Community College release new commercial. (Photo courtesy of stevetaylor.fivefour on flickr)
The differences between for-profit and public schools has long been a discussion amongst students both enrolled and looking to enroll in college. With the exception of college football games, for-profit schools have controlled television and radio with commercial time with information about programs, locations, and a finale that encourages you to “Call right now!” Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield, Missouri has had enough and recently released a marketing campaign that compares tuition.
Tuition Comparison
The short commercial, which can be seen here, focuses only on tuition differences. Ozarks Technical Community College has stated enrollment has not declined due to local for-profit schools, but wants prospective students to be aware of their return on investment.
Bryan University: $32,000 (approximately)
ITT Technical Institute: $18,000 (approximately)
Everest College & Vatterott College: $14,000 (approximately)
Ozarks Technical Community College: $3,300 annual cost of tuition, fees, books and supplies
Resource Comparison
For-profit schools typically argue their tuition is higher because of the resources offered to students. Often citing lab equipment, online course platforms, curricula, and faculty as the reason for higher tuition, but according to a 2009 Senate Committee report, for-profits “devoted less [money] to actual instruction costs (faculty and curriculum) than to either marketing and recruiting.” While both sides will continue to have their reasons behind research development and released statements in the media and reports, one thing is certain: students should be doing their own research before enrolling in classes at the first school that “accepts” them.
Return on Investment
Ozarks Technical Community College brought up and excellent point in their media releases: return on investment. A return on investment is a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment or to compare the efficiency of a number of different investments. With Gainful Employment regulations from the Obama Administrations and many Americans still seeking employment, students should consider their potential salary in a selected career field to determine whether or not student loans repayment will be possible.
Example:
Bryan University: $32,000 (approximately)
Degree: Associate Degree in Court Reporting
Average Entry-Level Salary: $48,552
Commercial Comparisons
In addition to researching schools before enrollment, one could view school commercials (in case they are missed on live television) through YouTube. Commercials, in addition to giving contact information, will provide an indication into the type of student the school accommodates as well.
Salary Comparison
To show the difference in salary between a public univesity President and te CEO of a or-profit collge, let’s review recent salary information for ITT Technical Institute’s CEO Kevin Modany and the University of South Florida’s President Judy Genshaft.
Kevin M. Modany, chairman and CEO of Carmel-based ITT Educational Services Inc., got a 63 percent raise last year, bringing his total compensation to $7.6 million. And the rest of his management team all enjoyed pay increases of 45 percent or more.
Genshaft’s new contract could be worth up to $833,559, Cotton said, and will be in effect from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2016. It calls for an annual base salary of $470,000, and additional compensation benefits include a retention stipend that will average $100,000 annually.
