结构推理 The word "university" comes from the Latin word "universitas", meaning "the whole". The modern definition of a university is an institution that teaches and examines students in many branches of advanced learning, awarding degrees and providing facilities for academic research. The origins of universities can be traced back to the Middle Ages, with the earliest European centers at Bologna, Italy, for law, founded in 1088. The first universities in England were established at Oxford in 1185 and at Cambridge in 1209. By comparison, the oldest universities in the U.S.A. are at Harvard, founded in 1636, and Yale, established in 1701. The English university in London was not founded until 1836. However, it was in the 1960s that the largest single expansion of higher education took place in Britain. One of the largest university developments was the foundation of the Open University in 1969. It is a nonresidential university which provides for life- long education of various backgrounds with part-time degree and other courses. It uses a combination of correspondence courses, television, radio broadcasts and the Internet, and summer schools for organization on a regional basis.