For-Profit Colleges and Universities: Their Markets, Regulation, Performance, and Place in Higher Education

by Guilbert C. Hentschke (Editor), Vicente M. Lechuga (Editor), William G. Tierney (Editor)

Do for-profit colleges and universities (FPCUs) pose a threat to traditional providers of higher education, or do they play a vital role at a time when the capacity of public and private non-profits to meet demand is constrained? With the US no longer the leader in developing a college-educated workforce, can FPCUs help redress the competitive gap? What can be learned from the management practices and growth of FPCUs – that now number close to 3,000 institutions in the US – whose increase in enrollments has out-paced that of traditional institutions, and who now grant around 8% of all degrees? This book offers a clear-eyed and balanced analysis of for-profit colleges and universities, reviewing their history, business strategies, and management practices; setting them in the context of marketplace conditions, the framework of public policy and government regulations; and viewing them in the light of the public good.Individual chapters variously explore FPCU’s governance, how they develop courses and programs, and the way they define faculty work; present findings from in-depth interviews with part-time and full-time faculty to understand how external forces and the imperative of profit generation affect faculty roles and responsibilities of faculty; analyze policy considerations that affect FPCUs, including federal regulation and oversight, accountability and assessment, and the legal and regulatory issues FPCUs face internationally; and finally address the notion of academic freedom and the distribution of public monies to FPCUs. Looking beyond FPCUs’ current strategy of offering career programming to non-traditional students, the book reveals how they are positioning themselves to meet future market needs by developing new programs targeting a wider group of students.Recognizing that FPCUs are more developing than fully developed, the authors convey both the current state and the unresolved issues facing these businesses, and, in so doing, surface enduring topics that face all of post-secondary education.

220 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Scott Holstad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly solid piece on a controversial subject. Recommended for those interested.

[Emma M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book For-Profit Colleges and Universities is comprised of essays that each work to explore various aspects of the for-profit market of higher education, both in the United States and abroad. Each essay contains a slightly different focus and spans from the types of for-profit institutions found to the history of accountability in education. This book is jammed pack with good information that will make the reader think about how our system of education can be improved. It will also reveal areas in which for-profit schools and others are succeeding.

There were many aspects of For-Profit Colleges and Universities that I appreciated. First and foremost was the fact that each author seemed to make a conscience effort to remain unbiased toward the subject matter. Never at any point did I feel as if the authors were trying to persuade me that the for-profit colleges should be accepted or shunned. I never felt as though for-profit schools or traditional schools were better than one another. I also never felt as if the author was trying to highlight only the positive and disguise the negative aspects. Instead each author worked to provide the reader with the facts pertaining to the various aspects of the industry so that the reader could see the complete picture and draw their own conclusion.

What really helped contribute to this unbiased presentation was the overwhelming amount of references drawn from listed at the end of each chapter. I really always enjoy seeing a plethora of references because it helps the reader not only feel some confidence in what is being said, but it also serves as a great springboard to further explore other ideas and topics.

My main complaint concerning For-Profit Colleges and Universities is the fact that it is very dry reading that can be tedious to weed through. However, it does bring up a lot of information and points that I had not thought of before which really led me to look outside of the book for additional information.

I also noticed that the voice was not consistent throughout the book. This is not a huge surprise given that numerous authors contributed. However I would have hoped that the editors would have made an effort to make the tone and voice somewhat consistent. I doubt that many readers will notice this. My undergraduate studies were in English so it has become one of my pet peeves.

Overall, I found this book to be a very informative, enlightening read. I went into my reading thinking that I was very much against for-profit education and have ended my reading thinking that maybe it is not the great evil I once thought. I have begun to realize why for-profit schools exist and am beginning to see how they can be beneficial. With that said, there is still a lot that needs to be done in order to ensure that the students enrolled are receiving the quality of education promised, but I have hopes that someday the traditional schools and the for-profit schools can coexist peacefully and may even learn to work with one another.