One of the surprises emerging from Black Issues’s analysis of the
top one hundred institutions conferring degrees on people of color was
in the rise of proprietary colleges as major players — particularly in
the fields of engineering-related technologies, computer science, and
business.
In fact, the top producer of minority baccalaureates in
engineering-related technologies was a California campus of the ITT
Technical Institutes in California (see page 56 for chart).
The number two and three institutions conferring bachelor’s degrees
in computer and information science on African Americans were also
proprietary schools — Strayer College and DeVry Institute of
Technology (see page 52 for chart).
Why are these schools so popular with students of color? Educators
say proprietary schools have identified an untapped market — recent
high school graduates of color who want a more practical education in a
shorter time than that offered by traditional four-year institutions:
and older, more mature minority employees who view these institutions
as an accessible means of attaining the degrees they need to advance in
their careers.
Observers also say proprietary schools are attractive in today’s
booming job market because they boast good job placement rates and can
tout faculty members who actually work in the fields they teach.
“Proprietary schools like DeVry and ITT are making significant
inroads among minority students who are turned off by traditional
educational institutions who put up barriers to entrance,” says Harold
Lundy, executive director of the Association of Collegiate Business
Schools and Programs. “A whole segment of students has been written off
as uneducable because they don’t have the requisite score on the ACT or
SAT. But these institutions are more open and amenable to inner-city
students.”
Others echo Lundy’s assessment.
