on UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES

Higher education is the schooling that begins at about age 18 after the completion of secondary school. In the past higher education was much more narrowly defined than it is today. It originally meant the schooling that was provided to men entering the professions, and these were limited to law, medicine, and religion. Today the term profession has gained a much broader definition than a calling and has become almost synonymous with career or occupation.

Beginning in about the 11th century, the institutions that provided schooling for the professions were colleges and universities. Now, in addition to these, there are trade schools, technical institutes, military academies, and other organizations in which individuals may prepare for a career. Nevertheless, colleges and universities have remained the dominant institutions throughout the world for the pursuit of higher education.

In these institutions different levels of schooling are provided. Students coming from secondary schools--called high schools or preparatory schools in the United States--normally take a four-year course leading to a diploma called a bachelor's degree. The schooling that leads to the bachelor's degree is called undergraduate work.

Students may then proceed to more advanced schooling. This may consist of study at a professional school such as a college of law or engineering, or it may involve graduate school at a university--the pursuit of a master's or doctor's degree in a chosen field of study. After earning an advanced degree, it is possible to continue at a university in a research capacity to earn further credentials in one's field of study. Advanced degrees are generally required before anyone can teach at a college or university in the United States.

Origin of the College

The terms college and university originally had very similar meanings. Only with the passing of centuries did university come to signify an educational institution composed of more than one college. The word college means literally \"union formed by law,\" or a group of people associated in some common function. The ancient Roman craft guilds were called collegia. The closest parallel today is the corporation, a business organization chartered by a government.

During the Middle Ages students at the universities of Paris, Oxford, and Cambridge found it convenient to rent houses and share expenses instead of living in private apartments. By the 13th century these \"houses of scholars\" were becoming legally recognized corporate institutions. At Oxford the earliest of these corporations were University College, founded in 1249 by William of Durham; Balliol College, founded by John Balliol in 1263; and Merton College, founded about 12 by Walter de Merton. A similar development took place at Cambridge.

At Paris the university was divided into faculties of canon law, theology, medicine, and the arts. The arts faculty, which was the undergraduate college of its day, was further divided into four nations, which included both teachers and students. Nations at medieval universities were groups primarily of students from a specific region or country who banded together for mutual protection in a foreign land. On the Continent these nations were the forerunners of colleges. In some universities the nations were responsible for teaching and examining students. The division of students into nations first occurred at the university in Bologna, Italy.

In the United States the word college most commonly refers to four-year institutions that admit students from secondary schools and grant a bachelor's degree after a general course of studies. Usually

called liberal arts colleges, they are often completely independent of any university connection. A college may also be a school for specialized training that takes place after receiving the bachelor's degree--such as a college of law or medicine. Schools specializing in theological training may be called seminaries or schools instead of colleges. A university normally consists of a group of colleges--one for the liberal arts or general studies and others for engineering, law, medicine, education, and business. Some of these colleges are for advanced study, while the college of liberal arts is the institution in which one earns a bachelor's degree.

There are many schools offering training in secretarial skills, business, accounting, computer programming, and other courses for high-school graduates. Many of these are called colleges, though they do not confer degrees. The United States has many two-year institutions called junior colleges or community colleges. Course work in junior colleges is equivalent to the first two years of a four-year liberal arts college. In a few universities the student residence halls are called colleges.

Origin of the University

During the Middle Ages the Latin word universitas referred to any type of community. When used in its modern sense as a place for advanced learning, it usually required the addition of other words such as \"masters and scholars.\" The term that was normally used to describe a legally chartered school of teachers and students was studium generale, meaning a place of study open to students from all parts. The universitas was a group of teachers or students (or perhaps both) within the studium. A studium was quite similar to a guild in both origin and composition. The beginners were essentially apprentices, called bachelors, while the teachers were the masters.

The studium probably emerged when the bishop of a diocese gave a teacher permission to operate a school other than the local cathedral or monastery school. It is likely that a license to teach was granted to a master after a formal examination. The studium itself became a school that granted a teaching license to its scholars after they completed a prescribed course of study and passed examinations. By the 11th or 12th century no studium generale could be started without a license from either a church or governmental official. Teachers and students, who were mostly either clergy or future clergy, enjoyed certain privileges. In 1158 the emperor Frederick I Barbarossa granted those in his jurisdiction protection from unjust arrest, the right of trial before their peers, and permission to dwell in security. Such privileges were gradually enlarged to include protection from extortion in financial dealings and the right to stop attending lectures as a protest against grievances or outside interference with established rights.

