University of London - Organisation and Administration

Organisation and Administration

The nine largest institutions of the federal university, usually termed the colleges, are Birkbeck, Goldsmiths, King's College London, the London Business School, Queen Mary, Royal Holloway, the School of Oriental and African Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science and University College London (UCL). Formerly a constituent college, Imperial College London left the University of London in 2007.

For most practical purposes, ranging from admission of students to negotiating funding from the government, the 18 constituent colleges are treated as individual universities. Legally speaking they are known as Recognised Bodies, with the authority to examine students and have the university award them degrees. Some colleges have recently obtained the power to award their own degrees and the University has amended its statutes to allow them to do so and yet remain in the University federation. For instance, beginning in the 2007/08 academic year, the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), King's College London, the Institute of Education, and University College London began awarding their own degree certificates while retaining their constituent-college status within the University of London.

Most decisions affecting the constituent colleges and institutions of the University of London are made at the level of the colleges or institutions themselves. The University of London does retain its own decision-making structure, however, with the Collegiate Council and Board of Trustees, responsible for matters of academic policy. The Collegiate Council is made up of the Heads of Colleges of the University.

The 12 institutes, or Listed Bodies, within the University of London offer courses leading to degrees that are both examined and awarded by the University of London. Additionally, twelve universities in England, several in Canada and many in other Commonwealth countries (notably in East Africa) began life as associate colleges of the university offering such degrees. By the 1970s, almost all of these colleges had achieved independence from the University of London. An increasing number of overseas academic institutes offer courses to support students registered for the University of London International Programmes's diplomas and degrees and a new Institutions Policy Framework is currently being developed to accommodate these institutions. Up to now, no accreditation from London for these schools has existed other than the final examinations administered by the University of London which all pupils take.