[member="Kian Karr"] | [member="Corvus Raaf"]
If I recall correctly, in the past when there were three academies within the Republic, they were split more or less based on the three main Jedi Paths and each did have some overlap for the sake of the needs of the residents (medical, etc), as well as defense -
Guardians - Tython
Consulars - Ossus
Sentinels - Ruusan
- of course, now that things have changed - they did ever since Tython was abandoned - so too do things need to shift, and specialization is an excellent way to do that.
My thought is that one should be more physical, and the other less so. As in, one academy would have your more obvious, direct and front-facing, combative pursuits (lightsaber, TK, etc), and the other would be your support and indirect stuff (Seers, Shadows, etc).
The latter goes to the fact that the Ruusan academy was always more... secretive, guarded, if I recall correctly. This makes sense to me, but whether it does to you all is another story entirely. ^_^