Gradually certain schools--especially Bologna and Paris--gained international recognition, and students flocked to them. Their reputations allowed graduates of those schools to teach anywhere else. To promote the quality of certain schools, the popes and emperors granted special licenses or charters. In 1233, for example, Pope Gregory IX issued a document to the school at Toulouse allowing anyone who had been admitted to a doctorate at the school to teach anywhere without further examination. By the end of the 14th century the term universitas had displaced studium and was used by itself to describe the better-known schools of Europe.

Degrees and Diplomas

A student graduating from a four-year college in the United States today normally receives a B.A. or

B.S. degree, meaning Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science. Should the student wish further education, a graduate school at a university may be selected. (Colleges of the type offering bachelors' degrees do not normally offer graduate courses.) This is a level of study for those who have graduated from college, as the name suggests. Further study of one or two years can earn a master's degree, and beyond that a student may earn a doctorate, normally a Ph.D., or Doctor of Philosophy. This degree, contrary to its name, may be earned in a variety of subjects, not just the field of philosophy.

Besides graduate school there are other options for further study. Among them are medical school, law school, and theological seminary in keeping with the traditional professions as they were known in the Middle Ages. There are today several other choices as well, including business school, architectural school, engineering school, school of veterinary medicine, school of fine arts, school of journalism, and many other forms of specialized training leading to specific careers. Large universities have colleges in all of these fields. The degrees given by these schools vary with the profession and occasionally with the school. A graduate of a medical school, for instance, earns a Doctor of Medicine degree, or M.D., while three years at a seminary brings a master of theology.

The modern degree structure is more complex than that originating in about the 13th century. Then there were only three levels of attainment. The bachelor's degree represented the first stage of academic life in a university. It had its counterpart in the apprenticeships for young members of a guild. The degree allowed the scholar to study to earn a licentiate, comparable to a craft journeyman. This degree, as its name suggests, was a license permitting him to teach and to study further to earn a doctorate or a master's degree, which were the same at that time. The doctorate admitted the scholar into full membership in the teachers' guild and certified him as a full-time lecturer at the university. It was comparable to becoming a master in a craft guild. (See also Guild.)

In Great Britain the bachelor's is given as the first degree in arts or sciences after a three-year course in most cases. The Master of Arts degree, or M.A., is earned by examination, except at Cambridge and Oxford. Those universities grant it only after a period of residence dating from a student's

commencement of studies at the schools. At Cambridge it is awarded without examination six years after the end of a student's first term of residence, but it does not represent additional academic achievement. It confers seniority in the school, however, and membership in its senate. Other higher earned degrees comparable to a master's in the United States are designated as either a bachelor's or a master's, depending on the field of study. There is also a doctorate of philosophy in all fields. Some advanced degrees are open only to graduates of Oxford or Cambridge.

In continental Europe, with some exceptions, the giving of bachelor's and master's degrees has been abandoned. In France, for example, the usual degrees are licence and doctorate. The licence is earned after four semesters at the university, while the doctorate takes from four to seven years. In Germany the doctorate is the only degree granted. Students who do not pursue a doctorate are given diplomas in specialized fields after examinations.

Curriculum

The most dramatic change in universities since their beginning has taken place in the courses of study. The early European schools offered a core curriculum for all students based on the seven liberal arts: grammar, logic, rhetoric, geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and music. Students then proceeded to study under one of the professional faculties of law, medicine, or religion. Some universities were renowned for specializing in one profession--for example, Paris was highly regarded for its theological

school, Bologna for law, and Salerno for medicine. Other schools were more diverse, and in time all of them broadened their courses of study considerably.

This classical course of studies was modified somewhat over the centuries, but it was not abandoned until the 19th century. In the United States it was set aside in favor of a much wider array of

courses--modern languages were added to the basic Latin and Greek, for example. New science courses were added. Students were given electives from which to choose. As new disciplines--such as sociology, psychology, and economics--were formulated, they too were introduced into the colleges and universities. Today the range of courses given in higher education is virtually unlimited, especially in the United States.

