Тексты на экзамен (3 курс) / Higher and Further Education in Britain
.docHIGHER AND FURTHER EDUCATION IN BRITAIN
'Further education' is usually understood to mean academic courses which are below degree level and also advanced training courses leading to careers in business or industry.
'Higher Education' covers the kind of course which leads to a degree or teaching qualification. Higher education is any of various types of education given in postsecondary institutions of learning and usually affording, at the end of a course of study, a named degree, diploma, or certificate of higher studies. A Diploma is higher than a Certificate but below a degree. Higher-educational institutions include not only universities and colleges but also various professional schools that provide preparation in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. Higher education also includes teacher-training schools and institutes of technology. A university is an institution of higher education, usually comprising a liberal arts and sciences college and graduate and professional schools and having the authority to confer degrees in various fields of study.
A university differs from a college in that it is usually larger, has a broader curriculum, and offers graduate and professional degrees in addition to undergraduate degrees. There are about 800 colleges offering further education courses in technology, art and design, commerce, agriculture etc. Many colleges offer both further and higher education, but universities usually only offer the latter. Great Britain's model of higher education has been copied to varying degrees in Canada, Australia, India, South Africa, New Zealand, and other former British colonial territories in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific.
The autonomy of higher-educational institutions is strikingly pronounced in Great Britain. Its universities enjoy almost complete autonomy from national or local government in their administration and the determination of their curricula, despite the fact that the schools receive nearly all of their funding from the state.
There are four types of universities:
1. Ancient universities (Oxford and Cambridge, 12th and 13th centuries, respectively, and four Scottish universities – Aberdeen 1860, Edinburgh [‘edinbqrq]1583, Glasgow 1451 and St. Andrew’s1411)
2. In the 19th century the dominance of Oxford and Cambridge was challenged by the rise of the civic universities, or “redbrick universities”, such as London, Manchester, and Birmingham. Some universities started as university colleges of other universities (Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Reading [re], Sheffield). They provided secular education and opened the door to women, who had previously been excluded from university education. Following the lead of the 18th-century German universities and responding to a public demand for increased opportunity for higher education, Britain's new civic universities quickly acquired recognition—not only in technological fields but also in the fine and liberal arts.
3. The 1960’s universities – Swinging Sixties. Many were established as among the country’s best (Sussex[A], Warwick ['wOrik], York. Some - often technological universities – were established colleges (usually in cities) which were granted university status (Bath, Brunel ['nel], Dundee['dJ], Loughborough ['lAfbqrq], Surrey['sArI]).
The Open University (abbr the OU) is a British university providing degree courses that students can take at home. It started in 1969 and its main office is in Milton Keynes. Students can be of any age and, if they do not have the standard qualifications for entering university, they take an access course before starting their degree. Teaching is by a mixture of printed materials, and television and radio programmes. Students study at home and send their work to their tutors. Many go to monthly tutorials at study centres in their home town, and they may also attend summer schools. Most students take part-time degree courses lasting four or five years, though there is no time limit. Postgraduate and professional courses are also offered.
4. the new universities (the 1990’s and so on). Established polytechnics and colleges of HE were given university status in the 1990’s and onwards. They were originally set up to provide more vocational courses and, although some now have a broader range, their best courses still tend to be more practical and job-oriented (Coventry, Glasgow Caledonian, Gloucestershire ['glOstqSiq] , London Metropolitan (merged), Napier ['neIpIq], Nottingham Trent , Oxford Brookes, Plymouth, Westminster).
Exams
Greater emphasis is placed on examination results in Britain than in many other countries. Most universities and employers still rely mainly on exam results for evidence of a person’s academic ability.
Children in England and Wales complete National Curriculum Tests, (still often called by their former name, standard assessment tasks or SATs) at ages 7, 11 and 14 as part of the National Curriculum. These tests are set nationally and results can be compared across the country. The most important exams are the national GCSE exams that children take at 16. Many students take GCSE exams in seven or eight subjects, sometimes more. Students who do well in their GCSEs usually go on to take A level exams two years later. Most study four or five subjects at AS level in the first year and then three at A2 level in the second year. They must achieve reasonably high grades in order to be offered a place at university.
