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Public Colleges & Universities
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US Public Colleges and Universities by State
Public Postsecondary Schools (4-Yr. Public Colleges)
Each US state administers its own system of higher education, known as public colleges or universities just as local governments and cities operate their own public K-12 school systems for local residents. These institutions receive most of their funding from the states they are located in.
Private schools, on the other hand, do not receive the same primary funding from the state and federal government as public colleges, but often receive financial support from benefactors in the private sector.
Aside from funding, what make public colleges and universities unique:
- Most states operate at least two tiers of public colleges: community colleges, which grant associate degrees and provide adult and vocational education, and so-called "four-year" colleges which award bachelor's and master's degrees. Some states now have a third tier of research
universities.
- In general, all the campuses in a statewide system first accommodate the citizens of that state, giving them priority in admissions and charging relatively low tuition and/or fees.
- Public college systems have published admission standards, which are usually the same for all colleges within a tier.
- Public colleges tend to have larger enrollments than private colleges, as they serve a larger group of people, the citizens of the state.
- Public colleges generally provide less financial aid to students than private colleges. It's not uncommon for the net cost to attend a private college to be fairly close to the net cost to attend a public college, after factoring in financial aid.
- By definition, public colleges have no religious affiliation.
Choose the right program today and start on your academic career.
Higher Education: College Accreditation
The goal of accreditation is to ensure that education provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality.
Accrediting agencies, which are private educational associations of regional or national scope, develop evaluation criteria and conduct peer evaluations to assess whether or not those criteria are met. Institutions and/or programs that request an agency's evaluation
and that meet an agency's criteria are then "accredited" by that agency. Why should you be concerned with accreditation? It's not only one way of helping to judge the quality of a program, but it can also impact your employment prospects later on.
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Types of Postsecondary Schools
Take a look at these descriptions to help you see where you fit.
Each US state administers its own system of higher education, known as public colleges or universities just as local governments and cities operate their own public K-12 school systems for local residents. These institutions receive most of their funding from the states they are
located in. Private schools, on the other hand, do not receive the same primary funding from the state and federal government as public colleges, but often receive financial support from benefactors in the private sector.
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US Public Colleges and Universities by State
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Public Colleges
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A four-year public college grants bachelor's degrees (Bachelor of Arts; Bachelor of Science). Some public colleges also award master's degrees, and some also offer a two year Associate of Arts (AA) degree. Colleges can be specialized (for example, in
nursing) or they can offer a broad curriculum, like the liberal arts which focus on the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Classes size tend to be smaller than those in public universities. This provides students with more personal attention and better access to the
faculty.
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