Yes! This is exactly what has set legitimate career colleges apart from all other facets of postsecondary education. The fact that we put the needs of the student first. Period. If we are in this business for any other reason, we are in the wrong business!
My deepest concern is that the way things seem to be going with accrediting bodies it may soon be virtually impossible to distinguish a career college from a traditional junior or community college. If the students we serve could find success through traditonal education, we wouldn't have any students. Now, changes in accreditation standards and requirements are forcing career colleges to compete with more traditional colleges because the student niche that we have historically served is not cut out to excel in a traditional environment.I hope I'm wrong because I love this industry and the students we serve, to the degree that I have dedicated my life to it for the past 19 years. Any comments or encouragement from any of you?
I couldn't agree with you more about the Title IV connection. I have seen that come back and bite because it can look as if the money is the reason for accreditation.
I also agree with you about focusing on the "bad apples".
When I first started working for the career college I am currently with, I was in a different state. A different school, one of those "bad apples" closed their doors. The students and staff came to school to find themselves locked out. It was all over the press.
What didn't' make the press was all of the career schools that offered similar programs, including he one I was employed by, opened the doors to all of the students.Students were "taken in" without costing them more money. If there program had been completely paid at the other school no money was charged by the "adopting" school. All monies that had been paid at the closed school were credited against tuition charges at the "adopting" school and tuition was lowered to match what the student as originally paying at the closed school.
All the career colleges rallied to save these students at some cost to themselves because of the bad publicity from the one school. It was a good thing the other schools did but had I not been employed by a career college and been involved with the “adopted†students all I would have know was the “bad†school.
Kathleen - You bring up a good point on the fact that accreditation is voluntary. Unfortunately, the link to Title IV funding can paint a picture of motives tied to financial gain versus purely for the sake of creating a compliant campus.
A colleague once made a good point regarding the perception of career colleges versus traditional universities. He asked if I would trust someone with a bachelors degree in business more than someone with a credential from a cosmetology school to cut my hair. My answer was obvious - and I have always respected career colleges for delivering on their objectives.
Twenty years ago, when I started my career in education, the objectives of career colleges were more clearly delineated from the objectives of traditional universities. Over time, with increased regulation and career colleges' expansion strategies, the lines have become blurred. Some career colleges offer higher degree credentials than they did in the past, some have added general education to meet the requirements of higher degree levels and, on the other side, traditional colleges have become more innovative in offering accelerated programs and some have added more "practitioner" faculty in addition to their professors.
By now competing more directly with one another, the skeptics of career colleges have fueled the media by focusing on the "bad apples" that you mention. I agree that the public needs more awareness of the fact that the same regulations (and even more as some have specifically targeted the for-profit institutions)apply to the career colleges.
Unfortunately, when the media reports a negative story on education it seems that the career colleges take the brunt. One failed school or diploma mill and we all get painted with the same brush. The public then wants more oversight and the upshot is more regulations.
I think the public needs more education on what accreditation is and that a school has voluntarily sought it. That it allows us to have Title IV funding available like a traditional school and that we too are following the Department of Education's regulations; that we are not lesser because we are a career college.
I agree with you totally. I feel that we need to broadcast more what our students are doing with a career school degree. I am sure there are success stories that we don't hear about. My school is an art & photography school and you are right about the gen eds. This is the biggest challenge for the students. But I feel that this gives them more prep for entering the workforce.
I agree that the career colleges and traditional colleges have migrated toward one another. Ironically, the regulations that some traditional educators pushed for put the career colleges in more direct competition with traditional institutions. That put the traditionals in a situation whereby they had to modify practices to be more competitive - including adding shorter programs (i.e. executive MBAs, etc.) and being more agressive in their student recruitment activies - which makes them act more like the career college sector.
Media is a powerful force and the attention it has drawn certainly can influence the regulators. Others argue that even the bad media attention is positive for consumers as it creates a more skeptical buyer that will do more due dilegence before selecting a college to attend.
I think that stories about career colleges that take a negative slant (doesn't all news coverage lately feature a negative slant?) contribute to the recent trends that are taking place in career college regulation. It seems that many of the accrediting bodies for private career colleges seem to be revising their standards to force career colleges to look and function more like community colleges. If the community college environment worked for career college students, there would be no career colleges. Yet, in order to satisfy accrediting body regulations, it seems that a more academic and less career specific focus is becoming required. If there were more (do I mean some?)positive stories focusing on the successes career college students experience, perhaps the prevailing perception of the career college industry would become less biased and the general public more appreciative of the services provided by the career college industry.
