Higher education, post-secondary education, tertiary education or third level education
is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after secondary education. Often
delivered at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology,
higher education is also available through certain college-level institutions, including
vocational schools, trade schools, and other career colleges that award academic degrees
or professional certifications. The right of access to higher education is
mentioned in a number of international human rights instruments. The UN International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966 declares, in Article 13, 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".
In Europe, Article 2 of the First Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights,
adopted in 1950, obliges all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education.
Overview Higher education is an educational level that
follows a 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.
Examples of institutions that provide post-secondary education are vocational schools, community
colleges, independent colleges, and universities in the United States, the institutes of technical
and further education in Australia, pre-university colleges in Quebec, and the IEKs in Greece.
They are sometimes known collectively as tertiary institutions. Completion of a tertiary education
program of study generally results in the awarding of certificates, diplomas, or academic
degrees.
Higher education includes teaching, research, exacting applied work, and social services
activities of universities. Within the realm of teaching, it includes both the undergraduate
level, and beyond that, graduate-level. The latter level of education is often referred
to as graduate school, especially in North America.
In many developed countries, a high proportion of the population, 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. College educated workers command a significant wage
premium and are much less likely to become unemployed than less educated workers.
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 degrees or Doctor of Philosophy degrees, or their
equivalents, and also higher professional degrees in areas such as dentistry, law, medicine,
optometry, pharmacology and veterinary medicine. Such institutions may also offer non-degree
certificates, which indicate completion of a set of courses comprising a body of knowledge
on a particular topic, 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. Entrance standards: Reading, mathematics,
and writing Demonstrated ability in reading, mathematics,
and writing, as typically measured in the United States by the SAT or similar tests
such as the ACT, have often replaced colleges' individual entrance exams, and is often required
for admission to higher education. There is some question as to whether advanced mathematical
skills or talent are in fact necessary for fields such as history, English, philosophy,
or art. Types
Engineering
Teaching engineering is teaching the application of scientific, economic, social, and practical
knowledge in order to design, build, maintain, and improve structures, machines, devices,
systems, materials and processes. It may encompass using insights to conceive, model and scale
an appropriate solution to a problem or objective. The discipline of engineering is extremely
broad, and encompasses a range of more specialized fields of engineering, each with a more specific
emphasis on particular areas of technology and types of application. Engineering disciplines
include: aerospace, biological, civil, chemical, computer, electrical, industrial, and mechanical.
General 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 the law, medicine, pharmacy,
dentistry, and veterinary medicine. A basic requirement for entry into these graduate-level
programs is almost always a bachelor's degree, although alternative means of obtaining entry
into such programmes may be available at some universities. Requirements for admission to
such high-level graduate programs is extremely competitive, and admitted students are expected
to perform well.
In the United States, there are large differences in wages and employment associated with different
degrees. Medical doctors and lawyers are generally the highest paid workers, and have among the
lowest unemployment rates. Among undergraduate fields of study, science, technology, engineering,
math, and business generally offer the highest wages and best chances of employment, while
education, communication, and liberal arts degrees generally offer lower wages and a
lower likelihood of employment. Liberal arts
Academic areas that are included within the Liberal arts include Environmental Science,
Great Books, History, Languages including English, Linguistics, Literature, Mathematics,
Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religious studies, Science, Sociology and
Theater. Performing arts
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.
Performing arts institutions include Circus schools, Dance schools, Drama schools and
Music schools Plastic or visual arts
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
include Film schools and Art schools. Vocational
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.
Professional higher education The European initiative on harmonising approaches
to professional higher education, defines it as a distinct form of Higher Education
that offers a particularly intense integration with the world of work in all its aspects
and at all levels of the overarching Qualifications Framework of the European Higher Education
Area. Its function is to diversify learning opportunities, enhance employability, offer
qualifications and stimulate innovation, for the benefit of learners and society.
The intensity of integration with the world of work is manifested by a strong focus on
application of learning. This approach involves combining phases of work and study, a concern
for employability, cooperation with employers, the use of practice-relevant knowledge and
use-inspired research. Examples of providers of Professional Higher
Education may include, Graduate Colleges of Architecture, Business, Journalism, Law, Library
Science, Optometry, Pharmacy, Public Policy, Human Medicine, Professional Engineering,
Podiatric Medicine, Scientific Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine.
Recognition of studies The Lisbon Recognition Convention stipulates
that degrees and periods of study must be recognised in all Signatory Parties of the
Convention. As employers
Universities may employ a number of people. Depending on the funding, a university typically
hires one teacher per 3-25 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 a master's degree. 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 at locations in
addition to universities, e.g. state educational departments.
Post secondary institutions also employ graduate students in various assistantship roles. In
the US, close to 50% of graduate students are employed as graduate assistants at some
point. These apprenticeship-like positions provide opportunities for students to gain
experience in, and exposure to, professional roles in exchange for funding of their academic
programs. See also
Governance in higher education Higher education accreditation
Higher education bubble Higher education policy
Higher Education Price Index UnCollege
Hochschule League of European Research Universities
Technical and Further Education Notes
References Bakvis, Herman and David M. Cameron, "Post-secondary
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Miller, Patrick L.. Choosing a College. Madison, Wis.: Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship.
p. 43. Briefly considers the criteria by which a student might select a college or
university for study. ISBN 0-87784-172-1 Roszak, Theodore, ed.. The Dissenting Academy.
New York: Pantheon Books. x, 304 p. Snyder, Benson R.. The Hidden Curriculum.
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Veblen, Thorstein. The Higher Learning in America: A Memorandum on the Conduct of Universities
by Businessmen. New York: Huebsch External links
Association for the Study of Higher Education American Educational Research Association
Center for Higher Education Policy Studies World Bank Tertiary Education
college.gov - U.S. Department of Education Accrediting Counsel for Independent Colleges
and Schools "College, Inc.", PBS FRONTLINE documentary,
May 4, 2010