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[[Image:University of Salamanca.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[University of Salamanca]] in [[Spain]], founded 1218]]
[[Image:University of Salamanca.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[University of Salamanca]] in [[Spain]], founded 1218]]

Any definition of a word correctly should look at its Indo-European root if there is one. For the word "University" there is a pre-latin meaning of “One to Bend” derived from its Indo-European roots of "oi-no" combined with "wer-2." It is reasonable then to deduce part of the meaning for the term "University" is to take collect all into one and bend or turn it, which is indeed what Universities are doing to this day; a place of higher learning to take one from novice to expert.


===Medieval universities===
===Medieval universities===

Revision as of 18:44, 25 February 2010

For other uses, see University (disambiguation).
See also: College
Degree ceremony at the University of Oxford. The Pro-Vice-Chancellor in MA gown and hood, Proctor in official dress and new Doctors of Philosophy in scarlet full dress. Behind them, a bedel, a Doctor and Bachelors of Arts and Medicine graduate.

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education. The word university is derived from the Latin universitas magistrorum et scholarium, roughly meaning "community of teachers and scholars." [1]

History

Precursors of the university

Rafael's School of Athens, depicting Plato's Academy.
Representation of a university class in the 1350s
See also: List of oldest universities in continuous operation and Ancient universities of India

The original Latin word "universitas" was used at the time of emergence of urban town life and medieval guilds, to describe specialized "associations of students and teachers with collective legal rights usually guaranteed by charters issued by princes, prelates, or the towns in which they were located."[2] Although the original Latin word referred to degree-granting institutions of learning in Western Europe, where this form of legal organization was prevalent, it is sometimes extended to other educational institutions of antiquity:

Greece
Persia
China
Korea
  • Taehak was founded in 372 and Gukhak was established in 682.
India
Japan

The University of Constantinople, founded as an institution of higher learning in 425 and reorganized as a corporation of students in 849 by the regent Bardas of emperor Michael III, is considered by some to be the earliest institution of higher learning with some of the characteristics we associate today with a university (research and teaching, auto-administration, academic independence, et cetera). If a university is defined as "an institution of higher learning" then it is preceded by several others, including the Academy that it was founded to compete with and eventually replaced. If the original meaning of the word is considered "a corporation of students" then this could be the first example of such an institution.[5]

If the definition of a university is assumed to mean an institution of higher education and research which issues academic degrees at all levels (bachelor, master and doctorate) like in the modern sense of the word, then the medieval Madrasahs, or more specifically the Jami'ah, founded in the 9th century would be the first examples of such an institution.[6][7][8] The University of Al Karaouine in Fez, Morocco is thus recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest degree-granting university in the world with its founding in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri.[9] Also in the 9th century, Bimaristan medical schools were founded in the medieval Islamic world, where medical degrees and diplomas were issued to students of Islamic medicine who were qualified to be a practicing Doctor of Medicine.[7][10] Al-Azhar University, founded in Cairo, Egypt in 975, was a Jami'ah university which offered a variety of post-graduate degrees (Ijazah),[7] and had individual faculties[11] for a theological seminary, Islamic law and jurisprudence, Arabic grammar, Islamic astronomy, early Islamic philosophy, and logic in Islamic philosophy.[7]

The University of Salamanca in Spain, founded 1218

Any definition of a word correctly should look at its Indo-European root if there is one. For the word "University" there is a pre-latin meaning of “One to Bend” derived from its Indo-European roots of "oi-no" combined with "wer-2." It is reasonable then to deduce part of the meaning for the term "University" is to take collect all into one and bend or turn it, which is indeed what Universities are doing to this day; a place of higher learning to take one from novice to expert.

Medieval universities

Main article: Medieval university

The first higher education institution in medieval Europe was the University of Constantinople, followed by the University of Salerno (9th century), the Preslav Literary School and Ohrid Literary School in the Macedonian Kingdom (9th century). The first degree-granting universities in Europe were the University of Bologna (1088), the University of Paris (c. 1150, later associated with the Sorbonne), the University of Oxford (1167), the University of Palencia (1208), the University of Cambridge (1209), the University of Salamanca (1218), the University of Montpellier (1220), the University of Padua (1222), the University of Naples Federico II (1224), the University of Toulouse (1229).[12][13] Some scholars such as George Makdisi,[6] John Makdisi[14] and Hugh Goddard[11] argue that these medieval universities were influenced in many ways by the medieval Madrasah institutions in Islamic Spain, the Emirate of Sicily, and the Middle East (during the Crusades).

