What it takes for a college to be a university

Just as a tree does not become a forest overnight, a college cannot become a university simply by changing its name. A university is more than just an educational institution. It is a centre of knowledge, research, and development that plays a crucial role in shaping society. While some universities are newly established, others have evolved from colleges through careful planning, significant investment, and years of academic progress. However, not every college is equipped for such a transformation, as the process requires more than ambition; it demands infrastructure, faculty, research facilities, and long-term sustainability.

The difference between a college and a university goes beyond terminology. A college primarily focuses on undergraduate education, whereas a university offers a wider range of undergraduate, postgraduate, and research programmes. Globally, for an institution to achieve university status, it must have multiple faculties, diverse academic programmes, and well-equipped facilities such as libraries, laboratories, and student housing. Many students aspire for their colleges to become universities, but not all institutions meet these rigorous academic and infrastructural criteria.

In many parts of the world, well-established colleges have successfully transitioned into universities, but such transformations take decades. In the United States, Harvard University started as Harvard College in 1636, primarily training clergy members before gradually expanding its academic focus and becoming a university in 1780. A similar transition happened with Yale University, founded as the Collegiate School in 1701, renamed Yale College in 1718, and officially became Yale University in 1887-a process spanning nearly two centuries. In Canada, the University of Toronto began as King's College in 1827 and transitioned into a university in 1850, taking over two decades to achieve this status. In the United Kingdom, Imperial College London, which started as the Royal College of Science in 1907, expanded over time and evolved into a leading university through gradual mergers and institutional development. The National University of Singapore, initially established in 1905 as a medical school, merged with Raffles College in 1949 to become the University of Malaya and later transformed into its present form in 1980-a transition that took over 75 years.

These examples tell us the average time for a college to transition into a university ranges between 20 and 100 years, depending on factors such as academic expansion, infrastructure development, financial stability, and government policies. Unlike setting up a new university from scratch, upgrading a college requires significant improvements to meet international higher education standards.

The prerequisites for constituting a university are well-established. Accreditation and legal recognition from national education authorities are essential to ensure the institution meets academic standards. A university must have multiple faculties covering diverse disciplines, each with specialised programmes. Faculty qualification is a key factor, with global standards suggesting that at least 30-50 per cent of professors should hold doctoral degrees. Research is another critical element, with universities expected to allocate 15-25 per cent of their annual budget to research and innovation. Without a strong research culture, a university risks becoming just an expanded version of a college rather than a centre for knowledge creation.

Bangladesh has also witnessed successful transitions from college to university, with one of the most notable examples being Jagannath University. Established as Jagannath College in 1858, it remained a prestigious educational institution for nearly 150 years before officially gaining university status in 2005. However, this transformation was not just a title change-it required extensive academic expansion, faculty improvements, and infrastructure upgrades. Today, Jagannath University enrols over 20,000 students across a wide range of undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral programmes. Its transition was a carefully planned process backed by government policies and education experts, ensuring that it met the necessary academic and infrastructural requirements before being recognised as a university.

The increasing demand for higher education has fueled aspirations for more universities worldwide. Countries with higher university enrollment rates tend to experience faster economic growth, as an educated workforce drives innovation and industrial development. In Bangladesh, university enrollment remains around 20-25 per cent, indicating the need for further expansion. However, simply upgrading colleges into universities without proper planning can lead to a decline in education quality rather than an improvement.

Transforming a college into a university is not a quick process. It requires years of commitment to academic excellence, infrastructure development, and financial stability. A well-functioning university is more than just an expanded version of a college; it is an institution that nurtures intellectual growth, contributes to national development, and creates opportunities for future generations. As Bangladesh continues to strengthen its higher education system, the focus should be on building universities that genuinely contribute to knowledge, innovation, and economic progress. The ambition to establish more universities is commendable, but it must be accompanied by careful planning, sufficient resources, and a long-term vision for sustainable growth. Higher education should not just be about expansion-it should be about excellence.

The writer is studying in the Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka.

rupok.du.ds@gmail.com