Colonial Americans disregarded that distinction when establishing the United States’ first postsecondary institutions: They were designated as colleges rather than universities, in part because of limited resources and because they didn’t need the King to authorize them to grant degrees, according to Johann Neem, a professor at Western Washington University who studies the history of American education. The terms blurred further with the creation of research universities during World War II, many of which, like colleges, focused on a liberal-arts education.