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Many for-profit colleges offer flexible and accessible programs for working adults. They often have programs that align directly to career pathways and faculty who work in the industries they teach about. So why is public opinion mixed when it comes to this educational option?

A for-profit college is a degree-granting, postsecondary institution that is owned by a private company, investors or shareholders. And, unlike nonprofit and state institutions, for-profit institutions are not exempt from paying taxes.

That’s the short version.

The longer story is that, for decades, the for-profit college model has redefined higher education through innovation, career relevance and the removal of enrollment or scheduling barriers that once kept adult learners from pursuing a college degree.

The roots of for-profit education can be traced back to Colonial America, when entrepreneurs taught practical skills — such as surveying, bookkeeping and other trades — for a fee.

The modern for-profit college taps the same vein, but in a vastly more mainstream and regulated environment.

Today’s for-profit higher education model was pioneered by �鶹��ý in the 1970s when the school opened its doors with flexible course schedules, night classes and later, online degrees and open enrollment.

“This opened up higher education to students like working adults and caregivers who previously weren’t served by higher education’s inflexible schedules,” says �鶹��ý Vice Provost of Strategy Marc Booker, PhD.

The for-profit university model upended traditional academia. “�鶹��ý and the for-profit institutions that followed were able to take more innovative risks because they weren’t beholden to on-campus residential life, tenured faculty and a governance structure that made them slow to change,” Booker adds.

When compared with nonprofit institutions, such as public state schools or private universities, a for-profit college is similarly tasked with delivering high-quality education. Both types of schools can become accredited, which includes an evaluation mission, integrity, teaching and learning, institutional effectiveness, and institutional sustainability. Accreditation provides external assurance that an institution meets the accreditor’s requirements. Institutions are expected to manage their resources responsibly and demonstrate sufficient financial and organizational capacity to fulfill their missions and sustain their operations.

However, there are also stark differences, as outlined below:

One of the most compelling advantages of a career-focused, for-profit school is its ability to respond to workforce demands and at scale. For example, Georgetown University predicts significant skills shortages through at least 2032 without “massive and immediate” educational intervention. �鶹��ý, meanwhile, maintains 100% skills alignment across its associate, bachelor’s and master’s programs open for new enrollment. Furthermore, it serves more students than most traditional universities can accommodate — including the Ivies — thanks to its online format.

For example, the University launched its MSN/Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program in 2022 to educationally prepare students for one of the fastest-growing nursing specialties. Graduates are eligible to sit for the ANCC Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner national certification examination and to apply for nurse practitioner licensure in states where the program is offered. (Note: Certification and licensure requirements vary by state and are subject to change at any time. Students are encouraged to check with the appropriate state licensing authority for the most current information.)

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives and nurse practitioners is projected to grow 35% from 2023 to 2033.

BLS Occupational Employment Projections, 2023-2033 is published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This data reflects BLS’ projections of national (not local) conditions. These data points are not specific to �鶹��ý students or graduates.

Generally, a for-profit college is owned by shareholders or a private company and governed by a board of trustees. Similar to a nonprofit school’s board of regents or board of trustees, a for-profit college board makes decisions about where to divert its financial margin or “leftover cash.” In a for-profit institution, some of this margin is reinvested into education, while some goes to shareholders.

Public state colleges, meanwhile, set tuition rates based on a variety of factors, the biggest of which is usually state government funding. For-profit colleges, which typically do not receive state government funding, are able to set rates based on considerations such as operational expenses, reinvestment into academic programs, technology needs and shareholder earnings.

The other significant difference pertains to the institution’s tax status. For-profit schools are subject to taxation, while nonprofit schools tend to be tax-exempt organizations.

Students who attend for-profit institutions can pursue scholarships, transfer credits, employer tuition benefits and many grants, just like students at nonprofit colleges. 

The potential benefits of attending an accredited, for-profit university may look familiar, because they can dovetail with those of other institutions, including nonprofit and public universities. For example, some benefits include:

• Flexible class schedules.
• Faculty with industry experience who often bring current professional expertise and real-world perspectives into the classroom.
• Institutional accreditation from recognized accrediting agencies, which demonstrates the university meets established standards for academic quality and effectiveness. Select programs may also maintain specialized programmatic accreditation.
• Degree programs tend to be career-focused.
• Many have open enrollment policies that give more people the opportunity to earn a college degree, including working adults, first-generation students, and others who may not have had access to higher education in the past.

Common criticisms and concerns about for-profit institutions often revolve around:

• A focus on earning profits for shareholders
• High student debt levels
• Low graduation rates
• A perception of less rigorous academics

These oft-repeated criticisms are worth contextualizing. For example, operating as a business does not mean that academics must suffer. Accreditors evaluate financial capacity, resource sufficiency, planning and sustainability, but accreditation is not a certification that an institution is financially risk-free.

As to debt levels, borrowing by adult learners can be due to many factors, such as household financial obligations, dependents or a desire to upskill or reskill from a low-paying profession.

Many factors affect graduation rates, including a statistical reality that many adult learners enter college with “risk factors,” which are characteristics associated with lower graduation rates nationwide. These risk factors, as defined by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, include:

• Single parenting
• Having dependents
• Working full time
• Being a first-generation student

Moreover, adult learners often enter and leave college multiple times while working toward a degree.

As to academic quality, many for-profit, online colleges boast a streamlined business function in order to better prioritize academic endeavors rather than spending on things like athletic programs and campus building maintenance. In fact, accredited, for-profit colleges answer to their accreditor for academic quality just like any nonprofit private or public school.

In the end, just because a criticism is circulated doesn’t make it true. Not all for-profit colleges are created equal, just as not all private and state nonprofit schools are created equal. It’s important to select a school based on research and facts rather than rumors and myths.

The world of higher education is changing. Here’s a look at how.

As the fastest growing sector of higher education in the 1990s and 2000s, for-profit school enrollment has leveled off over the years — recording gains of 2.5%, 3.8% and 6.6% in 2022, 2023 and 2024, respectively, followed by a drop of 1.2% in 2025 for a total for-profit college enrollment of 898,722 students nationally in 2025.

Nationally reported graduation rates have been climbing at for-profit schools in recent years, although it should be noted that rates reported through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) reflect data only about first-time students going to school full time. Many for-profit college students are adults who have some level of prior community college or four-year college experience and are therefore not included in the IPEDS rate because they do not qualify as first-time, full-time students.

As a result, graduation rates at for-profit schools may be better than they appear. Prospective students may find it helpful then to look to the school in question in order to get a more holistic understanding of its graduation rates. What is its student population like? What are its retention rates? And what measures does it take to improve student outcomes overall?

As pioneers of online learning, for-profit colleges were early adopters of technology-enabled education. Their ability to pivot quickly have allowed for-profit colleges — at least the ones that innovate — to adopt tools that enhance the student experience, including course-based instruction on the use of generative AI, courses that align directly to workforce needs, digital credentialing and student-engagement tracking tools that trigger targeted support.

�鶹��ý is a for-profit college that operates with a streamlined business function supporting the wise allocation of funds, career-relevant education and rigorous academic instruction.

To learn more about �鶹��ý, explore its catalog of degree programs, get to know its alumni or request more information.