University system

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. 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. In Republic of Ireland, the National University of Ireland is a federal university system comprising constituent universities and recognised colleges. Its constituent universities are University College Cork, University College Dublin, the University of Galway and Maynooth University; its recognised colleges and associated institutions include the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the Institute of Public Administration.