Why aren't the University Colleges and Institutes just called 'University'? The simpler answer is that, with a few exceptions, the University Colleges and Institutes do not usually award all their own degrees. At least some of the degrees, especially at postgraduate level, are likely to be awarded by a large university with which the college or institute is associated. University Colleges and Institutes tend to be much smaller than typical British universities. But it is not only a matter of size, but their origins that make them somewhat different from British Universities, old or new. Typically, the present University Colleges and Institutes have developed and grown from Teachers' Colleges. Until about 20 years ago in most cases, they would have been exclusively concerned with the professional training of teachers. Then they started to offer other courses and degrees, broadly comparable to any university, the only difference being that these institutions do not normally provide degrees in such subjects as Law, Engineering, and Medicine. The particular strengths of the University Colleges and Institutes lie in their somewhat particular origins. In terms of the courses and subjects offered, there is likely to be an emphasis on those subjects that are closely associated with the School curriculum—Arts or Humanities subjects. Teacher education itself, of course, almost certainly remains as a strong component of the whole array of courses taught by a University College or Institute. Professional training for the classroom is something that these institutions have specialized in since their foundation, and no University is likely to do it better. Also associated with the smaller institutions' origins is their strong continuing pastoral(田园式的) tradition and care for the individual student. Perhaps, there is virtue and merit in what is small: sheer size, especially if it means a loss of what is most human and personal, is not something to be sought of its own sake. The relatively small University Colleges and Institutes have all the facilities and equipment of the bigger Universities. Lecturers and tutors have to be well qualified because they teach degree courses that are in every way equal in standard to those taught at Universities. So, parents, students, and sponsors need have no doubt about the quality or standing of the degrees that the Colleges award. Quality assurance is guaranteed. International recognition and comparability with all other British degrees are not, in question. So what else should students, parents, and sponsors worry? In which aspect are the Universities superior to the University Colleges and Institutes?______