-secondary" connotation. This is because these secondary schools have traditionally focused on academic, rather than vocational, subjects and ability levels. Some private secondary schools choose to use the word "college" in their names nevertheless. Some secondary schools elsewhere in the country, particularly ones within the separate school system, may also use the word "college" or "collegiate" in their names.
In New Zealand the word "college" normally refers to a secondary school for ages 13 to 17 and "college" appears as part of the name especially of private or integrated schools. "Colleges" most frequently appear in the North Island, whereas "high schools" are more common in the South Island.
In the Netherlands, "college" is equivalent to HBO. It is oriented towards professional training with a clear occupational outlook, unlike universities which are scientifically oriented.
File:St Johns College Johannesburg.jpg|thumb|St John's College, Johannesburg, a boys' school in South Africa
In South Africa, some secondary schools, especially private schools on the English public school model, have "college" in their title, including six of South Africa's Elite Seven high schools. A typical example of this category would be St John's College.
Private schools that specialize in improving children's marks through intensive focus on examination needs are informally called "cram-colleges".
In Sri Lanka the word "college" normally refers to a secondary school, which usually signifies above the 5th standard. During the British colonial period a limited number of exclusive secondary schools were established based on English public school model these along with several Catholic schools traditionally carry their name as colleges. Following the start of free education in 1931 large group of central colleges were established to educate the rural masses. Since Sri Lanka gained Independence in 1948, many schools that have been established have been named as "college".
Other
As well as an educational institution, the term, in accordance with its etymology, may also refer to any formal group of colleagues set up under statute or regulation; often under a Royal Charter. Examples include an electoral college, the College of Arms, a college of canons, and the College of Cardinals. Other collegiate bodies include professional associations, particularly in medicine and allied professions. In the UK these include the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Physicians. Examples in the United States include the American College of Physicians, the American College of Surgeons, and the American College of Dentists. An example in Australia is the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.By country
The different ways in which the term "college" is used to describe educational institutions in various regions of the world is listed below:Americas
Canada
In Canadian English, the term "college" usually refers to a trades school, applied arts/science/technology/business/health school or community college. These are post-secondary institutions granting certificates, diplomas, associate degrees and bachelor's degrees. The French acronym specific to public institutions within Quebec's particular system of pre-university and technical education is CEGEP. They are collegiate-level institutions that a student typically enrols in if they wish to continue onto university in the Quebec education system, or to learn a trade. In Ontario and Alberta, there are also institutions that are designated university colleges, which only grant undergraduate degrees. This is to differentiate between universities, which have both undergraduate and graduate programs and those that do not.In Canada, there is a strong distinction between "college" and "university". In conversation, one specifically would say either "they are going to university" or "they are going to college".