Academic tertiary education
Harvard University
, founded in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
in 1636, is the oldest higher education institution in the
United States
and routinely ranked as one of the best universities in the world.
Higher education
is
tertiary education
leading to the award of an
academic degree
. Higher education, which makes up a component of post-secondary, third-level, or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of
formal learning
that occurs after completion of
secondary education
. It represents levels 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the
2011 version
of the
International Standard Classification of Education
structure. Tertiary education at a nondegree level is sometimes referred to as
further education
or
continuing education
as distinct from higher education.
The right of access to higher education
[
edit
]
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".
[1]
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
.
[2]
Definition
[
edit
]
A post-secondary graduate receives a diploma during a graduation ceremony at
Germanna Community College
in Virginia.
Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or
tertiary education
, is an optional final stage of
formal learning
that occurs after completion of
secondary education
. This consists of
universities
,
colleges
and
polytechnics
that offer formal degrees beyond high school or secondary school education.
The
International Standard Classification of Education
in 1997 initially classified all tertiary education together in the
1997 version
of its schema. They were referred to as level 5 and doctoral studies at level 6. In 2011, this was refined and expanded in the
2011 version
of the structure. Higher education at undergraduate level, masters and doctoral level became levels 6, 7, and 8. Nondegree level
tertiary education
, sometimes referred to as
further education
or
continuing education
was reordered as level 4, with level 5 for some higher courses.
[3]
In the days when few pupils progressed beyond
primary education
or
basic education
, the term "higher education" was often used to refer to secondary education, which can create some confusion.
[note 1]
This is the origin of the term
high school
for various schools for children between the ages of 14 and 18 (United States) or 11 and 18 (United Kingdom and Australia).
[4]
Providers
[
edit
]
Deakin University
, one of
Australia
's 43 universities
In the U.S., higher education is provided by
universities
,
academies
,
colleges
,
seminaries
,
conservatories
, and
institutes of technology
, and certain college-level institutions, including
vocational schools
, universities of applied sciences, trade schools, and other career-based colleges that award degrees.
Tertiary education
at a nondegree level is sometimes referred to as
further education
or
continuing education
as distinct from higher education.
[5]
[6]
Higher education includes teaching, research, exacting applied work, as exists in
medical schools
and
dental schools
, and social services activities of universities.
[7]
Within the realm of teaching, it includes both the
undergraduate
level, and beyond that,
graduate-level
(or
postgraduate
level). The latter level of education is often referred to as
graduate school
, especially in North America. In addition to the skills that are specific to any particular degree, potential employers in any profession are looking for evidence of
critical thinking
and analytical reasoning skills,
teamworking
skills,
information literacy
,
ethical
judgment,
decision-making
skills, fluency in speaking and writing,
problem solving
skills, and a wide knowledge of liberal arts and sciences.
[8]
History
[
edit
]
Bologna University
in Italy, established in 1088 A.D., is the
world's oldest university in continuous operation
.
Established in 1224 by
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
,
University of Naples Federico II
in Italy is the world's oldest state-funded university in continuous operation.
[9]
[10]
The oldest known institutions of higher education are credited to Dynastic Egypt, with Pr-Anx (houses of life) built as libraries and scriptoriums, containing works on law, architecture, mathematics, and medicine, and involved in the training of "swnw" and "swnwt" (male and female
doctors
); extant
Egyptian papyri
from the 3rd millennia BC are in several collections.
[11]
In the Greek world,
Plato's Academy
(
c.
387
- 86 BC),
Aristotle's Lyceum
(
c.
334
- 86 BC) and other philosophical-mathematical schools became models for other establishments, particularly in
Alexandria
of Egypt, under the
Ptolemies
.
In
South Asia
, the city of
Taxila
[
when?
]
, later the great Buddhist monastery of
Nalanda
(
c.
427
- 1197 CE), attracted students and professors even from distant regions.
[12]
In
China
, the
Han dynasty
established chairs to teach the
Five Confucean Classics
, in the Grand School,
Taixue
(
c.
3
- 1905
CE
), to train cadres for the imperial administration.
[13]
[14]
All these higher-learning institutions became models for other schools within their sphere of cultural influence.
