<P> TAFEs and other providers carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around the mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults enhance their numeracy and literacy skills . Most Australian universities can also be traced back to such forerunners, although obtaining a university charter has always changed their nature . In TAFEs and colleges today, courses are designed for personal development of an individual and / or for employment outcomes . Educational programs cover a variety of topics such as arts, languages, business and lifestyle, and are usually timetabled to run two, three or four days of the week, depending on the level of the course undertaken . A Certificate I may only run for 4 hours twice a week for a term of 9 weeks . A full - time Diploma course might have classes 4 days per week for a year (36 weeks). Some courses may be offered in the evenings or weekends to accommodate people working full - time . Funding for colleges may come from government grants and course fees, and many are not - for - profit organisations . There are located in metropolitan, regional and rural locations of Australia . </P> <P> Learning offered by TAFEs and colleges has changed over the years . By the 1980s many colleges had recognised a community need for computer training and since then thousands of people have been up - skilled through IT courses . The majority of colleges by the late 20th century had also become Registered Training Organisations, recognising the need to offer individuals a nurturing, non-traditional education venue to gain skills that would better prepare them for the workplace and potential job openings . TAFEs and colleges have not traditionally offered bachelor's degrees, instead providing pathway arrangements with universities to continue towards degrees . The American innovation of the associate degree is emerging at some institutions . Certificate courses I to IV, diplomas and advanced diplomas are typically offered, the latter deemed equivalent to an undergraduate qualification, albeit typically in more vocational areas . Recently, some TAFE institutes (and private providers) have also become higher education providers in their own right and are now starting to offer bachelor's degrees programs . </P> <P> In Canada, colleges are adult educational institutions that provide higher education and tertiary education, and grant certificates and diplomas . As well, in Ontario, the 24 colleges of applied arts and technology have been mandated to offer their own stand - alone degrees as well as to offer joint degrees with universities through "articulation agreements" that often result in students emerging with both a diploma and a degree . Thus, for example, the University of Guelph "twins" with Humber College and York University does the same with Seneca College . More recently, however, colleges have been offering a variety of their own degrees, often in business and technical fields . The academic and economic value of the college degree is still being tested in the marketplace . Each province has its own educational system, as prescribed by the Canadian federalism model of governance . In the mid-1960s and early 1970s, most Canadian colleges began to provide practical education and training for the emerging baby boom generation, and for immigrants from around the world who were entering Canada in increasing numbers at that time . A formative trend was the merging of the then separate vocational training and adult education (night school) institutions . </P> <P> Canadian colleges are either publicly funded or private post-secondary institutions (run for profit). There are 150 institutions that are generally equivalent to the US community college in certain contexts . They are usually referred to simply as "colleges" since in common usage a degree - granting institution is almost exclusively a university . </P>

What is the difference between community college and junior college