Rise and fall of the for-profit college industry in the US: PBS Frontline’s 2010 documentary College Inc. (watch, runtime: 55:13) takes a look at the rise of for-profit universities in the US, how they have changed the higher education landscape and how a series of shady practices may have brought about its downfall. The rise of for-profit colleges has demonstrated that there is a market for those that traditional higher education has failed (or who have rather failed out of higher education). The market had been growing immensely prior to 2010, witnessing even IPOs and M&As, targeting mostly adult-age individuals continuing their education, lower middle-income students, single parents and others who have been unable to meet rising tuitions at traditional universities. These students had been lured with the promise of an effective degree which would help them compete in a post-financial crisis job market, but by 2010, many of them were filing lawsuits.

The Obama administration also began tightening regulations, threatening to upend the industry. Institutions closed down campuses as enrollment levels dropped. Yet while the industry struggles to clean house, many of those whom they have served continue to struggle to get access to higher education.