Further education
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Further education is education in addition to that received at secondary school. It may be at the same level, at a higher level, or at a lower level than secondary education, anything from basic training to a Ph.D.. A form of this is higher education (also known as tertiary education), which is education at a higher level than secondary education.
In the United Kingdom, further education (often abbreviated FE) is taken to mean education for people over 16, usually excluding universities. This is primarily taught in FE colleges (which are similar in concept to US community colleges, and indeed often use "community college" in their title), work based learning, and adult and community learning institutions. This includes post-16 courses similar to those taught at schools and sub-degree courses similar to those taught at higher education (HE) colleges (which also teach degree-level courses) and at some universities. Since 2001, further education in England has been managed by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), the largest government agency funding education provision. The LSC has a budget of some £7 billion and is organised on a regional basis through around 47 local councils. The LSC has a particular mission to improve and expand further education provision, driven by the UK government's desire to increase standards in post-16 student retention and achievement, particularly in skills-based vocational provision in FE colleges. Recent government-driven LSC and Department for Education and Skills (DfES) policies, such as Success for All and the Skills Strategy, articulate this vision.
See also: graduate school