University of Sainte-Chloé

Imperial and Pontifical University of Sainte-Chloé

Université Impériale et Pontificale Sainte-Chloé
Latin: Imperialis et Pontificia Studiorum Universitas a Sancta Chloea
Motto	Contemplare et Contemplata aliis Tradere
Motto in English	To Study, and to Hand on the Fruits of Study to Others
Type	Public Pontifical
Established	1543 (1543)
Chancellor	Louis Cardinal Merloix
Vice-Chancellor	Louis Thomas
Provost	Catherine Delacroix
Rector	Reginald Garrigou, OP
Academic staff	1,066 (2022)
Students	10,491 (2022)
Undergraduates	6,730 (2022)
Postgraduates	3,661 (2022)
Location	Port de la Sainte , Sainte Chloé Parish , Sainte-Chloé
Campus	Urban
Colours	Yellow and Blue
Affiliations	Roderican Order

The University of Sainte-Chloé (Gaullican: Université Sainte-Chloé), officially known as the Pontifical University of Sainte-Chloé (Université Pontificale Sainte-Chloé) is a public and Pontifical collegiate university in Port de la Sainte, Sainte-Chloé. Originally founded in 1523 as a seminary and studium conventuale by the Roderican Order, in 1543 the Pope elevated it to University status, and it recieved an Imperial charter in 1566. It is the oldest university in Sainte-Chloé and claims to be the oldest university in the Asterias, which is disputed with the National University of Saint Isidore in Aucuria. It has been in continual operation since its founding, making it the disputed oldest continuously operating university in the Asterias.

The University of Sainte-Chloé is divided into 12 constituent residential colleges, governed by a central faculty and university structure. Despite being publicly funded, the University since the beginning has been governed and overseen by the Roderican Order, although other religious orders have connexions certain colleges. The University is ranked as the top University in Sainte-Chloé, as as one of the premier educational institutions of the Arucian region. It is considered the parent university to Sainte-Chloé's other universities and a prominent centre of the Holistique movement, and many of Sainte-Chloé's most prominent figures have attended the institution. The University was central to the development of Arucian baseball and Arucian football. Due to the influence of the Holistique movement, the university does not follow the Weranic model but instead is compared by some commentators to be closer to the medieval university.

History

Known as the Imperial and Pontifical University of Sainte-Chloé (Université Impériale et Pontificale Sainte-Chloé) until 1935.

Organisation

Although the University is often considered a public school because the government provides part of the funds to ensure that Chloéois students do not have to pay fees to attend (as is true of all public universities on the island), the school itself is not administered by the government, but rather by the Roderican Order. Other sources of funding for the school's financial endowment come from the resources of the Order or donations of alumni or benefactors. Because of this, the University itself is in a middle position between being a private school (on account of independent management) and a public (on account of public funding), which is defined differently depending on the country in question. Although Chloéois students may attend free of charge, foreign students are required to pay a fee to attend.

Central Governance

Although the University of Sainte-Chloé is a collegiate university, the central administration has a great deal of oversight of the major operations and mission of the University. The University's ceremonial head is the Chancellor, which is held by the incumbent Archbishop of Sainte-Chloé, currently Louis Cardinal Merloix. The position is mostly ceremonial, but the Chancellor does still have authority to step in and make decisions. De facto administrative control of the university is overseen by the Rector, with further power shared between the Vice-Rector, Vice-Chancellor, and Provost. The Rector is the general executive of the university, including faculty affairs, instructional oversight, curricular management, and the academic studies of the university. The Rector is always a member of the Roderican Order, as is usually appointed by the Province. The Vice-Chancellor, currently Louis Thomas, is a layman responsible for the funding and financial affairs of the University, and oversees employment, scholarships and fundrasing for University activities as well as new projects and buildings. Most of the business and promotional staff serve under the office of the Vice-Chancellor. The Provost, currently Catherine Delacroix, is in charge of the aspects of student life throughout the university, from managing living arrangements for students, administering discipline, and all aspects of student welfare.

