Private Versus Public Education: A Comparison of Community Colleges and Vocational Schools

Vocational schools that focus on providing training for professional careers are becoming extinct and rapidly being replaced with Community College programs. Community colleges offer more courses and are partially publicly funded. Vocational colleges are saddled with broader guidelines and fewer students so they cannot compete. However, there is another side to the story. State wide policies that fund and favor Community colleges over private Vocational schools are simply an extension of the public education mentality all too often prevailing in our educational system. And the loser of this lopsided battle between public and private schools may very well be the working adult seeking to begin a new or second career.

Both Vocational Schools and Community Colleges are monitored by similar State agencies in many states. However, those same State agencies apply often utilize two sets of guidelines for the two types of schools. For example, Community Colleges and Vocational Schools are both required to limit programs in order to avoid competition with existing private or public curricula unless an impact study is conducted that demonstrates that the surrounding community can offer two of the same programs in a given community. Vocational schools are held to a strict adherence of this law whereas Community Colleges are given more latitude to ignore State issued cease and desist orders.

For example, the local Community College in Jackson County Oregon has been given more than one cease and desist order by the State of Oregon to stop offering competing programs with the local Vocational school. However, the President of that same Community College has chosen to ignore those State issued orders and has decided to continue offering the duplicated programs. After all, there is no immediate penalty for Community Colleges who fail to abide by State agency rules so why should the Community college stop offering the technically illegal programs?

Vocational schools often have to meet different standards than Community Colleges. And many Community Colleges do not inform their students of this double standard. Also, many Community colleges are not required to keep the same student job placement statistics as Vocational Colleges. The public is often unaware of how unprepared they will be for a desired job after they complete their program of study at a Community College. The problem is further complicated by the fact that many students require financial aid to complete their program but Community Colleges with uncertified programs tap into the same financial aid system as Vocational Schools with certified programs.

Still, most people assume that the lower prices offered by the Community Colleges more than make up for the lack of academic vigor within the Community College courses. After all, lower prices help more students to go to college. Community Colleges have always been an extension of the public education system and therefore maintain many of the same goals and aspirations as high schools. More students generate more FTE (full time equivalent) money from the state and therefore are of higher priority than quality curricula in any given area of study.

As an aside, Vocational schools often offer nationally certified programs in a given specialty area because they want to attract students to their program. National certification in a program may or may not be required for a job but the certification does help the student obtain employment in the same field in most states. Community colleges often choose to ignore these national certification processes because they are time consuming and expensive to obtain. Again, the focus of the community college centers on keeping students in the classroom rather than providing skills for the job.

In conclusion, state wide policies that fund and favor Community colleges over private Vocational schools are simply an extension of the public education mentality that unfortunately continues to prevail in our state funded educational system. Vocational schools serve economic niches designed to help students find jobs while maintaining academic standards. Community Colleges, on the other hand, are extensions of the public extension system and are therefore committed to favoring quantity over quality. Both systems have their place but I believe private schools better serve the working adult.