Higher Education

Fortunately, if you're looking to continue your education, you have many options. Undergraduate, graduate, and vocational programs are available in many communities as well as online. This site will help you make sense of it all.

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Higher Education - Overview
Higher education works much like a key; it opens doors that are closed without it. Higher education comes in several forms however and what may work for one person may not be the right approach for another. Most people who seek higher education do so in order to either get a good job right from the beginning or to get a better job after being in the work force for some time. Yet, there are some individuals tha seek a higher education just for the sake of gaining a quality education.

Many parents urge their children to go on to college after high school because they know how hard it is to go back to school after you have a family. As hard as it is though, millions of students are older than the typical college student fresh from high school. Some people, especially women go back to school after they have raised their families. Women and men have graduated from college at age 70 and above.

There are a lot of misconceptions concerning higher education. Many people think you have to be “smart” to go to college or even rich. True, college is expensive but there’s also a lot of financial aid available for almost any situation or station in life.

Sometimes getting a degree or learning a particular skill for example, a foreign language is a life-long dream that may take many years to come to fruition yet older adults and middle-age adults make up a surprising percentage of college students today.

With information at our fingertips via the Internet, we can find out anything we need to know in moments. We can research colleges and universities online and apply for financial aid without ever leaving home. Going to school “online” is replacing correspondence school and making it easier for people who must work full-time yet need to go to school too.

Continuing Education
Many people take a continuing education class when they want to learn something strictly for their own benefit and not to satisfy higher education requirements. Examples of these classes are sewing, cooking, language classes including American Sign Language, fitness classes, basic car repair and many others. You can also take continuing education non-credit courses at many community colleges and other schools of higher education that mirror the for credit courses in some areas such as word processing, basic computer skills and the like. There are numerous subjects one can study and adult courses as well as workshops are part of gaining a higher education.

There are also millions of people each year whose professions require that they keep up with the latest educational or professional developments in their particular field. Doctors, nurses insurance and real estate agents and many other professionals are required to keep their licenses or certificates current by participating in continuing education classes. Colleges and other institutions of higher education are not the only source of continuing education classes, although there are specific guidelines as to the classes that will satisfy the CEUs (Continuing Education Units) required for certain professions.

The CEU is a unit of measure whereby 1 CEU is awarded per 10 contact hours of participation in an approved continuing education course. Professional associations often hold continuing education courses or seminars as do private companies.

In these courses professionals learn new ways of doing things and abandon some of the old ways. It is also a great time for professionals to share experiences with each other and learn from others in their respective professions. For some professions, higher education becomes a lifelong pursuit.

Vocational/Technical School
Vocational or technical school, or sometimes Vo-tech as it is called is an excellent way to learn a particular skill or trade without having to go to school for 4 or more years. Many of the skills one can learn in vocational school take only a few months or at most a year or two. Skills like welding, heating and air conditioning, electronics, computer skills and more. People who want to work in an office go to vocational school much of the time to learn keyboarding, medical transcription, and computer software applications.

Certain vocations that one would hold a license for as opposed to a degree such as cosmetology is typically taught at vocational schools. These institutions of higher education, as long as they are accredited, qualify for many types of financial aid just as the more traditional schools of higher education do.

Some jobs that don’t require a degree do require skills that one wouldn’t necessarily have after completing high school. At these jobs skill level is often examined as part of the hiring process by administering tests in such areas as business practices and computer software programs such as word processing programs and spreadsheets.

Another reason to consider vocational/technical school as a higher education option is there are some jobs that require a certificate instead of a degree and these too can typically be completed in a year or two. These schools are set up for certificate programs however most of them also offer an Associate’s Degree as well.

Even if you’re not going to school because you have to have a certificate, any time one pursues higher education it looks good on a resume. Instead of merely including the fact that you know how to do something, a certificate lends weight that you are a professional in that field. Also, you will achieve a sense of accomplishment while you participate in higher education opportunities; you’re self-esteem will increase, and you will make positive changes in your life.

Online Education
It wasn’t very long ago that correspondence school was the way people who were seeking higher education yet needed to study at home went to school. It was great for people who worked full time or didn’t have time to go to school. You sent off for your course materials, paid your fee and in a few weeks a book or workbook came in the mail and you began to study. You would mail your assignments in to the instructor and within another couple of weeks, that lesson would be graded and you could send in another. At some future date you would receive a diploma or certificate from the ABC Institute of Higher Education.

Although Correspondence Classes are still offered by some institutions, for the most part people who study or take classes from home use the Internet. Many colleges and universities offer certain classes online for credit and more than one university offers degree programs entirely online. The Internet has revolutionalized higher education as more and more students are able to take classes and do coursework at their convenience and still continue to work.

A real advantage to obtaining higher education online is that typically you can work at your own pace. The class may still last for so many weeks but if you are given the syllabus in the beginning and finish early, unlike in the brick and mortar classroom you won’t have to keep going to class. You’ll probably have to log on to take tests and such but it’s still a long way from backing out of your driveway in 30 degree temperatures. Ultimately, online educations have made getting a higher education a more accessible opportunity for people.

Associate’s Degree
An Associate’s degree typically takes two years to complete when going to school full time and is roughly about 60 credit hours of higher education in a particular degree program. Those who work full time and go to night school obviously would take longer to complete their degree.

Employers like to see any kind of degree because it shows them that you can stick to something and that you have an affection for higher education. Some jobs specify an Associate’s degree as a requirement for employment. Depending on the field you are interested in, an Associate’s degree can help you land a good job. For example, there are lots of jobs in the medical field that pay well that you can get with a 2 year degree. Nurses, for example, typically have an Associate’s degree as do many of the techs that work at hospitals and in doctor’s offices.

