Proprietary schools represent a growing segment of the total educational effort of this country and one which often has been misunderstood by the public education community. While greater cooperation is desirable between proprietary trade schools and non-proprietary schools providing similar job training, the prejudice of traditional educators toward vocational education for profit and the proprietor's desire to protect his investment are barriers to such cooperative efforts. Proprietary schools are currently in a growth period, primarily due to increasing enrollments and a growing reluctance on the part of states to increase funding for public postsecondary education. Although the tremendous growth of private trade schools in the early sixties brought with it certain abuses, the development of strong trade associations, including the National Association of Trade and Technical Schools (NATTS), helped proprietary schools in the seventies build a solid reputation for ethically-run, quality programs which have a high rate of success in terms of job placement. The Medix School's success depends largely on an effective mix of student recruitment, the education process, job placement, and institution management. Few studies have been conducted of private career schools or their students; this appears to be an unmet need in vocational research and development. Perhaps there is a model or method that can combine the effective features of proprietary schools and the public sector which offer students a better learning opportunity. (Answers to questions from the audience of education research and development personnel are included.) (MEK)