A
university system is a set of multiple, affiliated
universities and
colleges that are usually geographically distributed. Typically, all member universities in a university system share a common component among all of their various names. Usually, all member universities of a university system are governed by a system-wide governing body, such as a board of trustees or a board of regents. In fact, university systems are so common in post-
World War II United States that most states have one or two
state university systems under which many of their publicly funded universities are aligned, both in name and in governance. Additionally, for-profit universities, such as
DeVry University, often have multiple campuses which share the same name; these may be, but are not always, described as a university system (not necessarily accurately, see below).