Talk:York St John University

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A mortarboard This article is part of WikiProject Universities, an attempt to standardise coverage of universities and colleges. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this notice, or visit the project page, where you can join the project or contribute to the discussion.
Start This article has been rated as Start-Class on the quality scale.

Does anyone know how the relationship with the University of Leeds has changed since / will change following confirmation of York St John's degree awarding status and its intention to become a full university? Paulleake 22:33, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] University ratings

(I'm posting this to all articles on UK universities as so far discussion hasn't really taken off on Wikipedia:WikiProject Universities.)

There needs to be a broader convention about which university rankings to include in articles. Currently it seems most pages are listing primarily those that show the institution at its best (or worst in a few cases). See Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Universities#University ratings. Timrollpickering 23:44, 21 December 2006 (UTC)


[edit] 165 years old?

I've reverted the recent changes to the founding date, which I feel misrepresent the age of St John. Although older colleges existed, Rippon St Joh itself only existed after the 1974 merger. A comparable Wikipedia example is Trinity College, Cambridge which was founded in 1546 as a merger of the existing King’s Hall, Cambridge and Michaelhouse, Cambridge but, whilst accknowledging the existence of the earlier institutions is described as founded in 1546.Mammal4 10:46, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

I don't think this can be compared with Cambridge colleges! St John started out as a teacher training college, not a University college, which is something totally different. The present institution can certainly trace its beginnings directly to the Diocesan Training College, and that same college in York has been known as St John's College since the 1890s. (The departure and return of the women's college to and from Ripon is largely irrelevant, as is the temporary addition of "Ripon" to the title). It was still primarily a teacher training college until the 1980s, and as such was unable to award degrees until the 1990s when like so many other polytechnics and training colleges it became nominally connected to an already established university solely for this purpose.

Strictly speaking, it could be said that the University of York St John was either founded in 1841, as the Diocesan Training College, or in 2006, when the College of York St John was first able to award degrees under its own name..Jud 22:20, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

It is an educational institution with a complex evolution and history - I think the comparison is fine. The point I make is that whilst it is Ok to acknowledge that the University evolved from older institutions (In the Cambridge analogy many colleges evolved from mergers of hostels and religious bodies as well as academic institutions) it is a misrepresentation to say that the university in its current conformation is 165 years old in an article entitled York St John University because it has only existed in this form since 1974, (or arguably 2006, but I think to put founded 2006 in the infobox would be equally a misrepresentation). I don't see the merger with the Womens college as irrelevent as it shows the point at which the institutions and traditions as well as academic life of both places was first tempered into the new college. If the Woman's college is still technically merged into the rest of the institution and hasn't been split away, then 1974 seems like the most sensible date to choose. Take careMammal4 09:22, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Chancellor

Have edited the article to state that the Archbishop of York is the first Chancellor, rather than will be the first Chancellor, as he quite clearly is now. I'm surprised the edit wasn't made sooner. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.29.32.194 (talk) 10:56, 3 November 2007 (UTC)