Colleges

The University of Sainte-Chloé, as a collegiate university, is divided in 12 semi-independent residential colleges. These colleges have certain rights and prerogatives, and conduct their own teaching. However, their instruction is heavily guided and watched over by the central administration to follow the principles of the Holisitique method and to abide by certain rules. Every student and faculty member must belong to a college, and students applying to the university must apply to one of the residents colleges. Each college is headed by a Maître du Collège, who in turn reports to the central administration, usually the Rector. Every college is still run by a religious order, and the master of each college being selected from the religious order responsible for it and the general rules and traditions being dictated by the religious community. Each college also has its own endowment and funding, although this has oversight from the Vice-Chancellor.

The College system initially was connected to various priories of religious communities in Saint Chloe, as the Univeristy also functioned as an educational place for the missionary clergy. In the first few centuries of the University's existence, the school was primarily dominated by Roderican, Franciscan and Evangelite clergy, with non-clerics and other clergy housing in Sacred Heart College. The three colleges remained in place until 1804, when the Benedictines founded St. Boniface College. The success of the Holistique movement in the latter 19th century necessitated the expansion of the University, which saw increasing number of priestly and lay students. With the increasing number of lay students, fewer religious began to reside in the colleges themselves, although some still do. The religious are seen as important guiding figures in the spiritual life of students, and many religious still undergo religious formation as part of the University structure.

Each college has the ability to oversee potential admissions, with some having stricter requirements than others, based on the resources and amount of space within a college, the student's interests and state of character. Out of the twelve colleges, 7 are co-educational, while 5 remain single-sex. All of the Colleges began as single sex, but after 1977 most Colleges became co-educational. While most Colleges are made up of both undergraduates and graduate students, Sotirias College is comprised entirely of graduate students, and Notre Dame only accepts undergraduate students. As a general rule, the older schools are more prestigious and generally have fewer spaces, which has lead to a tendency for some them, especially Roderic College, to be considered as the "elite" ones. In addition, each college maintains its own chapel, refectory, and common rooms, unique traditions and residential policies, as well as intermural clubs.

The colleges are further divided into two groups, which signifies general status of the level of residential students. In "residential" colleges (Collège Résidentiel), they still enforce the old custom whereby unmarried students and faculty must reside in the college throughout the entirety of their study (either undergraduate or post-graduate), and may not live off of campus. This is because communal living is seen as paramount the thriving of students and faculty. With so-called "commuter" colleges (Collège de Banlieue), however, residents are not required to live on campus, and while every college has some degree of living space, some have very little and most students live off-campus. Still, students are expected to attend certain social gatherings and important communal events of the colleges which they belong. In addition, although colleges may have their own particular policies on communal life, university requirements state that men and women cannot share dormitory space, and co-educational colleges must have separate residential areas.

No.	Name	Sex	Founded	Size	Status	Notes
1	Roderic College	Male	1523 or 1578	367	Residential	Predates the University, was the name of the original Roderican Seminary and studium conventuale founded in 1523. Officially designated as a College in 1578. Named after St. Roderic, founder of the Rodericans. Although it has ceased being its own priory, it still functions as the studium provinciale of the Roderican Province. The smallest and hardest to get into, Roderic College is generally considered the most elite of the colleges.
2	Bonaventure College	Co-ed	1578	409	Residential	College run by the Franciscans. Named after Saint Bonaventure. Originally a Franciscan priory, which it still retains as part of its structure.
3	Sacred Heart College	Co-ed	1578	1,434	Commuter	College run by the Evangelites. For most of its history it was the college of other clerics and most non-clerics until the University's expansion in the nineteenth century.
4	Boniface College	Male	1804	383	Residential	College run by the Benedictines of Saint Boniface Abbey in Port de la Sainte. Named after Saint Boniface.
5	Sotirias College	Co-ed	1866	1,379	Commuter	College run by secular clergy. Comprised of graduate level students.
6	Augustine College	Co-ed	1872	723	Commuter	College run by Canons regular. Named after Saint Augustine.
7	Notre Dame College	Co-ed	1884	1,071	Commuter	College run by the Servites. Comprised of undergraduate students. Having given up most of its housing to other colleges, has the highest rate of outside students.
8	Michael College	Co-ed	1898	707	Commuter	College run by the Norbertines. Named after Saint Michael.
9	Catherine College	Female	1907	401	Residential	College run by Roderican sisters. Founded as the first women's college. Named after St. Catherine.
10	Albertus Magnus College	Co-ed	1959	1,801	Residential	College run by Rodericans. Named after St. Albert the Great. Largest of the colleges, and because it is a residential college appropriated some of the buildings no longer in use by commuter colleges.
11	Monica College	Female	1964	1,402	Commuter	College run by Canonesses Regular.
12	Aquinas College	Male	2006	414	Residential	College run by the Canons of Sainte-Chloé. Named after Thomas Aquinas. Founded in response to the fact that some of the previous colleges were too large or moving away from residential life enough to adequately sustain a true community.

