The University of York has eleven colleges. [1] These colleges provide most of the accommodation for undergraduates and postgraduates at the university. While lectures, examinations, laboratories and facilities such as the central library are run by the university, the colleges play an important role in the pastoral care of the student body.
Every student is a member of a college, staff may choose to join a college if they wish. All the colleges are of equal status, but each has its own constitution. The day-to-day running of the colleges is managed by an elected committee of staff and student members chaired by the college's 'Head of college'. Each college has a Junior Common Room for students, which is managed by the elected Junior Common Room Committee, and a Senior Common Room, which is managed by elected representatives of the college's academic and administrative members. The colleges are deliberately assigned undergraduates, postgraduate students and staff from a wide mixture of disciplines. [1]
In 1963 the University of York opened. At the time, the university consisted of three buildings, principally the historic King's Manor in the city centre and Heslington Hall, which has Tudor foundations and is in the village of Heslington on the edge of York. A year later, work began on purpose-built structures on the Heslington West campus, including the construction of the Colleges, which now form the main part of the university. [2]
Baron James of Rusholme, the university's first Vice-Chancellor, set out to create a modern university which retained and updated the collegiate system of the traditional collegiate universities of Oxbridge, [3] It was planned that "Each college will be a unit of 300 students, 150 of whom will be resident, the remainder being in lodgings or in student flats, but using the college as their social centre. This organisation is unlike that of Oxford and Cambridge on one hand or the halls of residence at civic universities on the other. The college will differ from 'Oxbridge' in that they will not be autonomous financially, nor will they be responsible for admission of students or appointment of staff. They will differ from halls of residence in that teaching will be carried on in them." [4] York's first two Colleges, Derwent and Langwith were founded in 1965, and were followed by Alcuin and Vanbrugh in 1967. [5] Goodricke and Wentworth were founded shortly afterwards, in 1968 and 1972 respectively.
After 1972 the construction of Colleges ceased until 1990 with the foundation of James College, York. Initially James was intended to be a postgraduate only college, however the university began to rapidly expand in size almost doubling in size from 4,300 to 8,500 students, [6] in 1993 therefore it was decided that the college should become open to undergraduates. [7] The expansion of student numbers also resulted in the creation of more accommodation by the university which was named 'Halifax Court'; the members of Halifax Court were members of other colleges however soon formed their own Junior Common Room. [8] In 2002 Halifax Court was made a full College of the university and was renamed as Halifax College, York.
In 2003, the university set out plans to create a campus for 5,000 additional students, Heslington East. [9] [10] In May 2008 the City of York planners approved the design for the new campus. [11] It was decided that rather than create a new college that an existing College should be moved. Goodricke College was selected for this and moved onto the new campus in 2009 with James taking over its building on Heslington West. In 2012 the same process took place with Langwith moving to Heslington East and Derwent taking over its previous buildings.
In 2014 Heslington East saw the establishment of the ninth college and was named Constantine after the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, who was proclaimed Augustus in York in 306 AD. [12]
Due to increasing demands for accommodation, two new colleges have been built on the University's East Campus. The first, opened in 2021 is named after Anne Lister [13] and the second is named after David Kato. [14] [15]
Name | Foundation | Location | Named after |
---|---|---|---|
Derwent College | 1965 | Campus West | River Derwent [16] |
Langwith College | 1965 | Campus East [lower-alpha 1] | Langwith Common [17] |
Alcuin College | 1967 | Campus West | Alcuin of York, scholar and advisor to Charlemagne [5] |
Vanbrugh College | 1967 | Campus West | Sir John Vanbrugh, designer of Castle Howard [18] |
Goodricke College | 1968 | Campus East [lower-alpha 2] | John Goodricke, astronomer [19] |
Wentworth College | 1972 [lower-alpha 3] | Campus West | Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford [20] |
James College | 1990 [lower-alpha 4] | Campus West | Lord James of Rusholme [7] |
Halifax College | 2002 [lower-alpha 5] | Campus West | E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax [8] |
Constantine College | 2014 | Campus East | Constantine the Great, Roman Emperor [12] |
Anne Lister College | 2021 | Campus East | Anne Lister, Yorkshire Landowner and Diarist [13] |
David Kato College | 2022 | Campus East | David Kato, Ugandan human rights activist [14] [15] |
Like other plate glass universities, such as Lancaster, colleges are primarily residence halls as opposed to having the legal status of 'listed bodies' as seen at Oxford and Cambridge. However, the colleges do still have considerable autonomy.