Early Universities

The first university in Europe was at Salerno, Italy. It became known as a school of medicine as early as the 9th century. As its fame spread, students were drawn to it from all over Europe. In 1231 it was licensed by Frederick II, Holy Roman emperor, as the only school of medicine in his Kingdom of Naples. The school never developed a curriculum beyond medicine.

The second university emerged at Bologna, Italy, during the 11th century at about the same time as the famed Muslim school, El Azhar University, in Cairo, Egypt. Bologna developed into a widely respected school of canon and civil law. The emperor Frederick I Barbarossa gave it his special protection. In about 1200 the faculties of medicine and philosophy (the seven liberal arts) were added to the law faculty. At Bologna the masters formed themselves into organizations called collegia for the conferring of degrees. Other Italian universities founded from the 13th to the 15th century include Padua (1222), Siena (1241), Piacenza (1248), Rome (1303), Perugia (1308), Pisa (1343), Florence (1349), Pavia (1361), and Turin (1405).

North of Italy the first great universities were those at Paris in France and at Oxford and Cambridge in England.The University of Paris grew out of theological schools associated with Notre Dame Cathedral. Shortly after 1100 William of Champeaux, a theologian and philosopher, opened a school in the cathedral for teaching dialectic--a type of logical argumentation. Early in the 13th century some of the school's masters placed themselves under the authority of the abbot of the Church of Ste-Genevieve on the Left (or south) Bank of the Seine. It was the granting of a licence, or master of arts degree, by the chancellor of the cathedral, however, that prompted the development of the school into a university. The degree implied a master's formal entrance into the duties of a licensed teacher. It was also an emancipation from his state of bachelorhood, or apprenticeship.

The University of Paris as a formal institution actually emerged between 1150 and 1170, though its written statutes were not set down until about 1208. Recognition as a legal corporation came in 1215 from Pope Innocent III. His support made the school the center for orthodox teaching north of Italy. About 1253 the theologian Robert de Sorbon began teaching at Paris. In about 1257 he founded the Maison (house) de Sorbonne as a theological school for poor students. His school received the pope's official recognition in 1259, and it soon became one of the colleges around which the University of Paris grew. The Sorbonne is still one of the chief schools of the university. Other noted French universities were founded at Montpellier (1220), Toulouse (1229), Orleans (1306), Aix-en-Provence (1409), Poitiers (1431), and Caen (1432).

The University of Paris served as a model for the creation of other schools in Northern Europe. In England the first two were Oxford and Cambridge. Of the two Oxford seems to have been the earlier. It

probably began about 1167-68 when English students, masters, and scholars returned from Paris. There was a school taught by clergy at Cambridge after 1112, but the elements of a university did not appear until students migrated there from Oxford in 1209. In 1224 the Franciscan Order established itself in the town, and the Dominicans arrived a few decades later. In 1231 and 1233 letters from the king and the pope indicated that Cambridge was a university with a chancellor at its head. The first of its colleges, Peterhouse, was founded in 1284.

The first university in Scotland was St. Andrews, founded in 1411 by Bishop Henry Wardlaw. The University of Glasgow was founded in 1451 to preserve and defend the Catholic faith. One of its distinguished alumni was John Knox, the reformer of the church of Scotland in the 16th century. The University of Aberdeen was founded in 1495. The fourth university of Scotland, at Edinburgh, was not started until 1583, after the Reformation.

In Germany the University of Heidelberg received its charter from Pope Urban VI in 1386. Its founder was the elector Rupert I. The University of Erfurt was established in 1379 and refounded by Urban VI in 13 because its original charter had been issued by an antipope (see Papacy). Other early German schools included Leipzig (chartered 1409), Freiburg (1455), Tubingen (1477), Trier (1450), Mainz (1476), and Wittenberg (1502).

In what is now Belgium the University of Louvain was founded in 1425. It was controlled by the town instead of the church, and the wealth of the city enabled it to attract outstanding faculty members from the beginning. By the 16th century Louvain ranked second only to Paris in reputation and size. It had 28 colleges and a very active press, still active today.

The Reformation and After

The Protestant Reformation of the 16th century and the Roman Catholic reaction against it affected the universities in different ways. In Germany, where Protestant universities were founded and older schools were taken over by Protestants, they became mainly centers for theological propaganda and dispute. The pursuit of new learning was discouraged. The German schools almost ceased to be centers of learning. They were devoted primarily to defending and promoting correct doctrine.

