higher education

The importance of higher education

Higher education is more important today than ever before. 90% of the fastest growing jobs in the US require some post-secondary education, and 63% of the 20 million new jobs will require a bachelor's degree or higher. Upgrading your degree today can significantly increase the amount of money you will earn over your lifetime.

The U.S. Census Bureau determined that lifetime earnings for people who hold only a high school diploma can rise as high as $1 million. But complete an associate's degree and your lifetime earnings nearly double to $1.8 million. It gets better if you continue your degree training. Lifetime earnings for average bachelor's degree holders top out around $2.1 million. Add a master's degree, graduate school, or doctorate degree and your lifetime earnings range between $2.5 million and $4.4 million.

The traditional four-year degree from a college or university is fast giving way to a more career-oriented program. Career education schools increasingly focus on career oriented degree programs. This model of career education focuses on giving students the specific skills and education needed for a career change, first time careers, and also advancing your present career.

Because of the shift towards career-oriented education, students can often complete degree programs in months, as opposed to the years it commonly takes. Many colleges and universities now have courses that begin every few weeks or incorporate intensive programs or online learning.

One of the biggest changes in higher education in the last decade has been the increase in online education. Online degree programs have been the key that allows many non-traditional students to fit continuing education into their busy schedules. In fact, research has found that 77% of prospective students would consider enrolling in a fully online degree program.

Common features of higher education

There are a number of values and practices that are common throughout the higher education system. A significant number of these translate to many workplaces and to the civil sector of American life. As with any kind of community, you might find that some of the features of the academic community can be contradictory from time to time.

Good education - good job

While professional status and a healthy income are important goals of many students, the instructors and curricula of the US university system place much importance on the more traditional goals of individual learning, the building of new knowledge, and the creation of an informed and well-rounded citizenry. Reflecting this, undergraduates at many institutions are required to take as many as half of their courses in fields outside of their major, and much of the work that is done in the classroom is not going to be immediately or obviously relevant to the job market.

More activity – more education

A number of undergraduate courses, particularly mandatory freshman-level courses, are conducted in spacious lectures halls where the only feasible management approach to dozens or hundreds of students. A good number of the courses that you will take are much smaller than this, and quiet is NOT the preferred approach. Instructors expect students to actively participate, asking questions and offering informed opinions and even openly disagreeing with instructors from time to time. When students are talking actively about the subject matter of the class, instructors feel more confident that students are growing from passive recipients of information into individuals who are thinking critically and who are contributing to building knowledge.

Collaboration

Participation happens in small groups as well as on the whole class level. Many instructors rely on small group work to break up class time, and peer review to provide perspectives and insights, and to give students practice with intellectual authority and responsibility.

Limited collaboration

The emphasis turns from group work toward individual accomplishment on high activities, work that constitutes a large part of a final course grade, such as term papers and exams. Other than peer review, where problems are pointed out but the writer must come up with his or her own solution, evidence that others provided answers or wrote for you will lead to severe penalties. This includes plagiarism, which means taking other written sources and using them as your own.

Importance of Diversity

This is an important cultural value in US colleges and universities, and in many parts of the country as a whole. Respect for those from other intellectual positions is a priority for many instructors, as is respect for those whose gender, race, ethnicity, age, religion, language, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic position are different. Formal institutional guidelines allow instructors to deal severely with displays of disrespect towards others in the classroom.