10 Feb 2006

For-Profit Schools Meet Working Adults' Expectations - But Full-Time Students Go Away Displeased

A recent survey by Baird of student satisfaction with for-profit post-secondary schools found that working adults were mostly satisfied with the quality of education they received through on-line programs and evening courses.

Students in full-time, degree-granting programs were less satisfied.

Schools that focus on working adults' needs for practical education and flexible schedules received the highest student satisfaction scores. Students were happy with the quality of education they received and with the cost/benefit ratio of their programs.

Baird noted that these students had significantly fewer expectations of their programs than full-time students did. Most were already working full-time, and so did not expect job placement services. In addition, employers often paid part or all of their tuition, making the cost/benefit aspects of their programs more attractive. Many respondents suggested that they would not have been as pleased with their programs if they had had to pay their tuition themselves.

By contrast, students enrolled in full-time, degree-granting courses at for-profit schools were much less satisfied with the quality of their programs. Specific complaints included poor instructor quality and high staff turnover, inadequate student services, and inability to find work after graduation.

In fact, the Baird study found that almost all of the for-profit schools it studied consistently failed to meet student's job placement expectations. This shortcoming was especially disappointing for students who elected to study at for-profit schools instead of lower-cost community colleges because the for-profit schools seemed to offer accelerated training programs and immediate job placement.

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