its four constituent colleges – Digby Stuart, Froebel, Southlands and Whitelands – which were all formed in the 19th century. Each college has a "providing body", an independent charity that owns the freehold or leasehold interest of the college's property. The university holds long-term leases and management agreements with the providing bodies for three of the colleges, and a rolling seven-year licensed and management agreement for Whitelands. While the colleges were all originally independent, they have now merged into the university, with the last college (Whitelands) merging in 2012. Federal universities University of London The University of London is a federal university comprising 17 member institutions. Following the passing of the University of London Act 2018, constituent colleges can apply to become universities in their own right while remaining members of the federal university; twelve of the colleges applied for university status in 2019. The university's statutes under the 2018 act allow for member institutions to have either "the status of a college" or "the status of a university"; all 17 member institutions remain colleges. For most practical purposes, ranging from admissions to funding, the member institutions operate on a semi-independent basis, with many having awarded their own degrees whilst remaining in the federal university since 2008. For historical reasons the two founding colleges, University College and King's College, have names resembling those of Oxbridge colleges. As originally established in 1836, London was an examining board and degree awarding body for affiliated colleges. Starting with UCL and King's, which were named in the original charter, the list of affiliated colleges grew to include everything from grammar schools to the universities of the British Empire by 1858, when the affiliated college system was abandoned and London's degree examinations thrown open to anyone. Following a campaign led by UCL and King's in the late 19th century, the university became a federal body in 1900. The Constitution evolved during the 20th century, with power shifting towards the central University and then back towards the colleges. In the mid-1990s the colleges gained direct access to government funding and the right to confer University of London degrees themselves, and from 2008 those colleges that held their own degree awarding powers were allowed to use them while remaining part of the federation. The nine largest colleges of the university are King's College London; University College London; Birkbeck; Goldsmiths; the London Business School; Queen Mary; Royal Holloway;