United States
In the United States, there is a very large difference between career college and vocational college. The term career college is generally reserved for post-secondary for-profit institutions.
Conversely, vocational schools are Government-owned or at least Government-supported institutions, occupy two full years of study, their credits are by and large accepted elsewhere in the academic world and in some instances such as charter academies or magnet schools may take the place of the final years of high school.
Career colleges on the other hand are generally not government supported in any capacity, occupy periods of study less than a year, their training and certifications are largely if not completely discredited by the larger academic world and are run more as a for-profit business than anything else. In addition, as most career colleges are private schools; this group may be further subdivided into non-profit schools and proprietary schools, operated for the sole economic benefit of their owners.
As a result of this emphasis on the commercialization of education, a widespread and well-deserved for the period poor reputation for quality was retained by a great number of career colleges for over promising what the job prospects for their graduates would actually be in their field of study upon completion of their program, and for emphasizing the number of careers from which a student could choose. However, although this problem has been largely corrected in modern times due to more stringent regulation. careful research on the career college in question must be performed by the student prior to enrolling in order to get the best value.
Even though career colleges have exploded in recent years, true government-sponsored vocational schools on the other hand have decreased severely in the United States and have largely been replaced by the various alternative trade classes offered at either trade-specific schools or by being merged with their community college cousins, which in addition to offering associate degrees and core university curriculum courses, also offer vocational classes depending on the needs of the local community, all units of which are capable of transferring to four-year institutions.
The Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) is the largest American national education association dedicated to the advancement of career and technical education or vocational education that prepares youth and adults for careers, so the wise prospective student may wish to check with them to see if the school is in good standing with this and other trade organizations.
Even though virtually none of the for-profit career colleges have distinguished themselves in any capacity, a great many true vocational schools have gone on to become some of the most prestigious universities in the world. The California Institute of Technology and Carnegie Mellon University are examples.
Read more about this topic: Vocational School
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