Graphs - Comparison with For-profit Sector

Nationally, as well as in Ohio, how quickly you graduate depends on the type of college or university you attend.

Over a ten-year period, while the amount of federal student aid grants including Pell and loans grew by more 150 percent, the amount of this student aid received by for-profit higher education institutions nearly quintupled and their share of the total nearly doubled.

The presence of full-time faculty is one clear sign of the educational quality of a college or university.

Because of dropping state subsidies, many public universities nationwide had to raise tuition. Without these subsidies, private colleges and universities differed by sector in deciding how much more revenue they needed from students and their families.

More than half of those who enter public or nonprofit 4-year colleges and universities complete their bachelor's degrees, either where they started or at another campus, within six years. At the same time, more than half of those who enter 4-year for-profit institutions receive no award - not even an associate degree or certificate - and have left higher education altogether.

Borrowers from Ohio independents have a lower default rate on student loans than their peers nationally. This cannot be said for other sectors, especially for-profit colleges.

Student success at Ohio's traditional colleges and universities is less reliant on students' ability to borrow.

Note: Credentials include degrees and certificates.

While business officers at independent nonprofit colleges and universities worry about whether students will come and can afford to attend, at for-profit colleges the key concern is availability of tax money to support their businesses.