Higher Education in the USA

Americans have a tremendous faith in the worth of education. For many it is a magic carpet. Do we have social problems – crime, drug addiction, teenage pregnancies, racial discrimination, poverty, war? Then let us educate people! This appeal to “education” as a cure-all for social problems is deeply rooted in the ideology of American life. Foreign travellers comment that in American towns the local school or college dominates the scene much as the cathedral dominates the towns of Latin America and Western Europe.

Along with a strong faith in education has also gone a considerable distrust. Americans often attack education as “too impractical”, as too expensive, as corrosive of established beliefs and values, and as preoccupied with fads and frills.

With the founding of Harvard University in 1636 American higher education came into being.

In the intervening 350 or so years, higher education has involved into a huge 100 billion dollars a year enterprise. The 3,340 American colleges and universities with almost 700,000 faculties turn out 1.4 million graduates a year.

The college in Massachusetts was called Harvard in honour of John Harvard who left it his library and property. The second institution was the college of Mary and William. These colleges were to train men for service in the church and civil state. By 1776 four more universities were opened, very much alike English ones: Princeton, Columbia, Yale, Pennsylvania.

In the 20-th century there emerged the 2-year junior colleges to meet the demands for higher education. The 2-year of study in them is divided into 4 terms.

Higher education in the USA is not a nation-wide system. Its institutions differ in size and sponsorship. They range from 2-year colleges to major research centres.

There are two types of universities and colleges in the USA – private and state. The difference between them is private colleges are very expensive, smaller in size and the tuition fees are much higher. In the state colleges the fees are lower. Of course, it’s more prestigious to get a degree at a private university where the quality of education is always better and this can make difference in the job market later. There are some of the leading universities: California, Massachusetts, Stanford, Harvard, Washington, Columbia, Princeton, New-York and others.

There can be distinguished 2 types of institutions – those granting academic degrees (4-year institutions) and those not granting (2-year institutions). In American higher education there are academic degrees at 3 levels: bachelor of arts/science, master of arts/science (+ 2 years ), doctor of philosophy.

The methods of instruction in the university are lecture discussion and work in labs. During one term a student will study 4 – 5 different subjects. The student’s progress is often evaluated through quizes, term papers and final exam in each course.

The administration of the higher education is the responsibility of both staff and the faculty. The staff (officials and clerical personnel) takes care of the non-academic functions. Faculty members’ role is instruction and research. The membership of the board of trustees consists of professional administrators, businessmen and representatives of big companies and religious bodies. The board of trustees appoints President, who is responsible to it.

Date: 2016-03-03; view: 874