EDUCATION REPORT - Just How Many Universities Are There in t

EDUCATION REPORT - Just How Many Universities Are There in the U.S.?
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, May 12, 2005

I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Education Report.

Two listeners have the same question for our Foreign Student Series on American higher education. The listeners are Prashant Devidas in Bangalore, India, and Zegeye Mulu in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. They want to know the number of universities in the United States.

It seems like universities are generally counted together with colleges. So here is the answer from the Association of American Colleges and Universities. It says there are two thousand six hundred eighteen accredited² four-year colleges and universities. Most operate privately³ or as part of state governments.

Now we have a question of our own. Just what exactly does it mean if a school is accredited?

Accreditation⁴ is a process designed to guarantee that the education provided by a school meets accepted levels of quality. In the United States, this process involves both government agencies and private groups called accrediting⁵ agencies.

The United States Department of Education does not accredit¹ schools. But the law requires the secretary of education to publish a list of accrediting agencies recognized as dependable.

Accrediting agencies develop educational goals. Then they examine schools to make sure those goals are met.

The first step in the process is for a college or university to request accreditation. Then the school does a study of itself to measure its performance against the requirements.

The accrediting agency sends a team of experts to decide if the school meets the standards. The agency will observe an accredited college or university every few years.

Schools must be accredited for students to receive government financial aid. Accreditation also makes it easier for students to move credits from one school to another. Going to an accredited school can also make it easier for students to get a good job.

There is a group called the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. It has a Web site where students can learn if a school or program is accredited by a recognized United States organization. The address is chea.org. Again, c-h-e-a dot org.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.  I'm Gwen Outen.

1 accredit   

vt.归功于，认为

参考例句：

• The president will accredit you as his assistant.董事长将任命你做他的助理。
• We accredit the invention of the electric light to Adison.我们把电灯的发明归功于爱迪生。

2 accredited   

adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于

参考例句：

• The discovery of distillation is usually accredited to the Arabs of the 11th century. 通常认为，蒸馏法是阿拉伯人在11世纪发明的。
• Only accredited journalists were allowed entry. 只有正式认可的记者才获准入内。

3 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

4 accreditation   

n.委派，信赖，鉴定合格

参考例句：

• a letter of accreditation 一份合格证明书
• This paper gives an overview of the Verification, Validation and Accreditation (VV&A) in High Level Architecture(HLA). 对基于高层体系结构(High Level Architecture,简称HLA)的仿真系统的校核、验证与确认(Verification, Validation and Accreditation,简称VV&A)问题进行了详细的介绍及分析。 来自互联网

5 accrediting   

v.相信( accredit的现在分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于

参考例句：

• One accrediting agency is the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. 有一个资信鉴定机构是为了高等教育的。 来自互联网
• One accrediting agency is Council for Higher Education Accreditation. 高等教育授权委员会就是这样一个授权机构。 来自互联网