[15]
In 425 CE, the Byzantine emperor
Theodosius II
innovated as he established the
Pandidakterion
, with a faculty of 31 professors, to train public servants. In the 7th and 8th centuries, "cathedral schools" were created in Western Europe. Meanwhile, the first Medresahs were founded in the Moslem empire ? initially mere primary schools in the premises of major mosques, which gradually evolved toward secondary, later higher education. However high the intellectual level of these schools could be, it would be anachronistic to call them "universities". Their organization and purposes were markedly different from the corporations of students and teachers, independent from both the Church and the State, which established themselves from the 12th century in Western Europe as
Universitas Studiorum
.
[
citation needed
]
According to
UNESCO
and
Guinness World Records
, the
University of al-Qarawiyyin
in
Fez, Morocco
is the
oldest existing continually operating
higher educational institution in the world.
[16]
[17]
and is occasionally referred to as the oldest university by scholars.
[18]
Undoubtedly, there are older institutions of higher education, for example, the
University of Ez-Zitouna
in Montfleury,
Tunis
, was first established in 737. The
University of Bologna
, Italy, founded in 1088, is the world's oldest university in continuous operation,
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
and the first university in the sense of a higher-learning and degree-awarding institute, as the word
universitas
was coined at its foundation.
[22]
[19]
[20]
[21]
20th century
[
edit
]
Since
World War II
, developed and many developing countries have increased the participation of the age group who mostly studies higher education from the elite rate, of up to 15 per cent, to the mass rate of 16 to 50 per cent.
[24]
[25]
In many developed countries, participation in higher education has continued to increase towards universal or, what Trow later called, open access, where over half of the relevant age group participate in higher education.
[26]
Higher education is important to national
economies
, both as an industry, in its own right, and as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy. College educated workers have commanded a measurable wage premium and are much less likely to become unemployed than less educated workers.
[27]
[28]
21st century
[
edit
]
In recent years, universities have been criticized for permitting or actively encouraging
grade inflation
.
[29]
[30]
Also, the supply of graduates in many fields of study is exceeding the demand for their skills, aggravating
graduate unemployment
,
underemployment
,
overqualification
and
educational inflation
.
[31]
[32]
Some commentators have suggested that the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education
is rapidly making certain aspects of the traditional higher education system obsolete.
[33]
The involvement and funding by foreign regimes in
higher education in the US
and Europe raised concerns regarding the erosion of democratic norms and hate speech on campuses.
[34]
[
better source needed
]
[35]
Statistics
[
edit
]
A 2014 report by the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
states that by 2014, 84 percent of young people were completing upper secondary education over their lifetimes, in high-income countries. Tertiary-educated individuals were earning twice as much as median workers. In contrast to historical trends in education, young women were more likely to complete upper secondary education than young men. Additionally, access to education was expanding and growth in the number of people receiving university education was rising sharply. By 2014, close to 40 percent of people aged 25?34 (and around 25 percent of those aged 55?64), were being educated at university.
[36]
Recognition of studies
[
edit
]
The
Lisbon Recognition Convention
stipulates that degrees and periods of study must be recognised in all of the Signatory Parties of the convention.
[37]
See also
[
edit
]
Higher education by country
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
. 1966 – via
Wikisource
.
- ^
"Protocol No. 1 to the Convention - Toolkit"
.
Council of Europe
.
Archived
from the original on 2023-03-27
. Retrieved
2023-03-27
.
- ^
Revision of the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED)
Archived
2017-05-25 at the
Wayback Machine
, Retrieved 5 April 2012.
- ^
"high school"
.
Cambridge Dictionary
.
Archived
from the original on 2021-02-27
. Retrieved
2021-06-24
.
- ^
"The Difference Between Continuing Education and Professional Development"
.
Columbia Southern University
. April 1, 2021. Archived from
the original
on 17 October 2021
. Retrieved
17 October
2021
.
- ^
"6 Reasons Why Continuing Education Is Important"
.
Western Governors University
. April 26, 2019.
Archived
from the original on 17 October 2021
. Retrieved
17 October
2021
.
- ^
Pucciarelli F., Kaplan Andreas M. (2016)
Competition and Strategy in Higher Education: Managing Complexity and Uncertainty
Archived
2019-01-10 at the
Wayback Machine
, Business Horizons, Volume 59
- ^
Jenkins, Anne (20 January 2015).
