About Colleges and Halls

A dormitory is organized to provide food and shelter; a college, to provide for the student’s intellectual, social, and personal development. (Mark B. Ryan, A Collegiate Way of Living)

The best universities in the world are largely residential. In Australia the collegiate tradition is just as rich, and one that continues to nurture excellence and provide equity of access at our leading universities. Colleges have been part of university life for over 150 years, and there are around 100 colleges in our public universities, home to over 60,000 students.

Our colleges and halls provide students, often away from home for the first time, often from rural, remote and overseas locations, a strong sense of community. They provide opportunities to interact with faculty and students outside of specific courses of study, and through a wide variety of social, cultural and sporting activities add to the intellectual and social development of students.

In the 2009, a report prepared by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), “Engaging College Communities: The impact of residential colleges in Australian higher Education”, demonstrated that students living in residential colleges record more positive scores on measures of student outcomes than students living elsewhere.

The ACER report found that in many instances students living in residence are more engaged than others, particularly in terms of participation in active learning and enriching experiences, their interactions with staff, and their perception of support