Stop the funeral dirges -- or celebratory hymns, depending on where you fall on the political spectrum.
Yes, Corinthian Colleges hit bust. Yes, ITT Education Services is facing serious scrutiny from state and federal agencies that may yet shut down the chain. Yes, the new federal gainful employment rule will have an effect on the sector. And certainly enrollment numbers at many for-profit institutions are dropping. But the industry's heralded doom is an exaggeration.
If anything, experts say it's a course correction amid a climate of intense scrutiny and increased regulation.
The decline is undoubtedly happening. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, for-profit student enrollment is down 4.9 percent compared to last spring. The enrollment decreases are playing a large part in driving down revenues and stock prices.
"It's shrinking. Has been shrinking. Will continue to shrink. Things are getting less worse, but stabilization is a ways off," said Jeff Silber, an education financial analyst with BMO Capital Markets.
But the demand for for-profit institutions is still there, even as enrollments fall from their peak in 2010, said Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities (APSCU) -- the for-profit sector's primary trade group. In 2012, approximately 3.5 million students attended for-profit institutions. That figure is lower than the 4 million students who were enrolled in 2010, but still higher than the 2.6 million figure in 2007, Gunderson said.
Yet the massive changes in the sector have even shaken up APSCU, which is shifting to focus less on large for-profit chains and more on the nonprofit education sector as a few high-profile members leave the association.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/07/15/profit-industry-struggling-has-not-reached-end-road