"Employers Judge Recent Graduates Ill-Prepared for Today's Workplace, Endorse Broad and Project-Based Learning as Best Preparation for Career Opportunity and Long-Term Success"
(Press release). Washington, DC:
Association of American Colleges and Universities
. Archived from
the original
on 12 April 2017
. Retrieved
11 April
2017
.
- ^
Storia d'Italia
. Vol. 4. Torino: UTET. 7 August 1981. p. 122.
ISBN
88-02-03568-7
.
- ^
Delle Donne, Fulvio (2010).
Storia dello Studium di Napoli in eta sveva
(in Italian). Mario Adda Editore. pp. 9?10.
ISBN
978-8880828419
.
- ^
Gordan, Andrew H.; Shwabe, Calvin W. (2004).
The Quick and the Dead: Biomedical Theory in Ancient Egypt
. Egyptological Memoirs.
Leiden
:
Brill Academic Publishers
. p. 154.
ISBN
978-90-04-12391-5
.
- ^
Mookerji, Radha Kumud (1989) [1947].
Ancient Indian education: Brahmanical and Buddhist
. History and Culture Series (2nd ed.). Delhi:
Motilal Banarsidass
.
ISBN
978-81-208-0423-4
.
- ^
Balazs, Etienne (1968).
La Bureaucratie celeste: recherches sur l'economie et la societe de la Chine traditionnelle
. Bibliotheque des sciences humaines (in French). Paris: Gallimard.
- ^
Peter Tze Ming Ng (2001), "Paradigm shift and the state of the field in the study of Christian higher education in China",
Cahiers d’Extreme-Asie
, no. 12, pp. 127?140
- ^
Yang, Rui (2019-09-02).
"Emulating or integrating? Modern transformations of Chinese higher education"
.
Journal of Asian Public Policy
.
12
(3): 294?311.
doi
:
10.1080/17516234.2018.1448213
.
ISSN
1751-6234
.
- ^
"Oldest higher-learning institution, oldest university"
.
Guinness World Records
.
Archived
from the original on 2014-10-07
. Retrieved
2021-06-24
.
- ^
"Medina of Fez"
.
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
. UNESCO.
Archived
from the original on 19 September 2017
. Retrieved
7 April
2016
.
- ^
Verger, Jacques: "Patterns", in: Ridder-Symoens, Hilde de (ed.):
A History of the University in Europe. Vol. I: Universities in the Middle Ages
, Cambridge University Press, 2003,
ISBN
978-0-521-54113-8
, pp. 35?76 (35)
- ^
a
b
"Times Higher Education - QS World University Rankings 2007 - World's oldest universities"
.
QS Top Universities
. Archived from
the original
on 17 January 2009
. Retrieved
6 January
2010
.
- ^
a
b
Gaston, Paul L. (2010).
The challenge of Bologna: What United States higher education has to learn from Europe, and why it matters that we learn it
. Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing. p. 18.
ISBN
978-1-57922-366-3
.
OCLC
320189904
.
- ^
a
b
Janin, Hunt (2008).
The University in Medieval Life, 1179-1499
. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. pp. 55f.
ISBN
978-0-7864-3462-6
.
- ^
a
b
de Ridder-Symoens, Hilde:
A History of the University in Europe: Volume 1, Universities in the Middle Ages
Archived
2022-11-24 at the
Wayback Machine
, Cambridge University Press, 1992,
ISBN
0-521-36105-2
, pp. 47?55
- ^
"The Porticoes of Bologna"
.
UNESCO Centre du patrimoine mondial
(in French). Archived from
the original
on 15 August 2020
. Retrieved
16 August
2020
.
- ^
Trow, Martin (1973).
Problems in the transition from elite to mass higher education
(PDF)
(Report). Berkeley: Carnegie Commission on Higher Education
. Retrieved
1 August
2013
.
- ^
Brennan, John (2002).
"The social role of the contemporary university: contradictions, boundaries and change"
(PDF)
.
Ten years on: Changing higher education in a changing world
. Buckingham: Centre for Higher Education Research and Information, Open University. pp. 22?26. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 25 May 2017
. Retrieved
9 February
2014
.