Teacher’s aids may or may not be required to possess an Associate’s degree but if they do pursue higher education, the salary is larger. Many jobs that don’t necessarily require the degree will pay you more if you have one however with some jobs it won’t matter.

The most common Associate’s degrees are the Associate of Arts (AA) and Associate of Science (AS). Associate of Applied Science (AAS) is one that focuses more on the courses related to the field one is studying than all of the usual academic studies. Students who obtain the AAS are either already in the workforce or about to enter the workforce yet needed to pursue higher education to either learn a particular skill or to satisfy an educational requirement. Finally, there are other positions in the work force that demand more coursework; some individuals may find that getting a higher education means obtaining a BA from an accredited university to get the job they truly desire.

Bachelor’s Degree
It typically takes 4 years of full time study at an accredited institution of higher education for a student to complete a Bachelor’s degree. This is perhaps the most popular degree as in 2003, 27% of the United States population had obtained a Bachelor’s degree. This is the degree a teacher must have in order to get a teaching certificate although many teachers go on to obtain their Master’s and sometimes a Doctorate in Education.

There are different kinds of Bachelor’s degrees which reflect different types of study. Although in recent years more abbreviations have been added, the most well known of the Bachelor’s degrees are the BA (Bachelor of Arts) and the BS (Bachelor of Science). There is also a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA). There are several lesser known Bachelor’s degrees however it depends on the particular institution of higher education as to which degrees they award.

Many students complete the first 2 years of their Bachelor’s degree at a 2 year community college and then transfer to a university for the last 2 years of higher education. Many others, especially those fresh out of high school prefer to start and finish their higher education at a university.

However, there are clearly defined reasons why some choose to go to a community college first. For one thing, it’s cheaper to attend a community college than it is a university and for those paying for college themselves or those with limited funds, they need to go where it is cheaper. In addition, with most if not all community colleges there is an open entrance policy, meaning you don’t have to get accepted based on grades or other criteria in order to attend school there.

For those who have been out of school for some time or for those who didn’t have very good grades in high school, they may have to go to a community college first and then transfer to a university in order to complete their Bachelor’s degree. When doing this, though it is important to make sure that the credits you are earning through the course of study you are following at the community college will indeed transfer to the university in preparation for your Bachelor’s degree.

Master’s Degree
This is a graduate degree that typically takes 2 additional years of higher education after the bachelor’s degree has been obtained. Master of Arts (MA) and Master of Science (MS) are the two basic Master’s degrees in the United States. Some professions, such as social work and careers involving a psychology degree require a Master’s degree however there are usually entry level jobs available in these fields with a Bachelor’s degree. The social worker’s Master degree is an MSW. You’ll typically find someone already working in this field and pursuing higher education at the same time to obtain their Master’s degree so as to qualify for a better job and/or a bigger salary in their chosen field.

Some institutions of higher education have programs where students who have a Bachelor’s degree can go to school on weekends only and obtain their Master’s degree in about 18 months. This is of course depending on the field of study. Schools of higher education that offer graduate programs usually allow 4 or 5 years to complete the Master’s degree. There are options for those who wish to complete their Master’s degree online as well. Many teachers and certainly college professors have Master’s degrees. There is usually a huge leap in career and salary in the United States when one who has a Bachelor’s degree obtains his Master’s degree.

Ph.D
This is the highest degree awarded in schools of higher education in most fields of study that go beyond a Master’s degree in the United States. While the Ph.D (Doctor of Philosophy) is the most common of doctoral degrees in this country, it is equivalent to the Ed.D (Doctor of Education).

A psychologist has a Ph.D while a medical doctor may or may not. A medical doctor has an MD and some do choose to pursue their Ph.D as well. Typically, those who hold the Ph.D are in such fields as mathematics, science or engineering although there are many courses of study in institutions of higher education that offer the Ph.D.

It can take 6 or 8 years or more after the Bachelor’s degree to obtain a Ph.D. Although a Master’s degree is not required to pursue a Ph.D, many students obtain their Master’s as a matter of course and for those who do, obtaining a Ph.D doesn’t take as long as for those who have not pursued the Master’s Degree.

There are different components of study and work for the Ph.D candidate. It is different depending upon the field of graduate study however it is an incredibly intense course of higher education. There are the courses to be taken and the examinations, research and the thesis among other work and study. Most PhD candidates are unable to work at a job or career while they are in graduate school as this level of higher education is all consuming.

Financial Aid
Some people have the misconception that you either have to have money or perfect grades to get scholarships or other financial aid in order to pursue higher education. That’s just not true. Almost anyone can get financial aid for higher education whether obtained at a college, vocational school or university. While it’s true that some scholarships are based on grades or GPA, others are based on financial need and still others on a myriad of other criteria.

Scholarships are really fun to plow through. There is even one and only one scholarship for left-handed people. Other scholarships are for certain areas of study, certain ethnic backgrounds, certain communities or areas of the country and for certain athletic or other abilities.

The government awards grants on a needs basis and millions of students have college loans that they’ll be paying for years. While we would all like to avoid debt as we pursue higher education, sometimes it is inevitable. Thankfully, though there are many student loans that don’t require payback until after graduation.

Almost every college and university offers some type of financial aid. While not everyone can get a full scholarship there are thousands of partial scholarships, some are renewable from year to year and there’s almost no limit to how many you can apply for. The Internet serves as a fantastic resource for higher education students; potential students can search online for various scholarships and often times, online applications are available for students interested in higher education pursuits.

The real key to obtaining financial aid for higher education is organization. You’ll want to make a file and keep careful records about everything you apply for because when you start the process, you’ll be surprised at how many scholarships are out there and with some of them being school specific, you’ll want to be as organized as possible.


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