Faculty vs. Facility — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Maham Liaqat — Updated on April 17, 2024
Faculty refers to a group of teachers or a division within an educational institution, whereas facility denotes a place designed for a specific purpose, such as a sports complex or hospital.
Difference Between Faculty and Facility
Table of Contents
ADVERTISEMENT
Key Differences
The term 'faculty' primarily describes the academic staff at universities or schools, or it can refer to a specific department specializing in a subject area, like the Faculty of Science. In contrast, 'facility' is used to describe a physical location equipped for a particular function, such as a research facility or a recreational facility.
'Faculty' often implies a collective capability or authority of educators and scholars who contribute to teaching and research in an institution. On the other hand, 'facility' emphasizes the practical aspects of a space, such as its design, resources, and how it supports specific activities.
Educational contexts frequently use 'faculty' to denote both the teachers collectively and organizational units within institutions. Whereas, 'facility' is a broader term applicable in various contexts including healthcare, sports, and industrial sectors, describing buildings and spaces designed for specific uses.
A faculty member is an individual who contributes to the educational and scholarly goals of an institution through teaching, research, or administration. Conversely, a facility manager is concerned with the maintenance, security, and operational efficiency of a building or complex.
While 'faculty' is associated with intellectual and educational contributions, 'facility' relates more to physical and logistical capacities, highlighting the contrast between human resources and material resources.
ADVERTISEMENT
Comparison Chart
Definition
Group of educators or academic division
Physical place for specific purposes
Context of Use
Education, academia
Healthcare, education, sports, industry
Focus
Teaching and research capabilities
Building’s design and usage
Example Occupations
Professor, lecturer
Facility manager, maintenance staff
Related Terms
Department, educators
Building, complex, infrastructure
Compare with Definitions
Faculty
Educational and research staff.
The faculty published numerous papers on the topic.
Facility
Operations site of an organization.
The company's main facility processes all of its products.
Faculty
A group of university teachers.
The faculty at the university are well-respected in their fields.
Facility
A place built for specific activities.
The new sports facility includes a swimming pool and a gym.
Faculty
An academic department.
She joined the faculty of Medicine last year.
Facility
A building serving a particular purpose.
The research facility focuses on renewable energy.
Faculty
Collective teaching capabilities.
The faculty is working on a new curriculum.
Facility
Infrastructure equipped for certain functions.
The medical facility was upgraded with the latest technology.
Faculty
Body of educators at a school.
The school's faculty received training in online education.
Facility
A complex designed for specific uses.
The conference facility can accommodate thousands of attendees.
Faculty
An inherent mental or physical power
Her critical faculties
The faculty of sight
Facility
A place, amenity, or piece of equipment provided for a particular purpose
Cooking facilities
Facilities for car parking
A manufacturing facility
Faculty
A group of university departments concerned with a major division of knowledge
The Faculty of Arts
The law faculty
Facility
A natural ability to do or learn something well and easily
He had a facility for languages
Faculty
A licence or authorization from a Church authority
The vicar introduced certain ornaments without the necessary faculty to do so
Facility
Ease in moving, acting, or doing
"a soldier who was expected to be able to fell a tree ... or build a bridge with equal facility" (Bruce I. Gudmundsson).
Faculty
An inherent power or ability
The faculty of speech.
Facility
An ability or talent; an aptitude
"He was a mediocre student who had a facility for absorbing details without curiosity" (Jhumpa Lahiri).
Faculty
A talent or natural ability for something
Has a wonderful faculty for storytelling.
Facility
A building, room, array of equipment, or a number of such things, designed to serve a particular function
Hospitals and other health care facilities.
Faculty
(used with a sing. or pl. verb) The teachers and instructors of a school or college, or of one of its divisions, especially those considered permanent, full-time employees.
Facility
Something that facilitates an action or process
The region has very poor transportation facilities.
Faculty
One of the divisions of a college or university
The faculty of law.
Facility
Facilities(Informal) A restroom or public toilet.
Faculty
All of the members of a learned profession
The medical faculty.
Facility
The fact of being easy, or easily done; absence of difficulty, simplicity.
Faculty
Authorization granted by authority; conferred power.
Facility
Dexterity of speech or action; skill, talent.
The facility she shows in playing the violin is unrivalled.
Faculty
(Archaic) An occupation; a trade.
Facility
The physical means or contrivances to make something (especially a public service) possible; the required equipment, infrastructure, location etc.
Transport facilities in Bangkok are not sufficient to prevent frequent traffic collapses during rush hour.
Faculty
The academic staff at schools, colleges, universities or not-for-profit research institutes, as opposed to the students or support staff.
Facility
An institution specially designed for a specific purpose, such as incarceration, military use, or scientific experimentation.
