There were approximately 18,000 public high schools in the United States in 2002 (table 2.1). Of these, 5 percent were full-time CTE high schools (about 900 such schools). An additional 46 percent were comprehensive high schools served by area CTE schools (about 8,000 schools), and the remaining 49 percent were comprehensive high schools not served by area CTE schools (about 9,000 schools).
Table 2.1. Number and percentage distribution of public and private schools with a 10th grade, by school type and sector: 2002 
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The majority (88 percent) of public high schools offered at least one occupational program in 2002, either on or off site (table 2.2). In addition to all full-time CTE high schools offering such programs, 91 percent of comprehensive high schools served by area CTE schools and 84 percent of comprehensive high schools not served by area CTE schools reported offering occupational programs either on or off site in 2002.
Table 2.2. Percentage of public and private schools with a 10th grade offering occupational programs, by program location, school sector, and type: 2002 (1.5 MB)
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There were approximately 1,200 area CTE schools in 41 states as of 2002 (table 2.5). The largest concentration of area CTE schools was in the South (with 44 percent of these schools), followed by the Midwest (24 percent), Northeast (22 percent), and West (10 percent; table 2.6).
Table 2.5. Number of area career and technical education (CTE) schools, by state: 2002 (1.5 MB)
Table 2.6. Percentage distribution of area career and technical education (CTE) schools, public schools with a 10th grade, and public 10th-grade students, by region: 2002 (1.5 MB)
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Public high school students had on average 10 occupational programs available to them in 2002 (table 2.10). Students in full-time CTE high schools and in comprehensive high schools served by area CTE schools had a larger number of occupational programs available to them than did their peers in comprehensive high schools not served by area CTE schools (10–11 vs. 9 programs).
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As of 2004, 21 percent of public schools with a 12th grade offered career academies (table 2.15). The percentage offering career academies increased as school size increased and as the percentage of minority students in a school increased. Career academies were more common in urban public high schools than in rural public high schools (29 vs. 15 percent).
Table 2.15. Percentage and number of public schools with a 12th grade that offered career academies, by selected school characteristics: 2004 (1.5 MB)
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In 2005, more postsecondary institutions offered programs in health care than in any other career program area: about 3,700 institutions, or 58 percent of all Title IV eligible postsecondary institutions, offered programs in this area (tables 3.5 and 3.6). Business and marketing was the second-most-common field, with 3,500 institutions, or 55 percent of all Title IV eligible postsecondary institutions, offering programs in this area. Business and marketing was the most common career program area at 4-year institutions, with 69 percent of these institutions offering programs in this area (table 3.6). Health care was the most common career program area at 2-year institutions (76 percent offered these programs). At less-than-2-year institutions, personal and consumer services programs were the most prevalent (with 52 percent offering these programs).
Table 3.5. Number of Title IV eligible postsecondary institutions that offer career education, by level of institution, sector, and field of study: 2004–05 (1.5 MB)
Table 3.6. Percentage of Title IV eligible postsecondary institutions that offer career education, by level of institution, sector, and field of study: 2004–05 (1.5 MB)
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More postsecondary institutions offered certificates that took at least 1 year but less than 2 years to complete (1-year certificates) 55 than offered any other type of postsecondary credential in a career field in 2005 (table 3.7). In that year, about 3,200 postsecondary institutions—56 percent of all postsecondary career education providers—awarded career certificates that lasted this long. Associate’s degrees and less-than-1-year certificates were the next most widely available credentials, with about 2,500–2,600 institutions (44–46 percent of career education providers) awarding each of these credential types in career fields in 2005.
Table 3.7. Number and percentage of Title IV eligible postsecondary institutions conferring career education awards, by award level: 2004–05 (1.5 MB)
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Most undergraduates seeking a credential majored in career fields in 2004: 81 percent of students in certificate programs, 64 percent of students in associate’s degree programs, and 60 percent of students seeking bachelor’s degrees reported having career majors in this year (table 3.8). This translates into about 1.0 million certificate seekers, 4.4 million associate’s degree seekers, and 5.3 million bachelor’s degree seekers with career majors. Undergraduates who chose academic or other majors were in the minority at each credential level (6–30 percent).
Table 3.8. Number and percentage distribution of credential-seeking undergraduates, by major field and credential sought: 1990, 2000, and 2004 (1.5 MB)
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Overall, business and marketing was the most common career field in which students majored in 2004, with 28 percent of credential-seeking undergraduates reporting a major in this field (table 3.10). Another 22 percent majored in health care fields and 12 percent majored in education.
The most common career major fields in 2004 varied somewhat depending on the credential students sought. Among bachelor’s degree seekers, business and marketing was the most common major field (33 percent), followed by education, health care, and engineering and architectural sciences (11–15 percent) (table 3.10).
In contrast, health care was the most common major field among students in associate’s degree programs (30 percent), followed by business and marketing (25 percent), education (10 percent), and computer sciences (9 percent). Health care was also the most common field (40 percent) among certificate seekers, followed by personal and consumer services (16 percent), trade and industry (13 percent), and business and marketing (11 percent).
Table 3.10. Number and percentage distribution of credential-seeking undergraduates, by career education major and credential sought: 1990, 2000, and 2004 (1.5 MB)
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The total number of less-than-4-year institutions offering CTE declined in the late 1990’s, then increased each year between 2001 and 2006, resulting in a net increase of 3 percent over the 9-year period between 1997 and 2006 (from 3,706 to 3,833; table 1).
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Public 2-year institutions’ share of all subbaccalaureate CTE credentials declined over the 9-year period (from 59 to 58 percent; table 2). In contrast, for-profit less-than-2-year and for-profit 2-year institutions’ shares increased (18 to 19 percent and 12 to 17 percent, respectively) from 1997 to 2006.
In the three smaller sectors, public less-than-2-year institutions’ share declined from 7 percent in 1997 to 3 percent in 2006. The percentage of subbaccalaureate CTE credentials awarded by private not-for-profit 2-year institutions declined by 1 percentage point (from 3 to 2), while that of private not-for-profit less-than-2-year institutions remained constant at 1 percent.
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The number of career majors increased between 1990 and 2004 among both associate’s and bachelor’s degree seekers (from 3.8 to 4.4 million and from 4.2 to 5.3 million, respectively), while the number of certificate-seeking undergraduates majoring in career education decreased (from 2.1 to 1.0 million) (table 3.8). Over the same period, there was no measurable change in the percentage of bachelor’s degree seekers with career majors (59–60 percent), although the percentage of associate’s degree seekers with career majors decreased (from 69 to 64 percent) as did the percentage of certificate seekers (from 87 to 81 percent).
Table 3.8. Number and percentage distribution of credential-seeking undergraduates, by major field and credential sought: 1990, 2000, and 2004 (1.5 MB)
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Changes between 1990 and 2004 in the percentage of students majoring in different career fields varied across credential levels. For example, the percentage of students majoring in the health care field increased at the associate’s degree (from 19 to 30 percent) and certificate (from 17 to 40 percent) levels, but did not change measurably at the bachelor’s degree level (12–14 percent in each year) (table 3.10). In contrast, the percentage of computer sciences majors showed a measurable increase only at the bachelor’s degree level (from 6 to 9 percent). Over the same period, the percentage of students majoring in business and marketing declined at all three credential levels (from 37 to 33 percent of bachelor’s degree seekers, 36 to 25 percent of associate’s degree seekers, and 25 to 11 percent of certificate seekers).
Table 3.10. Number and percentage distribution of credential-seeking undergraduates, by career education major and credential sought: 1990, 2000, and 2004 (1.5 MB)
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