Success The Turning Point

Author(s): Rajendra Rakhecha
Publisher: Rajendra Rakhecha

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You can do it
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DESIRE changes nothing
DECISION changes something DETERMINATION changes everything!
All the best..you can do it!
1.1.4 Structure of the U.S. Education System:
International Affairs Office, U.S. Department of Education Feb 2008
http://www.ed.gov/international/usnei/edlite-index.html
Bachelor's Degrees
The bachelor's degree is the most common first degree in U.S. higher education and is the degree that gives access to advanced studies. U.S. bachelor's degrees are usually planned to take 4 academic years of full-time study to complete. However, many degrees take longer to complete, including those in engineering, architecture and other fields; and many bachelor's degrees are completed in less than 4 years by highly qualified and motivated students. Bachelor's degrees may be awarded in academic or professional fields of study.
Bachelor's degree Description
The bachelor's degree may be defined as "An award that normally requires at least 4 but not more than 5 years of full-time equivalent college-level work. This includes all bachelor's degrees conferred in a 5year cooperative (work-study) program. A cooperative plan provides for alternate class attendance and employment in business, industry, or government; thus, it allows students to combine actual work experience with their college studies. Also includes bachelor's degrees in which the normal 4 years of work are completed in 3 years." (NCES)
U.S. bachelor degree programs usually include requirements for breadth as well as depth of study, and students will fulfill what are called liberal or general studies requirements for introductory knowledge in several subjects as well as a concentration in one or more subjects, called a "major." Students are assigned a faculty advisor, usually in the intended field of study, who assists the student in developing a plan of study that is coherent and uses the general education requirements to support the major. Many students become exempt from the general requirements through faculty examinations, presentation of Advanced Placement (AP) examination scores (3 or higher), or presentation of an International Baccalaureate (IB) or other advanced or honors secondary qualification.
Some U.S. undergraduate students' transcripts may show that remedial courses were completed, or examinations taken, in order to correct deficiencies or to complete prerequisites for certain subjects. It is important to know, however, that U.S. accreditation rules do not allow remedial work to be awarded undergraduate credit.
Inter- or multi-disciplinarity is a major thrust of U.S. higher education, and it begins with the first degree level. U.S. educators and employers believe strongly that the bachelor's degree should prepare students for entry-level jobs as well as for possible advanced study. Whether students continue their studies or enter the labor market, they will need to understand the basic principles of fields other than their own narrow specialization, and they will need skills such as languages, IT and computational skills - that cannot be obtained exclusively in their major field. This extra knowledge and skill must be obtained at the higher education level. Secondary-level preparation cannot substitute for it. And the degree
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