The earliest universities in Western Europe were developed under the aegis of the Catholic Church, usually as cathedral schools or by papal bull as studia generali (n.b. The development of cathedral schools into universities actually appears to be quite rare, with the University of Paris being an exception — see Leff, Paris and Oxford Universities), later they were also founded by Kings (Charles University in Prague, Jagiellonian University in Krakow) or municipal administrations (University of Cologne, University of Erfurt). In the early medieval period, most new universities were founded from pre-existing schools, usually when these schools were deemed to have become primarily sites of higher education. Many historians state that universities and cathedral schools were a continuation of the interest in learning promoted by monasteries.

In Europe, young men proceeded to university when they had completed their study of the trivium–the preparatory arts of grammar, rhetoric and dialectic or logic–and the quadrivium: arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. (See Degrees of the University of Oxford for the history of how the trivium and quadrivium developed in relation to degrees, especially in anglophone universities).

Outside of Europe, there were many notable institutions of learning throughout history. In China, there was the famous Hanlin Academy, established during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), and was once headed by the Chancellor Shen Kuo (1031-1095), a famous Chinese scientist, inventor, mathematician and statesman.[citation needed]

The tower of the University of Coimbra, the oldest Portuguese university

Modern universities

Main article: History of European research universities

The end of the medieval period marked the beginning of the transformation of universities that would eventually result in the modern research university. Many external influences, such as eras of humanism, Enlightenment, Reformation and Revolution, shaped research universities during their development.

By the 18th century, universities published their own research journals and by the 19th century, the German and the French university models had arisen. The German, or Humboldtian model, was conceived by Wilhelm von Humboldt and based on Friedrich Schleiermacher’s liberal ideas pertaining to the importance of freedom, seminars, and laboratories in universities.[citation needed] The French university model involved strict discipline and control over every aspect of the university.

Until the 19th century, religion played a significant role in university curriculum; however, the role of religion in research universities decreased in the 19th century, and by the end of the 19th century, the German university model had spread around the world. Universities concentrated on science in the 19th and 20th centuries and became increasingly accessible to the masses. In Britain the move from industrial revolution to modernity saw the arrival of new civic universities with an emphasis on science and engineering. The British also established universities worldwide, and higher education became available to the masses not only in Europe. In a general sense, the basic structure and aims of universities have remained constant over the years.[citation needed]

National universities

A national university is generally an university created or run by a national state but at the same time represent a state autonomic institutions which functions as a completely independent body inside of the same state. Some national universities are closely associated with national cultural or political aspirations, for instance the National University of Ireland in the early days of Irish independence collected a large amount of information on the Irish language and Irish culture. In revolutions in Argentina were the result of the university revolution of 1918 and its posteriors reforms by incorporating values that sought for a more equal and laic higher education system.

Organization

The University of Sydney is Australia's oldest university.

Although each institution is organized differently, nearly all universities have a board of trustees; a president, chancellor, or rector; at least one vice president, vice-chancellor, or vice-rector; and deans of various divisions. Universities are generally divided into a number of academic departments, schools or faculties. Public university systems are ruled over by government-run higher education boards. They review financial requests and budget proposals and then allocate funds for each university in the system. They also approve new programs of instruction and cancel or make changes in existing programs. In addition, they plan for the further coordinated growth and development of the various institutions of higher education in the state or country. However, many public universities in the world have a considerable degree of financial, research and pedagogical autonomy. Private universities are privately funded and generally have a broader independence from state policies.

Despite the variable policies, or cultural and economic standards available in different geographical locations create a tremendous disparity between universities around the world and even inside a country, the universities are usually among the foremost research and advanced training providers in every society. Most universities not only offer courses in subjects ranging from the natural sciences, engineering, architecture or medicine, to sports sciences, social sciences, law or humanities, they also offer many amenities to their student population including a variety of places to eat, banks, bookshops, print shops, job centers, and bars. In addition, universities have a range of facilities like libraries, sports centers, students' unions, computer labs, and research laboratories. In a number of countries, major classic universities usually have their own botanical gardens, astronomical observatories, business incubators and university hospitals.

