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A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

The first universities in Europe were established by Catholic Church monks. The University of Bologna (), Italy, which was founded in 1088, is the first university in the sense of:
*being a high degree-awarding institute.
*using the word ''universitas'' (which was coined at its foundation).
*having independence from the ecclesiastic schools and issuing secular as well as non-secular degrees (with teaching conducted by both clergy and non-clergy): grammar, rhetoric, logic, theology, canon law, notarial law.Hunt Janin: "The university in medieval life, 1179–1499", McFarland, 2008, , p. 55f.de Ridder-Symoens, Hilde
''A History of the University in Europe: Volume 1, Universities in the Middle Ages''
, Cambridge University Press, 1992, , pp. 47–55

History

Definition

The original Latin word ''universitas'' refers in general to "a number of persons associated into one body, a society, company, community, guild, corporation, etc". As urban town life and medieval guilds developed, specialized associations of students and teachers with collective legal rights (these rights were usually guaranteed by charters issued by princes, prelates, or their towns) became denominated by this general term. Like other guilds, they were self-regulating and determined the qualifications of their members.

In modern usage, the word has come to mean "an institution of higher education offering tuition in mainly non-vocational subjects and typically having the power to confer degrees". The earlier emphasis on its corporate organization is no longer the primary feature by which a modern university is recognised.

The original Latin word referred to degree-awarding institutions of learning in Western and Central Europe, where this form of legal organisation was prevalent and from where the institution spread around the world.

Academic freedom

An important idea in the definition of a university is the notion of academic freedom. The first documentary evidence of this comes from early in the life of the University of Bologna, which adopted an academic charter, the '' Constitutio Habita'', in 1155 or 1158, which guaranteed the right of a traveling scholar to unhindered passage in the interests of education. Today, this is claimed as the origin of "academic freedom". This is now a widely accepted concept in international research. On 18 September 1988, 430 university rectors signed the ''Magna Charta Universitatum'', marking the 900th anniversary of Bologna's foundation. The number of universities signing the ''Magna Charta Universitatum'' continues to grow, drawing from all parts of the world.

Antecedents

An early institution, often called a university, is the Harran University, founded in the late 8th century. Scholars occasionally call the University of al-Qarawiyyin (name given in 1963), founded as a mosque by Fatima al-Fihri in 859 CE, a university,Joseph, S, and Najmabadi, A. '' Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures: Economics, education, mobility, and space''. Brill, 2003, p. 314.Swartley, Keith. ''Encountering the World of Islam''. Authentic, 2005, p. 74. although Jacques Verger writes that this is done out of scholarly convenience. Several scholars consider that al-Qarawiyyin was foundedLulat, Y. G.-M.: ''A History Of African Higher Education From Antiquity To The Present: A Critical Synthesis Studies in Higher Education'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005, , p. 70: and run Shillington, Kevin: ''Encyclopedia of African History'', Vol. 2, Fitzroy Dearborn, 2005, , p. 1025: They consider institutions like al-Qarawiyyin to be higher education colleges of Islamic law where other subjects were only of secondary importance. as a madrasa until after World War II. They date the transformation of the madrasa of al-Qarawiyyin into a university to its modern reorganization in 1963.Lulat, Y. G.-M.: ''A History Of African Higher Education From Antiquity To The Present: A Critical Synthesis'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005, , pp. 154–157Park, Thomas K.; Boum, Aomar: ''Historical