Course Code: 6466

Unit 5

Higher Education
by
SHAZIA ISMAIL
 Objectives:
After reading this unit, you will be able to:

i. Recognize the concept, scope and meaning of higher education.

ii. Comprehend the bologna process in higher education.
iii. Examine the higher education system of UK.
iv. Analyze the higher education system of USA.
v. Examine the higher education system of India.
vi. Analyze the higher education system of Pakistan.
 Concept of Higher Education

The University of Oklahoma (2013) has defined that an institution of

higher education is a school that:

 Awards a bachelor’s degree or not less than a 2 year program that provides
credit towards a degree or,

 Provides not less than 1 year of training towards gainful employment or,

 Is a vocational program that provides training for gainful employment and

has been in existence for at least two years?
 According to EWG-L (2014)
The concept of higher education is diverse. It includes
higher study at different levels. These levels are as
following:
• Bachelor's Degree:
• Master Degree:
• Doctorate Degree:
 Scope of Higher Education:

The scope of higher education is following:

i. It promotes economic and social development.

ii. It increases income growth of a country collectively.

iii. It contributes to labour productivity.

iv. Higher education can give leaders the confidence, flexibility, breadth of knowledge, and technical
skills needed to confront effectively the economic and political realities of the 21st century.

v. It also generates cadres of well-trained teachers for all levels of the education system.

vi. It offers a wide range of quality options for study and bolsters social mobility and helps the
talented to fulfill their potential.

vii.Higher education is absolutely necessary for training scientists, engineers, and others to help
invent, adopt, and operate modern technology in all sectors.
 Modes of Higher
Education
Face-to face

Distance Online
 Bologna Process in Higher Education:
In June 1999, 29 European ministers in charge of higher education met in Bologna to lay the basis for
establishing a European Higher Education Area by 2010 and promoting the 115 European system of higher
education world-wide. In the Bologna Declaration, the ministers
affirmed their intention to:

i. Adopt a system of easily readable and comparable degrees

ii. Adopt a system with two main cycles (undergraduate/graduate)

iii. Establish a system of credits (such as ECTS)

iv. Promote mobility by overcoming obstacles

v. Promote European co-operation in quality assurance

vi. Promote European dimensions in higher education

 Problems of Higher Education
in Pakistan

• Academic Problems
• Lack of Professional Growth
• Management Problems
• Practical Problems
• Financial Problems
• Faculty Experience
• Social Problems
 How to overcome Problems of
Higher Education
• Measures to Improve Access to Quality
Education
• Making a Realistic Financial Plan
• Infrastructure Development
• Provision of Adequate Trained and Qualified
Faculty
• Promote use of Internet and Communication
Technology.
• Improve Financial Schemes
• Remove Overlapping of Authority
 Higher Education in Comparative
Perspectives:
The below section will give you better understanding and knowledge of different higher
education systems of different countries of the world. This description includes higher
education systems of USA, UK, India and Pakistan.
Institutions of Higher Education and Commonly
Awarded Degrees/Certificates
USA  Public four-year colleges/
universities, Public two-year colleges,
Private non-profit institutions, For-
profit private sector.
 Postsecondary certificates,
Bachelor’s degrees, Doctorate
degrees and Professional degrees.
UNITED KINGDOM  Higher education in the UK is
provided by a diverse range of
universities, colleges, institutes,
schools or academies.
 All of these institutions can provide
both academic and higher
professional education including
undergraduate and postgraduate.
  
1- Administrative Structure

USA  States and abroad, are

professionals working in
admissions, enrolment
management, financial aid,
registration, records, scheduling,
academic standards, institutional
research and student progress. Its
corporate members are drawn
from education-related businesses
and agencies, as are its associate
UNITED KINGDOM  The two departments, the
Department for Education and the
Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills are
responsible for education in
England
  
2. Financial Aid

USA  Students can receive education

grants or loans from a variety of
sources, including the federal
government, state governments,
postsecondary institutions, or
private sources.

UNITED KINGDOM  Non-repayable maintenance

grants to help with general living
costs and available to those new
full-time students entering higher
education. The amount of the
grants varies according to
student’s household income.
  
3. Role of Federal Government

USA The federal government generally does not exercise

control over U.S. higher education as in the most
other countries of the world where governments
control higher education through their ministries of
education.
Higher education in USA is decentralized and each
state has an authority to supervise and control
higher education within
jurisdictions and borders.

UNITED KINGDOM  The UK’s HEIs are not owned or run by

government. They are independent, autonomous
legal entities, with Councils or Governing Bodies
  
 
4. Accreditation and Quality Assurance

USA  The process of accreditation which is an

important process in quality control of higher
education is independent, voluntary,
nongovernmental, and self-regulatory in USA.
 There are two basic types of accreditation in
USA which are institutional accreditation
and specialized accreditation.
UNITED KINGDOM  British higher education has no government-
run system of accreditation. There are
certainly accreditation bodies in the United
Kingdom, yet they do not act on behalf of the
government and therefore focus more on
private institutions or certain types of
education, such as education by
correspondence or professional examination
programs
  
 
5- Role of Higher Education in Economic Development

USA  The role of higher education as a major

driver of economic development is well
established, and this role will increase as
further changes in technology,
globalization and demographics impact
the United States. (Sampson, 2004)

UNITED KINGDOM  The higher education Institutions

provides people with latest knowledge
and modern skills have great impact on
UK economies. Higher Education (HE) is
recognized as a key economic sector in
the UK, having an impact on economic
growth and competitiveness (BIS 2013).
 Comparison of Higher Education Systems of USA
and UK:
International Student (2016) has elaborated the following comparison in the higher education systems of
USA and UK:

America UK
Length of BA: 4 years BA: 3 years
Time MA: 2 years MA: 1 year
PhD: 5-7 years or longer PhD: 3 years

Most schools use the semester system, Most also use a semester system,
Academic but some use a trimester or quarter but some use trimester or quarter
Term system. Most schools start in the mid to systems. The start and end of an
late August and end in May. academic year varies by university.