Every college is governed by its own constitution, which designates a college council as its governing body. This is chaired by the Head of College, and consists of a Deputy Head of College and representatives of the student membership. Often other non-voting members are included such as senior college fellows, the senior porter, and college tutors.
Changes to the structure of the colleges starting in September 2015 means that heads of college will become part-time and will be assisted by a full-time assistant head of college'. [21]
Four colleges (Derwent College, Langwith College, Vanburgh College and Wentworth College) have a principal who acts as the Head of the College and chairs the College Council.
In the other seven colleges (Alcuin College, Anne Lister College, Constantine College, David Kato College, Goodricke College, Halifax College James College), the College Manager is the Head of the college, chairs the College Council, and leads the College Team.
The day-to-day running of the colleges is managed by an elected committee of staff and student members chaired by the college's Provost. Colleges have a Junior Common Room for undergraduate students, which is managed by the elected Junior Common Room Committee, and a Graduate Common Room for post-graduate students, as well as a Senior Common Room, which is managed by elected representatives of the college's academic and administrative members. The only exceptions to this are Wentworth which as a post-graduate only college does not have a Junior Common Room, and Halifax, [22] Constantine [23] and Goodricke [24] which are run by a student association that represents both undergraduates and postgraduates together. Vanbrugh and Langwith's Junior Common Room Committees are branded as College Student Associations, however both Vanbrugh and Langwith retains a Graduate Common Room and a Senior Common Room and therefore it's SA plays the same role as the JCRC in the other colleges. [25]
A University of York Students' Union (YUSU) referendum proposing the formation of College Student Associations passed in 2013. [26] This did not change the structure of student representation in the colleges however, as the colleges are independent of YUSU and therefore any change in the way representation is organised would require a college referendum. No college has changed its status (Halifax having already had a SA, and Constantine only being founded after the referendum), with Wentworth being the only college to have held a referendum on changing to a Student Association which resulted in a no vote. [27]
Junior Common Rooms and Student Associations are headed by an 'Executive Committee' made up of a Chair/President, Vice Chair/Presidents, Secretary, and Treasurer who have signatory powers. Below the executive committee are the rest of the members of the committees who have responsibilities for welfare, activities, events and the general running of the committee. [28]
The colleges are responsible for many of the social activities of their members, and each JCRC organises the 'Fresher's Week' activities for its college. Another central role is the appointment of STYCs (an abbreviation for Second and Third Year Contacts) who are returning students who are responsible for looking after new first years. [29]
Intercollegiate sport is one of the main activities of the colleges. Currently there are 21 leagues with weekly fixtures, in addition a number of one day events are organised as well. [30] The results of the leagues and the one-day events are combined to determine the winner of the 'College Cup', in the 2013/14 standings James College won, with Derwent College coming second, and Alcuin College coming third. [30]
In 2014 a new tournament was created "College Varsity" which was held between York's colleges and the colleges of Durham University. York hosted the first tournament which was won by Durham's colleges, [31] as was the second held in Durham. The third tournament was held in 2016 and was hosted and won by York. [32]
The University of York is a collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects.
Van Mildert College is a college of Durham University in England. Founded in 1965, it takes its name from William Van Mildert, Prince-Bishop of Durham from 1826 to 1836 and a leading figure in the University's 1832 foundation. Originally an all-male college, it became co-educational in 1972 with the admission of female undergraduates.
Goodricke College is a college of the University of York. It was founded in 1968 and named after the astronomer John Goodricke. The college has approximately 1500 undergraduate members, of which some 500 live in college accommodation, and about 140 postgraduate members, of which most live in college accommodation.
Vanbrugh College is one of the eleven colleges of the University of York.
Alcuin College is a college of the University of York located on Siward's Howe in the English city of York in the county of Yorkshire.
Nouse is a student newspaper and website at the University of York. It is the oldest registered society of, and funded by, the University of York Students' Union. Nouse was founded in 1964 by student Nigel Fountain, some twenty years before its rival York Vision. The newspaper is printed three times in each of the Autumn and Spring terms, and twice in the Summer term, with frequent website updates in between print runs. As of June 2022, Nouse has printed 500 editions.
