Colleges and Universities arc institutions of higher education that offer programs beyond

the high school level. Colleges and universities provide necessary training for individuals wishing to enter professional careers. They also strive to develop students' creativity, insight, and analytical skills. By acquainting students with complex ideas in an intellectually stimulating environment, colleges and universities can provide unique opportunities for personal enrichment while also preparing students for future careers. Students who live away from home during their college or university years typically experience a major turning point in their lives that has little to do with academics or professional training. For example, college offers many recent high school graduates their first opportunity to live on their own. Campus residence halls provide common settings for students to form. new bonds with peers who share similar experiences. Other students form. social networks by joining student organizations or by participating in extracurricular activities.

In the United States and Canada the terms college and university can describe a variety of institutions. A college may form. one major division of a university, offering programs in a specific academic field that lead to undergraduate or graduate degrees, or both. Colleges may also be independent of a university, offering four-year programs of general education that lead to a bachelor's degree in the liberal arts and sciences. Some independent colleges offer a limited number of graduate programs, but usually their primary mission is to provide undergraduate education. Community colleges offer two-year programs of general education or vocational education.

Universities generally comprise various colleges and professional schools that make up the academic divisions of the institution. For example, a university may include a college of arts and sciences in addition to professional schools of education, law, medicine, and engineering. Universities provide higher education leading to a bachelor's degree as well as professional and graduate programs leading to master' s and doctoral degrees. Colleges and universities in the United States and Canada may be public institutions supported by federal, state, provincial, or municipal governments, or they may be private (independent) institutions.

A. Community Colleges

Community colleges typically offer the first two years of general undergraduate education. Most also offer adult educational programs, vocational education, and technical training. Community colleges confer associate degrees for successful completion of most two-year programs. Many students in community colleges complete the first two years of their college education in these institutions and then transfer the credits to a four-year college. Other community college students pursue vocational, technical, and other pre-professional programs. Because community colleges typically have lower tuition rates than four-year colleges and universities, they offer significant advantages to many students.

B. Public Colleges and Universities

Aside from a few four-year colleges supported by municipal governments or the federal government, most public colleges and universities in the United States are state institutions. In most cases, state boards of higher education provide funds for these schools and oversee their programs of instruction. Most state governments establish systems of higher education, such as the State University of New York System or the University of California System, which comprise groups of interconnected college or university campuses.

State colleges and universities have diverse origins. Although some four-year institutions were originally established as state colleges and universities, many originated in the early 19th century as two-yea

A．Y

B．N

C．NG