A study compared public, private, and proprietary postsecondary institutions in terms of job placement activities and services for graduates and student retention. A 10-item questionnaire was mailed to 300 randomly selected colleges and universities from 4 geographical areas of the United States--Northeast, Midwest, South, and West. Data from the 160 usable responses indicated that the proprietary institutions were generally smaller and were more likely to offer only short-term, skill-intensive training programs. College-sponsored job interviews were the most beneficial form of job placement assistance provided. Graduates from proprietary institutions sought employment immediately following graduation at a significantly higher rate than did graduates from public and nonproprietary institutions. Graduates from proprietary institutions were most likely to gain employment and work in their selected career fields. Graduates from midwestern proprietary institutions gained employment in their selected career area at a rate of 93 percent compared with a rate of 53.46 for graduates from public institutions located in the South. Private and proprietary institutions were more likely to retain students until graduation, and graduates from proprietary institutions took an average of 4.61 weeks to find employment as opposed to 9.55 weeks from public and 11.21 weeks from private institutions. (A copy of the survey instrument is appended to this report.) (MN)