Talk:Tag:amenity=college

Discuss Tag:amenity=college here:

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Are colleges right for thematic educational centers?

For example, if i want to map a center where only music is taught, ¿should i use college?¿how can I tag the topic of the school? In this case I propose a tag to set the "topic" of the college. Else, a feature should be created for topic-oriented schools (music schools, art schools, performing schools...)

What is a college?

What is a college ? Is it for the secondary education ? FredB 13:04, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the clarification. FredB 13:37, 19 February 2007 (UTC)

Does this tag apply to a Junior College, as well? NuckChorris 21:54, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Yeah I think the definition could still be made clearer. In the England these days the normal thing is to go to "school" until you're 16, and you've done your GCSEs, then study at "college" for two years doing A-Levels, and then move on to "university". That's very much a normal education path in, with college being a stage at around age 16 to 18. So this tag has been put on the place where I went to "college" Greenhead college here as I would expect, but actually does that fit the definition currently on the page? Was I having "further" education there?. But of course as soon as we mention age brackets the discussion gets hugely complicated. Different countries do all kinds of different education at different ages (see unending "preschool" discussions) -- Harry Wood 17:27, 31 May 2011 (BST)

If you check the explanation on Wikipedia, college is not a universal name (outside UK and commonwealth countries) for education around 16-18 years, secondary education/school appears to be more international term (although this goes against the definition used in England as far as I understand?). I think that's why the definition is the way it is. And yes, according to the international definition Greenhead College is not tagged correctly as I understand things. An international classification is in the table for ISCED. OleLaursen 14:05, 8 May 2012 (BST)

scattered across town - Use on a relation

This should really be used for relations (assembly of buildings, sometimes scattered across town) too. Ipofanes 20:42, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

Please define in clearer terms

Currently, the various tags are defined using phrases such as "secondary education" and "further education", neither of which have clear meanings, at least not internationally. Then it adds some examples of specific institutions in England, not all of which are well known outside that country (Oxford and Cambridge are famous, but then the example mentions another institution confusingly named Cambridge too, few people outside those institutions would know which is which).

And then there are more than 2 types of institutions that mappers would want to map:

1. Additional basic non-vocational education, typically intended to prepare students for entry into the higher institutions. In the west, typically teaches young persons aged 15 to 19. But the tag would also apply to the same education given at a different age.

2. Scientific universities, teaching the highest level of advanced human and scientific knowledge and related top level vocations, usually ending with degrees accepted internationally as "Bachelor of Science" "Master of Science" "Ph.D" and "Doctor", in addition to "MD", "Theologian", "Civil Engineer", "Lawyer". These institutions also do scientific research to further advance the general state of human knowledge, and generally combine this closely with the educational work. Examples include "Oxford University" (GB), "University of Parma" (IT), "Sorbonne" (FR), "Harvard" (US), "Moscow University" (RU) etc.

3. Vocational education for people who only have childhood ("primary?") education, in the west typically teaches young persons aged 15 to 19 for a variety of skilled jobs and crafts. Historically, the resulting degree for male students was called "Bachelor" and could alternatively be achieved via apprenticeship with a practicing "Master". Example degrees include "Carpenter", "Electrician", "BlackSmith", "Nurses aid" etc.

4. Vocational education for people who have already completed the additional general education (#1 above), but are not going to a scientific university. Examples include schools for nurses, seminaries for some kinds of Christian Priests and many others.

That's at least 4 categories to map onto 2 tag values.

Things aren't made easier by lots of schools and politicians inflating the names of institutions, thus deflating the meanings of those words.

Jbohmdk 08:50, 25 August 2012 (UTC)

Also for me "further education" is unclear. And there is one more category - "5. Additional education institution for children going already to a standard primary/secondary school". In Poland it is common for music schools, tagged as amenity=music_school (or amenity=school) that are formalized and handled like standard schools. There are also many language schools, both for children and adults, operating as commercial companies, not by government Mateusz Konieczny (talk) 06:22, 5 September 2019 (UTC)

ISCED level for amenity=college

So, after reading this vague definition and the discussions, I think that amenity=college is for isced:level=3.

Am I correct?

