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There are fifteen higher education institutions in Scotland which have university status as well a further four autonomous higher education institutions which do not have university status.

University status in the United Kingdom is conferred by the Privy Council which takes advice from the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education. In Scotland, the minister with higher education responsibilities is the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning of the Scottish Government; as of October 2011, this is Scottish National Party's Michael Russell. Scottish universities are funded by the Scottish Government's Scottish Funding Council, a non-departmental public body, while support funding for students is provided by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland. In 2008, over 240,000 students were enrolled at Scottish universities. Universities Scotland is the representative body which works to promote Scotland's universities, as well as six other higher education institutions.

The oldest university in Scotland is the University of St Andrews, established in 1413, with the universities of Glasgow and Aberdeen also dating back to the 15th century. These "ancient universities" were established by Papal bulls, but in the 16th century the royal charter became the standard method of foundation. The first of these established the University of Edinburgh, which became Scotland's fourth university while England had only two. The number of universities doubled during the 1960s, with three existing colleges gaining university status; the University of Stirling was established as Scotland's only plate glass university. Several former polytechnics or central institutions followed after the Further and Higher Education Act was put in place. The newest is the University of the Highlands and Islands, which attained university status in 2011. Besides the campus-based universities, the distance-learning Open University plays a role in the Scottish university sector, teaching 40% of Scotland's part-time undergraduates.

Other higher education institutions
In addition to the universities, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland was granted degree-awarding powers in May 1994.

There are a further three autonomous higher education institutions in Scotland, each of which have their degrees validated and awarded by another institution. The Glasgow School of Art has its degrees awarded by the University of Glasgow. Edinburgh College of Art has its degrees awarded by the University of Edinburgh, and the two institutions are currently exploring a merger. The Scottish Agricultural College has its degrees are awarded by either the University of Glasgow, the University of Edinburgh, or Robert Gordon University.