Should I Consider a Career College or School?

There are many decisions to be made when selecting the type of education and training you will need when completing high school. Like many other choices you will make in life, there are positives and negatives that need to be considered.

Before enrolling in any school or college, you should:

1. Select a career field that you think would best suit you.
   • Consider the various jobs in that career. Look at the future demand for workers. Pay attention to the pay scales and look at the chances for advancement.
   • Seek the advice of friends, parents, or guidance counselors to help you assess your aptitudes.
     
     
2. Check out the school's or college's web-site.
   
   
3. Write, e-mail or call the schools and request information regarding the programs of study. Look at the schedule of when courses are taught, the course content, length of training, entrance requirements, cost, and the procedures to enroll.
   
   
4. Visit the school. Look around to see what is going on. Does the school have good teaching equipment? Is the training practical or theoretical?
   
   
5. Ask the admissions office how many graduates are placed into jobs after graduation and what those jobs are.
   
   
6. Check out the accreditation of the college, school or program.
   
   
7. Talk with people who may have attended the school or college.
   
   
8. Read any enrollment agreements and student loan documents and be sure you understand them before you sign. Have someone else to review them with you.

Why Consider a Career College or School?

Private career colleges or schools have smaller classes, more focused instruction, instructors that have more current and practical experience in the field they are teaching, and better graduation rates than other colleges.

Career Colleges & Schools have been innovators in post-secondary education. They consider the work experience of their instructors as important, if not more important, than the degrees the instructors hold. Career colleges & schools were the first to embrace on-line instruction. They schedule classes when students are available and not when it is convenient for instructors. Internships have been a part of the career college & school experience for years. Career colleges and schools in Ohio have a job placement rate of 75% + of their graduates within six months of graduation.

Recent studies and reports from the U.S. Department of Education show that career colleges and schools have a better retention rate (fewer drop-out) and a better graduation rate than community colleges, private colleges and public universities. Career colleges and schools concentrate on your education and training and not on your campus or social life.

Can I Trust a Career College or School?

In Ohio most career colleges and schools are licensed by the U.S. Department of Education and all are approved by the (Ohio) State Board of Career Colleges & Schools. In addition, most are accredited by either regional accrediting agencies, (such as North Central Association of Colleges or the Higher Learning Commission) or national accrediting agencies (such as Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training or Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and College). These agencies are in place to either insure the integrity of the courses offered by theses schools and colleges and/or for the protection of the students.

Aren't Career Colleges New?

Career Colleges and Schools are not new. In fact many have been in existence in Ohio longer than community colleges. In fact, Davis College in Toledo and Miami-Jacobs in Dayton have been in existence approximately150 years. National College in the Dayton, Cincinnati and other locations in Ohio have also been in existence that long even though they have only been in Ohio about 8 years.

Your Choice

College is not for everyone. You have many choices facing you. Find a good paying job that you like (difficult without training but it can be done). Seek apprenticeship training. Join the armed services. Go to college.

If you want to go to college, select the one that best fits your needs. Colleges are selected for a number of reasons; their academic reputation, parents or family members attended its religious affiliation, the sports program, the social/college life offered, or the training it offers for our career goals. All are worthy reasons. Think it over, remember all choices have positives and negatives but not making a choice is not a good decision.

Editorial is provided by R. David Rankin, Executive Director, Ohio Association of Career Colleges and Schools.