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OCR for page 62
6
The Role of Proprietary Schools
There are some private, entrepreneurial organizations that provide
continuing education and that have been in existence for many years.
These are the proprietary schools. Others have recently entered the
field, recognizing a need for continuing education among engineers and
managers, and the possibility perhaps of a "gold mine. " Their programs
typically are relevant, though high priced. Because of their topical
nature and popular appeal, they are generally financially successful.
Programs are offered at convenient times and locations, and the
instructors are generally very good. Because of their brevity, these
courses do not seriously interfere with the professional commitments
of working engineers. The overall educational effectiveness of the
courses is somewhat indeterminant, however, because engineers gen-
erally attend them based on the reputation of the offering organization.
Klus and Jones jl978bJ report that approximately 10,000 engineers
are participating in private entrepreneurial technical courses at any
given time. In a survey of career development activities of 87 compa-
nies that subscribe to Research Management, Thompson and Drake
; 1983J found that 47 percent employed private entrepreneurial training
courses as a career development medium. Overall, proprietary pro-
grams ranked seventh of fifteen strategies reported.
Information on proprietary programs actually is quite limited, how-
ever. In the face of all that has been developed on the efforts of industry,
academia, and professional societies in continuing education, there is
no known body of knowledge that addresses the size, scope, or cost of
62
OCR for page 63
THE ROLE OF PROPRIETARY SCHOOLS
63
continuing education programs conducted by private operators. The
American Society for Training and Development {ASTD ) has identified
an initial undertaking in this area, by Hope Reports, Inc., a consulting
firm that publishes reference material relating to training activities of
commercial firms, associations, and institutes.
According to a 1984 survey, a conservative estimate of the size of the
proprietary training industry would be $2 billion annually, including
off-the-shelf, custom-designed, and generic services. An estimated 3
percent of the total, or $60 million, is spent annually on these latter
programs. These figures, as well as enrollment data, must be assumed
to be extremely conservative estimates. That they are all that can
apparently be developed from available research suggests that addi-
tional study of the proprietary segment of the continuing education
. . .
Universe IS in orc .er.
A final point of interest is ASTD's estimate that proprietary programs
grew at an average annual rate of 7.5 percent during 1978-1982. Con-
versely, spending on proprietary programs dipped 2 percent in 1981-
1982, suggesting that short courses are the first element of continuing
education to be sacrificed during cost-cutting periods.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
proprietary programs
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