University system

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A university system is a set of multiple affiliated universities and colleges that are usually geographically distributed. Typically, all member universities in a university system share a common component among all of their various names. Usually, all member universities of a university system are governed by a system-wide governing body, such as a board of trustees or a board of regents. In the United States, many states have one or two state university systems under which many of their publicly funded universities are aligned, both in name and in governance. Additionally, for-profit universities, such as DeVry University, often have multiple campuses which share the same name; these may be, but are not always, described as a university system.

In Canada, university system usually refers to the collection of all universities within a jurisdiction, as distinguished from other post-secondary institutions. Used as a point of comparison, it may refer to the universities within a province or within a country.^[1] In the UK, university system has been used to refer to the policy and practise of integrated administration and infrastructure of the universities within the country.^[2]

In the Philippines, university system is a title granted by the Commission on Higher Education to a private or public higher education institution after complying certain requirements. The commission defines university system as an organized academic entity composed of separate but interrelated units, at least one of which has university level status. A single governing board is responsible for the formulation of system-wide policies and programs. A university system has its own system administration headed by a chief executive officer. Its function is to coordinate and integrate system-wide functions and activities. Each constituent unit has its own chief executive officer to whom broad powers is delegated by the governing board for the organization and operation of the constituent unit.^[3]

In Vietnam, university systems consist of many member institutions, with each institution equivalent to a regular specialized university. Vietnam currently exists 6 university systems, each university system divided into many member universities, member schools or member institutes specializing in training and researching a specific group of disciplines to create their own strengths. The head of a university system is called a president, and the head of a member university is called a rector.

In France, there are two legal statuses for grouping universities together: the collegiate university (which initially had an 'experimental' status, the EPE, before definitively obtaining the status of Grand Établissement', the GE) and the university system (as a COMUE, in French 'Communautés d'Universités et Établissements). The first, the EPE and then the GE, is generally the status adopted by at least two universities that merge to create a new one, very close to the collegiate university model. With the second status, the COMUE, the universities retain their legal autonomy and distinct identities within an association of universities.^[4]