For-profit colleges under scrutiny

Enrollment, revenue

In the past decade, the for-profit sector of higher education has surged in student enrollment and in the share of its revenue that comes from federal student aid. Here are key indicators. Enrollment data for 2008 are the latest available.

Fall 2000

1 Postsecondary enrollment:

15.7 million

1 For-profit sector: 670,000

(4 percent)

Fall 2008

1 Postsecondary enrollment: 19.6 million

1 For-profit sector: 1.8 million

(9 percent)

Federal Pell grants for low-income students

1 1999-2000 school year: $7.2 billion