There is a great debate between two viewpoints about higher education, public and private. Some experts agree that private universities are the best option for students to achieve their academic objectives. In contrast, public universities defenders do not consider the same. Since professional training is considered so essential for life, it is highly important to choose the most convenient option. To make the choice easier, this essay will consider similarities and differences among private and public universities.
Both types of universities, public and private, share some similarities such as the way students access to higher education. Nadirotun (2010) claimed that in order to matriculate to a public university, scholars need to have bachelor’s degree, as well as to a private one. This requisite for achieving university has to do with student’s basic knowledge. It must be considerably advanced so as to make sure the scholar is capable of following technical explanations about a subject. Given that difficulty level is equal in both sorts of university, this precondition is fair.
The second similarity that can be found is the environment. Both categories of university provide a considerable number of facilities that are suitable for undergraduates such as library, computer labs, clinic or cafeterias. Besides, they both have a variety of student societies and recreational amenities. For instance: badminton court, football fields or gymnasium. About three decades ago, there were more private than public colleges who could afford these services due to their social position and high inversion. But with the passage of time public ones have improved up to the point of being in balance.
At this point, some correlations s between public and private higher education such as university access and environment, have been described in the previous part. Nevertheless, the two choice of achieving a superior graduate do not coincide in some issues that will be explained down below.
The major difference between public and private superior education has to do with price. According to Ben (2017), nowadays, state governments pay for most of the cost of operating public universities. This influx of public money is what makes tuition cheaper and affordable for all kind of people. Meanwhile, private universities do not receive funds from the State due to the fact that their economic benefits are based on individuals’ contributions. This explains higher tuition and private colleges understanding of education as a business. Although the cost of several public universities is still huge for some people, difference between private universities is so high too.
Another issue in which private and public universities differ is their size and number of degrees offered. Public universities are usually much larger than private ones. The size of a university might have an impact on student academic career, considering that in a small class, the professor is more capable of making the best of pupils than in a crowded one. Research has found that in high population classes, the only time to make connection with the teacher is by attending office hours. (Chang, 2019.) The fact that public universities are larger affects the number of degrees offered, which will be larger as well.
On the whole, to compare public and private universities, it is hardly important to know the similarities as the quality services and the entry to the college, and differences such as the cost of matriculation and size of campus. This relation between the public and private sector turns out to be interesting, even in education.