There are more than 4000 public and private colleges and universities in the United States. It can be roughly divided into four categories: vocational or technical colleges.
College), junior or community college (primary community)
College), four-year college, university or polytechnic.
Vocational or technical colleges mainly train specialized personnel, such as business accountants, nurses, engineers and technicians. The schooling lasts for two to three years, and generally only associate degree is awarded.
Junior colleges or community colleges mainly provide higher technical education and vocational education, and provide general education for all those who are willing to receive higher education; At the same time, it transports talents for four-year colleges and universities. Junior college enrolls high school graduates, and the academic system is mostly two years, and associate degree is generally awarded. The academic system of colleges and universities is generally four years, and students can get a bachelor's degree after graduation; After that, graduate students can get a master's degree for one or two years and a doctor's degree for three to five years.
American higher education is mainly divided into three types: public universities, private universities and private universities. Public universities are funded by state governments or local governments and led by state governments. Private universities are funded by private groups, religious organizations and companies. Led by the organizer and guided by the state government.
In addition to public education and private education, there is also a higher education school in the United States, which is a private education institution. Private education (private)
Education) and private education (exclusive)
Education) have something in common. They are all independent legal persons, pursuing characteristics and striving to remain competitive. But there are many differences. The biggest difference is that private education is non-profit education and cannot be profitable. Private education is for-profit education and can be profitable.
In order to encourage the further development of higher education, promote the diversification of higher education and meet the needs of all ages, groups and jobs for further study and improvement, governments at all levels in the United States actively encourage the development of various higher education institutions, including for-profit higher education institutions, so the number of for-profit higher education institutions has increased rapidly.
Second, the management system of American higher education
Decentralization and decentralization are the characteristics of American higher education management system. In this educational management system, the federal government, state governments, private certification bodies and universities themselves bear different responsibilities.
federal government
According to the U.S. Constitution, higher education is administered by states, and the U.S. federal government has no direct jurisdiction over higher education (except military academies). The United States has a federal education department, but its responsibilities and functions are completely different from those of China. It neither sets standards for institutions of higher learning nor has the right to approve the establishment of institutions of higher learning. There is no unified and government-led quality evaluation standard and monitoring system for higher education in the United States. The identification, calculation and conversion of credits into internal business of colleges and universities are decided by the school itself. The influence of the federal government on the quality of higher education is indirect. The federal government has stipulated some bills related to colleges and universities, but these bills all stipulate how the federal government provides financial assistance to colleges and universities, how to provide scholarships and loans to college students, and how to focus on developing certain disciplines.
(2) State governments
Most states in the United States have higher education committees. The Higher Education Committee mainly promotes and ensures the improvement of the quality of higher education in our state through macro-control. The administrative departments of higher education in 50 states have different management authority over public universities in the state, but their main responsibilities are to study and formulate the allocation scheme of state government education funds, the development direction of universities in the state, and handle the relationship between the government and universities, without involving specific school-running matters.
The establishment of public schools must be approved by state and local governments, and each state has specific standards and policies for its quality requirements. The state government macro-controls the development direction of public colleges and universities through appropriation and legislation. This measure is very effective for public institutions of higher learning that cannot stand on their own feet economically. The state education authorities adopt a licensing management system for the establishment of private colleges and the right to confer degrees, and the management scale varies from state to state. However, in terms of the quality of public and private education, the state government mainly relies on the certification of private certification institutions to ensure the quality of education and the interests of students.
(3) Non-governmental certification bodies
Higher education in the United States is different from that in China. Government departments are responsible for the "registration" of schools, and private industry associations are responsible for the "certification" of schools. "Registration" and "authentication" are two completely different concepts. In the American higher education management system, "with the approval of the government's education department, it has the right to award degrees" only means that the school is officially registered in the competent examination and approval department, reaching the minimum standard for holding post-secondary education, but its education quality may not be guaranteed. At present, some American "diploma workshops" disclosed in China often belong to this type, which recruit students who do not understand American higher education in China under the banner of "approved by the government education department and have the right to award degrees". To become a regular university in the academic sense, it must be strictly evaluated and certified by its peers, and only those who pass the examination can be qualified to become a "regular university". The degree certificate issued by any university is just a piece of waste paper if it is not certified by six private regional universities or other authoritative professional certification institutions established by university colleagues. Students trained by "registered" universities may be excellent, qualified or inferior. The students trained by "accredited" universities are at least qualified college students, because the quality of their education is truly guaranteed. In terms of the quality of education in public and private institutions, the state government relies more on the certification of private certification institutions to ensure the quality of education and the interests of students. Therefore, certification is the core of higher education quality assurance.
Educational institutions in the United States are mainly accredited by non-governmental accreditation bodies. Accreditation bodies in six regions and nearly 100 professional accreditation bodies recognized by the US Department of Education are responsible for standardizing the academic quality of universities. The Higher Education Accreditation Committee (CHEA) is a professional organization that coordinates and reviews accreditation bodies. The federal government of the United States indirectly manages and supervises universities through these certification bodies.
