Para-Universities

Para-university is higher education that specializes in certain areas. The OED defines ‘para’ as “beyond or distinct from, but comparable to”. Para-universities, like the University of Phoenix Online, offer certifications and degrees to many people who can either afford the time needed to earn a degree at a traditional university or are looking for something more tailored to them and their work. One of the benefits of these para-universities is that they teach skills that can instantly be applied on the job.

These para-universities are for-profit academic institutions. This driving factor of profit may change the more traditional public and private colleges. The incentive of profit means that the para-universities will tailor their programs and services to best meet their customers. The para-universities will have to innovate in order to compete and distinguish themselves from traditional universities. Offering specific training and real world knowledge and skills could possibly eliminate the need for a traditional education for some jobs.

Some claim that if these para-universities were to gain a larger market share that funding for traditional institutions could suffer and thus their education would suffer. If the para-universities come up with a way to “steal” students from the traditional universities then they would also be forced to innovate new ways to education in order to compete with the para-universities. Adding competition to the market generally does not cause terrible things. If para-universities are the future then the market will dictate it.