Universities are often divided into University acts an umbrella

University schools by subject, but these schools do organization for the different
Organization not typically have a lot of autonomy colleges. Colleges are fairly
from the university. independent of one another.

Style of More varied, liberal arts, study outside

Take only classes in your college.
Education your major.
Depth vs.
Breadth Depth
Breadth
General assignments or no
Constant reading and writing
Homework assignments throughout the
assignments
semester
Cost High Moderate
Grades Based on overall performance on all Based mostly on the final exam
 Comparison of Higher Education Systems of
USA and UK:
America UK
Athletics Important social activity; athletic Intramural sports; generally no
scholarships available. athletic scholarships available.

Dormitories with roommate. Off- Dormitories without roommate

Living
campus generally. Off-campus housing
Situation
housing occasionally available. generally available.

Higher National Diploma,

Certificate of Higher Education,
Diploma of Higher Education,
Associates, Bachelors, Masters, PhD,
Foundation Degree, Bachelors,
Types of variety of vocational and
Masters, PhD, variety of
Degrees professional
professional and vocational
degrees.
degrees. Postgraduate degrees
divided into taught and research
degrees.
 Higher Education in Pakistan
Saeed (2007) elaborated that higher education in Pakistan
starts after the completion of grade 12. It is carried out in
universities, colleges and other such institutions. The
universities and degree awarding institutions are autonomous
but are characterized by their respective provincial
governments and the Higher Education Commission Pakistan.
 Higher Education in Pakistan
Academy of Educational Planning and Management (2013,
p. 17) in its annual report
has shown that there are total 139 universities
providing their services in both public and private sector of
education. Out of these universities 79 (57%) are working
under umbrella of public sector, whereas 60 (43%) are
working under the supervision of private sector.

The total enrolment in the universities, i.e., at post graduate

stage, is 1.319 million. Out of this enrolment 1.130 million
(86%) students are enrolled in public universities, whereas,
0.189 million (14%) students are studying in private
universities.
 Challenges in Higher Education System in Pakistan:

According to Qureshi (2014) following are the challenges in higher

education system of Pakistan:

i. There is gap between supply and demand.

ii. Lack of budget and increase in educational demand is a big
challenge.
iii. Quality of curricula and shortage of trained teachers is also
an important challenge.
iv. Most of the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are into the
number game and expansion mode. Their focus on quality
education, if anything, is rather fuzzy and misty.
v. Another challenge is to benchmark out tertiary education
against internationally recognized standards.
vi. Relevant people are not fully aware of their roles and
responsibilities.
 According to Akhtar and Kalsoom (2011) has suggested the
following steps to meet these challenges:
i. Adoption of quality benchmarks from some of the best universities in the
world can bring quality in education.
ii. The administration of public universities should be independent. Higher
authorities must monitor that the functioning of the universities is in
accordance with the university calendar.
iii. The syndicate should make decisions regarding university policies.
iv. Syndicate should appoint Vice Chancellor and he should be answerable to
them.
v. Only university administration should manage and be responsible for
University’s affairs.
vi. The university administration should be fully autonomous body to make
decisions.
vii. Faculty according to their needs and requirements should be selected by
the department under given criteria by the syndicate.
viii. The performance assessment criteria should be based on research, teaching
and services.
 Higher Education in India
According to University Grant Commission (2009) higher
education in India starts after:
passing the higher secondary
education or the 12th standard. Depending on the stream, doing
graduation in India can take three to five years. Postgraduate
courses are generally of two to three years of duration. After
completing post graduation, scope for doing research in various
educational institutes also remains open. As of now there are
320 Universities, of which nearly 131 are of Affiliating
Universities. Besides there are deemed universities, institutions
of national importance, institutes and over 15500 colleges.
Together they offer a wide range of degree and
diploma programs across the length and breadth of the country.
 Three Types of Tertiary Institution in
India:
There are three main types of tertiary institution in India:
1) Universities and university-level institutions,
2) Colleges and
3) Diploma-awarding institutions.

These are categorized by funding source: central government, state government and
private.

Type and
Number of Central State Private Total
Institution
University and
University Level 152 316 191 659
Institutions
Colleges 669 13,024 19,930 33,023
Diploma
Awarding 0 3,207 9,541 12,748
Institutions
Percentage
Enrollment in 2.6% 38.6% 58.9% 100%
2012
 Challenges of Higher Education in India:

1. The Low Quality of Teaching and Learning.

2. The supply-demand Gap.
3. Uneven Growth and Access to Opportunity.
4. Constraints on Research Capacity and Innovation.
Thank You for Listening!