![Mathematics lecture at the Helsinki University of Technology](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Mathematics_lecture_at_the_Helsinki_University_of_Technology.jpg)
Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
al level following the completion of
secondary education
Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...
. The
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
, for example, defines tertiary education as including
universities
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
as well as
trade school
A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...
s and
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
s.
Higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
is taken to include
undergraduate
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-lev ...
and
postgraduate education
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...
, while
vocational education
Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an ind ...
beyond secondary education is known as ''
further education
Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...
'' in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, or included under the category of ''
continuing education
Continuing education (similar to further education in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland) is an all-encompassing term within a broad list of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United ...
'' in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Tertiary education generally culminates in the receipt of
certificates,
diploma
A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...
s, or
academic degree
An academic degree is a qualification awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, usually including unde ...
s.
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
stated that tertiary education focuses on learning endeavors in specialized fields. It includes academic and higher vocational education.
The
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
's 2019
World Development Report
The World Development Report (WDR) is an annual report published since 1978 by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or World Bank. Each WDR provides in-depth analysis of a specific aspect of economic development. Past ...
on the future of work argues that given the future of work and the increasing role of technology in value chains, tertiary education becomes even more relevant for workers to compete in the labor market.
Global progress
Tertiary education systems will keep expanding over the next 10 years. Globally, the gross enrollment ratio in tertiary
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
increased from 19% in 2000 to 38% in 2017, with the
female
Female (Venus symbol, symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ovum, ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the Sperm, male gamete during sexual reproduction.
A female has larger gamet ...
enrollment ratio exceeding the male ratio by 4 percentage points.
The tertiary gross enrollment ratio ranges from 9% in
low-income countries to 77% in
high-income countries
A high-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a nation with a gross national income per capita of US$12,696 or more in 2020, calculated using the Atlas method. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with "First World" a ...
, where, after rapid growth in the 2000s, reached a plateau in the 2010s.
Between now and 2030, the biggest increase in tertiary enrollment ratios is expected in middle-income countries, where it will reach 52%.
Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) commits countries to providing
lifelong learning opportunities for all, including tertiary education.
This commitment is monitored through the global indicator for target 4.3 in the sustainable development goal 4 (SDG 4), which measures the participation rate of
youth
Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...
and
adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, whether for work or non-work purposes.
Criticism
In 1994 the UNESCO Salamanca Statement called on the international community to endorse the approach of inclusive education, including at the tertiary level. Since this time the world has witnessed the global massification of tertiary education, yet this explosion of facilities and enrollment has largely entrenched and exacerbated the exclusion of people with disabilities. This is particularly the case in low- and middle-income contexts, where university completion rates for students with disabilities are much lower compared to completion rates of students without disabilities.
Some tertiary schools have been criticized as having permitted or actively encouraged
grade inflation
Grade inflation (also known as grading leniency) is the awarding of higher grades than students deserve, which yields a higher average grade given to students.
The term is also used to describe the tendency to award progressively higher academic g ...
. In addition, certain scholars contend that the supply of graduates in some fields of study is exceeding the demand for their skills, aggravating
graduate unemployment,
underemployment
Underemployment is the underuse of a worker because a job does not use the worker's skills, is part-time, or leaves the worker idle. Examples include holding a part-time job despite desiring full-time work, and overqualification, in which the ...
and
credentialism
Credentialism and educational inflation are any of a number of related processes involving increased demands for formal educational qualifications, and the devaluation of these qualifications. In Western society, China, and India, there has bee ...
.
Influence on views
Graduates of tertiary education are likely to have different worldviews and moral values than non-graduates. Research indicates that graduates are more likely to have
libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
principles with less adherence to social hierarchies. Graduates are also more likely to embrace cultural and ethnic diversity and express more positive views towards minority groups. For international relationships, graduates are more likely to favor openness, supporting policies like
free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold econo ...
,
open border
An open border is a border that enables free movement of people (and often of goods) between jurisdictions with no restrictions on movement and is lacking substantive border control. A border may be an open border due to intentional legislation ...
s, the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, and more liberal policies regarding
international migration
International migration occurs when people cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum length of the time. Migration occurs for many reasons. Many people leave their home countries in order to look for economic opportunities ...
.
In the United Kingdom
Under
devolution in the United Kingdom, education is administered separately in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. In England, the term "tertiary education" aligns with the global term "
higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
" (i.e. post-18 study). In 2018 the Welsh Government adopted the term "tertiary education" to refer to post-16 education and training in Wales. Since the 1970s, however, specialized
further education colleges
Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It ...
in England and Wales have called themselves "
tertiary college In England and Wales, a tertiary college is a type of further education (FE) college that offers both academic and vocational courses to both youngsters and adults, combining the main functions of an FE college and a sixth form college. Unlike a si ...
s" although being part of the
secondary education
Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final pha ...
process. These institutions cater for both school leavers and adults, thus combining the main functions of an FE college and a
sixth form college
A sixth form college is an educational institution, where students aged 16 to 19 typically study for advanced school-level qualifications, such as A Levels, Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) and the International Baccalaureate Di ...
. Generally, district councils with such colleges have adopted a tertiary system or structure where a single local institution provides all the 16–19 and adult education, and where schools do not universally offer sixth forms (i.e. schools only serve ages 11–16). However the
Further and Higher Education Act 1992
The Further and Higher Education Act 1992 made changes in the funding and administration of further education and higher education within England and Wales, with consequential effects on associated matters in Scotland which had previously been ...
has effectively prevented the creation of new tertiary colleges.