1. Certificate Authority Type
There are 83 higher education accreditation institutions in the United States, which can be divided into three categories: the first category is regional accreditation organizations, with a total of eight; The second category is national certification bodies, with a total of11; The third category is 64 professional certification institutions in colleges and universities.
Regional accreditation organizations are responsible for the overall accreditation of educational institutions or schools, and 98% of the accredited universities are non-profit schools with the right to confer degrees.
National accreditation bodies are also responsible for accrediting colleges and universities, but about 80% of the accredited schools are for-profit colleges and universities, and most of them have no right to award degrees. Most of these schools are single-subject schools, such as information technology colleges and business schools; Some are religious colleges.
The professional certification institutions in colleges and universities are divided into very detailed ones, ranging from engineering technology, law, dentists to funeral services. The above-mentioned 83 certification bodies are independent of each other and work independently under the leadership of their respective councils. The American Higher Education Accreditation Council strengthens industry self-discipline through accreditation bodies.
2. Authentication process
If a school or program requires certification, it needs to go through a series of steps stipulated by the certification body. These steps include: certification institutions and schools cooperate to formulate certification standards; The school evaluates itself according to the above standards and writes an application report; The certification body organized a delegation to conduct on-the-spot investigation and investigate the materials provided by the school to confirm whether the statement is in line with the actual situation; If the certification body believes that the school meets the certification standards, it will include the name of the school in the official publication; Certification institutions conduct regular certification and monitor whether the certification schools meet the certification standards for a long time. The certification period is several years to ten years. It is a continuous and periodic process, and obtaining the initial authentication identity does not mean obtaining the permanent authentication qualification. The next round of certification is needed in a few years. If repeated, it will help to promote the school to improve its own education quality and improve the effectiveness of the project at any time.
3. Type of certification
There are two kinds of authentication: one is university authentication; The other is "professional" certification or "project" certification.
University accreditation refers to the overall accreditation of the university, and every part of the school must meet the requirements of accreditation.
Professional accreditation refers to the accreditation of colleges, departments or majors or research projects of universities. Most professional accreditation bodies accredit some universities that have been accredited by regional accreditation committees. Some professional accreditation bodies also accredit professional colleges and universities or vocational colleges of other higher education institutions.
Coordination body of certification bodies
In order to be responsible for the schools and projects certified by various certification bodies, as well as for the public and the government that have invested heavily in the development of higher education, certification institutions need to go through a regular evaluation procedure of an external institution, that is, the "accreditation" procedure.
The "accreditation" program is usually organized by the private higher education accreditation committee (National Accreditation Organization Coordinating Body (CHEA)) or the US Federal Department of Education (USDE).
The Higher Education Accreditation Committee adopts five criteria when evaluating accreditation bodies, namely 1) academic quality; 2) responsibility; 3) innovative spirit; 4) Appropriate and fair decision-making evaluation procedures; 5) Continuous evaluation. These standards particularly emphasize ensuring and improving the academic quality of schools or programs, and serving students and their families, higher education institutions, sponsorship groups, governments and employers.
The evaluation cycle of higher education accreditation committee for accreditation bodies is usually ten years, including five-year mid-term evaluation.
The standards of accreditation procedures of the Federal Ministry of Education are made into law in 1992, which mainly emphasizes whether the quality of a school or program meets the accreditation standards for applying for federal student aid or other federal programs. Certification standards have strict requirements for certification institutions in the following aspects: student performance, courses, teachers, facilities, financial and management capabilities, student services, enrollment, degree credit management, student complaint records, and whether it meets the requirements of accepting federal aid programs.
The accreditation evaluation of the United States Federal Department of Education is generally conducted every five years.
Generally speaking, institutions that accredit schools or programs need to be recognized by the U.S. Federal Department of Education if they want to qualify for federal student grants. The accreditation of the Higher Education Accreditation Committee emphasizes the academic legitimacy of the accreditation bodies and helps to coordinate these accreditation bodies and their accreditation schools and projects in the field of higher education.
(D) the university's own management
American colleges and universities have great autonomy and independence in running schools, such as hiring professors, enrolling students, adjusting majors, setting courses, and financial expenditure. But university autonomy does not mean that the president is dictatorial. In order to ensure the correct direction of running a university and better ensure the teaching quality of the university, most public and private universities implement the principal responsibility system under the leadership of the board of directors, which determines the major policies of the university and is the direct upper-level decision-making body of the university. The board of directors of public universities is appointed by the governor, and its members are mostly people from all walks of life outside the education sector, including scientists, entrepreneurs, cultural celebrities, lawyers, doctors and officials. In order to effectively collect opinions from all sectors of society and ensure that all decisions made by universities in the process of running schools tend to be democratic and scientific. The main duties of the board of directors are to appoint principals, examine and approve majors and courses, decide tuition standards and campus capital construction, and examine and approve school budgets and other major issues.