| 11st | Top Dewey Decimal classes: 300 – Social sciences |
| 129th | Top academic disciplines |
Higher education refers to a level of education that is provided at academies, universities, colleges, vocational universities, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, institutes of technology and certain other collegiate-level institutions, such as vocational schools, trade schools, and career colleges, that award academic degrees or professional certifications.
Since 1950, Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights obligates all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education. At the world level, the United Nations International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966, guarantees this right under its Article 13, which states that "higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education".
Note that in North America, but not in Canada, the word "college" is synonymous with "university". In the United Kingdom and Australia, "University" is often shortened to "Uni".
Contents |
Higher Education is an educational level that follows the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, or gymnasium. Tertiary education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. Colleges, universities, and Institutes of Technology are the main institutions that provide tertiary education (sometimes known collectively as tertiary institutions). Examples of institutions that provide post-secondary education are vocational schools, community colleges, independent colleges (e.g. St. Mary's College), Institutes of Technology, and universities in the United States, the institutes of Technical and Further Educations in Australia, CEGEPs in Quebec, and the IEKs in Greece. They are sometimes known collectively as tertiary institutions. Completion of tertiary education generally results in the awarding of certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees, but the students who do not receive these (by poor performance) outnumber those who do. High performance is expected of students in Higher Education, and those who cannot meet the standards must leave.
Higher education includes teaching, research, exacting applied work (e.g. in medical schools and dental schools), and social services activities of universities. Within the realm of teaching, it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education), and beyond that, graduate-level (or postgraduate level) for very highly-qualified students who wish to go further in their education and skills. This level of education is often referred to as graduate school, especially in North America.
In the United Kingdom and certain other counties (e.g. Ireland), post-secondary school education below the level of higher education is referred to as "further education". "Higher Education" in the U.K. generally involves work towards a college-degree-level or foundation degree education.
In many developed countries, a high proportion of the population (up to 50%), now enter higher education at some time in their lives. Higher education is therefore very important to national economies, both as a significant industry in its own right and as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy.
There can be some disagreement about what precisely constitutes post-secondary, graduate-school, or tertiary education: "It is not always clear, though, what tertiary education includes. Is it only that which results in a formal qualification or might it include leisure classes? In the U.K., are A-levels tertiary education as they are post-compulsory, but taught in school settings, as well as colleges? Is professional updating or on-the-job training part of tertiary education, even if it does not follow successful completion of secondary education?"[1]
There are two types of higher education in the U.K.: higher academic education, and higher vocational education. Higher education in the United States and Canada specifically refers to post-secondary institutions that offer Associate's degrees, Bachelor's degrees, Master's degrees, Education Specialist (Ed.S.) degrees or Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees, or their equivalents, and also higher professional degrees in areas such as medicine, dentistry, the law, optometry, etc.
Such institutions may also offer non-degree certificates, which indicate completion of a set of courses comprising some body of knowledge, but the granting of such certificates is not the primary purpose of the institutions. Tertiary education is not a term used in reference to post-secondary institutions in the United States or Canada.
The general higher education and training that takes place in a university, college, or Institute of Technology usually includes significant theoretical and abstract elements, as well as applied aspects. In contrast, the vocational higher education and training that takes place at vocational universities and schools usually concentrates on practical applications, with very little theory.
In addition, professional-level education is always included within Higher Education, and usually in Graduate Schools, since many postgraduate academic disciplines are both vocationally, professionally, and theoretically/research oriented, such as in medicine, the law, dentistry, and veterinary medicine. A basic requirement for entry into these graduate-level programs is almost always a bachelor's degree, and for many of the top-level medical schools (e.g. the University of Chicago), nearly all of the entering students already possess a Master's Degree or a Ph.D. in a relevant, supporting subject, such as chemistry, biology, physics, or chemical engineering. Requirements for admission to such high-level graduate programs is extremely competitive, and admitted students are expected to perform at a very high level.
Academic areas that are included within the Liberal arts include:
The performing arts differ from the plastic arts or visual arts, insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face and presence as a medium; the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint, which can be molded or transformed to create a work of art.
Higher educational institutions include:
The plastic arts or visual arts are a class of art forms, that involve the use of materials, that can be moulded or modulated in some way, often in three dimensions. Examples are painting, sculpture, and drawing, etc.
Higher educational institutions in these arts are:
Higher vocational education and training takes place at the non-university tertiary level. Such education combines teaching of both practical skills and theoretical expertise. Higher education differs from other forms of post-secondary education such as that offered by institutions of vocational education, which are more colloquially known as trade schools. Higher vocational education might be contrasted with education in a usually broader scientific field, which might concentrate on theory and abstract conceptual knowledge.
The term "vocational university" is a self-contradictory non sequitur (an oxymoron) in most countries, but some wish to use it, anyway. It is a so-called institution of higher education and sometime research, which grants so-called professional degrees like so-called professional bachelor's degree, professional master's degree, and professional doctorates) in a variety of subjects.