The situation was similar in Roman Catholic schools. The Counter-Reformation had little impact on the older schools. They remained centers of theology and traditional learning and were not receptive to the interest in science that was sweeping Europe. Reform of education took place outside the universities. The College de France, for example, was founded in 1530 by Francis I as a counterbalance to the backwardness of the University of Paris at the time.

Emergence of the Modern University

Bitter religious controversies and wars resulting from the Reformation lasted well into the 17th century. Only at their close was it possible to restore the universities as places of learning. By this time the Enlightenment had begun to pervade much of Europe (see Enlightenment). New scientific discoveries were undermining the centuries-old truths of religion, and leading scholars in all countries were pressing for new trends in education.

The modern university was born at Halle in Germany as a reaction against rigid Lutheran dogmatism. The University of Halle was founded in 1694. Although a center of Lutheranism, it was an advocate of a different variety. The founders of the school were Pietists, believers who rejected the notion that

correct doctrine was sufficient for the Christian life. Two of Halle's early teachers, Christian Thomasius and August Hermann Francke, had been driven from the University of Leipzig because of their liberal views. At the University of Halle the subject of philosophy was taken away from the theological faculty and allowed to flourish on its own. It was also the first university where teachers lectured in German instead of the traditional Latin.

The University of Gottingen was founded in 1737 under a very broad charter from the elector of Hanover, who was also George II of England. It had a brilliant faculty and a large new library to attract students from all over Germany.

Gradually in the 18th century, and more rapidly in the 19th century, religion was displaced as the dominant force in European universities. The new sciences, the Industrial Revolution, and more worldly ways of thinking all helped to transform the universities into institutions of modern learning and research. Students stayed in school longer, and primary and secondary schooling became available for more people.

Modern University Systems

Models of higher education as developed in France, Germany, Great Britain, the United States, and the former Soviet Union have had powerful influences on the growth of college and university systems in other places. The qualities of these 20th-century models are traced in the following sections.

France. The French Revolution marked the temporary end of higher education in France as it had

been known for centuries. On Sept. 15, 1793, the National Convention abolished all universities and colleges throughout France, including all faculties of law, medicine, theology, and the arts. Thus the whole system of higher education remained suspended until Napoleon became emperor. In 1808 he published a plan that made the whole educational system--primary, secondary, and higher--subject to state control. With modifications the French system of higher education has kept the essential features of Napoleon's arrangement.

France was divided, for educational purposes, into regions called academies, all of which are larger than the political divisions called departements. Each academie is headed by a rector, who is in charge of the whole educational system in the region. The rector is also the president of its university. The rector, who is appointed by the president of France, is a representative of the national Ministry of Education.

Higher education in France is open to all students who have passed their secondary-school requirements, specifically the baccalaureat examination. The first year at the university ends with a difficult examination, which serves as a weeding-out process. Usually, more than half of the students fail it. Those who fail can continue their education at a two-year university college and obtain diplomas upon completion of their courses. Those who pass the examination continue their university work for three or four years to obtain the licence, or university degree.

Apart from the university system, there are other institutions of higher education--called grandes ecoles (great schools)--for advanced training in the professions and technology. Students are recruited for these schools by competitive examinations from among those who have completed their

secondary-school requirements. The course work in these schools is rigorous, and their diplomas have a higher standing than the licences from the universities. Notable among these schools are the Ecole Nationale Polytechnique (national technical school) and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (school of fine arts).

Germany. The universities of Germany are operated as agencies of the Lander (states), not of the

federal government at Berlin. Late in the 19th century several technical and vocational schools, modeled on the great Ecole Polytechnique in Paris, were given college and university status. Those who pursue technical or professional courses receive diplomas rather than the doctorate, which is reserved for students who do extensive research and present dissertations. Administration of the university is in the hands of a curator appointed by the state minister of education. University senates have long been the custodians of school policy. Financial aid to the schools from the federal government since World War II has allowed the federal ministry of education to play a role in setting policy.

Teachers are recruited from assistants to professors. Once an assistant completes postgraduate work, he receives an award called the Habilitation. He then must do a research thesis and fulfill other requirements before being given the rank of Privatdozent, comparable to an associate or assistant professor in the United States. The highest rank of teacher is the titular professor. There are also lecturers appointed to teach special subjects.

Admission to German universities is based on requirements similar to those in France, but Germany has a different system of secondary education. There are three kinds of secondary schools. Students who take the nine-year Gymnasium program instead of course work at the other high schools are eligible for entrance to universities.

