Career Colleges Boom

In the past year, enrollment in Tennessee’s private, for-profit colleges has increased 23%. The for-profit schools are usually referred to as career colleges that target non-traditional students. They promote the opportunity to earn less expensive specialized degrees quicker.

Shamiah McMillan, a 25-year-old single mom, attends night classes at the Kaplan Career Institute, which just opened a new school building near the Nashville Airport. McMillan says the school’s fast-track degree program is what attracted her and many of her classmates.

“A lot of people would like to get into school and get out quick as possible and jump off into a career instead of going to a school for three or four years. Sometimes it’s still hard to find a job even after you’ve been in school that long and here they help. They have a job placement program and they help us out.”

State education officials believe the growth of career colleges will continue as Tennessee’s job market remains strong. Since January of last year, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission has authorized the operation of 3 new career colleges in the state.

Jori Rice contributed to this report.