Abstract
Academic quality in for-profit vocational college programs is a concern for all stakeholders, especially nontraditional college students. The purpose of this study was to expand understanding of how administrators and owners of for-profit (proprietary) colleges influence academic quality in on-ground vocational college programs. A phenomenological method was used to gather the lived experiences of 10 faculty members who taught in these programs at two for-profit vocational colleges in a large metropolitan area in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The study was organized using a systems-thinking framework. Participants were aware that the primary purpose of their for-profit institutions was to generate a profit. Most of the faculty interviewed for this study thought the administrators and owner of both institutions focused too much on profits and too little on education.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Carol M. Booton
Carol M. Booton, PhD, is an Independent Researcher, Portland, OR.