Private vs. Public School

Nowadays, higher education is considered to be the main indicator of a highly-developed country. It provides people with a wide range of possibilities, namely work, prosperity, and respect. Moreover, most of the economists determine positive externalities connected with higher education. Consequently, there is a widely distributed concern regarding the quality of higher education in the USA. The government completely provides higher education to make it accessible to a wide range of students in order to have better control of the quality of a supplement. Private providers are seldom criticized for the worse quality of supplement because they comprise the quality due to their market incentives to reduce costs. Therefore, it is paramount to identify the advantages and disadvantages of private and public systems of higher education. The aim of this paper is to analyze the basic differences as well as similarities between the two types of higher education in the USA.

The Main Characteristics of Public and Private Institutions in the USA

Over the course of history, higher education in the United States became democratized, and, as a result, a wide number of institutions appeared. The most popular were small colleges, land-grant colleges, and universities. Nevertheless, nowadays there are 2,450 four-year colleges and universities, 622 are supposed to be public institutions and 1, 828 are private. Basically, all public institutions obtain particle of its active budget from the state tax incomes and govern with a mandate from the state where it is situated. Moreover, private institutions are independent. They govern with incomes from tuition, private foundation grants. These colleges and universities are connected with local business and community leaders respectively. Some of these colleges are owned and operated by publicly traded corporations.

If primarily the difference between public and private institutions seems understandable, there are also some similar peculiarities that should be taken into consideration. All accredited institutions have a right to obtain public funds from the government in the form of loans and grants for students. In order to get the federal support, all schools undergo a peer-reviewed accreditation process by a regional accreditor authorized by the federal government’s Department of Education. Therefore, one should pay attention to the level of accreditation when entering university or college. Taking into consideration the facts mentioned above, one may admit that both private and public institutions have their own similarities as well as differences, but the latter ones predominate. It is also important to analyze the main distributions between public and private universities or colleges.

The Main Differences between Public and Private Institutions in the USA

One of the most vital differences between public and private institutions is a governance system. On the one hand, private institutions are independent. They have autonomy regarding the issues of managing, with certain guardians that supervise the economic matters of the guidance. Academic service leaders are responsible for the determination of the kind of academic program as well as the life of the campus. On the other hand, public institutions have more complicated governance system. The main trustees in public institutions are representatives of the committees comprising of the officials whose obligation is to interfere in the governance system and make relevant changes in it.

In fact, appropriate control of the government brings more benefits to the development of higher education in the USA. The reason is quite obvious: the democratic accountability, as well as control over the education system, helps to pay attention to various aspects of the higher education, the capability to organize independent student’s communities, support of the issues that reflect gender and cultural diversity. That’s because the basic philosophy of a public system is that education is a right, not a privilege and it should benefit all members of society.

One more important issue that should be taken into consideration is the main purposes of private and public institutions. Undoubtedly, the primary aim of the private institution is to return on investment. Consequently, tuition and service fees are extremely high. For instance, The University of Phoenix charges $40,800 for an undergrad degree and up to $20,400 for a grad degree. Lansbridge charges $28,000 for an MBA. Public institutions provide less expensive tuition for both in-state and out-of-state students. The average tuition for in-state students is $4,900-5000, and for an out-of-state student it is $13,400-14,000. One may admit that the difference between the tuition in private and public institutions is obvious. This is the most vital difference between the two types of higher education in the USA.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Public and Private Institutions in the USA

Basically, there are many advantages as wells as disadvantages concerning the problem of public and private institutions. In fact, one of the most obvious advantages of public universities or colleges is low tuition. The reason is connected with the fact that public universities do not rely on the student funding, but on the direct support from the state that the institution is situated in. One more important advantage is that the public universities, as well as colleges, are greater and more multifarious, and the students can feel more open and comfortable within a greater number of a student population that it provides.

Speaking about public institutions there is also a wide range of positive benefits. Growth in private higher education can be explained in terms of either "excess demand" or "differentiated demand". The private institutions are considered to be the most prestigious. A prestigious future career is opened for the graduates of the private university or college. Moreover, there is a strong and personal relationship between students and instructors in private universities, because there are specific programs developed to enlarge their communication.

Lily Brown is a master in English philology and literature at California University. Lily is currently working as one of the best writers at the EssaysProfessor.com She also studies feminine psychology.