This volume begins its global tour with the case of Mexico. The Mexican case is significant because of its original importance in defining the primary types of private higher education. It shows trends that reflect rapid transformations in the country and tensions in developing countries at the intersection of resource constraints, relatively weak…

The private sector's role in higher education access has received limited attention, though the expansion of the sector globally has immediate implications for the ability of the system to serve more students. In the U.S. case, the private sector includes both nonprofit and for-profit forms, with the for-profit institutions comparable in critical…

The University of Phoenix is a unique institution, and its presence has certainly influenced postsecondary education. It has played a significant role in the recognition and accreditation of institutions with campuses in many states, and its accelerated, career-oriented programs represent a real innovation in teaching working adults. From a policy…

The recent growth of for-profit higher education has been marked by the rising importance of institutional ownership by publicly traded corporations. This paper looks at 13 publicly traded corporations that own degree-granting for-profit institutions of higher education in the United States, examining corporate growth strategies and their…