OLMIS

by Brenda Turner
Published May-24-2010

What is a Private Career School? Why Choose a Career School for Training? Who Oversees These Schools? Enrollment and Graduates For More Information

Private career schools offer job-ready training in a relatively short time. Students who finish private career school programs are awarded certificates of completion. Thousands of jobs in Oregon do not require a postsecondary degree, but do require formal training beyond high school. Career schools provide such training.

Private career schools offer a medley of course subjects, including tax preparation, computers, real estate, insurance, and medical-related programs. These schools are private businesses and compete with each other to attract students. They are usually smaller than colleges and universities, graduating anywhere from just a handful of students to a few hundred each year.

Most of Oregon's private career schools are in the Portland metro area and the Willamette Valley. Other schools are scattered throughout the state (Figure 1).

Career schools offer many different lengths of training, ranging from one-day classes to two-year programs. One-day computer classes provide students with the basics of particular software. Students in these courses are often already employed and use these classes to quickly enhance their job skills. Those seeking training necessary for a new career may enroll in longer training programs ranging from a few weeks to two years. These programs include massage therapy, information technology, and cosmetology-related programs such as facial technology, nail technology, and hair design. For some occupations, private career schools are the only type of educational institution in the state that offer the appropriate training.

The Oregon Department of Education's Private Career School and Veterans Education section licenses the state's private career schools. The section is funded in part by licensure fees generated by those schools. It provides educational leadership, technical assistance, training, and support to some 200 private career schools licensed in Oregon.

New private career schools open every month, while others close. They are, after all, private firms and face the same ups and downs of business operations as do other businesses. If a school closes before students complete a training program, a Tuition Protection Fund allows students enrolled at the time of closure to receive prorated tuition refunds. The Private Career School office oversees this fund.

While the Private Career School office licenses these schools, students need to be sure they are getting the education for which they paid. When looking for a career school, it is important to find out the total cost of the programs, review admission requirements thoroughly, and carefully analyze any agreement signed.

The state of the economy definitely affects private career school enrollment. When the economy is shifting up or down, private career schools must adjust. When the economy slows, as it has since 2008, enrollment can increase as laid-off workers look to gain training for a new career in a short time. At the same time - some schools, including those with very short programs that generally train individuals who are already employed - may see a decline in enrollment as employers cut back on training to save money.

Private career school programs graduating the most students are listed in Table 1. Insurance is the most common program. Insurance programs include insurance prelicense and health prelicense. Individuals in these programs graduate to become insurance sales agents or adjusters after successful completion of a state-required examination.

The number of graduates in the number two program, real estate, has declined significantly in recent times. This coincides with the housing crash associated with the "Great Recession." Still, many real estate companies operate private career schools to train current or potential employees.

Other common programs in Oregon relate to truck driving, banking, taxation, cosmetology, and health professions. Schools offering these programs graduate a few hundred students each year.

There truly is something of interest for just about anyone at Oregon's career schools. Here are a few examples. For those interested in learning the basics of piano tuning, taking courses through the Randy Potter School of Piano Technology may be a good choice. Future bicycle repairers can attend class at the United Bicycle Institute in Ashland, where students learn such skills as bicycle assembly, titanium frame building, and advanced wheel building. For the scent-oriented, the Australasian College of Health Sciences trains students with its introduction to aromatherapy, the basics of herbalism, and a certificated course in flower essence.

Of the occupations that require post-secondary training, private career schools offer training for seven of the top 20 occupations with the most total annual job openings in Oregon (Table 2). Other postsecondary training is available through community colleges, Job Corps, and apprenticeship programs.

To learn more about Oregon's private career schools, visit the Private Career Schools website at www.ode.state.or.us/search/results/?id=83. The website includes information on licensing, how to file a complaint against a school, financial aid, starting a private career school, and a list of all the career schools currently licensed in Oregon. It also contains contact information for the Private Career School office.