Could someone explain how branches in colleges work?

Question

For example, explain The University of Virginia and UVA's college at Wise.

Answer 1

Many state universities have multiple campuses. Some states (like Michigan, NC, Virginia and California) also have one campus which is more selective and prestigious.

Virginia has one great university (the main campus), several very good state universities (e.g., William & Mary, Virginia Tech) and several that are much less selective.

The one at Wise is not particularly selective -- with average math/verbal SAT being about 350 points below the average at the main campus.

Answer 2

These are known as satellite campuses. I go to Indiana University, which has a wide satellite system. Although I can't speak for all universities that have such systems, I can tell about Indiana's. Indiana's main campus is the Bloomington campus, it has the largest student population and the greatest variety of majors. The Indianapolis campus is where the medical school is based. Few of the other campuses have dormitories and mainly cater to either students who still live with their parents and go to school or adults who are going back to school either for a bachelor's or higher degree.

The primary reason for having the satellite campuses is to provide the programs and opportunities of main campus to people who may not be able to enroll at that campus. For example, it's not very practical for someone who lives and works in South Bend, Indiana to travel all the way down to Bloomington (4 hours) to obtain their degree. So, they can attend the South Bend campus and still receive a degree from Indiana University.