Wentworth College is a college of the University of York, named after Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford.
Derwent College is a college of the University of York, and alongside Langwith College was one of the first two colleges to be opened following the university's inception. It is named after the local River Derwent. Both the original college building and the former Langwith college buildings are Grade II listed, making all of the current Derwent College premises Grade II listed.
Langwith College is a college of the University of York. Alongside Derwent College it was a founding college of the University, and is named after the nearby Langwith Common.
James College is a college at the University of York in the United Kingdom. It is known as the "Sports College" largely due to its prowess on the Sports field but also has a diversity of events that cater to all tastes. The college crest incorporates a swan with a White Rose of York.
Halifax College is the largest college of the University of York. It was founded in 2001 and is named after Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, the 1st Earl of Halifax.
Colleges within universities in the United Kingdom can be divided into two broad categories: those in federal universities such as the University of London, which are primarily teaching institutions joined in a federation, and residential colleges in universities following the traditional collegiate pattern of Oxford and Cambridge, which may have academic responsibilities but are primarily residential and social. The legal status of colleges varies widely, both with regard to their corporate status and their status as educational bodies. London colleges are all considered 'recognised bodies' with the power to confer University of London degrees and, in many cases, their own degrees. Colleges of Oxford, Cambridge, Durham and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) are 'listed bodies', as "bodies that appear to the Secretary of State to be constituent colleges, schools, halls or other institutions of a university". Colleges of the plate glass universities of Kent, Lancaster and York, along with those of the University of Roehampton and the University of the Arts London do not have this legal recognition. Colleges of Oxford, Cambridge, London, and UHI, and the "recognised colleges" and "licensed halls" of Durham, are separate corporations, while the colleges of other universities, the "maintained colleges" of Durham, and the "societies of the university" at Oxford are parts of their parent universities and do not have independent corporate existence.
A common room is a group into which students are organised in some universities, particularly in the United Kingdom, normally in a subdivision of the university such as a college or hall of residence, in addition to an institution-wide students' union. They represent their members within the hall or college, operate certain services within these institutions such as laundry or recreation, and provide opportunities for socialising. There are variations based on institutional tradition and needs, but classically the following common rooms will exist:
University of York Students' Union (YUSU) is the representative body for the students at the University of York, England. It provides representation for all students, is the key provider of entertainment and welfare services, and operates a range of commercial ventures including a cafe bar and events & marketing department. Pierrick Roger is the current Union President. At one time entertainer Tom Scott was president after running as Mad Cap'n Tom, entered against his will by friends and dressed as a pirate.
The Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past (IPUP) is an interdisciplinary research centre at the University of York, established in 2006. The institute works as an outward-facing body to create a sustainable network of partnerships between the academic environment and those working in museums and galleries, other heritage practitioners, and media professionals. It also conducts research into the ways in which the past is presented in the media to a mass audience for the purposes of education and entertainment, and into how audiences more generally comprehend and interact with the past. IPUP organises regular conferences and research seminars. It also runs an internship programme for postgraduate students.
More House is the Catholic chaplaincy for the University of York in Heslington, York. The building itself dates from the late 18th century. The chaplains were formerly Carmelite friars resident in the building, but since 2021 priests from York Oratory have been ministering to the chaplaincy. It is located on Main Street in Heslington, which is towards the south edge of the university's Campus West. It is a Grade II listed building.
Long Boi was an unusually tall male duck that lived on Campus West of the University of York, England. He was thought to be an Indian Runner duck-Mallard cross, standing out among the other ducks on the campus due to his height. He went viral and became an internet meme in 2021. His popularity saw him become an unofficial mascot for the university. At least one commentator has branded him 'Britain's most famous duck'.
Campus East is a 287 acres (116 ha) site which is part of the University of York. The campus is situated around a 35 acres lake mirroring the design of Campus West. The site currently contains five colleges along with social hubs and academic departments.
The Norman Rea Gallery is the only student run art gallery in the United Kingdom. It is based at the University of York, with premises in Derwent College, above the Courtyard Bar in the main quad. It is affiliated with the University of York Students' Union.