Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including universities as well as trade schools and colleges. Higher education is taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, while vocational education beyond secondary education is known as further education in the United Kingdom, or included under the category of continuing education in the United States.
A nontraditional student is a term originating in North America, that refers to a category of students at colleges and universities. The term usually involves age and social characteristics. Nontraditional students are contrasted with traditional students.
In the higher education system of the United States, minority-serving institution (MSI) is a descriptive term for universities and colleges that enroll a significant percentage of students from minority groups.
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 Advancement of Teaching. It is managed by the American Council on Education.
The University of Minnesota Rochester (UMR) is a public college in Rochester, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and focuses primarily on general health sciences. It was formally established by an act of the state legislature in December 2006. UMR currently offers two bachelor's degrees in the health sciences, Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences and Bachelor of Science in Health Professions.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States. It also conducts international comparisons of education statistics and provides leadership in developing and promoting the use of standardized terminology and definitions for the collection of those statistics. NCES is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System.
The Art Institute of Atlanta was a private for-profit art school in Atlanta, Georgia. It was owned by the Education Principle Foundation. The school was part of the Art Institutes chain of art schools. It awarded associate and bachelor's degrees, including Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degrees, Bachelor of Arts (BA) degrees, and Bachelor of Science (BS) degrees, and also offered diploma and non-degree programs. The school closed along with all Art Institute schools in September 2023.
Walden University is a private for-profit online university headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It offers bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and specialist degrees. The university is owned by Adtalem Global Education, which purchased the university in August 2021. The institution is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
An undergraduate degree is a colloquial term for an academic degree earned by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. In the United States, it is usually offered at an institution of higher education, such as a college or university. The most common type of these undergraduate degrees are associate degree and bachelor's degree. Bachelor's degree typically takes at least three or four years to complete. In some other educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a master's degree; this is the case for some science courses in Britain and some long-cycle medicine courses in Europe. These degrees can be categorised as basic or first professional degrees.
In the United States, higher education is an optional stage of formal learning following secondary education. It is also referred to as post-secondary education, third-stage, third-level, or tertiary education. It covers stages 5 to 8 on the International ISCED 2011 scale. It is delivered at 3,931 Title IV degree-granting institutions, known as colleges or universities. These may be public or private universities, research universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, or for-profit colleges. U.S. higher education is loosely regulated by the government and by several third-party organizations.
An online degree is an academic degree that can be earned primarily or entirely through the use of an Internet-connected computer, rather than attending college in a traditional campus setting. Improvements in technology, the increasing use of the Internet worldwide, and the need for people to have flexible school schedules while they are working have led to a proliferation of online colleges that award associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.
A Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) is defined in U.S. federal law as an accredited, degree-granting, public or private nonprofit institution of higher education with 25% or higher total undergraduate Hispanic or Latino full-time equivalent (FTE) student enrollment. In the 2021–22 academic year, 572 institutions met the federal criteria, up from 539 institutions in the 2018–19 academic year.
Northwest State Community College is a public community college near Archbold, Ohio. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Its current president is Todd Hernandez.
Fortis College is a private for-profit college with multiple campuses throughout the United States. It was established in 2008 and is operated by Education Affiliates and owned by JLL Partners.
National University is a private university headquartered in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1971, National University offers academic degree programs at campuses throughout California, a satellite campus in Nevada, and various programs online. Programs at National University are designed for adult learners. On-campus classes are typically blended learning courses, concentrated to four weeks or on weeknights with occasional Saturday classes. The university uses asynchronous learning and real-time virtual classrooms for its online programs.
The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) is a study conducted every four years by the National Center for Education Statistics, a division of the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education. This study captures data regarding how students pay for postsecondary education, with special attention to how families fund higher education. The NPSAS, which has been conducted periodically since 1987, has a complex design, utilizing sampling and weighting to achieve a sample that represents college students nationwide.