Patterns of attendance at the general universities are markedly different from those in most countries. German students and teachers have always been wanderers, and this tradition persists. Students customarily attend from two to four universities during their undergraduate years. There is thus little of the personal school loyalty that develops among graduates of American or British universities. German students must meet minimum requirements but otherwise are free to arrange their own courses of study and length of time in school. Written papers and essay tests are done along the way, and the quality of these must be high for a student to be admitted to final examinations. The first degree awarded by German universities is the doctorate.

In addition to the universities, Germany has several colleges of education, along with technical and vocational colleges; colleges of art, music, and economics; military colleges; and theological seminaries.

Great Britain. Degrees in Great Britain are granted either by the universities or by the Council for

National Academic Awards. The organization grants degrees to students who attend colleges that are not affiliated with a university. About 70 percent of all first degrees and 95 percent of advanced degrees are granted by universities.

The universities and their colleges are independent, self-governing institutions, while other colleges are maintained by local authorities. At Oxford and Cambridge each college is an independent unit, and the colleges together control the university. In the other universities self-government is vested in a senate and council.

Students are admitted to a university after completing secondary school and passing competitive examinations. A college course leading to the Bachelor of Arts normally takes three years. About 80 percent of undergraduates follow what is called an honors course in one, or sometimes two, subjects. There are examinations at the end of the first year and again at the end of the course. National uniform standards are achieved by the use of external examiners: after tests are marked at a particular institution,

the results are sent to examiners at another institution. External examiners serve for a fixed period of years.

The Open University was established in 1969. Its purpose is to offer higher education opportunities to adults who do not have time to attend school full-time. It is also a means of continuing education for graduates. There are no formal entrance requirements. Courses are conducted on a part-time basis through radio and television lectures, correspondence courses, private tutoring, and some residential course work.

United States. The United States is the home of the independent four-year college. Many of the

early colleges--such as Harvard (founded 1636), Yale, Princeton, King's College (now Columbia University), and others--became full-fledged universities in time. Others, such as the College of William and Mary (founded in 1693), remained four-year institutions. After the American Revolution, as the frontier moved rapidly westward, hundreds of four-year colleges were founded, mostly by Christian denominations. Although there had been two-year colleges for women--the oldest is Lasell Junior College, established in Massachusetts in 1851--the community college is a product of the 20th century.

Colleges and universities are either private or state-operated. Every state has a state-supported university. Some state university systems are quite large. California's state university, for example, has nine campuses, and other colleges are supported by the state. There is no national university, though plans for one have been put forth since shortly after the Constitution was adopted. Apart from public universities, states also support colleges and vocational, technical, and agricultural schools. Many cities and towns support two-year colleges.

One of the distinctive features of higher education in the United States is the land-grant college or university. The Morrill Act of 1862 granted each state federal land to be sold in order to finance schools that would teach \"agriculture and the mechanic arts.\" Among the best-known land-grant schools are Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell University, Ohio State University, and the Universities of Illinois and Wisconsin.

The diversity of higher-education opportunities available in the United States is enormous, but the standard is the four-year bachelor's degree, often followed either by graduate studies or professional training. Far more secondary-school graduates pursue degree programs in the United States than in European nations because the general level of American entrance requirements is far lower. Some colleges demand no more than a high-school diploma.

There are no standards mandated by government for degree courses, so the quality of colleges varies considerably. Some--such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, the University of Chicago, Stanford, and the University of California at Berkeley--are among the best in the world. Others are little more than good high schools. There are voluntary agencies and accrediting bodies that monitor quality in the nation's colleges and universities. Accrediting may be done by regional associations--for example, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Accrediting is also done by specialized organizations for the various professions. One of the best known of these is the American Bar Association.

Soviet Union. Higher education in the Soviet Union was a continuation of a tradition established in

Russia in the 19th century. The first university was founded in Moscow in 1755 by the linguist M.V.

Lomonosov. In the next 50 years universities were established at Vilnius, Khar'kov, Kazan, and St. Petersburg. Powerful influences from Germany slowly brought the Russian schools close to standards of European schools, but that trend ended with the Revolution of 1917.

The Soviet Union placed a strong emphasis on higher education, and the system was very competitive. There were basically three types of schools: universities, institutes, and polytechnic institutes. The major universities taught the arts and pure sciences.

