Free Custom «Public and Private University Contrasting and Comparing» Essay Paper

I. Introduction

Nowadays, those who consider applying to a higher education establishment are usually perplexed while deciding which university to enter. While public universities are usually considerably more lucrative from the financial positions, their private counterparts are widely considered to be more professionally oriented and markedly adjusted.  Therefore, in order to make a proper and well-motivated choice, an applicant shall to make a meticulous and careful review of the available educational opportunities.

The criterion which lies in the differentiation of public and private educational establishments is not solely the ownership of the institution. The main benchmark for the classification is the fact that while public educational centers are socially oriented, the general specialization of the private universities is more corporate-channeled, i.e. the needs of business are dominant. However, this assumption is general and under any circumstances shall not be viewed as a fundamental axiom.  

The aim of this essay is to outline and to assess the opportunities provided by the public and private higher educational institutions and to accentuate the differences and similarities of the public universities and their private analogues.

II.  Similarities of Public and Private Educational Establishments

a)      Similar curriculum

First and foremost, both privately and publicity owned universities are aimed at providing a wide set of educational purposes.  Both of them are legally obliged to follow the mandatory governmental standards imposed by the educational authorities of the state (Herbst,2007). To illustrate, the standards and guidelines which are elaborated by the United States Department of Education are scrupulously followed and abided by the deans and rectors of all private and public schools. Moreover, specific educational courses are methodically elaborated by the educational authorities of the Department of Education. To illustrate, the leading medically-profiled universities are mandated to follow the provisions of the curriculum outlined by the ministry and the deviations from this curriculum is under any circumstances are not permitted. To illustrate, the educational curriculums of both School of Medicine of San Francisco (which is publicly owned) and David Geffer School of Medicine at UCLA are both based on the state standards and the statues of these schools explicitly provide that the deviations must be negotiated with the state authorities.

b)      Tutors’ Proficiency

Although, there is a widely circulated among the business and scientific communities assumption that the privately owned universities are financially capable of hiring the most qualified and professional staff, the tutorial and professorial staff of both universities are equal. In particular, there is neither scientific nor empirical proof that the professors hired by the public universities are less professional or less prepared academically. Moreover, a vast majority of the professors teach concurrently in both public and private higher educational establishments (Martin,2009).

To illustrate, Harvard law professor of the International Commercial Law and International Commercial Arbitration Lukas Mistellis is one of the leading luminaries in his field. However, he gives his lectures in Harvard Law School, which is known to be privately owned and in the Wien State University, Faculty of Law, which is owned by the state community of the city of Wien. He was not attracted by the financial lucrativeness and big educational fees, but by the “highest standards of the academic integrity and students’ dedication and enthusiasm” (Tedesco,2012).

Overall, it can be inferred that the tutoring standards of public and private universities are almost equal in their essence.

III.  The Differences

a)      Professional orientation of the Private Educational Centers

Deciding which educational institution to enter, a prospective student must fully evaluate the educational opportunities.   However, assumption that is always certain and undisputed is that the privately founded and owned educational institutions are considerably more professionally oriented. Their publicly owned counterparts are usually more socially targeted. To be more exact, the educational curriculum and faculties of the public universities are adjusted to serve the needs of the community, whereas the private educational institutions are more adapted for the needs of business, commerce and international commercial and political affairs. Therefore, if a student’s career aspiration is to make money, his choice is private educational establishment and there is no doubt that the immense educational fees will be paid back, whilst a student whose vacation is contribution to the communal values, a public university is the most lucrative opportunity.

b)      Modern Approaches and Extra-Academic Facilities

It is a widely known fact, that the privately owned universities are considerably more stable financially than their public counterparts. This factor enables them to implement the most contemporary and modern educational approaches and techniques. To illustrate, Alabama college of Medicine was among the first who introduced the video-conferences to get connected with their overseas colleagues. This scheme enables to interchange the experience and scientific accomplishments.

Besides, the privately owned educational centers are reported to provide considerably wider set of extra-curricular activities. Financial base provides the opportunity for the students to get engaged actively in the sport and other extra-curricular activities, including linguistics, athletics extra professional and art courses.

IV.  Conclusion

Having summarized the elements of the public and private educational process, several major inferences can be drawn. First and foremost, the academic preparedness, skills and professionalism are equal in both educational spheres.

The second postulate is that private universities are more professionally focused and those willing to make money shall decide on them, while for those, who favor the communal values public universities is the best opportunity.

The last divergence between them is the availability and diversification of the extra-academic activities in the privately owned educational establishments.