1. Online & For-Profit Education:
A View from the Other Side
Dr. Anthony Piña
Dean of Online Studies,
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

2. A Personal Journey
• 25 years in Ed Tech
– Began 1987 at BYU
– 7 yr community college
– 18 yr university
– Faculty & administrator
– Consultant
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

3. A Personal Journey
• 35 publications
• 150 presentations
• 200 workshops
• AECT
– Past-President of DDL
– AECT Board of Directors
• Editorial Board
– QRDE
– JOCM
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

4. About For-Profit Education?
• Private-sector/proprietary
• Not new
– Ancient Greek tutors
– U.S. private schools late 1800s
• Decline in early-mid 20th cent.
– Increase in public education
• Rise since mid 70s
– Sharp rise since 90s
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

5. Why For-Profit Education?
• Program development
• Entrepreneurship
• Decision making
• Commitment to students
• Business sense
• Open to innovation & change
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

6. Myths & Misunderstanding
• All are alike
• It’s about profit, not education
• Public education is cheaper
• High tuition/high debt
• Unqualified students
• High attrition
• Worthless degrees
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

7. Criticisms
• It’s all about profits, not
about education
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

8. The Truth About Profits
• Critics do not understand difference
– Large public-traded corporation
– Small family-owned business
• When did operating in the red become a
desirable business practice?
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

9. Criticisms
• For-profits soak their
students with high tuition
and debt
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

10. The Truth About Tuition
Institution Undergraduate Tuition
(per semester unit)
Sullivan University $377 ($283 quarter)
University of Louisville $373 ($903 non-resident)
Indiana Wesleyan Univ. $467
Strayer University $550
University of Phoenix $570
Spalding University $645
Bellarmine University $730
Campbellsville University $846
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

11. Criticisms
• Community colleges are
better than for-profits
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

12. Research Studies
• Parthenon Group Study
– Compared 2-year programs over 2,100 public &
private sector schools
• NCES Beginning Post-secondary Survey
– Compared 5-year income levels of 19,000
students in 2-year public & private sector schools
• American Institutes for Research
– Compared the 5-year cost to taxpayers for
community college dropouts
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

13. Parthenon Study
Public Private Sector
(n=1,250) (n=860)
At risk students 33% 50%
Graduation rate 44% 65%
Graduation rate 36% 64%
(minority)
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

14. NCES Post-Secondary Survey
Public Private Sector
(n=890) (n-600)
Pre-enrollment $20,300 $14,700
income
Post enrollment $27,600 $22,500
income
Income gain $7,300 $7,900
Percent gain 36% 54%
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

15. American Institutes for Research
Source of taxpayer Cost for community
revenue college dropouts
State & local tax $2.95 billion
appropriations
Total state grants $241 million
Total federal grants $660 million
Total costs $3.85 billion
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

16. Sullivan Global e-Learning
• 4,000 SUS students
• 58 online programs
– Degrees, certificates, dipl
omas & concentrations
• 500+ courses
• 150+ faculty
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

17. Sullivan University Online
Student
Financial
Admissions Academic
Planning
Services
Re-Entry Instructional Faculty
Coordinator Services
Outside
Administration
Partners
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

18. Why SUS is Different
• Established
– Sullivan 50 years old
• Programs based on market
research
• Locks tuition
– Public colleges raise tuition
• 90% of profits put back into
the school
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

19. About Sullivan
• Online courses fill at 25
– Most have lower
enrollment
• Quarterly online
retention 88-92%
• Career services
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

20. Online vs. Total Enrollments
Total Enrollment Online Enrollment %
2002 16.61 million 1.60 million 9.6
2003 16.91 1.97 11.7
2004 17.27 2.33 13.5
2005 17.49 3.18 18.2
2006 17.76 3.49 19.8
2007 18.25 3.94 21.9
2008 18.70 4.61 25.3
2009 19.04 5.58 29.3
Avg. H.E. Total Growth Avg. Online Growth
1.9% 19%
Source: National Center for Education Statistics & Sloan-C
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.

21. Online & For-Profit Education:
A View from the Other Side
Dr. Anthony Piña
Dean of Online Studies,
© 2012 by Anthony A. Piña, Ed.D.