Sunday, August 3, 2008

The July 6 Close to Home article "Why D.C. Needs a Community College" argued that the city needs a community college to provide training and education for Washingtonians to obtain jobs that require less than a four-year degree but more than a high school diploma. I agree that more needs to be done to provide career-specific higher education to Washingtonians. But with soaring gas prices and a pinched middle class, is it appropriate to ask taxpayers to foot the bill for a community college when there are cheaper and equally effective alternatives?

Many Washingtonians -- and Americans in general -- have yet to consider career colleges. A career college is a postsecondary institution that provides professional and technical, career-specific educational programs. Most career colleges pay taxes yet receive no direct financial support from state governments, unlike public nonprofits that receive state tax support or nonprofit private colleges that pay no taxes. While many of the programs taught in career colleges overlap with community colleges, career schools adapt to market needs more quickly and maintain much higher graduation rates.

Career colleges are the fastest-growing sector of higher education. These schools provide professional and technical, career-specific educational programs to students of every demographic. These schools promote a student's professional development by offering tailored curricula that equip them with highly marketable, 21st-century skills. Many career colleges do a better job than traditional schools do in placing graduates in full-time jobs. In 2006, 75 percent of those earning an occupational associate's degree found employment; slightly less did so with academic associate's degrees or bachelor's degrees.

Career colleges also graduate a higher percentage of their students than community colleges. About 64 percent of career college students who are enrolled in certificate and associate degree programs -- compared with 38 percent of community college students -- graduate within three years.

Career colleges are well positioned to educate Washingtonians for information-age jobs and to keep the engine of this city's economy running, particularly in sectors such as health care and information technology, where worker shortages exist.

Just consider the nationwide shortage of registered nurses. According to the federal Health Resources and Services Administration, the United States will need 1 million new nurses by 2020. The University of the District of Columbia and some area community colleges offer accredited nursing programs, but many such schools find that there simply isn't enough room to accommodate all the would-be nurses. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, nursing schools turned away 38,415 qualified potential students in 2006. By contrast, career colleges across the country are expanding their infrastructure and offering nursing and other allied health-care programs to help meet this burgeoning demand.

Creating a taxpayer-funded community college in today's economy is impractical and unproductive. Instead, Washingtonians should take comfort in the ability and availability of career colleges to satisfy their educational needs.

-- Harris N. Miller

Washington

The writer is president and chief executive of the Career College Association . Kaplan Inc., the education subsidiary of The Washington Post Co., is a member of the Career College Association.