IIT Guwahati. (File Photo: IANS)
Higher education, which follows elementary and secondary education is supposed to be a privilege. As a privilege it is one of covetous desirability. Having a needful role to play in the larger social context, higher education includes an extensive purview. But, perhaps the epithet extensive will be too little to describe the same. With the passage of each and every day; one comes across new additions, new inputs to add to the ever expanding domain of higher education. Generally speaking; technical areas, teaching, vocational studies, research work, applied work, advanced facets of learning geared to the areas of science, commerce and humanities are catered to by higher education.
University- an important channel of higher education
There is little need to show the nexus between universities and higher learning. University as an important instrument of institutionalized higher learning includes several colleges underneath its administrative domain. Forums such as academies, technological institutes and centers for career development also come under its all encompassing purview.
Choice of universities
University as a stepping stone to career building calls for careful and judicious selection. The prospect of selection may prove to be pretty baffling for the concerned students and guardians as well. Though there are no hard and fast rules guiding the selection of universities; from a broad perspective; a few parameters may be worth considering.
Compatibility with your area of study
- First and foremost, it makes listing out seats of advanced learning; bearing in mind your area of interest.
- Streams of study as determined by area of interest must be relevant to the list drawn out.
- In other words, the preferred colleges or universities must be adequately equipped to cater to your selected stream of learning.
- Rather than go by name or fame; it is important that you go by curriculum or programs it has in the offing.
- Infrastructural facilities of the university should live up to the needs of your study.
- The same holds true for faculty requirement.
- Program or academic stream of your choice may not be on priority list of a so called famous university.
- In such a case; it is imperative that you stick to your inclination and consider the second best option.
Criterion for admission
- With the increasing accessibility to higher education; criteria or norms guiding admission have become proportionately stiff.
- Before exercising your option as to the most preferred one; it is important to access detailed whereabouts marking their eligibility of selection.
- As one of the prospective learners make sure that you have the bare minimum eligibility.
- Go for a chosen list with a few names included therein.
- It is desirable to make a judicious comparison regarding their norms of selection.
- Norms leading to selection generally differ according to variations in stream, subjects of study, place of locations, prevalent marking schemes and expected student strength.
- As far as Indian universities are concerned there is yet to be a standardized ground of selection.
- Bearing in mind the aforementioned factors; the bare minimum cut of marks is decided.
- Depending on the course of choice; individual entrance test, common entrance or joint entrance are held thereafter
- Positions or placement of ranking serves to determine your final entry.
Accreditation of a university
- While exercising your choice, it is very important to focus on its official status.
- Do consider, if it is authorized by commissions or technical councils authorized to certify seats of higher learning.
- The course of learning should also be similarly approved by certifying bodies.
- This issue is of paramount significance from the point of view of your career prospects.
- It is often found that courses or vocational training offered by certain institutions or universities fail to fetch jobs, in spite, of successful completion.
- The issue assumes greater significance in recent times as one comes across hordes of universities mushrooming all over the country, staking their respective claims.
Reputation of a university
- Bearing in mind prospects of future and that of job; it is relevant that you attach due importance to its overall reputation.
- Reputation not only relates to its external appearance, upgraded infrastructural amenities and overall maintenance; but also gears to nature of faculty, ambience of study and yearly performance.
- Do consider to what extent it relates to your career goal with facilities for group discussion, workshops and placement opportunities.
Browse through the internet for information
- Browsing will help you access the necessary information and demarcate a selected few bearing in mind the discussed points.
- With budget being an important factor, fee structure outlined in respective website will guide you into the correct perspective.
