Higher Education in the USA

The peculiarfeature of American higher education is the absence of national administration. It has developed its own pattern by the adaptation of two traditions: the collegiate tradition of England and the university tradition of the continent.

As for the historical development, the first college, Harward, dates back to 1636. In 1865 education was becoming available to all. Some of the best-known private universities are Harvard, Yale and Princeton.

American colleges and universities are either public or private. A public institution is owned by a government. The state colleges or universities charge a fee for tuition or registration.

Approximately 1,900 institutions of higher learning belong to the state or city. About 1,200 are privately controlled, meanwhile nearly 700 of them are controlled by religious groups.

In general, higher education in the USA may be divided into two fields: liberal arts (languages, history, science and philosophy) and professional (agriculture, law, engineering, medicine, etc.).

The system of higher education includes 4 categories of institutions.

- The community college, financed by the local community. Tuition fees are low, that's why about 40 per cent of all American students study there.

- The technical training institution, at which graduates may take courses from six months to three-four years, and learn different technical skills, such as design, business, computer programming, accounting, etc. The best-known are: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Technological Institute in California.

-The four-year college, which is not a part of a university. The graduates receive the degree of Bachelor of Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BS).

- There are also small art colleges, pedagogical colleges, and so on.

Admission to colleges and universities is by selection the results of SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test). SAT results are not the only itemsrequested by institutions of higher education. Most schools will ask for a Personal Data Form, a High School Transcript, a Standardized Freshman Application Form, teacher’s recommendations, essays on various topics.

The selection for admission is complex and the final decision is based on many academic and non-academic factors.

By the way, the terms «college» and «university» are often used interchangeably, as «college» refers to all undergraduate education and the four-year undergraduate programme, leading to a bachelor’s degree. Universities are larger than colleges and have graduate schools where students can receive post-graduate education.

Higher educational institutions usually are governed by a board of regents or trustees. The executive head of a college or university is called the president. The colleges or schools which make up a university are headed by deans. The subject groups within a school are headed by a professor who is designated as department head or chair. Other members of the department hold academic ranks, such as instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, and professor. Graduate students who give some part-time service may be designated as fellows or GAs (Graduate Assistants).

During the first two years students follow general courses in the arts or sciences and then choose a major subject. The other subjects are called minors. Credits (with grades) are awarded for the successful completion of each course.

Students are classified as freshmen, sophomors, juniors and seniors. A freshman is a first-year student, a sophomor is a second-year student, a junior is a third year student, a senior is a fourth-year student, students who study four years are known as seniors or undergraduates, those who study five years are called graduates. So, a student working for the Bachelor’s Degree (BA or BS) is called an undergraduate; one working for the Master’s (MA or MS) is called a graduate student or Doctor of Philosophy Degree (PhD) is called a post-graduate student.

The American academic year usually runs from the middle of August to the beginning of May. If one takes summer classes, it is until July. The academic year is divided into 3 terms or 2 semesters. Each college or university has its own curriculum.

A grade point average (GPA)is determined at the end of term to show student’s overall achievement. Grades are usually on a four-point scale, with letters to indicate the levels of achievement. "A” is the highest mark, the letters go through "B”, "C”, "D”, "F”, the last of which denotesa failure.

Vocabulary:

a peculiar feature - особенность

to develop own pattern – разработать собственную схему

to date back - датироваться

available - доступный

either … or … - или…или

approximately - примерно

a field – здесь «сфера», например, деятельности, и т.п.

liberal arts field – сфера гуманитарных наук

professional field – сфера естественных наук, и т.п

law - право

community college – местный колледж (двухгодичный колледж)

tuition fee(s) – плата за обучение

technical training institution – технический ВУЗ

from … to – от…до…

a skill – навык, мастерство

design – здесь «инженерно-конструкторская специальность»

accounting – бухгалтерский учет

an admission – зачисление в университет

SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) – экзамен на выявление академических способностей

items – единица (чего-л.)

to request - требовать

a decision - решение

an undergraduate education – неполное высшее образование/средне-спеиально образование

graduate education – оконченное высшее образование

a post-graduate education – послевузовское образование

a regent/trustee – член попечительского совета университета

an executive head – административный руководитель

a dean - декан

a professor - профессор

a chair - кафедра

an instructor – университетский преподаватель низшего ранга

a senior lecturer – старший преподаватель/доцент

an assistant professor – доцент/ассистент-профессор

an associate professor - доцент/адъюнкт-профессор

a GAs (Graduate Assistants) – преподаватель, обучающийся в аспирантуре

a major subject – профилирующий/основной предмет учебной подготовки

a minor subject – неосновной предмет/предмет по выбору

credits (with grades) – зачеты(дифференцированные зачеты)

a freshman - первокурсник

a sophomore - второкурсник

a junior (student) – студент третьего курса

a senior (student)/ a graduate (student) – студент четвертого курса

a Bachelor’s Degree (BA or BS) – ученая степень бакалавра

a Master’s (MA or MS) – ученая степень магистра

a graduate (student) – выпускник ВУЗа

a Doctor of Philosophy Degree (PhD) – ученая степень доктора/кандидата наук

a post-graduate (student) - аспирант

an academic year – академический год

to be divided - разделяться

a term/a semester - семестр

a curriculum - расписание

a grade point average (GPA) is determined… – средний академеческий балл/средняя успеваемость определется…

an overall achievement – полная успеваемость

to denote - обозначать

a failure – неудача