[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-585136-105":59,"doc-detail-585136-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","restoring-equal-treatment-for-for-profit-colleges-the-center-for-excellence-in-higher-education-as-a-case-study","Restoring Equal Treatment for For-Profit Colleges - The Center for Excellence in Higher Education as a Case Study","","Backgrounder No. 3927 (Aug. 27, 2025) argues that U.S. policy has treated for-profit colleges (“proprietary”) unequally by focusing enforcement on them while public and nonprofit colleges face less oversight. It highlights conflicts between “access” and “outcomes,” notes widespread low graduation rates, and compares return on investment across institutions. The paper traces regulatory roots, especially changes to program participation agreements, and contends that uneven rules and federal overreach distort incentives in higher-education.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/restoring-equal-treatment-for-for-profit-colleges-the-center-for-excellence-in-higher-education-as-a-case-study/585136/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/restoring-equal-treatment-for-for-profit-colleges-the-center-for-excellence-in-higher-education-as-a-case-study/585136.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Maya Linwood","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":39},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What unequal treatment does the paper claim for-profit colleges face?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The paper argues that government enforcement targets for-profit (“proprietary”) colleges instead of addressing many problems at public and nonprofit institutions.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the report connect “access” to “outcomes”?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"It notes that college enrollment increased substantially over the 20th century, but access came with high costs and weak outcomes, including low graduation rates and inconsistent returns.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What regulatory mechanism does the paper highlight as part of the history?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"It points to 1992 amendments to program participation agreements (PPAs) under the Higher Education Act of 1965, aimed at mitigating incentives tied to enrollments or financial aid.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},585136,1792209378,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":39,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":44,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},962084928432,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","BACKGROUNDER  \nNo. 3927 | August 27, 2025  \nCENtER FOR EDuCAtION POLICY  \nRestoring Equal Treatment for For-Profit Colleges: The Center for Excellence in Higher Education as a Case Study  \nAdam Kissel  \nKEY TAKEAWAYS  \ntoo often, the government has not attempted to resolve the many problems at public and nonprofit colleges, targeting the for-profit (“proprietary”) sector instead.  \nIt should not be possible to shut down a college over a technical violation—but, under antagonistic actors, that is how regulations on for-profit colleges operate.  \nCongress should put an end to this unequal treatment, as well as ending federal overregulation of higher education.  \nAlong-standing tension exists in American  \nhigher education between “access” and “out  \ncomes.” The 20th century saw huge gains in the proportion of Americans attending college. In 1940, only 4.6 percent of Americans aged at least 25 had completed four years of college; in the 2020sthe figure has neared 38 percent.1  \nBut access came with high costs. Specifically, while federal and state governments spent more and more to subsidize tuition, of great financial pleasure to America’s colleges and America’s parents, the average IQ of college students over the same period declined from 119 to 102.2 College became normal instead of elite, a bachelor’s degree became a requirement for increasing numbers of jobs,3 and low graduation rates became an embarrassment at many colleges. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni reports that 197 colleges have a four-year graduation rate of  \nthis paper, in its entirety, can be found at [https://report.heritage.org/bg3927](https://report.heritage.org/bg3927)  \nthe Heritage Foundation | 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE | Washington, DC 20002 | (202) [546-4400 | heritage.org](546-4400 | heritage.org)[ ](546-4400 | heritage.org)Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before Congress.  \n25 percent or worse. More than 600 colleges cannot even graduate half of their students within four years.4  \nReturn on investment, meanwhile, varies widely and is often extremely negative, putting to shame the idea that college is an automatic ticket to prosperity. Consider, for example, Cornell University. The worst-performing degree is in plant sciences, for which students can expect a lifetime negative return of-$34,549 (or, factoring in the risk of dropping out before completing the degree, -$47,213). The return for a Cornell degree in animal sciences is a meager $19,841. Yet, a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Cornell offers an expected lifetime return of more than $4.6 million, and an “operations research” degree offers more than $3.7 million.5  \nThe outcomes of public and nonprofit colleges, however, are not regulated or scrutinized like those of for-profit colleges despite similar patterns. The lifetime return on investment for bachelor’s degrees at the for-profit University of Phoenix ranges from more than $2 million (nursing) and more than $1 million (computer science) to $48,084 (behavioral science) . For-profit Grand Canyon University’s outcomes range from about $1.5 million (nursing) and $1 million (homeland security) to a negative return of-$328,815 (theater). While the University of Phoenix has zero bachelor’s programs with a negative return on investment, for-profit DeVry University has one, and Grand Canyon University has 11 for those who graduate, mainly private nonprofit Cornell has one, and the public University of West Florida has eight.6 (Average return on investment is different for those who graduate from a program than for those who do not, so the return can switch between negative and positive for some programs.)  \nEasy money for student loans provides colleges with a positive narrative of “access” while offering a perverse incentive to get large numbers of people through the front door, regardless of whet","cbCaimWsg36UD9BP","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimWsg36UD9BP","pdf",192136,"English","# Key Takeaways\n## Unequal enforcement and regulatory antagonism\n## Access versus outcomes and graduation performance\n## Return on investment comparisons\n## Incentives created by student loans\n## Nonprofits Get a Pass, For-Profits Do Not","[{\"question\":\"What unequal treatment does the paper claim for-profit colleges face?\",\"answer\":\"The paper argues that government enforcement targets for-profit (“proprietary”) colleges instead of addressing many problems at public and nonprofit institutions.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the report connect “access” to “outcomes”?\",\"answer\":\"It notes that college enrollment increased substantially over the 20th century, but access came with high costs and weak outcomes, including low graduation rates and inconsistent returns.\"},{\"question\":\"What regulatory mechanism does the paper highlight as part of the history?\",\"answer\":\"It points to 1992 amendments to program participation agreements (PPAs) under the Higher Education Act of 1965, aimed at mitigating incentives tied to enrollments or financial aid.\"}]","Restoring Equal Treatment for For-Profit Colleges - The Center for Excellence in Higher Education as a Case Study | PDF",1792053788,23]