Case studies regarding the conversion f some colleges to university status by legal ways by means of constitution of Acts by State legislative assembly or parliament to form State university or Central university respectively

1. UPGRADATION OF COLLEGE TO UNIVERSITY
Mr. ROBIN P. MATHEW
AssistantProfessor,
G.N.KhalsaCollege,
Universityof Mumbai,
Mumbai-400019

4. Higher
Educational
Institutions
(HEIs)
University
Central
State
Deemed
IITs
IIMs
NITs
Others
Private
Colleges
Constituents
Autonomous
Government
Aided including
minority Colleges
Self Financed

5. “University” means a University established or incorporated
by or under a Central Act, a Provincial Act or a State Act, and
includes any such institution as may, in consultation with the
University concerned, be recognised by the Commission in
accordance with the regulations made in this behalf under
this Act.
“college” means any institution, whether known as such or by
any other name which provides for a Programme of study
beyond 12 years of schooling for obtaining any qualification in
from a university and which, in accordance with the rules and
regulations of the university, is recognized by the UGC as
competent to provide for such Programme of study and
present students undergoing such Programme of study for the
examination for the award of such qualifications

7. Requirement for a college
to
be converted to a University
- An act excised by the State legislative Assembly (SLA) or Parliament
needs to be passed which allows the conversion of a college to become a
University
- There are no special criteria/norms for conversion of college to University
- The act also specifies that the infrastructure, services and assets of the
college will be transferred in the name of the University

8. *Raiganj University - Raiganj University Act, 2014

9. •STATE: Orissa Orissa Gazette
Ravenshaw University Act, 2005
•STATE: West Bengal Kolkata
Gazette
Presidency University Act, 2010
•STATE: Assam Assam Gazette
Cotton University Act, 2017
149
YEARs
200
YEARs
116
YEARs

10. Presidency University
• Formerly Hindu College and Presidency College
• Public state university located in Kolkata, West Bengal
• College opened - Monday, 20 Jan 1817 with 20 'scholars‘
• In 1972 (almost 155 years) - article by faculty demanded
university status
• Dipak Banerjee, the legendary economics professor – AUTHOR
• In 2007, a 7 member committee was appointed under leadership of Chittotosh
Mookerjee by state CM - Buddhadeb Bhattacharya
• The report of the committee - partial autonomy, should create more
professorships and scholarships for meritorious students

11. • In 2009, the Governing Body of the college unanimously adopted
the proposal that the college should be given full university
status
• The Presidency University Act, 2010, in which the West Bengal
Legislative Assembly granted full university status to the college
• The bill stated that once the college becomes a full state-aided
university it will be renamed PRESIDENCY UNIVERSITY.

12. Cotton University
• Cotton College was declared open on 27 May 1901 by Sir
Henry Stedman Cotton
• Cotton University, formerly Cotton College State
University (CCSU), is a public state university located
in Guwahati, Assam, India
• It was established by an Act (Act XIX of 2011) of the Assam
Government in 2011
• This Act received the assent of the Governor of Assam on 3 September 2011, and was notified
via the Assam Gazette on 5 September 2011
• The 114-year-old historic Cotton College as its constituent college, under the name "Cotton
College State University”
• The election to the University's first Academic Council and University Court was held on 22
February 2013 with three and five members, respectively.
• In 2017, the university was renamed to Cotton University

13. Ravenshaw University
• After the great famine of 1866, the people of Odisha
and some liberal Britons wanted to start a college
at Cuttack
• Thomas Edward Ravenshaw - commissioner of Odisha
divison
• Proposed to convert the Collegiate School --> full-fledged degree college
• Ravenshaw University is a co-educational state university - Cuttack, Odisha
• Founded as Ravenshaw College in 1868
• 9 schools, 33 departments and a student enrolment - 8,000
• One of the oldest educational institutes in the country, synonymous with the history
of modern Odisha

14. Merits and lapses of this conversion
Merits:
• At University level there liberty to take
academic and financial decisions for the
betterment of the institution
• No delay in execution of decisions
• Greater status as an Institution achieved
• More grants/funds at disposal for improvement at various levels
• Effectiveness in incorporating upgradation in syllabus
• Collaboration with different Foreign or native Universities and
colleges

15. Lapses from my perspective:
• Workload increases substantially
• Public response towards upgradation may lead to decrease in admissions
• Time and effort put in by the Teaching staff needs to be more
• Building up expectation from the University at various levels
• May lead to marginalization of contribution in any field of the university
(administrative/teaching/research .etc)
• Underperformance can deteriorate the Prestige and Name of the
University