In Australia
![Deakin University Burwood Campus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Deakin_University_Burwood_Campus.jpg)
Within Australia "tertiary education" refers to continuing studies after a student's completes secondary school. Tertiary-education options include university,
technical and further education
Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational cours ...
or private universities.
In the United States of America
![Upper Quad Gate in the fall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Upper_Quad_Gate_in_the_fall.jpg)
The
higher education system in the United States is decentralized and regulated independently by each state with
accreditors playing a key role in ensuring institutions meet minimum standards. It is large and diverse with institutions that are privately governed and institutions that are owned and operated by state and local governments. Some private institutions are affiliated with religious organizations whereas others are secular with enrollment ranging from a few dozen to tens of thousands of students. In short, there are a wide variety of options which are often locally determined. The United States Department of Education presents a broad-spectrum view of tertiary education and detailed information on the nation's educational structure, accreditation procedures, and connections to state as well as federal agencies and entities.
The
Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, or simply the Carnegie Classification, is a framework for classifying colleges and universities in the United States. It was created in 1970 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Adva ...
provides one framework for classifying U.S. colleges and universities in several different ways. US tertiary education also includes various non-profit organizations promoting professional development of individuals in the field of higher education and helping expand awareness of related issues like international student services and complete campus internationalization.
In the European Union
Although tertiary education in the
EU includes university, it can differ from country to country.
In France
After going to
nursery school
A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary schoo ...
(French: école maternelle),
elementary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
(French: école élémentaire),
middle school
A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
(French: collège), and
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
(French: lycée), a student may go to university, but may also stop at that point.
In Africa
In Nigeria
![FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC NEKEDE OWERRI front gate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/FEDERAL_POLYTECHNIC_NEKEDE_OWERRI_front_gate.jpg)
Tertiary education refers to post-secondary education received at universities (government or privately funded), monotechnics, polytechnics and colleges of education. After completing a secondary education, students may enroll in a tertiary institution or acquire a
vocational education
Vocational education is education that prepares people to work as a technician or to take up employment in a skilled craft or trade as a tradesperson or artisan. Vocational Education can also be seen as that type of education given to an ind ...
. Students are required to sit for the
Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board
A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw ...
Entrance Examination (JAMB) as well as the
Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) or General Certificate Examination (GCE) and meet varying cut-off marks to gain admission into a tertiary institution.
In Japan
4th and 5th grades of
colleges of technology and special training colleges fall into the category.
Colleges of technology are provided by the 1st article of the educational law in Japan as well as universities and junior colleges, which are very often called as high education for two years, but special training colleges are provided by the 124th article of the law as a category of special training schools. Both are regular educational organisations but special training colleges are not "schools" under the law. They are additionally not in high education.
Pupil who finish a junior high school can enter a college of technology but 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades are in secondary education and out of this article. College of technology is special educational system which secondary and tertiary educations intermingle. Graduates from the school are equivalent to graduates from a junior college.
Whilst special training colleges are not "schools" by the law, they are schools in public view. Their most courses are for two years but some have one, three or four-year courses. Graduates from courses for more than two years are equivalent to graduates from junior colleges and graduates from a course for four years can enter a graduate course of a university in recent years.
History of the special training schools
Special training schools were included in miscellaneous schools by the current educational law when it was enforced in 1947. The 83rd article of the law provided for them and they were certainly miscellaneous.
Because miscellaneous schools included educational organisations with lessons for a few times in a week then, some educational organisations including later special training schools were dissatisfied about the system. In addition, there were many problems because of being miscellaneous.
Some educational organisations authorised by some definite condition became miscellaneous schools with reform of the law on 1 January 1957 but were still in the miscellaneous system. The law has not applied to many other educational organisations since the reform.
There were various styles whilst the law authorised: for example, schools to provide about educational backgrounds and those without any provisions about them. There are still many problems and special training schools were created in January 1976. They include three courses: post-secondary, upper-secondary, and general courses. Schools with the post-secondary course for graduates who finish senior high schools and people with equivalent educational backgrounds are called as special training colleges. The upper-secondary course is that for graduates from junior high schools and everyone can enter the general course. The latter is near current miscellaneous schools.
Graduates from special training colleges since 1994 can get diploma. The law does not provide about diploma unlike foundation degree that graduates from colleges of technology can get but is public degree as well.
See also
*
List of countries by tertiary education attainment
This is a list of countries by 25- to 64-year-olds having completed tertiary education as published by the OECD. It includes some non-OECD nations.
Tertiary education is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a seco ...
*
Education by country
This is a list of articles on education organized by country:
A
*Education in Afghanistan
* Education in Albania
* Education in Angola
* Education in Argentina
*Education in Armenia
*Education in Australia
*Education in Austria
* Education in ...
*
List of universities and colleges by country
This is a list of lists of universities and colleges by country, sorted by continent and region. The lists represent educational institutions throughout the world which provide higher education in tertiary, quaternary, and post-secondary educati ...
*
Student SPILL
Student SPILL (Supporting Peers In Laidback Listening) is an anonymous and confidential peer-to-peer online support system for college students launched in December 2008. Available 24 hours a day, students can go to the Student SPILL website and ve ...
Sources
*
References
Citations
External links
Tertiary education statistics UNESCO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tertiary Education
Educational stages
id:Pendidikan tinggi