Guided by the frameworks of college-conocimiento and the cooling out function, this study examined the college choice process of Latina/o/x students who attended an under-resourced urban high school. Data for this study consisted of interviews with ten institutional agents, two oral history interviews with 34 Latina/o/x students, and observation…

The for-profit college sector is arguably the most controversial and least understood sector of higher education today. The past decade has ushered in a wealth of public concern and scrutiny as to whether for-profit colleges and universities are providing a quality education to underserved student populations. While their politicization has…

Background/Context: Scarce research has been conducted examining why students choose to attend higher priced for-profit institutions over community colleges. The authors suggest that increased national concern over proprietary higher education warrants an in-depth comparative case study of the choice factors utilized by for-profit and community…

The nature of the changing economic climate has resulted in drastic changes in the postsecondary education landscape. With record numbers of adult learners seeking to further their education, they are faced with numerous outlets, including traditional liberal universities and a variety of for-profit colleges and vocational schools that have…

For-profit, or proprietary, colleges are the fastest-growing postsecondary schools in the nation, enrolling a disproportionately high share of disadvantaged and minority students and those ill-prepared for college. Because these schools, many of them big national chains, derive most of their revenue from taxpayer-funded student financial aid, they…

The results of this study determined that community college students who transfer to for-profit institutions are indeed different from students who follow traditional routes defined as public and non-profit institutions. This study compares the demographic characteristics, academic experiences, and socioeconomic factors of California community…

Logistic regression was employed to determine whether student transfer to for-profit, 4-year colleges (as opposed to other 4-year colleges) is a function of students' social background characteristics, the students' academic experiences at the community college, and the transfer context of the community college attended (i.e., the overall transfer…

For a business-person, the argument that making a profit leads to poor "product" quality would seem silly or worse, insulting. However, this is a common assumption in higher education. Similarly, increasing productivity (a typical business goal) has never been accepted as a worthy aspiration in higher education. In traditional…

California's legislature voted overwhelmingly to extend the charter of the Council for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education, which regulates most of the state's for-profit institutions and is credited with reducing fraudulent schools. The Republican governor, however, has vetoed the measure amid heavy lobbying by trade-school officials,…

A study is reported that sought to determine the extent of utilization of federal student aid programs at proprietary schools, to assess the role of federal support for needy students enrolled at proprietary schools, and to evaluate the relationship of financial aid to the recruitment and training of students. (JMD)