Chrabros (talk) 11:30, 9 January 2014 (UTC)

Yes, that's a correct interpretation of the parochial definitions in the wiki. But even in the UK the usage is blurred, as we have some 'university colleges': these are unquestionably 'colleges' by self-definition, but they award qualifications at nothing less than isced:level=5. Calling them 'university' (historically it meant somewhere with many subject departments) is just being hyper-correct, and imo doesn't help anyone.

I'd favour going with whatever the institution calls itself, coming to some kind of consensus in each country about particular types of institution. Eteb3 (talk) 20:20, 5 September 2019 (UTC)

Is there any reason we haven't explicitly stated as such within the wiki page? The tag went through the proposal process and was approved for "further education", which means ISCED 3. We should either deprecate this and replace it with a less vague, or well, make the description of it less vague. This awkward middle ground only intensifies the issue. PeachyOne (talk) 15:23, 20 December 2024 (UTC)

Buildings within a college

What tag should buildings within an amenity=college be tagged with? building=university? --Evropi (talk) 15:09, 19 January 2014 (UTC)

IMHO if the college is isced:level=3 then building=school; if it is higher then maybe building=university.

On the other hand - college is just type of a school anyway, no? So building=school might be good as well. Chrabros (talk) 14:49, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

It is about buildings constructed as place for teaching at college, right? For example building constructed to house transformers/water pumps/sewage pumps would be still building=service, building constructed as a garage would be still building=garage, something constructed as a church would be still building=church and so one Mateusz Konieczny (talk) 05:50, 5 September 2019 (UTC)

Use of this tag in practice

Perhaps because the tag descrition is not clear to people outside of Britain, this tag appears to be mainly used for whatever is called a "college" in other places. In East Timor and in Brazil (both former Protuguese colonies), it is used for secondary schools, i.e. "colégios". In North America it is used for features called a "community college", "junior college" or a "career college" - some of these are similar to the UK definition, but some are not. Perhaps we can add some sections that describe how this tag is used in different countries. Does anyone know about how it is used in France, Germany, Russia, Japan, or other major Openstreetmap communities other than those I have mentioned? --Jeisenbe (talk) 03:50, 18 February 2020 (UTC)

By the way, in the U.S., amenity=college and amenity=school is also commonly used to represent a faculty=* within a university, since American universities tend to refer to them as "colleges" or "schools", e.g., "State University College of Arts and Sciences". – Minh Nguyễn ^💬 05:34, 25 October 2021 (UTC)

In my opinion, it could be best to deprecate this tag. It is vague and adds no useful information. It would be better to just tag institutions by ISCED level. --ilmaisin (talk) 13:44, 5 January 2022 (UTC)

Is there a maximum size?

I wonder if there is a reasonable maximum size for school/college grounds. A school ground would of course include all building. And of course it should also include larger sports tracks and pitches. But does it also include fields, woods, and orchards?

I'm mapping a school where the fenced fields and woods are used as hunting ground for Wildlife Management students; as a classroom for Forestry students; and as teaching ground for students in the Eco Tourism programme. All of these programmes are 3 years upper secondary educations, and preparatory for university level.

I cannot see anything wrong with mapping a 2×2 km, or 4×4 km (1.2 or 2.4 miles) wooded area that is fenced off and obviously school property, as "school ground". But I want input from other people, as this is probably a rare outlier, in case I'm in the wrong. --Christoffre (talk) 20:15, 12 April 2022 (UTC)

Is this area considered as a part of school grounds? I can easily imagine some school for rich people with absurd amount of land which is part of their school grounds. Though note that for example forest owned by school and used by school is not automatically "school grounds" Mateusz Konieczny (talk) 22:53, 12 April 2022 (UTC)

Well, this is not a school for rich. As education is free in Sweden it is illegal for schools to take payments, and all schools receive the same reimbursement per student.

Though I wonder why this wouldn't be school grounds? Wouldn't a forest for Forestry and Wildlife students count as classroom? Just as an auto repair shop is a classroom for Vehicle students, or a kitchen for gastronomy students?

This isn't any random forest, but a fenced area, containing roaming deers, that is used daily all-year round as classroom. --Christoffre (talk) 08:15, 13 April 2022 (UTC)

Based on this descriptions it sounds like school grounds - but I would consider contacting local mapping community ( https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Contact_channels ) Mateusz Konieczny (talk) 21:16, 13 April 2022 (UTC)