Academic Libraries in For-Profit Schools of Higher Education

For-profit schools constitute the fastest-growing sector of higher education institutions in the United States.1 Yet accompanying the phenomenal growth of these proprietary colleges and universities has been considerable controversy over the role that the profit motive should play in higher education.2 The literature of higher education contains increasingly more works about proprietary schools. The library literature, however, offers little in this arena. Through this article, the authors seek to introduce the library readership to U.S. for-profit colleges and universities. We summarize their history and their characteristics, and we explore reasons for their success and present areas in which these schools appear to excel. With regard to their library services and resources, we focus on issues of concern based specifically on our experience with academic libraries in proprietary schools operating in the state of Ohio. Finally, we suggest ways in which these for-profit institutions can address the challenges faced by their libraries.

Community Colleges Today

Dr. Jill Biden, Vice President Joe Bidens wife, has been teaching in community colleges for the past 18 years. Dr. Biden believes that community colleges are uniquely American institutions where anyone who walks through the door is one step closer to realizing the American dream. This is an inspiring sentiment. However, of all the first time college students who enrolled in community college in 2003-2004, fewer than 36% earned a post-secondary credential within six years. In light of the low completion rate, one has to question whether community colleges are fulfilling their promise. In this article we will look at the recent demographics of community colleges, compare the role of community colleges to that of proprietary colleges in post secondary education and discuss promising research initiatives aimed at improving the community college system.