Cydonia College

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Cydonia College was a major college based on Mars.

Foundation

Cydonia College was first founded in the year 2155 in Cydonia City on Mars. Initially comprising of two major colleges teaching humanities and sciences, Cydonia primarily catered to the local Martian population and was overshadowed by the major schools on Earth.
Over the centuries that followed, Cydonia gradually improved on its reputation, attracting a stronger and stronger staff and establishing engineering, journalism, law and arts colleges.
By the end of the Confederate Union, Cyodonia College had overtaken many of the major Earth based colleges and was in direct competition with Oxford, Cambridge, Yale and Harvard.
After the JS1E1 disaster, Cydonia became the top rated college in Terran space.

Structure and Endowment

Cydonia was first founded with a grant from the Martian Colonial Government, with additional endowments paid for by corporations.
In the 24th century, Cydonia began to attract major donations from the wealthy elites of Mars and Earth and invested the money wisely into stocks and hedge funds which were often managed aggressively by members of the college's staff.
Cydonia College is organised as a not-for-profit corporation and has historically been granted special tax dispensations by the Martian government and the Cydonia City Council.
Cydonia is run by a board of governors who are elected to a ten year term, with no term limits. All alumni are entitled to a vote and participation in the vote is around the 55% margin. Most elections are fairly low key with most credible candidates elected.
Cydonia also appoints a Chancellor of the College, who serves as the College's chief executive officer. They are appointed with the approval of the board of governors and paid a handsome wage, revealed by journalists in 2465 to be over one point five million adjusted dollars per year.
According to its tax returns, Cydonia College's operating budget is over five billion adjusted dollars per year.

Locations and Sites

Cydonia College is run from six different major sites, all of them part of the jurisdiction of Cydonia City.
The largest site is Cydonia Hall, based on Walden Avenue just outside Cydonia City. Cydonia Hall houses the humanities schools and also the principal administrative hub of the college.
The other sites are:

• Van Leuwan House - home to sciences and medical research schools. Its also home to the small teaching hospital Van Leuwman Memorial Hospital
• Grace Astor House - home to the principal law school and also the accounting school.
• Foxfall -based near the downport, Foxfall is home to the college's sports, physiotherapy and animal behavior schools. Foxfall is also home to College's primary sports stadium
• Van Guylan Park - home to the business students, Van Guylan Park is also home to the computer technology school and is considered the most modern campus.
• Dolfus-Browne Ward - home to the journalism, political science and arts schools, Dolfus-Browne is considered to be the most esoteric campus and is also home to a large theater complex

There are halls of residence at all six campuses as well as more than sixteen other sites across Cydonia City run as halls of residence.
At each site there are dining halls, student union rooms and wings deducted to socializing and entertainment.
Cydonia College has its own private transport network with a grav-monorail referred to as the "Senior" by most campus that runs between all six sites and the city proper. There is also a small but 24 hour auto-cab service and even four shuttle pads.
Each year Cydonia College is home to around 50,000 students

Academic Profile

Cydonia College became, by the 25th century, the most exclusive and prestigious college in Terran space and it was unusual for a person to reach the higher echelons of the The Terran Empire without attending the college.
Admission standards are very high and candidates are expected to demonstrate academic excellence but also a high level of participation in school extra circular activities and to show leadership in their classes.
Each year millions of prospective students will apply to study at Cydonia College but less than 30% will be invited to take up a place.
Costs to study at Cydonia are famously high, with the average course fee in 2510 reported at fifteen thousand adjusted dollars a semester. There are a large number of loans and grants available to support students provided by charities from House Valane , the Martian Government, the Cydonia City government, charities and the corporations.
Costs to live in halls are also very high but are rent controlled. Most students will pay around one thousand adjusted dollars per month to live in Cydonia City but staying in halls has a top rent of six hundred adjusted dollars a month.
Meals, transport and course materials are either free or heavily subsidized.

Notable Courses

As of 2510 more than one thousand different courses are run at Cydonia College ranging from popular and hugely over subscribed subjects like mathematics, political science, law and physics to the more esoteric subjects like ancient history, culture of alien races and religious theory.
Course feedback provided in 2490 revealed the most popular courses were:

• Political Science
• Law
• Journalism
• Maths
• Physics
• Business Administration
• Military History
• Humanities
• Classics

Faculty Cydonia College employs around four thousand full time faculty with another three thousand ancillary staff and another one thousand guest or part time staff.
Wages are generally very competitive with an average lecturer earning one hundred and forty thousand adjusted dollars per year.
Tenure is hard to gain at Cydonia College and generally only granted after several published works or considerable time spent at the college.
Cydonia makes considerable use of guest lecturers and offers excellent rates to lecture to former politicians, military officers and corporate officers.

Famous Alumni

Criticism

There has been a lot of criticism of Cydonia College that it is a hotbed for elitism and made the Terran Empire elitist and insular, creating separation between the aristocracy and the regular people of the Empire.
The college has also been criticized for its deep ties to major corporations who are often granted early information on promising students that they may wish to hire and even have been known to get influence on course content.
The college has also been criticized by some former staff for its refusal to grant tenure to lecturers, making it a less secure environment.
The college has also been criticized for its very high course fees and its huge financial footprint and the size of its endowment, which is confidential but believed to run into the tens of billions

Founding Date

2155

Type

College / Academy

Parent Location

Cydonia City