Faculty
A division of a university.
She transferred from the Faculty of Science to the Faculty of Medicine.
Facility
Clip of credit facility
Faculty
(Often in the plural): an ability, power, or skill.
He lived until he reached the age of 90 with most of his faculties intact.
Facility
A toilet.
Faculty
An authority, power, or privilege conferred by a higher authority.
Facility
A condition of mental weakness less than idiocy, but enough to make a person easily persuaded to do something against their better interest.
Faculty
(Church of England) A licence to make alterations to a church.
Facility
(dated) Affability.
Faculty
The members of a profession.
Facility
The quality of being easily performed; freedom from difficulty; ease; as, the facility of an operation.
The facility with which government has been overturned in France.
Faculty
Ability to act or perform, whether inborn or cultivated; capacity for any natural function; especially, an original mental power or capacity for any of the well-known classes of mental activity; psychical or soul capacity; capacity for any of the leading kinds of soul activity, as knowledge, feeling, volition; intellectual endowment or gift; power; as, faculties of the mind or the soul.
But know that in the soulAre many lesser faculties that serveReason as chief.
What a piece of work is a man ! how noble in reason ! how infinite in faculty !
Facility
Ease in performance; readiness proceeding from skill or use; dexterity; as, practice gives a wonderful facility in executing works of art.
Faculty
Special mental endowment; characteristic knack.
He had a ready faculty, indeed, of escaping from any topic that agitated his too sensitive and nervous temperament.
Facility
Easiness to be persuaded; readiness or compliance; - usually in a bad sense; pliancy.
It is a great error to take facility for good nature.
Faculty
Power; prerogative or attribute of office.
This DuncanHath borne his faculties so meek.
Facility
Easiness of access; complaisance; affability.
Offers himself to the visits of a friend with facility.
Faculty
Privilege or permission, granted by favor or indulgence, to do a particular thing; authority; license; dispensation.
The pope . . . granted him a faculty to set him free from his promise.
It had not only faculty to inspect all bishops' dioceses, but to change what laws and statutes they should think fit to alter among the colleges.
Facility
That which promotes the ease of any action or course of conduct; advantage; aid; assistance; - usually in the plural; as, special facilities for study.
Faculty
A body of a men to whom any specific right or privilege is granted; formerly, the graduates in any of the four departments of a university or college (Philosophy, Law, Medicine, or Theology), to whom was granted the right of teaching (profitendi or docendi) in the department in which they had studied; at present, the members of a profession itself; as, the medical faculty; the legal faculty, etc.
Facility
A building or place that provides a particular service or is used for a particular industry;
The assembly plant is an enormous facility
Faculty
The body of person to whom are intrusted the government and instruction of a college or university, or of one of its departments; the president, professors, and tutors in a college.
Facility
Skillful performance or ability without difficulty;
His quick adeptness was a product of good design
He was famous for his facility as an archer
Faculty
One of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind
Facility
A natural effortlessness;
They conversed with great facility
A happy readiness of conversation
Faculty
The body of teachers and administrators at a school;
The dean addressed the letter to the entire staff of the university
Facility
Services and space and equipment provided for a particular purpose;
Catering facilities
Toilet facilities
Facility
A service that an organization or a piece of equipment offers you;
A cell phone with internet facility
Common Curiosities
What is a faculty in a university?
In a university, a faculty is either the collective body of teachers or an academic department specializing in a field of study.
Is a library considered a faculty or a facility?
A library is considered a facility as it is a physical space designed for the specific purpose of housing books and providing study areas.
What is meant by 'faculty development'?
Faculty development refers to professional development programs and activities designed to improve teaching, research, and service roles of academic staff.
How do faculty and facility differ in an educational context?
Faculty refers to the educators and academic staff, whereas facility refers to the physical buildings and spaces of the institution.
Can faculty mean something other than teachers?
Yes, faculty can also refer to an academic division within an educational institution.
What types of facilities might a university have?
A university might have educational facilities, research facilities, recreational facilities, and administrative facilities.
Can the term facility refer to something non-physical?
Typically, facility refers to physical spaces, although in some contexts, it can also mean an ability or capability, though this is less common.
How is the maintenance of a facility managed?
Maintenance of a facility is typically managed by facility managers who ensure operational efficiency, safety, and compliance with regulations.
What is a facility in terms of buildings?
A facility refers to a building or complex designed for specific functions, such as education, healthcare, or manufacturing.
What does it mean when someone is 'part of the faculty'?
Being part of the faculty means being a member of the teaching or academic staff at an educational institution.
Share Your Discovery
Previous Comparison
Count vs. Baron
Next Comparison
Orangutan vs. ChimpanzeeAuthor Spotlight
Written by
Maham Liaqat
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
