Higher Education Overview

Principles

Definition

Higher education is the academic study pursued at colleges and universities after secondary school, culminating in the conferral of academic degrees such as bachelor's, master's, and doctorates. This level of learning involves the acquisition of specialized knowledge and advanced skills, serving as a critical driver of personal development, innovation, economic prosperity, and societal advancement.

Ontological type

Teaching and Learning

Access and Equity

Graduate Outcomes

Key developments

Key Figures

Credentialism and Access era

Gary S. Becker [1] was associated with Columbia University [3] and the University of Chicago [4] in this era, shaping theories of education's role in economic outcomes. His seminal work, Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, with Special Reference to Education [7], argued that education functions as an investment that increases productivity and earnings, a foundational idea for understanding credentialing in the era. James S. Coleman [2] was affiliated with Stanford University [5] and Johns Hopkins University [6] during this period. His Equality of Educational Opportunity [8] (1968) demonstrated pervasive disparities in access to schooling, and its earlier form Equality of Educational Opportunity [9] (1967) exposed similar patterns while spurring measurement innovations and policy debates.

Pathways and Student Persistence era

Ernest T. Pascarella[1] has been associated with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign[3] and the University of Iowa[4] during this era. Through the papers[7][8][9], Pascarella and colleagues document enduring college effects on persistence and self-efficacy by applying longitudinal methods to map pathways and the role of sustained institutional supports in this era. Patrick T. Terenzini[2] has been affiliated with the University of Wisconsin–Madison[5] and the University of Maryland, College Park[6] during this era. Like Pascarella, his work in these papers[7][8][9] highlights lasting college influences on persistence and degree attainment and informs pathway-oriented reforms in advising, transfer facilitation, and learning interventions.

Digital Transformation and Resilience era

Peter Goodyear [1] is a scholar associated with Monash University [3] and The University of Sydney [4] in this era of Digital Transformation and Resilience. His key contributions during this era include the 2020 paper Online University Teaching During and After the Covid-19 Crisis: Refocusing Teacher Presence and Learning Activity [7], which reframes teacher presence and learning activity for online settings and underpins scalable remote pedagogy essential to rapid digital transformation and resilient teaching. Cathy Mae Dabi Toquero [2] is a scholar linked with Université de Montréal [5] and Mindanao State University – General Santos [6] during this era. Her 2020 work Challenges and Opportunities for Higher Education amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Philippine Context [8] synthesizes challenges and opportunities for Philippine higher education and informs policy, practice, and student-support ecosystems vital for sustaining learning continuity.