What is Public University?

A public university is a university that is predominantly funded by public means through a national or subnational government, as opposed to private universities.

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.

Public Universities Worldwide

North America

In the United States, most public universities are state universities founded and operated by state government entities. Every U.S. state has at least one public university to its name, and the largest states have more than a dozen. 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 upon which to establish educational institutions. 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; Sam Houston State University, formerly Sam Houston 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. 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. 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.^[1]

The American Public University System is not in fact a public university, but is a for-profit private university geared towards teaching working students in military and civilian public service.

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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.

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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.

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Latin America

In Costa Rica the Universidad de Costa Rica, the Universidad Nacional and the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, all public universities, are among the nations most prestigious institutions. Nevertheless, the UN-sponsored University for Peace and the INCAE Business School (with campuses in Nicaragua and Costa Rica), are to be taken note of.

In Peru, the admission test required to enter national (public) universities requires higher scores. The public opinion sees this from the four century old National University of San Marcos, that it has seen as the most respected public education institution in the country. Also many other public universities follow the same rigurosity pattern used at Saint Mark's university, like National Agrarian University.

In Brazil, the most renowned universities are public, as the University of São Paulo (USP) (which is often considered the most important university of Latin America), the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Although there some few exceptions to the rule, such as the PUC's (a group of universities named Pontifícia Universidade Católica).

In Argentina, public universities such as the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP) and Universidad Tecnológica Nacional (UTN) are among the most respected, although a few private institutions such as the Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA) are also held in high esteem.

Europe

In Austria, most of the universities are public. The tuition fees are also regulated by the state and are the same for all universities. Except for some studies, notably medicine, everybody who fulfills the condition of a secondary degree is allowed to attend a public university. Private universities exist since 1999, but they still need an accreditation by the state.

In Denmark, almost all universities are public (except the business academy Niels Brock), and public universities (and public high schools) are held in higher esteem than their private counterparts, a notable thing to notice is that all public universities in Denmark are completely tuition-less.

In the United Kingdom, all universities are funded mostly by government teaching and research grants except for the University of Buckingham. However, unlike in other European countries, the British government does not own the universities' assets and university staff are not civil servants. Unite Kingdom universities are therefore better described as independent institutions with public funding, rather than public universities per se.

In France, most of higher education organizations (universities and so-called grandes écoles) are public and charge low tuition fees. Major exceptions are the schools of economic studies such as HEC School of Management.

In Germany, most higher education institutions are public, too. All German public universities are founded and operated by federal state government entities, all lecturers and professors are public servants. Until 2006, all German public universities were free of tuition fees. However, since then some states adopted tuition fees, others will follow in 2007 or 2008.

In Greece, all universities are public (with theoretical institutional autonomy) and are completely tuition-free for Greek citizens. Education is a constitutional responsibility of the state and the establishment of private universities is prohibited by the constitution. The article of the constitution regarding education was voted by the current parliament as one of those that will be amended by the next elected house of parliament. It is the intention of the current government to allow the establishment of private universities and recognize already existing private colleges as higher education institutions.

In Ireland all universities are public and the state pays a substantial amount of the cost of educating its undergraduates. There are a few private institutions of higher learning but none of them have university status.

In Portugal, there are 15 public universities, which include an university institute and a distance university. Higher education in Portugal provided by State-run institutions is not free, as a tuition fee must be paid, although being much lower than the tuition fees of the private ones. The highest tuition fee allowed by law in public universities is 901,23 euros/year (as of 2007).

In Sweden most universities are public. Education in Sweden is normally free, so there are no tuition fees at any university in Sweden, except for the compulsory Studen Union membership (20 to 40 EUR in 2007)

In Finland all universities are public. By law, any teaching that leads to a degree has to be provided free of charge to the students.

In Turkey, many of the most renowned universities are public such as the İTÜ, Boğaziçi University and METU, while at the same time a few of the notable universities are private such as Bilkent University.

Australia

In Australia, the majority of universities are public. There are 38 public universities and only two private universities,Bond University and the University of Notre Dame Australia. The oldest and most prestigious universities in Australia, are known as the Group of Eight and are all public universities.

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 B+ and Above. Students are given a loan by the Government through the HELB{ Higher Education Loan Board}, which they are expected to pay back after completing higher education.

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 Order-in-Council under the Education Act 1989.

Japan

In Japan public universities refer to schools that are not national universities but are run by local governments.

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 Government which results in reduced fees for the students. But all important and significant centers for higher education in the country are public.

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.

References and footnotes

Footnotes

See also

• Universities in the United States
• Universities in Kenya
• Bangalore University
• national university