The specific differences are as follows:
1, different levels
Generally, the departments set up by universities are lower than the college level, and they are composed of one or several majors with similar nature, and two or three departments form a college. There is also a large-scale direct department at the same level as the college.
The secondary colleges set up by universities, like departments, are internal units of universities, including several similar disciplines or departments, with relatively independent cultural characteristics and management responsibilities.
2. Different scales
In terms of scale, colleges are generally larger than departments in terms of the number of majors, the number of teachers and students, the equipment and facilities, and the building area.
Since the 1980s, a number of large-scale teaching, scientific research or research universities with high educational level have been reorganized from departments to colleges. One of the basic conditions for upgrading is that there are certain requirements for the scale of the college, such as enrollment scale, the number and proportion of teachers, laboratory hardware facilities, master's degree programs, national laboratories, graduate thesis level and archiving. After reaching a certain scale, it can be upgraded from a department to a secondary college.
3. Different functions and tasks.
Each department of the school mainly undertakes the tasks of organizing teaching and personnel training, specific scientific research projects and laboratory construction.
When the department was upgraded to a second-level college, with the college as the main body, its functions and tasks have been extended to high-level personnel training, discipline construction, scientific research and scientific and technological development, and due to the expansion of coverage, interdisciplinary, marginal and emerging disciplines have been formed to promote social and economic development through innovative disciplines.
In addition, the social service function of the college has become increasingly prominent, which has realized socialized running of schools and accelerated the cultivation of high-tech applied talents and the transformation of scientific research achievements into productive forces.
Extended data:
China's university management system, which began in 1950s, drew lessons from the former Soviet Union's university administrative management model, and formed a three-level management model of school, department and teaching and research section under the planning background of teaching-oriented universities with narrow majors.
Under the historical conditions at that time, a large number of senior professionals were trained for the country. However, with the development of society and economy, the old management model has obviously not adapted to the development requirements of modern universities.
Universities began to try out the college system with two-level colleges as the operating mechanism and two-level management mode, and delegated power to the college, making the college a relatively independent, autonomous and self-developing organization.
At present, the practice of setting up secondary colleges in colleges and universities is different, generally depending on disciplines: liberal arts, law school, science school, medical school, business school, information school and so on. Some are formed by the development of the original department; Some are based on the integration of similar related disciplines in the school;
Some schools are merged and integrated according to different disciplines; There are also secondary colleges established according to new disciplines required by social development.
University departments are teaching management institutions set up according to the nature of their majors. According to the specialty category, an institution of higher learning can be divided into several departments, and one or several related majors can be set up under each department.
Generally, each department has a dean and several vice presidents who lead the professional teaching and research section, laboratory and relevant research room (institute) of the department, and are responsible for planning and organizing the teaching and research work of the department.
References:
Baidu encyclopedia-college
Baidu encyclopedia-department