Tertiary education

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Tertiary education is an ambiguous term. Some definitions conflict with each other. Writers are advised to use preciser terms, or label the institutions that they mean. (It may even be advisable to include a short definition of what you mean when you write.) Some definitions that have been used are cited below. They will serve to illustrate the potential ambiguity.

  • OED gives the definition "tertiary education, that which follows secondary education and precedes, includes, or replaces university or professional training" (s.v. tertiary, A 1 h). This is the simplest definition, but the 'precedes, includes, or replaces' shows that it begs some questions of the accurate limits, as may be seen in two of the quotations OED itself cites:
    • 1969 Guardian 26 Aug. 16/4 A ‘tertiary college’ ... in Exeter where sixth forms are to be merged in the College of Further Education.
    • 1971 New Scientist 27 May 513/1 Whenever Britons wrote or talked about tertiary education, they generally meant university education.
  • The New Scientist quotation shows that many use tertiary education as synonymous with Higher Education. The U.S. Department of Education, echoing OECD, says: "In the international classification, more advanced postsecondary education (such as attending a 4-year college or university) is referred to as tertiary education. Tertiary programs are divided into ISCED levels 5A, 5B, and 6. ISCED level 5A refers to academic higher education below the doctoral level. ISCED level 5B refers to vocational higher education. ISCED level 6 refers to the doctoral level of academic higher education.
  • The Guardian uses it as synonymous with Further Education. Collins English Dictionary actually defines it as "formal education beyond school other than at a university" , and Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary as "the education of people who have left school but who are not at a university or a college of education (AWE's italics); whereas Chambers's Dictionary (2008) says "formal education at a college, usually on a vocational course, for school-leavers or mature students".
  • It is often used to mean both Further Education and Higher Education.
  • Sometimes it is used simply to mean post-compulsory education. This is useful when talking about different countries where children finish their compulsory education at different ages.

So, in general, tertiary education is a term to approach with care. If you use it in your writing, you are well advised to define it carefully. "In this assignment, the term 'tertiary education' is used to mean ..."