Universities around the world

See also: List of colleges and universities by country
Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, US

The funding and organization of universities varies widely between different countries around the world. In some countries universities are predominantly funded by the state, while in others funding may come from donors or from fees which students attending the university must pay. In some countries the vast majority of students attend university in their local town, while in other countries universities attract students from all over the world, and may provide university accommodation for their students.[15]

Classification

Brooks Hall, home of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, US

The definition of a university varies widely even with some countries. For example, there is no nationally standardized definition of the term in the United States although the term has traditionally been used to designate research institutions and was once reserved for research doctorate-granting institutions.[16] Some states, such as Massachusetts, will only grant a school "university status" if it grants at least two doctoral degrees.[17] In the United Kingdom, an institution can only use the term if it has been granted by the Privy Council, under the terms of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992.[18]

Colloquial usage

Colloquially, the term university may be used to describe a phase in one's life: "when I was at university..." (in the United States and Ireland, college is used instead: "when I was in college..."). See the college article for further discussion. In Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the German-speaking countries "university" is often contracted to "uni". In New Zealand and in South Africa it is sometimes called "varsity" (although this has become uncommon in New Zealand in recent years), which was also common usage in the UK in the 19th century.

Criticism

Richard Vedder, an Ohio University professor and member of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, has been a critic of how institutions of higher education, including the universities, are financed. In his 2004 book, "Going Broke by Degree," Vedder says that tuition increases have rapidly outpaced inflation; that productivity in higher education has fallen or remained stagnant; and that third-party tuition payments from government or private sources have insulated students from bearing the full cost of their education, allowing costs to rise more rapidly.[19]

Discrimination by university faculty

Concern over the political bias among university faculty has long been a criticism of the university setting. [20] A study published in The Forum by university professor Robert Lichter and colleagues Stanley Rothman and Neil Nevitte has shown the vast majority of American university faculties to be politically liberal and non-religious. The study raises questions over whether the political leaning of university academics affect school policies, curricula, admission and evaluation procedures. The results of the study include preliminary findings of discrimination against conservative faculty. In addition, the study finds that liberals, men and the non-religious are overrepresented at top schools, with conservatives, women and religious faculty relegated to lower-tier colleges and universities. [21] [22] [23]

Recent developments on college campuses, such as the University of Delaware's Ideological Reeducation plan[24], and the persecution of Emily Brooker by faculty at Missouri State University [25] have drawn the attention of the public and the media to incidents of liberal bias against conservative faculty and students. [26] Victims note the difficulty of going up against tenured faculty and the risk of negative repercussions on their reputation and academic goals.[27] Advocacy groups such as FIRE, NAS and the ACLU have come to the aid of students and faculty who have become victim of such groups, and with the help of legal counsel have often succeeded in defending the rights of the victims they represent.

Cost

Main article: Tuition

Religious and political control of universities

In some countries, in some political systems, universities are controlled by political or religious authorities who forbid certain fields of study or impose certain other fields. Sometimes national or racial limitations exist in the students that can be admitted, the faculty and staff that can be employed, and the research that can be conducted.

Nazi universities

Main article: Nazi university

Books from university libraries, written by anti-Nazi or Jewish authors, were burned in places (example: in Berlin) in 1933, and the curricula were subsequently modified. Jewish professors and students were expelled according to the racial policy of Nazi Germany, see also the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service. Martin Heidegger became the rector of University of Freiburg, where he delivered a number of Nazi speeches. On August 21, 1933 Heidegger established the Führer-principle at the university, later he was appointed Führer of Freiburg University. University of Poznań was closed by the Nazi Occupation in 1939. 1941–1944 a German university worked there. University of Strasbourg was transferred to Clermont-Ferrand and Reichsuniversität Straßburg existed 1941–1944.

Nazi universities ended in 1945.

See also

Wikiversity has learning resources about University
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Universities and colleges.

