University of Aldesey

The University of Aldesey

Coat of Arms of the University of Aldesey
Latin: Universitas Aldesiensis
Other name	The Chancellour, Masters and Scholars of the University at Aldesey
Motto	Omnia pro Domino
Motto in English	All be unto the Lord
Type	Corporation by prescription
Established	c. 8th century as a monastic school c. 1256 as a university
Religious affiliation	Church of Nortend
Endowment	~ £101,200,000
Chancellor	The Rt Rev'd Dr William Laseby, Bishop of Chepingstow
Vice-Chancellor	The Rt W'shipful Dr Thomas Matthew
Students	~ 3,400
Location	Aldesey , Narland , Great Nortend
Language	English, Latin
Colors	Light blue   and white
Sports	Boating, hunting

The University of Aldesey, formally The Chancellour, Masters and Scholars of the University at Aldesey, is one of the three universities in Great Nortend located in the town of Aldesey, in Narland. It is the oldest university and the second largest after the University of Limmes in Great Nortend. It grew as a monastic school attached to Aldesey Abbey from the 8th century, and developed into a collegiate university during the 12th and 13th centuries.

It is built upon two large natural islands in the River Lither, Upper and Lower Eyote, which have over the centuries has been nearly fully covered by the buildings of the university, with the town of Aldesey developing on the banks of the river.

The University as a body is distinct from its sixteen constituent colleges. Each of the sixteen colleges are independent and responsible for the lodging, education and nourishment of its students. Students are admitted to a college through the process of Matriculation, when they formally become members of the University. Henceforth, they are bound by the University's statutes and regulations. For example, students, when in public, are required to at all times wear the gowns of their status. The University's statutes, regulations and ordinances are enforced by the University's Proctors, police, and student beadles, who have the power to fine and confine, and in extreme cases, to rusticate or ban (expel).

The formal council body of the University is known as the Great Congregation, comprised of all masters of the University, who are those students with a Master of Arts or were otherwise a Doctor of Letters, Science, Music, Laws, Physic or Divinity. It is considered the sovereign body of the University. It has a role in determining University's statutes and regulations, subject to the assent of the Chancellour, as well as academic matters such as examinations, rustication, matriculation, the curriculum and lectures, as well as granting graces, dispensations and degrees.

The Congregation, with its large size, meets normally every three years, and delegates its powers to the smaller Minor Congregation, or Convocation of Regent Masters, who have power over academic matters, however cannot pass statutes. Statutes are deliberated upon by the Convocation, and if agreed to, referred back to the entire Congregation, which can accept it or reject it at the triennial meetings or by postal ballots.

Faculties

As with the other two Erbonian universities, the University of Aldesey retains the four faculties of the mediaeval university tradition, being the Faculties of Arts, Physic, Laws and Divinity. Since the reforms of the 18th century, each faculty is more relevant to their respective professions—the sciences and humanities, the practice of medicine and law, and of holy orders—than the more wholly academic approach favoured thitherto.

All students enter the university in the Faculty of Arts, excepting monks and friars who are admitted straight into the Faculty of Divinity. The undergraduate curriculum of the Faculty of Arts is split into two, with the first half for the Bachelor of Arts and the latter the Master of Arts. The curriculum for the Bachelor of Arts focusses on the trivium of liberal arts, being rhetoric, logic and grammar, in addition to history, ethics and politics. The degree lasts two years, and is attained by most students. The second half of the course, for the Master of Arts, involves study in the quadrivium, of music, astronomy, arithmetic and geometry, along with further studies in algebra, calculus, physics, metaphysics and theology. The entire course takes around another two years, for a total of three years. Before graduating, however, the student is required to obtain the licentia docendi, or licence to teach, from the local bishop. This is granted as a matter of course.

Study

The curriculum for the Bachelor and Master of Arts at Aldesey is:

Bachelor of Arts: 1st year: Logic, Rhetoric, Oration, Poetry, Ancient History and Grammar (Preliminary examinations) 2nd Year: Ethics, Modern History, Economics, Politics, Diplomacy, and Theology (Finals examinations)

Master of Arts: 3rd Year: Metaphysics, Biology, Physics, Astronomy, Mathematics and Music (Finals examinations)

Study in the higher faculties follows a similar path, with a two or three-year bachelor's degree and then a doctoral degree by thesis. Most students do not obtain a doctorate, with the bachelor's degree sufficing in most of the learned professions, excepting those in the Faculty of Physic, who may obtain their doctorate by practice instead of by thesis, after three years (four years for the University of Rhise).

Further study in the Faculty of Arts is also possible, with there being a split between the 'letters course', the music course, and the 'science course'. The former course focusses on the humanities, which is mostly based on the course of the Bachelor of Arts, with an especial focus on the classics, history, poetry and rhetoric, the music course on music theory and practice, and the latter is based on the Master of Arts, being focussed on the more scientific aspects of study with specialisation available in each. These courses all include the bachelor degree as well as a doctorate.

Teaching is in the form of lectures taken by regent masters, supplemented in the philosophical subjects with frequent disputations (debates), and in all subjects, many numerous declamations (essays).

Students

Students at the University of Aldesey are either undergraduates or masters, the former being those without a degree and the latter those with a masters degree. Undergraduates are graded into five ranks: noblemen; gentlemen; commoners; battelers; and servitors. Most colleges have abolished servitors, however some still retain the rank. Different ranks of undergraduates are entitled to different academic gowns and hats which mark their status.

Academics

Teaching in all four universities is undertaken by the regent masters, fellows and professours of the University.

A master is any scholar of a University who has been granted the licentia docendi, or licence to teach which is required before obtaining the Master of Arts. After graduating with the Master of Arts, a person is legally permitted to teach at the University. There is traditionally a period of regency where a master becomes a regent master and teaches the Arts to undergraduates through lectures whilst simultaneously studying for a bachelor degree in a higher faculty.

A regent master is thus typically a graduate student reading for a further degree whilst simultaneously working as a tutor for undergraduates. The duties of a regent master are not particularly onerous and the position is well-paid at most colleges. Typical duties include delivering a weekly lecture to undergraduate students, attending Convocation, looking after undergraduate students, and otherwise assisting with the peace and good order of the University.

A fellow is a regent master of the University attached to a college who has obtained the doctorate of and thus the licence to teach in their faculty. They form the governing body of a college, along with professours, and are required to give tutorials (also known as lessons or readings) to students studying in their faculty. Tutorials form the main source of education within the higher faculties, where lectures are not always frequent, resulting in a system where study in the higher faculties is delivered by fellows and professours, whilst undergraduate study in the Faculty of Arts is mainly delivered by tutors and fellows.

A professour is a fellow who has been given a chair in a specific field by a college or the University or, in the case of Professours Regius, by the Crown. They are required to deliver a certain number of lectures to students every year.