The basic entrance requirement for most higher-educational institutions is the completion of secondary education, and the usual entrance age is about 18 years. Britain has a centralized admissions bureau to which candidates for admission are able to give their choice of universities in an order of preference (they may apply to a maximum of six institutions). British students apply to universities through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admission Service) and receive offers of a place on condition they receive certain grades in their A levels.
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (abbr UCAS) is the organization that deals with students wanting to apply to study at British universities and colleges. Students must complete a special form, either on paper or over the Internet. Each institution then considers the requests and may offer students places.
How to apply
You apply through UCAS for the vast majority of first degree courses. UCAS sends your application on to the admissions staff at all the institutions you have specified. UCAS makes sure each institution replies to you. It plays no part at all in the selection process itself. Each university and college decides for itself whether to offer you a place and on what terms; you decide whether or not to accept each or any offer. The UCAS system is, in principle, quite simple but you have to keep your eyes open – offers, interviews, rejections, various deadlines, etc.
You definitely have a place if you have met the conditions of your offer. UCAS will confirm your place if you have met the conditions of your offer within 10 working days by letter. You must reply by tearing off the slip within 7 seven days or you might lose the place.
You might have a place if your results are lower than those specified in the offer but that is entirely at the discretion of the university. Ring and persuade them; lots of others may be in the same boat but you want them to notice you. If they still take you, this will be confirmed to you through UCAS.
Clearing This operates from august to September after a-level results. If you do not have a place (your results did not match your offer), you will automatically be sent a clearing instructions booklet and an entry form (CEF) by the first week in September.
The only university that does not take part in the UCAS service is the Open University.
If your A-level results are a lot better than you anticipated, you may be tempted to trade up to an altogether better place than you hold. UCAS prohibits this – you are meant to withdraw and apply next year.
This selective admission to universities, combined with the close supervision of students through a tutorial system, makes it possible for most British undergraduates to complete a degree course in three years rather than the standard four years. Great Britain's academic programs are more highly specialized than their European continental counterparts.
Students usually choose a university not only because of the course, but also because of its sport and recreational facilities, whether it has a campus or town setting, and how far it is from their home town. Few students choose to study in the town where their parents live and therefore the vast majority of students live in halls of residence, at least for their first year. Many then choose to 'live out' when a group rent a house together or individually find lodgings or a bed-sit.
Most universities offer mainly three-year (4 for languages/ 5 for medicine) full-time undergraduate courses which specialise in one major and one subsidiary subject (single honours) or two major subjects (joint honours). Some offer 'sandwich' courses which alternate periods of professional training in industry with periods of study at the university. There are three terms
At most British universities the academic year starts in October and is divided into three terms of 10/11 weeks each.. Students study a main subject throughout their degree course, which is usually a mix of compulsory courses and optional courses, often called electives. Most students go to lectures and seminars (= discussion groups) and there are practicals for those doing science subjects. A professor is a person in charge of a department or a senior member of staff, and other teaching and research staff are called lecturers.
At university students work towards a degree. A first degree, which is usually an honours degree, generally takes three years. Most courses end in a series of exams called finals and results are given as classes (= grades): a first is the highest class, most students get a second which is often divided into upper second, also called a 2.1, and lower second, called a 2.2, and below that is a third. If a student does not meet the standard for an honours degree they may be awarded a pass degree. All this will be recorded in your degree certificate. It might also add the subjects you studied and/or you will get a transcript, which logs your achievements in the different elements of your degree (the marks for each paper/module/unit).
Graduates can add the letters BA (Bachelor of Arts) or BSc (Bachelor of Science) after their name. The most common titles which graduates can then sign after their names are: B.A. Bachelor of Arts; B.Eng. Bachelor of Engineering; B.Sc. Bachelor of Science; B.Mus. Bachelor of Music; L.L.B. Bachelor of Law; M.B. - B. of Medicine
After one more year's study a post-graduate can become a Master and then after a minimum of 2 or 5 years individual research can obtain your doctorate (and become a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).
The British government is keen to persuade more young people to remain in education as long as possible in order to build up a more highly skilled, better educated workforce.