CHANGES OF DIRECTIONS AND STRUCTURE OF AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION

The article considers changes in the activities and structure of American universities and colleges. The changes in the structure and management of universities, the integration of higher education and research, the introduction of elective training system, improved credit hours are being concerned. This article considers the directions of the American experience of education which can enrich the theory and practice of training national experts and provide an opportunity for Ukraine to enter into a single global educational environment. Since the middle of the twentieth century the US federal government had a policy of forming a group of leading universities, which have concentrated basic scientific potential. These universities received the maximum federal allocations and had the most qualified scientific and teaching staff, entered the complex educational programs, and as a result, by the end of the twentieth century have become the largest scientific centers of the country. The US colleges have undergone certain transformational changes during the period concerned. Today there are three types of colleges: four-year colleges, after which a bachelor's degree is awarded; comprehensive universities, with a term of study over four years and which award a bachelor's degree or master's degree; two-year colleges that offer associate degree or bachelor's or junior specialist. The introduction of elective training system is an important aspect of the reform of higher education, because it provides the individual needs of each student. Thus, professional-focused disciplines are concentrated on training future specialist to implement major professional functions in a specific field. Elective curriculum system identifies certain characteristics of the educational process based on a credit system. Its essence is to assess the time spent by students on the study course. This estimation is based on a modular concept of a studied discipline, which involves the distribution of learning content on the structural elements. Thus, the following conclusion can be made that the system of education of the USA has been updated. The conditions for equal and normal functioning of educational institutions of different legal forms in accordance with the new requirements of the market, various training programs, financial and other educational opportunities are being created. All these features should be implemented in Ukraine to create the conditions for progress of the national system of education to reach a new level of quality.