The Author A. Harvey Belitsky joined the staff of the Upjohn Institute in 1964. His special interests include employment problems and vocational education. He received a Ph.D. degree in economics from Harvard University in 1960; his B.A. degree was obtained from The University of Wisconsin and his M.A. degree from Syracuse University. Dr. Belitsky taught economics at Rutgers. University and Lawrence University. He also served as a consultant to the US. Department of Labor. His books include The Job Hunt, coauthored with Dr. Harold L. Sheppard, and Private Vocational Schools and Their Students. He is collaborating with Dr. Irving H. Siegel on a book that will deal with the future of employment. He has written articles on apprenticeship and training. Preface This paper was prepared at the invitation of the Bureau of Higher Education, Office of Education, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. It is a slightly revised version of a paper which will appear in a collection of studies to be published in 1970 by the Bureau of Higher Education under the title Trends in Postsecondary Education. The paper is based on research made possible through a grant awarded to the Upjohn Institute by the Ford Foundation. Complete findings on the research were published in 1969 in the book Private Vocational Schools and Their Students: Limited Objectives, Unlimited Opportunities. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect policies or positions of the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. A. Harvey Belitsky Washington, D.C. PRIVATE VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS Their Emerging Role in Postsecondary Education Introduction This study undertakes to clarify the role of private vocational schools as one of the institutions providing postsecondary education. The principal topics include: estimated number of schools and students, types of occupational training, nature of instruction, student characteristics, and regulation and accreditation of the schools. The general status of vocational education is initially considered in order to explain the still inadequate awareness and acceptance of the private vocational schools and their students. Finally, in a brief concluding section, a proposal to enhance the equality of educational opportunity is offered. Status of Vocational Education Despite steadily growing enrollments in colleges and universities, the potential number of students who can benefit from instruction in private vocational schools will continue to be exceptionally large. The promising future of the schools is based upon at least two major conditions. First, only about one-fourth of all high school students are enrolled in a vocational education program. Second, less than 25 percent of all high school students ultimately complete a four-year college program. The expected advances in the use of private vocational schools are grounded in the demonstrated capacity of the schools to motivate and train students with various needs and interests for specific occupational objectives. Young persons lacking vocational qualifications, private employers, and several government agencies have shown the greatest appreciation of the schools' capabilities and have also made the most use of them. In general, however, educators and school counselors have been uninformed about and even antagonistic to the private vocational schools. Since high school graduates and nongraduates will continue to enroll in vocational schools, it is important to consider some of the plausible reasons why key persons involved in advising such students have disregarded the schools. Insights into this paradox arise from (a) the current emphasis upon college education, and (b) the contrasting objectives of vocational schools and colleges. Dr. James B. Conant and other highly respected educators have been critical of the many parents who ignore the aptitudes and interests of their children and pressure them to pursue some form of higher education. Quite understandably, the school counselors typically reflect a community's interest in maximum college enrollment. The number of counselors in most schools is, moreover, inadequate, and the counselors who are available are unfamiliar with the needs of and the opportunities for students not headed for college. The net result of these conditions is that educational resources are not efficiently used, and numerous cases of personal frustration and disillusionment occur. Dr. John W. Gardner, while strongly favoring equality of educational opportunity, has stressed the desirability of providing superior vocational education, and he has accented the possibilities and importance of achieving "excellence" in all forms of education and work. The preeminence given to college enrollment by educators, counselors, and parents is naturally related to the academic program and, perhaps even more, to the ultimate types of employment that college graduates are likely to secure. The liberal arts curriculum is an important educational component of colleges and universities. Such a curriculum may be a preparation or requirement for an occupationally oriented program, but students may also select the subjects for their intrinsic value. Even undergraduate curricula that lead directly to employment (e.g., business administration or engineering) require some general education subjects. In contrast, vocational schools, particularly the private ones, offer hardly any subject matter that is not directed toward the ultimate requirements of a job; and the courses, usually less than two years in length, are not concluded by the conferring of a degree. The term "course" is used by private vocational schools to represent the entire training program. Comparatively few of the private vocational schools are actually able to confer an associate degree under current regulations in their states. Pennsylvania, for example, began considering private vocational schools' eligibility to award an associate degree in 1969. Private vocational schools differ from colleges and universities not only in subject matter taught but also in financial structure. Colleges and universities, whether private or public, are overwhelmingly nonprofit, while the great majority of private vocational schools are profitmaking, or more accurately, profitseeking organizations. This need not be noted per se as a distinguishing characteristic between the two types of institutions, but it IA decision by a judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia might lead to the establishment of many more proprietary colleges. The Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, Inc, was found. (1) to be in restraint of trade, and (2) to deny constitutional due process by requiring applicants for accreditation to be nonprofit institutions. See Civil Action No. 1515-66. |