There are a lot of reasons why this question is frequently asked, one reason is that most public universities are local government agency, that is, they are state-owned. Although, state-owned universities are public universities, not all public universities are state-owned. So there’s a need to understand whether a public university is a local government agency and whether it is not. Lets’ begin with Is A Public University A Local Government Agency?
There are presently 5,300 institutions in the USA, and out of this there are 1,626 public colleges. These schools are categorized into groups such as: two-year schools (community colleges and county colleges), four-year colleges and universities. Universities are referred to as public because of ownership, funding, and operation of these universities.
A public university is generally a state or local government agency, this is due to the fact that these public universities are funded by state tax dollars. These public universities offer what is known as in-state tuition to students that come from the same state the university is located. This in-state tuition is a much lower fee compared to what is called the out of state tuition paid by student who live or come from outside the state the university is located. And this is because the state government subsidizes the fees through its funding. It is very important to note that there are distinction among public universities, this means that not all public universities are state or local government agencies.
Some public universities are owned by corporations, some are owned by the federal government and some exist without total dependence on state funding. However, it is more important to know who is your college or university accredited by than it is to know whether it is public or private university.
A Public University v. A Private University
A public university refers to a college or university that is funded by a state government primarily. And the size of a public university are much bigger than a private universities. And due to the low in-state tuition in public universities, these universities have a large amount of student population and thus larger class sizes than private universities. A private university on the other hand, its primary funding does not come from a state government, and they are also smaller than public universities.
A university is classified based on ownership, and below includes four general classification of universities in the US:
- Public university owned and operated by state governments, for example University of California Berkeley.
- Private university non-profits owned and operated independently, for example Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Private university for-profit, which are run by corporations, for example University of Phoenix
- Then the Federal military or service academy which are run by the government.
Public University a Local Government Agency
Public education in the US is not run by the federal government (just a small number of public institutions) , the state or local government are responsible for the funding and oversight of all public universities. Most times many public institutions are state agencies, but at times they may be public corporations such that the employees are technically employed by the corporation but they might be subject and eligible to state regulations and to participate in state benefits plans. There is a fine line between public and private universities but such public universities which are not directly funded or operated by the state, are the middle ground between public and private universities. This can get very confusing, so it is best to think of public universities as state or local government agencies. It is more important to know who your college is accredited by than to know whether it is public owned (federal, state, local) or private.
Why should I know whether my university is public or private?
There are many universities in the US, and it may pose a challenge to find out which one is the right one for you. It is profitable to you if you have a good grasp of how these universities differ and one of the common differences you’d find is whether they are public or private, in other words this refers to whether they are owned or funded by the state or local government or private.
Are public university professors employed by the government?
Many US institutions which may be funded by the state governments, all represents the majority of public universities in the country. Public university professors may be considered employees of the state, but they are still not federal employees.
Conclusion
Universities in the US are classified based on public owned university and private owned university. Public universities are state or local government agencies because they are funded by the government, however there are times where this may become fuzzy, because most state or local government universities are all public universities not all public universities are state or local government agencies, and this may arises due to the fact that public universities exercise a certain degree of independence when it comes to self governance and also get funding not only from the state or local government.
Frequently asked questions
- Are public universities state or local government?
Yes, state or local government are considered the state or public university employer
- Are universities government agencies?
Most times these institutions may be associated with state governments, but only a small number of public institutions are actually funded directly and governed by the federal government.
- Between public and private universities which is better?
When you check the college rankings of all universities, the public universities tend to appear lower than the private . They also have few selection criteria for admission and usually have large amount of students.
