School dropout for nontraditional college students continues to increase without fully understanding the students' experiences of making this impactful decision. This study explored those experiences as well as the commonalities among the sample of nontraditional college students who attended for-profit institutions. Utilizing a generic,…

While the phenomenon of academic entrepreneurship has been explored in different higher education sectors, it has not been sufficiently investigated in the private for-profit 2-year sector of the education industry. The present study fills this gap by narrating the perspectives of twelve academic entrepreneurs who operate private for-profit…

Private postsecondary education leaders are concerned with the value of education and the benefits students receive after graduation. Federal regulations dictate that private postsecondary education institutions will not qualify for Title IV funds if they do not meet minimum student outcome requirements, including cohort default rates and 90/10…

Despite the massive influx of new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion roles created across the public and private sectors since 2020, there remains a glaring gap in research in this critical area. While existing research showcases the disparities that systems of oppression created for Black women, what's missing is research providing actionable…

Whether it is advances in information technology, organized social movements, or racial inequality and social class stratification, higher education serves as a lens for examining significant issues within American society. First published in 1998, "American Higher Education in the Twenty-First Century" offers a comprehensive…

Much of the research on for-profit institutions provides quantitative analyses at the institutional level on enrollment, graduation, career placement rates and gainful employment, and student loan default rates. However, limited research examines the lived experiences of Black students who attend for-profit colleges and universities. This study…

The coronavirus pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to higher education, intensifying long-standing systemic inequities in college affordability and access. For many students, the total cost of attendance exceeds what they can afford, even with financial aid. The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) provided a crucial financial…

This study explores the choices and experiences of undergraduates who transfer out of for-profit 4-year universities and matriculate into a public university. Interviews with students who moved from one of seven 4-year for-profit universities to a single public university during Fall 2021 indicated a combination of academic and financial factors…

While there is research in the online environment on women's experiences (Muller, 2008), and African American/Black students more generally, (Kuo, 2014; Okwumabua, 2011), there is a critical gap with regards to the experiences of African American/Black women (Young, 2020; Ashong & Commander, 2012; Okwumabua, 2011). To address this gap, this…

The increased privatisation of educational systems is a global trend with several important implications for teachers' preparation and workforce outcomes. With many countries facing teacher shortages, retention for novice teachers is a key area of focus for educational leaders and policymakers -- yet there is a lack of evidence related to the…

Geography of opportunity research has identified places with few or no college options: so-called "education deserts." This study extends this geography of opportunity research, exploring how geographical constraints affect students' choices, particularly the choice to attend a for-profit college. Using the Education Longitudinal Study…

In most markets, consumers of goods and services have vastly more options available to them than they will consider closely. At the point of making a decision, consumers are choosing between only a small subset (i.e., a consideration set) of all possible alternatives. The preceding process that forms these consideration sets is the focus of this…

This report describes a study of healthcare training programs that CCRC conducted to understand the current role that community colleges play in training healthcare workers, including public health workers. In an analysis of 2019-20 data from the U.S. Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the authors…

With the increase in students attending for profit open-enrollment universities (FPU), there is a need to understand the learning experiences of these students. There is a gap in the research that identifies faculty's teaching and learning experiences in FPUs. The topic of this generic qualitative study was the experiences and perceptions of…

Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA; P.L. 89-329), as amended, authorizes programs that provide financial assistance to students to pursue postsecondary education at eligible institutions of higher education (IHEs). In academic year (AY) 2022-2023 (July 1, 2022-June 30, 2023), 5,918 domestic institutions had written agreements with the U.S.…