For-profit institutions are thought to fill the educational gap when traditional nonprofit colleges fail to serve the needs of an evolving student population. Over the past several decades, the enrollment share of undergraduate students attending for-profit institutions in lieu of traditional nonprofit institutions has expanded substantially. While this growth has been noted by researchers, comparatively little is known about what determinants impact the state enrollment share of students attending for-profit institutions. Furthermore, the chronicling of state policy directed at for-profit institutions has not been completed in a concise and accessible manner. This study uses a panel dataset spanning the years 1997 to 2015 to measure for-profit enrollment to determine the effects of select state-level policy variables on the undergraduate enrollment share of for-profit institutions. Results of this study showed that state policies do impact for-profit enrollment share. After cataloging relevant state policies, 18 laws across 10 states were found to directly address the for-profit sector. As predicted, laws favorable to for-profit institutions (positive laws) were found to increase for-profit enrollment share and laws regulating for-profit institutions (negative laws) were found to decrease for-profit enrollment share. Educational appropriations per student FTE and the existence of a consolidated governing board were also found as controllable variables that impact for-profit enrollment share. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]