Types of English universities

First come the ancient universities of Oxford and Cambridge that date from the 12^th century and that until 1828 were virtually the only English universities. Oxford and Cambridge are composed of semi-independent colleges, each college having its own staff, know as ‘Fellows’. Most colleges have their own dining hall, library and chapel and contain enough accommodation for at least half of their students. The Fellows teach the students, either one-to-one or in very small groups (called ‘tutorials’ in Oxford and ‘supervision’ in Cambridge), the tutorial method brings the tutor into close and personal contact with the student.

Before 1970 all Oxford colleges were single-sex (mostly for men). Now, the majority admits both sexes. Among other older universities there should be mentioned four Scottish universities, such as St. Andrews (1411), Glasgow (1450), Aberdeen (1494), and Edinburgh (1583). The first of these, being the oldest one, resembles Oxbridge in many ways, while the other three follow the pattern of more modern universities in that the students live at home or find their own rooms in town. At all of them teaching is organized along the lines of the continental traditions – there is less specialization than at Oxford.

The second group of universities comprises various institutions of higher education, usually with technical study, that by 1900 had sprang up in new industrial towns and cities such as Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds. They got to be known as civic or ‘redbrick’ universities. Their buildings were made of local material, often brick, in contrast to the stone of older universities, hence the name, ‘redbrick’. These universities catered mostly for local people. At first they prepared students for London University degree, but later they were given the right to award their own degrees, and so became universities themselves. In the mid-20^th century they started to accept students from all over the country.

The third group consists of new universities founded after the Second World War and later in the 1960s, which saw considerable expansion in new universities. These are purpose-built institutions located in the countryside but close to towns. Examples are East Anglia, Sussex and Warwick. From their beginning they attracted students from all over the country, and provided accommodation for most of their students in site (hence their name, ‘campus’ universities). They tend to emphasize relatively ‘new’ academic disciplines such as social science and make greater use than other universities of teaching in small groups, often known as ‘seminars’.

Among this group there are also universities often called ‘never civil’ universities. These were originally technical colleges set up by local authorities in the first half of this century. Their upgrading to university status took place in two waves. The first wave occurred in the mid-1960s, when ten of them were promoted in this way. Another thirty became ‘polytechnics’, in the early 1970s, which meant that along with their former courses they were allowed to teach degree courses (the degrees being awarded by a national body). In the early 1990s most of the polytechnics became universities. So there are now 80 universities and a further 19 colleges and institutions of higher education in the UK.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1155