Postsecondary Options for Vermont Students

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OVERVIEW

The field of higher education comprises many organizations, institutions and options that students, families and other stakeholders—including philanthropists—must understand and navigate to be successful.

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THE FACTS

Vermont Colleges and Universities

  • Vermont has one research university, five public colleges and 17 private colleges.
  • Vermont postsecondary institutions enroll a total of 42,198 students—19,480 from Vermont and 22,718 from outside of the state.
  • Vermont college students are more likely to look out of state for their postsecondary education. Forty-two percent of first-time college freshmen in Vermont stayed in-state to attend college, compared to 84% of first-time freshmen nationwide.

Two- and Four-Year Institutions

  • Vermont, as in most other states, provides three types of public colleges: community colleges that award two-year associate degrees; colleges that award bachelor’s degrees; and a research university that also offers doctoral and advanced professional degree programs.
  • The Vermont State Colleges include Community College of Vermont, Vermont Technical College, Johnson State College, Castleton State College, and Lyndon State College, almost all of which offer four-year degrees. (Community College of Vermont offers two-year programs.) The state also has 17 private colleges, which offer four-year and some master’s degree programs; the University of Vermont is the state’s sole research university.

Public vs. Private

  • Public institutions traditionally are supported primarily by the state. In Vermont, the state provides about 8% of the University of Vermont’s funding and about 20% of the funding for each of the five public colleges—a lower proportion than in nearly every other state in the country.
  • Private colleges are supported primarily through tuition, fees, and contributions. They typically operate independently, though many build partnerships with other private colleges and, in Vermont, with state colleges.

Technical and Vocational-Technical Programs

  • Technical colleges serve traditional college-age and adult students, providing vocational training in technical and mechanical fields, while vocational-technical programs provide classroom and practical experiences for high school students during the day and workforce training for adults in the evenings. Vermont has one postsecondary technical institute, Vermont Technical College, as well as 15 regional technical centers, and six comprehensive high schools—offering 64 career and technical programs.
  • Vermont Technical College offers associate degrees in fields such as engineering design, agribusiness, software engineering, and nursing, as well as some four-year degrees.

Download the data supplements to learn more about postsecondary options for Vermont students

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