Postgraduate Faculties

Because teaching is overseen by the colleges, most individual colleges have faculities within their own structure. Although there are cross-college collaborations and ventures, most of the faculties of the university are within colleges. While every single college has a Faculty of Arts (being by far the largest majority of teachers both at the graduate and undergraduate level), certain colleges sometimes develop certain specialised faculties for postgraduate studies. As such, students applying for postgraduate studies may opt to transfer colleges when applying if the specialised field they are desiring is only located in that school. For example, the only Faculty of International Law at the University is present in Sotirias College, requiring those who wish to study it to apply to transfer.

In some cases, the faculty of one college is generally considered superior and thus are highly competitive. For example, Roderic College's Faculty of Theology is usually considered the most prestigious, and hence it is the most competitive to get into at the graduate level. However, transfer of colleges is not normally granted with intra-university students on account of prestige, although members of the Faculty in question may provide a recommendation to go forward with the transfer. Generally, however, if the post-graduate degree a person is accepted for has a faculty in the College he is a member of, he will continue to remain in the College throughout the duration of the education.

Academic Profile

Admission

Admission to the University, both at the undergraduate and graduate level, is primarily done through the colleges and not the central University, although the colleges must work out with the central administration the amount of available funding and positions it has open every year. Each college has some flexibility on admissions, with each focusing on different character virtues, activities or community service; for all, however, a strong performance on the Baccalauréat with a strong academic record is required to get into the University. Generally, has the most difficult entry requirements out of any of the Universities throughout the country, and is also highly sought after by students from across the country. For certain colleges, such as Roderic, the requirements are even stricter, and only the top performers are admitted. It also has the highest rejections rates of any university in Sainte-Chloé, only roughly offering 20% of its applicant pool a position. Conversely, it also has the highest yield rate of any University in country, due to its prestige as well as its resources.

Teaching

Although the University oversees the general curriculum and course of academic studies, the teaching itself is done within the colleges. On account of this, all faculty belong to colleges, and many live in the colleges, especially unmarried faculty. The University maintains a general student–teacher ratio of 10:1, although this fraction varies across the colleges. Teachers are called simply Maîtres or Tuteurs, although in borrowing from other educational systems occasionally Docteur or Professeur is used. With religious faculty, Père and Frère are used as signs of formal respect. Unlike other schools, the University does not have specific formal titles or ranks for its teachers, seeing them as guides to assist the students in the path towards truth than dedicated researchers who teach students on the side.

Most teaching centres around the tutoriel, which involves discussions around important texts of smaller groups of members within the same college. These form the bulk of lessons, although it is supplemented by lectures-not as regular classes, but as special chances to listen and have discussion aftewards- as well as demonstations of propositions for mathematics and natural science. Classes are rarely larger than twenty students, although the lectures often are larger events. In higher fields of specialised study at the graduate level, other means of teaching can be used, but usually under the discretion of a faculty member. The flexibility of post-graduates to manage their classes and study at other colleges

Degrees

For most of the University's history, the system of degrees was first divided into two: the Baccalauréat and the Dotorat (with Maîtrise being a synomous term for Dotorat that is still reflected in address to teachers). Overtime, the influence of the Gaullican reorganisation into making the Baccalauréat a capstone of secondary education and its replacement with the Licence and the introduction of the Maîtrise intermediary postgraduate degree. All students were required to finish studying arts before they could go on to studying Theology, although as colonial history progressed further faculties emerged. This process continued and was supported by the codification of Holisitique, resulting in the current status which has gone on to reflect many other schools across the movement.

