The state of Ohio is the home of a number of public and private institutions of higher learning. Chartered in 1787, Ohio University was the first institution of higher education chartered by an act of Congress in America (Northwest Ordinance), the second university in the former Northwest Territory in 1804, and is the ninth oldest public university in the United States.
The Ohio Board of Regents oversees the public institutions of higher education in Ohio. This system has come under some criticism in recent years as contributing greatly to overlap and redundancies in the higher education system. For example, Ohio's public university system supports nine doctoral programs in history and five law schools while four different public universities in Ohio operate airports and offer aviation programs. At the same time, the system has been lauded for creating powerful "utility" organizations, such as OhioLINK and the Ohio Supercomputer Center, which allow campuses to collaborate and achieve significant efficiencies. A new credit transfer program makes transferring among Ohio's public campuses much easier, and allows students to preview academic programs.
11 of the 13 public universities top the state's enrollment statistics. The remaining two public institutions—Shawnee State University and Central State University—are relatively small. The University of Dayton is the state's largest private university by enrollment, followed by Case Western Reserve, Ashland University, Franklin University, and Xavier University.
University of Toledo
These five colleges have been affiliated as members of state, regional, and national educational and athletic organizations for some years. The Five Colleges of Ohio Consortium was started in 1995 to foster cooperation and understanding, while maintaining individuality.