Glenn further noted both the comparative amount spent by proprietary institutions for instruction and their tuition. Using data from The Condition of Education 2011, the writer stated: In 2008-9 for-profit institutions spent far less on instruction than did colleges in other sectors. Among four-year institutions, for-profits' instructional expenditures averaged $2,659 per full-time student, as opposed to $9,418 at public colleges and $15,289 at private nonprofit colleges. But tuition at for-profit institutions was not correspondingly lower. The average net price for full-time dependent undergraduates in 2007-8 was $30,900 at four-year for-profit institutions, versus $26,600 at private nonprofit colleges and $15,600 at public institutions. (David Glenn, ―Annual Portrait of Education Documents Swift Rise of For-Profit Colleges,‖ The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 26, 2011.) http://chronicle.com/article/Annual-Portrait-of-Education/127639/
Commenting on that same 2011 Department of Education report, writer Mary Beth Marklein described the typical students enrolled in proprietary institutions as well as electronic instructional modes utilized. As she noted, ―For profit colleges were more likely to enroll full-time students 25 and older than [sic], and to enroll students in distance education such as online courses. Nearly one in five students (19%) attending for-profit four-year colleges were enrolled entirely in distance education.‖ (Mary Beth Marklein, ―For-profit colleges see major gains in past decade,‖ USA TODAY, May 26, 2011.) http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-05-26-for-profit-college-undergraduateenrollment_n.htm
For additional information on the sector of higher education alternatively referred to as "for-profit/private sector/corporate," data released by the U.S. Education Department on April 6, 2010, can be accessed at this link from Inside Higher Ed: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/04/07/enroll On June 24, 2010, Chairman Tom Harkin opened hearings by the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions regarding forprofit higher education. At the outset, a report was issued; it contained the following conclusions: The Federal government and taxpayers are making a large and rapidly growing investment in financial aid to for-profit schools, with few tools in place to gauge how well that money is being spent. Available data show that very few students enroll in for-profit schools without taking on debt, while a staggering number of students are leaving the schools, presumably many without completing a degree or certificate. To boost enrollment, some for-profit schools recruit large numbers of new students each year. In some cases, schools enroll more students over the 148