In England and Wales the majority of young full-time university students live away from home, which is not generally the case for universities in most European countries, such as Italy and Spain. Most universities in the United Kingdom provide (or at least help organise) rented accommodation for many of their students, particularly in the first year; some British universities provide accommodation for the full duration of their courses. As a result, the lifestyle of university students in the United Kingdom can be quite different from those of European universities where the majority of students live at home with their parents. The introduction of university fees paid by students from 2006 onwards has led many English and Welsh students to apply to institutions closer to their family's homes to reduce the additional costs of moving and living farther away.
The University of London from its reform in 1900, and the University of Wales from its inception in 1893 until its reform in 2007, have been federal universities. They have a central governing body with overall responsibility for the maintenance of standards at the constituent colleges. Recently, however, there has been considerable pressure from the larger colleges to become more autonomous and, in some cases, completely independent institutions. Examples of this were the secession of Imperial College London from the University of London and Cardiff University leaving the University of Wales. Cardiff's departure and policies pursued by the Welsh Government have led to the break-up of the University of Wales, which is in the process of merging with the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, with an expected completion date of 2017.
The London School of Economics (a college of the University of London) was founded as a company registered at Companies House, having no Royal Charter or founding Act of Parliament. The University of Buckingham was the only private university in the UK until 2012.
Two universities, Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln and the University of Chester, are unincorporated trusts under the trusteeship of their local Church of England dioceses.
The University of Warwick, originally to be named the University of Warwickshire when it was established in 1965, is several miles from Warwick, the county town, and is situated on the southern edge of Coventry in the West Midlands county. Following the county boundary changes, Warwick University's campus straddles the Warwickshire and city of Coventry boundary, although many of its students live in the nearby towns of Kenilworth and Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.
John Banks Jenkinson was petitioner for the Royal Charters of both the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (granted in 1828) and Durham University (granted in 1837), as Bishop of St David's and Dean of Durham.