For-Profit Higher Education and Community Colleges

Abstract

The recent growth of for-profit educational providers has been one of the most watched trends in higher education (Blumenstyk, 2000; Burd, 1998; Selingo, 1999; Strosnider, 1998). Despite the widespread attention, surprisingly little concrete information exists about the for-profit phenomenon. Although the for-profit sector is not the only source of new competition in higher education, the highly publicized growth of some for-profit institutions has generated increasing anxiety among both private non-profit and public colleges and universities. To develop a better understanding of how these institutions compare to public community colleges with respect to their students and programs, the Community College Research Center joined with the National Center for Postsecondary Improvement (NCPI) to conduct a two-year study. The objective was to determine whether these two types of institutions are competitive or complementary and how community colleges have responded to the growth of the for-profits. The study contrasted national data on for-profits with national data on private non-profit and public postsecondary institutions, and examined case study data comparing a high-quality for-profit chain—which we call Tech College—to three public community colleges located near branches of the chain. Overall, the study identified two significant conclusions. Our analysis of available data indicates that although for-profit enrollments are growing, the market share remains small. The for-profits are not likely to become a major competitive threat to overall community college enrollments in the foreseeable future. The increase in community college enrollments in the midto late-1990s exceeded the total for-profit enrollment in the twoyear sector. But our case study suggests that the for-profit experience has important lessons for community colleges, especially with respect to student services, program flexibility, the use of data for program improvement, curriculum development, and a focus on outcomes.