The For-Profit Postsecondary School Sector: Nimble Critters or Agile Predators?

45 Pages Posted: 31 Dec 2011 Last revised: 24 May 2023

See all articles by David Deming

David Deming

Academic Dean, Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

David James Deming

Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS)

Claudia Goldin

Harvard University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Lawrence F. Katz

Harvard University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: December 2011

Abstract

Private for-profit institutions have been the fastest growing part of the U.S. higher education sector. For-profit enrollment increased from 0.2 percent to 9.1 percent of total enrollment in degree-granting schools from 1970 to 2009, and for-profit institutions account for the majority of enrollments in non-degree granting postsecondary schools. We describe the schools, students, and programs in the for-profit higher education sector, its phenomenal recent growth, and its relationship to the federal and state governments. Using the 2004 to 2009 Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) longitudinal survey we assess outcomes of a recent cohort of first-time undergraduates who attended for-profits relative to comparable students who attended community colleges or other public or private non-profit institutions. We find that relative to these other institutions, for-profits educate a larger fraction of minority, disadvantaged, and older students, and they have greater success at retaining students in their first year and getting them to complete short programs at the certificate and associate degree levels. But we also find that for-profit students end up with higher unemployment and "idleness" rates and lower earnings six years after entering programs than do comparable students from other schools, and that they have far greater student debt burdens and default rates on their student loans.

Suggested Citation

Deming, David and Deming, David James and Goldin, Claudia and Katz, Lawrence F., The For-Profit Postsecondary School Sector: Nimble Critters or Agile Predators? (December 2011). NBER Working Paper No. w17710, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1977761

David Deming (Contact Author)

Academic Dean, Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

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David James Deming

Harvard University - Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) ( email )

Claudia Goldin

Harvard University - Department of Economics ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

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Lawrence F. Katz

Harvard University - Department of Economics ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/katz/katz

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