- ^
Trow, Martin (2005-08-05),
Reflections on the transition from elite to mass to universal access: forms and phases of higher education in modern societies since WWII
Republished in
Forest, James J. F.; Altbach, Philip G., eds. (2006-04-20).
International Handbook of Higher Education: Part One: Global Themes and Contemporary Challenges
. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Vol. 18. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer. pp. 243?280.
ISBN
978-1-4020-4011-5
.
OCLC
65166668
.
- ^
Simkovic, Michael (5 September 2011). "Risk-Based Student Loans".
Washington and Lee Law Review
.
SSRN
1941070
.
- ^
OECD (2011),
Education at a Glance
- ^
Gunn, Andrew; Kapade, Priya (25 May 2018),
"The university grade inflation debate is going global"
,
University World News
,
archived
from the original on 26 May 2018
, retrieved
23 June
2019
,
The grading process has been compromised as universities are incentivised to meet the demands of their customers and graduate more students with top grades to boost their institutional ranking.
- ^
Baker, Simon (28 June 2018),
"Is grade inflation a worldwide trend?"
,
The World University Rankings
, Times Higher Education,
archived
from the original on 25 October 2019
, retrieved
23 June
2019
,
Departments where enrollments were falling felt under pressure to relax their grading practices to make their courses more attractive, leading to an "arms race" in grade inflation.
- ^
Coates, Ken; Morrison, Bill (2016),
Dream Factories: Why Universities Won't Solve the Youth Jobs Crisis
, Toronto: Dundurn Books, p. 232,
ISBN
9781459733770
,
archived
from the original on 2021-09-21
, retrieved
2021-09-21
- ^
Brown, Phillip; Lauder, Hugh; Ashton, David (2012),
The Global Auction: The Broken Promises of Education, Jobs, and Incomes
, Oxford University Press, p. 208,
ISBN
9780199926442
,
archived
from the original on 2021-03-10
, retrieved
2020-12-11
- ^
Kaplan, Andreas (2021-04-06).
Higher education at the crossroads of disruption: The university of the 21st century
. Emerald.
doi
:
10.1108/9781800715011
.
ISBN
978-1-80071-504-2
.
S2CID
233594353
.
- ^
"Follow the Money: Qatar Funding of Higher Education"
.
Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy
. Retrieved
2023-12-24
.
- ^
Shulman, Sophie (30 October 2023).
"Tuition of terror: Qatari money flowed into U.S. universities - and now it's fueling violence"
.
CTech
. Rishon LeZion, Israel: Yedioth Ahronoth Group
. Retrieved
30 April
2024
.
- ^
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(September 2014).
"Higher levels of education paying off for young, says OECD"
. Archived from
the original
on 28 June 2013
. Retrieved
11 September
2014
.
- ^
"Lisbon Recognition Convention"
.
coe.int
.
Archived
from the original on 28 May 2019
. Retrieved
28 May
2019
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Alkamel, Mohammed Adulkareem A.; Chouthaiwale, Santosh S.; Yassin, Amr Abdullatif; AlAjmi, Qasim; Albaadany, Hanan Yahia (March 2021). "Online Testing in Higher Education Institutions During the Outbreak of COVID-19: Challenges and Opportunities". In Arpaci, Ibrahim; Al-Emran, Mostafa; Al-Sharafi, Mohammed A.; Marques, Goncalo (eds.).
Emerging Technologies During the Era of COVID-19 Pandemic
. Studies in Systems, Decision and Control. Vol. 348.
Cham, Switzerland
:
Springer Nature
. pp. 349?363.
doi
:
10.1007/978-3-030-67716-9_22
.
ISBN
978-3-030-67715-2
.
PMC
7980164
.
S2CID
232322223
.
- Council of Europe Higher Education Series
External links
[
edit
]
Preceded by
|
Higher education
age varies (usually 18?22)
|
Succeeded by
|
Higher education by region
|
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Sovereign states
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States with limited
recognition
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Dependencies and
other territories
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Sovereign states
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States with limited
recognition
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Dependencies and
other entities
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Sovereign states
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Dependencies and
other territories
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Higher education in Oceania
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Sovereign states
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Associated states
of New Zealand
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Dependencies
and other territories
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By
educational stage
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By funding / eligibility
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By style / purpose
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By location
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By scope
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Historical
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Related topics
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