Assessing a Moving Target: Research on For-Profit Higher Education in the United States

• In Event: Perceptions of a moving target: how for-profit higher education is viewed globally

Proposal

Interest in for-profit higher education in the United States has increased over the past decade, with the rise and fall of large for-profit institutions. A decade ago, there were few people who had devoted more than a passing interest to the study of for-profit higher education. The production of research since that time shows that is no longer the case. A growing body of literature examines the many aspects of for-profit higher education, including business models, students, and financial aid. Studies also offer a range of assessments of how the sector is growing or shrinking, earning or losing financial standing, serving the needs of their students and society or bilking them for profit. The literature is often quite critical of the for-profit sector, though the bias is not always supported by empirical evidence. Yet the research is still incomplete, and the findings preliminary. In particular, as fast-changing entities, for-profit institutions are highly responsive to new regulations and oversight. This makes the sector difficult to assess and creates a moving target of scholarship. The full complexity of the for-profit sector remains unexamined.

This paper explores a decade of the literature to assess the research that has been conducted and identify conclusions and gaps in scholarship. After introducing the changing nature of the for-profit higher education and the recent development of scholarly interest in the sector, the paper covers major categories of scholarship on for-profit higher education, including accreditation and quality, business models, employment, attendance, financial aid and the regulatory environment. It concludes with a review of the findings and where gaps exist. A final section suggests several perspectives on the study of for-profit higher education that should influence future scholarship. In particular, three areas need further attention. First, there is the urgency of identifying categorizations that are important to the for-profit sector rather than repeating those that make sense for traditional institutions. Next, research is needed to examine the impact of different ownership types on for-profit organization and staffing, how students experience their education, and the outcomes of the education provided. Finally, scholars should reconsider assumptions about the distinctiveness of for-profit higher education compared to the public and nonprofit sectors.

Author

• Kevin Kinser, Penn State University