The institutes made up the largest group of schools. They were specialized--they trained students in a single field such as law, economics, art, agriculture, medicine, or technology. The polytechnic institutes taught the same subjects as the institutes, but they were not specialized.

Students wishing to attend an institution of higher education were required to take competitive examinations. Once in school it took them from four to six years to earn the first degree. The state examining commission conducted examinations.

There were graduate-level courses in all three types of schools. The highest degree awarded was the doctorate. All students were supported by government grants.

Canada. Two levels of higher education exist in Canada: degree-granting schools--which are the

universities; and nondegree-granting institutions--community colleges, technical schools, colleges of agriculture, colleges of art, and schools of nursing. Most of the community colleges have been built since the late 1960s. They offer two-year programs of university-level courses, after which a student may transfer into one of Canada's 68 universities. The community colleges also offer specialized vocational training. Admission policies are flexible in the colleges. A high-school diploma may be required for some courses, but otherwise admission is open.

Except in Quebec, admission to a university demands a high-school diploma. The University of Quebec requires a two-year college-preparatory course. As in Britain, each university sets its own educational policies. The Bachelor of Arts degree is a three- or four-year program, though an honors degree takes an extra year or more.

The oldest schools in Canada were founded by Christian denominations, and they were purposely modeled either on the University of Paris (if founded by French settlers) or on Oxford and Cambridge. The French established the first schools. Laval University in Quebec developed out of the Seminary of Quebec, founded in 1663. The University of Montreal was founded in 1876 as a branch of Laval, but it became independent in 1920.

Emigrants from the United States founded three Church of England colleges: King's College in Windsor, N.S., opened in 17 but moved in 1923 to the Dalhousie University campus in Halifax, which had been founded in 1818; King's College in York, Ont. (1827), later became the University of Toronto; and King's College in Fredericton, N.B. (1828), became the University of New Brunswick. McGill University in Montreal (founded 1821) and Dalhousie were nondenominational schools from the beginning. In the four western provinces the universities patterned their development after the successful land-grant program in the United States by offering extension services and community programs.

Japan. The system of higher education in Japan, as elsewhere, includes universities, colleges, junior

colleges, and schools for vocational and technical training. The modern system was established after the Meiji Restoration of 1868 and was consciously modeled on higher education in Europe and the United States. The University of Tokyo was founded in 1877 to take the lead in modernizing the

nation's educational system. Today Japan has a system of national, state, and private universities and colleges. The state schools include city colleges. By the 1990s there were about 450 colleges and universities. All degree-granting institutions must meet standards set by the University Accreditation Association.

The degree-granting schools are ranked according to prestige. Examinations to get into the better schools are fiercely competitive. Those students who fail the examination study hard to take it again rather than settle for a less desirable school. The courses of study are considered mild compared to the effort it takes to pass the entrance examination. Once accepted, students normally spend their whole college career in one school, even in one department of the school.

Japanese higher education is directly related to employment and to the way the Japanese economy functions. Schooling is meant to support ongoing development and change in the economy. Specialization in scientific and technological studies is encouraged. Employment after graduation is rarely a problem.

Getting into College

Anyone planning to go to college needs specific sources of information on which school to attend, entrance requirements, and financing. If career goals are decided before leaving high school, the selection process is easier. The problem of financing is most pressing in the United States, which probably has the most expensive higher education in the world. There are reliable sources of information, many of which are published annually and are readily available in libraries and bookstores.

Among the publications giving general information about colleges, universities, and other postsecondary schools are: 'Barron's Profiles of American Colleges', 'Lovejoy's College Guide', 'Peterson's Guide to Four-Year Colleges', 'The College Handbook', 'American Community, Technical, and Junior Colleges', and 'The Directory of Postsecondary Institutions' of the United States Department of Education. For colleges and universities of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth nations, there is the 'Commonwealth Universities Yearbook'.

A school's standing can be learned from 'Accredited Institutions of Postsecondary Education' published by the American Council on Education. The College Entrance Examination Board publishes 'Guide to Financial Aid for Students and Parents'. 'Peterson's College Money Handbook' offers similar help. Once a school has been selected, its catalog of requirements, courses, faculty, living accommodations, and costs is needed. Many libraries have collections of up-to-date college catalogs, and colleges will send them without cost to prospective students.1

1Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved