For-Profit Education

For-Profit Education
For-Profit education has been present for many years however has recently become a popular commodity. The for-profit educational world has been gaining popularity for a number of reasons. These include such aspects as access, student population, financial cost, etc. This paper will explore For-Profit education, a brief history, the students these institutions aim to serve, the intended focus of For-Profits and quality, the impact on higher education, and the roles of student affairs professionals within For-Profits.
For-Profit Education and Historical Development Before examining the development of For-Profits, it is important to define this type of education. Morey (2004) defines For-Profit education as “major providers
However first it is important to understand the focus of For-Profits. In his research, Floyd (2005) indicates that For-Profit institutions focus primarily on student learning and in-class engagement (Floyd, 2005). As in-class student learning and engagement are a key focus, the quality of this education should primarily rest in the hands of faculty and educators. It has been noted that For-Profit education has used both full time and part time professors. An interesting model that some For-Profit colleges use is called the disaggregated Faculty Model. This model relies on part-time faculty and these faculty must have earned at least a masters degree. In addition to teaching part-time, the faculty are also required to have a full-time job in the field of their degree (Floyd, 2005). Research has shown that For-Profit faculty say they teach for self-satisfaction and spend at least five to ten hours in preparation for class (Floyd, 2005). Although it seems as though these professors are professionally qualified, it is noted that there is a lack of research that address the teaching effectiveness of For-Profits, and this is something that needs to be further explored. Another indicator of the quality of this type of education is type of accreditation the institution receives. This determines the quality and prestige based upon the U.S. department of Education standards. Accreditation will
Kinser (2006) notes that “while most for-profit institutions are accredited by national agencies, a growing number are becoming regionally accredited” (p.266). One reason it is important and a goal of many For-Profits to become regionally accredited is that “regional accreditors which accredit most traditional institutions of higher education are the longest standing accreditors and are considered to be the most prestigious of institutional accrediting organizations” (Floyd, 2005, p. 552). The Regional Accreditor’s also noted that the overall approach to accrediting For-Profits is not any different then the approach to accrediting public and private Non-Profits (Floyd, 2005). In his study, Kinser (2005) also found that many regionally accredited For-Profits have traditional academic roles. However it should also be noted that Kinser (2005) did find that many regionally accredited For-Profit institutions also market the opportunity to complete studies in a shorter amount of