The Study On The Developmental History Of The Credit System Of American Universities

The credit system of American universities has the ripest and perfect development form in the U.S.A. It has gone through three stages in the long historical river of more than 100years from 1870s to the present time: the free credit system-the restrictive credit system——the full-developed credit system. It becomes more and more perfect constantly. The development of the credit system has offered strong support to the improvement of the curriculum reform, teaching management as well as the development of American higher education.The success of the credit system of American universities has its deep reasons. It can find its thought foundation in Americans' ideology and culture. And it can find its system guarantee from the structure of education of the U.S.A.. What's more, American social economic system and social demand have offered the material prerequisite and development space for the establishment and development of the credit system. The credit system of American universities has its unique characteristics .It has promoted the process of socialization, scientification and systhesization of the curriculum in the American universities. Thus the development of the credit system of American universities has strengthened the popularization, modernization, and internationalization trend of the American higher education. From the developmental history of the credit system, we can gain some useful instructions ,such as how to set up a fittest social environment, a scientific structure of education and a well interior environment of the school for the credit system in the universities. After all, it can benefit the present credit system reform in our Chinese universities.