Public university Totally Explained

Everything about Public Universities totally explained

A public university is a university that's predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities. A national university may or may not be considered a public university, depending on regions.
In some regions of the world prominent public institutions are highly influential centres of research; many of these universities are ranked among the world's best in the THES - QS World University Rankings and the Academic Ranking of World Universities. In other regions, for instance, Japan, public universities tend to be less competitive and less prestigious than some of national and private universities.

Public universities worldwide

Australia

In Australia, the majority of universities are public. There are 38 public universities and four private universities. The private universities are Bond University, the University of Notre Dame Australia (both Australian), and the two foreign universities, Carnegie Mellon University (USA) and Cranfield University (UK), both have campuses in Adelaide.
Australia's public universities are variously grouped:

Some of the Group of Eight are the oldest and most prestigious public universities in Australia and include the Universities of Queensland, Sydney, Melbourne, New South Wales, Adelaide and Western Australia together with the Australian National University and Monash University. Three were established in the 19th century.
The Innovative Research Universities Australia (IRUA) group of universities represent a number of research intensive institutions. They were established in the 1960s and 1970s. The group includes Flinders, La Trobe, James Cook, Griffith, Macquarie, Newcastle and Murdoch Universities.
The Australian Technology Network (ATN) universities largely grew from the former Institutes of Technology and includes RMIT University, QUT, Curtin University of Technology, the University of Technology Sydney and the University of South Australia. They gained university status in the late 1980s to the early 1990s as a result of the reforms of the then Minister for Employment, Education and Training, John Dawkins.

There are also a number of ungrouped universities.

New Zealand

In New Zealand, all universities are public. The oldest (University of Otago) was established by Provincial Ordinance, the next six were established by individual Acts of Parliament, and one (Auckland University of Technology) established by the currently preferred method, an Maringa State University (UEM), Parana's Center State University (Unicentro) and Parana's West State University (Unioeste).

North America

Canada

In Canada, education is a constitutional responsibility of the individual provinces. Most universities are established and operated under provincial legislation, but a few of the oldest were founded by Royal Charter. All major Canadian universities are publicly-funded but maintain institutional autonomy, with the ability to decide on admission, tuition and governance.
The Group of Thirteen is an organization of the country's thirteen leading research-intensive universities. Additionally, McGill University and the University of Toronto are members of the Association of American Universities, along with sixty public and private institutions in the United States. Private universities in Canada are relatively new and mostly exist at the undergraduate level.

Mexico

In Mexico, the UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico), sometimes simply known as the "National University of Mexico", was founded in 1551. It is the largest University in the country and one of the largest in the world with over 250,000 students including all its system of high-schools. By percentage, it contributes the most to the country's academic research and cultural development although there are other significant public institutions such as the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), and the federal state-run universities.

United States

In the United States, most public universities are state universities founded and operated by state government entities; the oldest being The College of William & Mary, founded in 1693. Every U.S. state has at least one public university to its name, and the largest states have more than thirty. This is partly as a result of the 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Acts, which gave each eligible state 30,000 acres (120 km²) of federal land to sell to finance public institutions offering courses of study in practical fields in addition to the liberal arts. Many U.S. public universities began as teacher training institutions and eventually were expanded into comprehensive universities. Examples include Missouri State University, formerly Southwest Missouri State Teachers College; Texas State University, formerly Texas State Teachers College; State University of New York at Cortland, formerly Cortland State Teachers College; and the University of North Alabama, formerly Florence State Teachers College.
   States generally charge higher tuition to out-of-state students, a practice which the United States Supreme Court has deemed constitutional because the state is acting as a market participant providing a service, rather than protecting a fundamental right. The higher fees are based on the theory that students from the state have contributed to subsidizing the university by paying state taxes, while out-of-state students have not. It has never been determined whether the U.S. Constitution would allow the federal government to establish a federal university system; the only federally chartered universities that currently exist are those under the auspices of the U.S. military, such as West Point.
   Historically, most of the prestigious universities in the United States have been private. Some public universities are also highly prestigious and increasingly selective; Richard Moll designated such prestigious public universities Public Ivies. At two of those schools, University of Michigan and University of California - Berkeley, vast majority of the departments are consistently ranked top ten, allowing the schools to enjoy prestige similar or higher to that of an Ivy League University. State support of public universities has been declining, forcing many public universities to seek private support. Some professional graduate programs in law, business, and medicine rely almost solely on private funding.
   There are also a number of public liberal arts colleges.
   The American Public University System isn't in fact a public university, but is a for-profit private university geared towards teaching working students in military and civilian public service.

Asia

Bangladesh

In Bangladesh there are 26 public universities in operation. (External Link

) Most of them are very famous in indian subcontinat like the University of Dhaka (External Link

) is known as the Oxford of East. The University Grant Commission is the monitoring body for all the public universities in Bangladesh.The Universities shan't deal directly with the government but with the University Grants Commission which in turn shall deal with the government. Recently many private universities are established under the Private University Act 1992.

India

In India, most universities and nearly all research institutions are public. There are some private undergraduate colleges (mostly engineering schools) and the majority of these are affiliated to a public university. Few other private colleges are partially-aided by the state and central governments which results in reduced fees for the students. But all important and significant centers for higher education in the country are publicly administered. See List of universities in India for a more comprehensive list.

Israel

There are eight official universities in Israel. In addition, there are a few dozen colleges and other institutes of higher learning, as well as about a dozen foreign university extensions. All are academically supervised by the Council for Higher Education in Israel (CHEI). The main difference between a university and a college in Israel is that only a university can issue doctorate degrees. Theoretically, a college can apply to the CHEI to upgrade its status to university.

Japan

In Japan, public universities refer to schools that are not national universities but are run by local governments, either prefectural or municipal. According to the Ministry of Education, public universities has "provided an opportunity for higher education in a region and served the central role of intellectual and cultural base for the local community in the region", and are "expected to contribute to social, economical and cultural development in the region."; this contrasts to research-oriented aspects of national universities.
As of April 2006, there were 76 public universities, compared to 87 national and 571 private universities, and 127,872 students attended the schools. The number of the public universities has increased sharply in recent years; in 1980 there were only 34 public universities and in 1993 there were 46. Since July 2003 when the Local Independent Administrative Institutions Law was put into effect, public universities have been allowed to be incorporated. The average tuition in public universities for 2007 fiscal year was 536,238 yen, the average entrance fee 399,351 yen and the average application fee 17,095 yen.

Africa

Kenya

In Kenya, all of the Public Universities are under the control of the Ministry of Education. Students are enrolled after completing the 8-4-4 System of Education and attaining a Mark of C+ and Above. Students are given a loan by the Government through the Higher Education Loan Board (HELB) if they're government sponsored and meet the criteria upon application.They are expected to pay back after completing higher education.

References and footnotes

Footnotes

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