The right of access to higher education is mentioned in a number of international

human rights instruments. The UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and

Cultural Rights of 1966 declares, in Article 13, that "higher education shall be
made equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate
means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education". In
Europe, Article 2 of the First Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights,
adopted in 1950, obliges all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education.

Definition
Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary
education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after
completion of secondary education.[citation needed]

The International Standard Classification of Education in 1997 initially classified

all tertiary education together in 1997 version of its schema. They were referred
to as level 5 and doctoral studies at level 6. In 2011, this was refined and
expanded 2011 version of the structure. Higher education at undergraduate level,
masters and doctoral level became levels 6, 7 and 8. Non-degree level Tertiary
education, sometimes referred to as further education or continuing education was
reordered ISCED 2011 level 4, with level 5 for some higher courses.[1]

In the days when few pupils progressed beyond primary education or basic education,
the term "higher education" was often used to refer to secondary education, which
can create some confusion.[note 1] This is the origin of the term high school for
various schools for children between the ages of 14 and 18 (United States) or 11
and 18 (UK and Australia).[2]

Providers
It is delivered at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, conservatories,
and institutes of technology, and through certain college-level institutions,
including vocational schools, trade schools, and other career colleges that award
degrees. Tertiary education at non-degree level is sometimes referred to as further
education or continuing education as distinct from higher education.[citation
needed]

Higher education includes teaching, research, exacting applied work (e.g. in

medical schools and dental schools), and social services activities of
universities.[3]

Within the realm of teaching, it includes both the undergraduate level, and beyond
that, graduate-level (or postgraduate level). The latter level of education is
often referred to as graduate school, especially in North America. In addition to
the skills that are specific to any particular degree, potential employers in any
profession are looking for evidence of critical thinking and analytical reasoning
skills, teamworking skills, information literacy, ethical judgment, decision-making
skills, fluency in speaking and writing, problem solving skills, and a wide
knowledge of liberal arts and sciences.[4]

History
The oldest institutions of higher education[which?] appeared between the 5th and
the 2nd centuries B.C. in several major cultural areas of Eurasia.[where?] In the
Greek world, Plato's Academy, Aristotle's Lycaeum and other philosophical-
mathematical schools became models for other establishments, particularly in
Alexandria of Egypt under the Ptolemies. In India, the city of Tak?asila[when?],
later the great Buddhist monastery of Nalanda, attracted students and professors
even from distant regions.[5] In China, the Han dynasty established chairs to teach
the Five Confucean Classics, then in - 124 the Grand School (Taixue) to train
cadres for the imperial administration.[6][7] All these higher-learning
institutions became models for other schools within their sphere of cultural
influence.[citation needed]

In 425, the Byzantine emperor Theodosius II innovated as he established the

Pandidakterion, with a faculty of 31 professors, to train public servants. In the
7th and 8nd centuries, "cathedral schools" were created in Western Europe.
Meanwhile, the first Medresahs were founded in the Moslem empire � initially mere
primary schools in the premises of major mosques, which gradually evolved toward
secondary, later higher education. However high the intellectual level of these
schools could be, it would be anachronistic to call them "universities". Their
organization and purposes were markedly different from the corporations of students
and teachers, independent from both the Church and the State, which established
themselves from the 12th century in Western Europe as Universitas Studiorum.
[citation needed]

According to UNESCO and Guinness World Records, the University of al-Qarawiyyin in

Fez, Morocco is the oldest existing continually operating higher educational
institution in the world.[8][9] and is occasionally referred to as the oldest
university by scholars.[10] Undoubtedly, there are older institutions of higher
education, for example, the University of Ez-Zitouna in Montfleury, Tunis, was
first established in 737. The oldest university in the world is the University of
Bologna, founded in 1088. [11][12][13][14][15]

20th Century
Since World War II, developed and many developing countries have increased the
participation of the age group who mostly studies higher education from the elite
rate, of up to 15 per cent, to the mass rate of 16 to 50 per cent.[16][17][18] In
many developed countries, participation in higher education has continued to
increase towards universal or, what Trow later called, open access, where over half
of the relevant age group participate in higher education.[19] Higher education is
important to national economies, both as an industry, in its own right, and as a
source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy. College
educated workers have commanded a measurable wage premium and are much less likely
to become unemployed than less educated workers.[20][21]

21st Century
In recent years, universities have been criticized for permitting or actively
encouraging grade inflation.[22][23] In addition, the supply of graduates in many
fields of study is exceeding the demand for their skills, aggravating graduate
unemployment, underemployment, overqualification, credentialism and educational
inflation.[24][25]

Types of provider in the United States

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General
The general higher education and training that takes place in a university,
college, or Institute of technology usually includes significant theoretical and
abstract elements, as well as applied aspects (although limited offerings of
internships or SURF programs attempt to provide practical applications). In
contrast, the vocational higher education and training that takes place at
vocational universities and schools usually concentrates on practical applications,
with very little theory.

In addition, professional-level education is always included within Higher

Education, and usually in graduate schools since many postgraduate academic
disciplines are both vocationally, professionally, and theoretically/research
oriented, such as in the law, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, and veterinary
medicine. A basic requirement for entry into these graduate-level programs is
almost always a bachelor's degree, although alternative means of obtaining entry
into such programs may be available at some universities. Requirements for
admission to such high-level graduate programs is extremely competitive, and
admitted students are expected to perform well.

Mean financial wealth of US families by education of the head of household, 1989-

2010

Mean income of US families by education of the head of household, 1989-2010

When employers in any profession consider hiring a college graduate, they are
looking for evidence of critical thinking, analytical reasoning skills, teamworking
skills, information literacy, ethical judgment, decision-making skills,
communication skills (using both text and speech), problem solving skills, and a
wide knowledge of liberal arts and sciences. However, most employers consider the
average graduate to be more or less deficient in all of these areas.[26]

In the United States, there are large differences in wages and employment
associated with different degrees. Medical doctors and lawyers are generally the
highest paid workers, and have among the lowest unemployment rates. Among
undergraduate fields of study, science, technology, engineering, math, and business
generally offer the highest wages and best chances of employment, while education,
communication, and liberal arts degrees generally offer lower wages and a lower
likelihood of employment.[20][27]

Liberal arts
Main article: Liberal arts college
Academic areas that are included within the liberal arts include great books,
history, languages including English, linguistics, literature, mathematics, music,
philosophy, political science, psychology, religious studies, science,
environmental science, sociology and theater.

Engineering
Main article: Engineering college
Teaching engineering is teaching the application of scientific, economic, social,
and practical knowledge in order to design, build, maintain, and improve
structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes. It may encompass
using insights to conceive, model and scale an appropriate solution to a problem or
objective. The discipline of engineering is extremely broad, and encompasses a
range of more specialized fields of engineering, each with a more specific emphasis
on particular areas of technology and types of application. Engineering disciplines
include aerospace, biological, civil, chemical, computer, electrical, industrial
and mechanical.

Performing arts
Main article: Performing arts education
The performing arts differ from the plastic arts or visual arts, insofar as the
former uses the artist's own body, face and presence as a medium; the latter uses
materials such as clay, metal or paint, which can be molded or transformed to
create a work of art.

Performing arts institutions include circus schools, dance schools, drama schools
and music schools.

Plastic or visual arts

Main articles: Art education and Art school
The plastic arts or visual arts are a class of art forms, that involve the use of
materials, that can be moulded or modulated in some way, often in three dimensions.
Examples are painting, sculpture, and drawing.

Higher educational institutions in these arts include film schools and art schools.