References

  1. ^ Google eBook of Encyclopedia Britannica
  2. ^ Marcia L. Colish, Medieval Foundations of the Western Intellectual Tradition, 400-1400, (New Haven: Yale Univ. Pr., 1997), p. 267.
  3. ^ Cubberley, E.P. 2004. The History of Education. Kessinger Publishing. p. 40. [1]
  4. ^ Harvard Educational Review, Vol. 9 [2]
  5. ^ Professor Jerome Bump, The Origin of Universities, University of Texas at Austin
  6. ^ a b Makdisi, George (April–June 1989), "Scholasticism and Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West", Journal of the American Oriental Society, 109 (2): 175–182 [175–77], doi:10.2307/604423{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  7. ^ a b c d Alatas, Syed Farid (2006), "From Jami`ah to University: Multiculturalism and Christian–Muslim Dialogue", Current Sociology, 54 (1): 112–32, doi:10.1177/0011392106058837
  8. ^ Edmund Burke (June 2009), "Islam at the Center: Technological Complexes and the Roots of Modernity", Journal of World History, 20 (2), University of Hawaii Press: 165–186 [180-3], doi:10.1353/jwh.0.0045{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  9. ^ The Guinness Book Of Records, 1998, p. 242, ISBN 0-5535-7895-2
  10. ^ John Bagot Glubb:

    By Mamun's time medical schools were extremely active in Baghdad. The first free public hospital was opened in Baghdad during the Caliphate of Haroon-ar-Rashid. As the system developed, physicians and surgeons were appointed who gave lectures to medical students and issued diplomas to those who were considered qualified to practice. The first hospital in Egypt was opened in 872 AD and thereafter public hospitals sprang up all over the empire from Spain and the Maghrib to Persia.

    (cf. Quotations on Islamic Civilization)
  11. ^ a b Goddard, Hugh (2000), A History of Christian-Muslim Relations, Edinburgh University Press, p. 99, ISBN 074861009X
  12. ^ THE ORIGIN OF UNIVERSITIES
  13. ^ and University of Coimbra founded in Lisbon and was based there in 1290-1308, 1338-54, and 1377-1537.Medieval Universities And the Origin of the College
  14. ^ Makdisi, John A. (June 1999), "The Islamic Origins of the Common Law", North Carolina Law Review, 77 (5): 1635–1739{{citation}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  15. ^ "Basic Classification Technical Details". Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  16. ^ US Department of State: Types of Graduate schools
  17. ^ Massachusetts Board of Education: Degree-granting regulations for independent institutions of higher education
  18. ^ "Higher Education". Privy Council Office. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
  19. ^ Vedder, Richard (2004). "Going Broke by Degree: Why College Costs Too Much". American Enterprise Institute. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  20. ^ http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ756941&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ756941
  21. ^ http://www.bepress.com/forum/vol3/iss1/art2/
  22. ^ Rothman, Stanley; Lichter, S. Robert; and Nevitte, Neil (2005) "Politics and Professional Advancement Among College Faculty," The Forum: Vol. 3 : Iss. 1, Article 2.
  23. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8427-2005Mar28.html
  24. ^ http://www.cdobs.com/archive/syndicated/teaching-plan-america-an-oppressive-hellhole,96190
  25. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-11-02-gay-adoption_x.htm
  26. ^ http://www.nas.org/polDoc.cfm?Doc_Id=132
  27. ^ http://townhall.com/columnists/MikeAdams/2007/08/27/of_mice_and_mormons

Bibliography

  • Stanley Aronowitz, The Knowledge Factory. Boston: Beacon, 2000. ISBN 0807031224
  • Clyde W. Barrow, Universities and the Capitalist State: Corporate Liberalism and the Reconstruction of American Higher Education, 1894–1928, University of Wisconsin Press 1990 ISBN 0-299-12400-2
  • Sigmund Diamond, Compromised Campus: The Collaboration of Universities with the Intelligence Community, 1945–1955, Oxford University Press 1992 ISBN 0-195-05382-6
  • Olaf Pedersen, The First Universities : Studium Generale and the Origins of University Education in Europe, Cambridge University Press, 1998 ISBN 0-521-59431-6
  • Bill Readings, The University in Ruins. Harvard University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-674-92953-5.
  • Thomas F. Richards, The Cold War Within American Higher Education: Rutgers University As a Case Study,Pentland Press 1998 ISBN 1-571-97108-4
  • Walter Rüegg, general editor, A History of the University in Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    • Hilde de Ridder-Symoens, ed., vol. 1, Universities in the Middle Ages, 1992. ISBN 0-521-36105-2
    • Hilde de Ridder-Symoens, ed, vol. 2, Universities in Early Modern Europe (1500–1800), 1996. ISBN 0-521-36106-0
    • Walter Rüegg, ed., vol. 3, Universities in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries (1800–1945), 2004. ISBN 0-521-36107-9 (vol 3 reviewed by Laurence Brockliss in the Times Literary Supplement, no 5332, 10 June 2005, pages 3–4)
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