The Lisbon Recognition Convention stipulates that degrees and periods of study must be recognised in all Signatory Parties of the Convention.
Universities are fairly large employers. Depending on the funding, a university typically has a teacher per 3-20 students. According to the ideal of research-university, the university teaching staff is actively involved in the research of the institution. In addition, the university usually also has dedicated research staff and a considerable support staff. Typically to work in higher education as a member of the academic faculty, a candidate must first obtain a doctorate in an academic field, although some lower teaching positions require only master's degree. Member of the staff or administration usually have education that is necessary for the fulfilment of their duties. Depending on the university, the main administration is more or less centralized. Typically most of the administrative staff works in different administrative sections, such as Student Affairs. In addition, there may be central support units, such as a university library which have a dedicated staff.
The professional field involving the collection, analysis, and reporting of higher education data is called institutional research. Professionals in this field can be found, in addition to universities, in e.g. state educational departments.
Please help develop this page
This page was created, but so far, little content has been added. Everyone is invited to help expand and create educational content for Wikiversity. If you need help learning how to add content, see the editing tutorial and the MediaWiki syntax reference. To help you get started with content, we have automatically added references below to other Wikimedia Foundation projects. This will help you find materials such as information, media and quotations on which to base the development of "Higher education" as an educational resource. However, please do not simply copy-and-paste large chunks from other projects. You can also use the links in the blue box to help you classify this page by subject, educational level and resource type. |
|
 |
The English used in this article or section may not be easy for everybody to understand. You can help Wikipedia by making this page or section simpler. |
The expression higher education talks about the educational process, the centers and the institutions that are after the secondary education. In it a higher degree (or title) can be obtained.
Generally, to be 18 years old as a minimum is needed in order to have the right to enter to any higher education. That supposes as if completed the primary education and the secondary education before entering. It is common that there exist ways of selection or some exams of selection of the candidates based on the abilities or preparation of the secondary school. According to the country, these examinations can be of state, local or university conditions and area. In other systems no type of selection exists. It is possible to give also an attention that more and more institutions of higher education allow, or they same encourage the right to enter of adult people that had not been necessarily successful in the secondary education; this is applied especially to the open universities.
Contents |
The preparation that offers the higher education is of professional or academic type. It is distinguished among studies of predegree, degree (university career) and graduate (master and doctorate) according to the system of professional degree and academic degrees. The establishments of higher education were traditionally the universities, but in addition other educational centers are considered: institutes, centers of formation of the teaching staff, academies of fine arts, conservatories, polytechnics, etc. (The names depend particularly on the educational system of the country).
An important function, aside from education, in the higher education are the activities of research (especially to the universities) in the different levels of the knowledge. Another important function is which corresponds to extension activities, in which the participation of the population is obtained and the results are communicated.
The importance of the higher education in the society changes according to the culture of the country; for example, in many countries of the south of Europe is understood that the student goes to the university to obtain a diploma that will assure him a good work, whereas in several countries of the north of Europe the period of studies in the university is also a moment in which the student learns to be autonomous emotionally and economically, they learn to mix themselves with people of different origins, and if develop as the persons. In these countries, the student rather in a city far from his hometown.
   | Higher Education Resource Hub - "Higher Education Resource Hub" A College Education Resource Guide for University Degrees Online and Online Education |
| | Reform Initiatives in Higher Education - Reform Initiatives in Higher Education. ERIC Digest. |
| | Blue Ribbon Commissions and Higher Education - Blue Ribbon Commissions and Higher Education. ERIC Digest. |
| | Budgeting for Higher Education at the State Level: Enigma, Paradox, and Ritual - Budgeting for Higher Education at the State Level: Enigma, Paradox, and Ritual. ERIC Digest. |
| | Ensuring Quality and Productivity in Higher Education - Ensuring Quality and Productivity in Higher Education: An Analysis of Assessment Practices. ERIC Digest. |
| | How Minority Students Finance Their Higher Education - How Minority Students Finance Their Higher Education. ERIC Digest. |
| | (highlights of report) - Archived: Highlights of the Final Report of the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education: A Test of Leadership-Charting the Future of U.S. Higher Education |
| | American Association of State Colleges and Universities - American Association of State Colleges and Universities | AASCU | Delivering America's Promise |
| | Philosophy of Liberal Education - Philosophy of Liberal Education |
| | Part Time MBA - Balancing Life, Work and School - Article - www.fullyemployedmba.com |
| | VidyaSoochika - Higher Education Opportunities - VidyaSoochika :: Higher Education Opportunities India & Abroad - HOME |
| | Center for Higher Education Policy Studies - Welcome to CHEPS |
| | Higher Education Research Institute - Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) - HERI Home |
| | Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges in Europe - Study in Europe, Bachelor, Master, Universities, study abroad and more: study-in-europe.info |
| | Information about Erasmus/Internship in Europe - Eu-Student.eu - Internship in Europe, Erasmus, Study Abroad and Languages |
|
|
Top topics
Wikis
Quiz
Facts
Map
Search