For successful completion of the undergraduate studies, there is one common degree awarded, a "Licence of Arts". This gives all undergraduates a common experience which is seen as fundamental to building a community and providing a basis for discussion on their future studies. Upon successful completion of the Licence, they may pursue a Maîtrise degree. In order to progress to any of the higher Dotorat degrees in Theology or Philosophy (which includes several subdivisions, including natural science, ethics, mathematics, astronomy and music), the "Maîtrise of Arts" must be completed. For any lower field of study, such as law, medicine, practical sciences, history, or literature. Sometimes, greater specificity is awarded to a degree within a certain field, with examples such as a "Dotorat of Philosophy in Music".

Research

Although not a strict research university because of its focus on pedagogy and following the Holisitique model of education, graduate level studies engage in some research. The university does not care about findings being "new" and rejects novelty for novelty's sake, but rather that the student look more deeply into matters to better form their understanding of a specialised topic. Students who wish to earn a Dotorat are required to submit a comprehensive paper known as a Thèse, although the extent to which it must be a research paper depends on the particular program. Many Thèses are analytic or argumentative rather than research based, except in certain doctoral fields where the research aspect is seen as key.

On account of the school's concerns about the importance of teaching, the pressure for faculty to publish or perish is practically nonexistent at the University. The University has no formal requirements for academic publication imposed faculty. Faculty are judged more on their ability to teach than on their ability to accumulate money and notoriety, and the University does not provide any significant research grants beyond the stipend that all teachers receive. Some teachers do research work in their free time, working on projects and with other programs, but most dedicate most of their time to teaching and to their students.

Rankings and reputation

The University is consistently ranked top rank in Sainte-Chloé, finishing a very comfortable first over the island's other schools. Recongised widely across the country as the most prestigious school to be accepted into, its quality of education, student living and resources are very favourably ranked. Some critics do not like its comparatively small size, or criticise it for not following the general research-university model. However, its supporters consider it the Holisitique school par excellence, and its students preform very strongly academically, with a strong intellectual and formative culture. Within the country, a degree is likely to confer with it more weight with potential employers than other institutions, barring a few specialised fields which desire particular kinds of research degrees.

Internationally, it is one of the top-ranking universities in the Arucian region, and while it eclipses many institutions on other schools with other countries in the Arucian Cooperation Organization, it does not rank as highly as some universities in Arucian adjacent countries. Neverthless for many years it was one of the only universities which could be used by Euclean settlers in the New World, although its rival for oldest university is located in adjacent Aucuria. Its unique education does not always earn it high marks from certain international studies, although it is still generally considered having one of the best education opportunities in the Arucian and also a premier Liberal arts school.

Notable Alumni

University of Sainte-Chloé Notable Alumni

Genevieve Chevallier,
Catherine College

Louis Cardinal Merloix,
Roderic College

Raymond Rivière,
Bonaventure College

Charles Saint-Pierre,
Sacred Heart College

 • Charles Saint-Pierre, University teacher and founder of the Holistique movement, Sacred Heart College
 • Camille Pétain, first President of Sainte-Chloé and one of the two "fathers of Sainte-Chloé", Michael College
 • Raymond Rivière, first Premier of Sainte-Chloé and one of the two "fathers of Sainte-Chloé", Bonaventure College
 • Louis Cardinal Merloix, Cardinal and Archbishop of Sainte-Chloé, Roderic College
 • Jean-Marie Leclercq, current President of Sainte-Chloé, Invictus Games gold medalist, hall of fame baseball player for both the ABL and the RBL, Roderic College
 • Genevieve Chevallier, current Premier of Sainte-Chloé, Catherine College