For Profit U Through the Eyes of IPEDS: Warts and All

Abstract

According to the institutional data collections maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education, “Private for-profit” institutions are “private institutions in which the individual(s) or agency in control receives compensation other than wages, rent, or other expenses for the assumption of risk.” This definition comes from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), through which the federal government has been tracking U.S. higher education activity since 1987. This chapter provides a descriptive analysis of “Private, for-profit” institutions within the full landscape of postsecondary institutions included in the “IPEDS Universe.” This universe currently numbers 7,737 “institutional entities,” among which 3,432 (44%) are in the For-Profit category.

Note: The analysis reported in this chapter was completed in 2013 when the most recently available national data pertained to the 2011–12 academic year. The most notable change since this time has been a general decline in enrollments at For-Profit institutions. Thus, this analysis represents the point in time when For-Profit enrollments had reached their historical high point.