State university system (United States)

A state university system in the United States is a group of universities supported by an individual state or a similar entity such as the District of Columbia. As there are no federally run colleges or universities in the United States other than the United States military academies and military staff colleges, these systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country. Each state supports at least one such system.

A state university system normally means a single legal entity and administration, but may consist of several campuses, each with their own identity as a university. Some states, such as California and Texas, support more than one such system.

History

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Many state universities were founded in the mid-1800s, in particular supported by the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act.

Following the Second World War, many state universities were merged with smaller institutions to achieve economies of scale in administration and also to raise the prestige of the degrees granted by some smaller institutions.

During the 1970s, further mergers took place, and the concept of a state system was widely adopted.

Historic names

During the growth and restructuring of the state systems, names such as University of California have changed their meanings over time.

• In some cases, the unqualified name has become the official name of the multi-campus system that includes the campus which is the original bearer of the name. Examples include:
  • University of California.
  • University of Illinois.

• In other cases, the unqualified name remains the official name of an individual campus which is now part of a larger system. Examples include:
  • University of Alabama.

• In some cases, the unqualified name now has no official status, but is used informally for either an individual campus (particularly in sporting and similar contexts) or for the system of which it is now part (particularly in administrative and academic contexts). Examples include:
  • University of Texas.
  • University of Wisconsin.

Some unqualified names such as University of Wisconsin have become sources of conflict and confusion, with supporters of the institutions originally bearing these names strongly defending them against the tendency to use such names instead for the entire expanded system.

See also

• List of American state universities

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