Calvin College to become Calvin University in 2020
Quote:
A Calvin College release said the rationale for the change includes the strength of Calvin’s academic programs, academic innovation and the term “university” being more recognizable for international students.Having been living overseas, I can confirm that the term "college" does indeed confuse non-Americans.
To avoid confusion, I've long ago started using the term "my university" when talking to non-Americans about my old college days.
2 comments:
In Canada the "college" and "university" definitions are similarly fraught. Most universities have several colleges under their umbrella. These colleges usually specialize in particular branches of study -- humanities, music, architecture, etc. A student then graduates from this particular college with a degree conferred by the university. But then there are community colleges which tend to be focused on vocational studies. Some of these colleges eventually bring in a wide enough array of subjects and studies that they become universities. I'm sure there are variants I'm not taking account of as well.
I think part of the problem is that the word "university" is universally recognizable, but "college" means something slightly different in every country.
In America, in everyday colloquial English "college" and "university" are interchangeable. There is some technical definition of the difference between college and university. I think it's similar to what you described above for Canada. But I have yet to meet an American who completely understood what the technical difference between a university and a college was.
And then in Britain, College refers to a secondary school institution. And many students in Europe and South East Asia study out of English textbooks that use British terminology.
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