Just How Similar? Community Colleges and the For-Profit Sector

Whereas community colleges and for-profit institutions both provide postsecondary educational opportunities, they are different in a host of dimensions. This brief describes some of those differences—not to win a debate or suggest public policy, but to show why comparisons made between the community colleges and for-profit institutions are more limited than some may suggest. This brief presents data for community colleges and, where possible, at each level (4-year, 2-year, less-than-2-year) of for-profit institutions to discuss distinctions that exist in terms of oversight, service, and financing.