This article has been updated to reflect 2026 data and recent developments.
As community colleges struggle with over-crowding and a lack of funding, for-profit colleges have offered to help, giving community college students the opportunity to earn transferable credits at low tuition rates.
Kaplan’s Online Courses Can Count Towards Community College Degrees
The Wall Street Journal reports that Kaplan University, a for-profit college owned by the Washington Post Co., offered California community college students the option of taking courses at its online schools. These credits could be applied towards a degree at their home campuses.
In addition, the newly created Community College Connections program allowed students to take Kaplan’s online courses at a 42% discount, which made the cost of courses similar to that of a community college course.
Kaplan also allowed graduates of California’s community colleges to transfer to one of its degree programs and complete their bachelor’s degrees at a 10% discount, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Kaplan University became Purdue University Global in 2018. The original discounts and Community College Connections arrangements are historical and should not be assumed to remain available in 2026.
This video gives an overview of Kaplan education.
Community College Credits Count Towards B.A. Degrees at Bridgepoint
Meanwhile, Ashford University, which was operated by Bridgepoint Education Inc., signed articulation agreements with a number of community colleges and public universities and colleges. The articulation agreements usually outlined that students transferring from the community college or public university could transfer up to 90 credits towards earning their degrees from Ashford University.
A press release issued by Bridgepoint indicated that Ashford University had signed 38 such articulation agreements and formed alliances with 138 community colleges and four-year universities.
Bridgepoint Education, Inc. offered its courses through two institutions, Ashford University and the University of the Rockies. Iowa’s Quad-City Times reported that about 99% of its students took classes exclusively online, and enrollment at Bridgepoint’s two universities grew 70% between the end of 2008 and the end of 2009.
The University of the Rockies merged into Ashford University in 2018, and Ashford University became the University of Arizona Global Campus in 2020. Students should consult the University of Arizona Global Campus for current transfer policies and articulation agreements.
Why For-Profit Universities Enter Into Articulation Agreements
For-Profit Schools Gain Legitimacy and Exposure
For-profit universities benefit from entering into these credit-transfer articulation agreements, the Wall Street Journal explains, because a partnership with an established community college or state university can “help legitimize a for-profit school.” The WSJ also notes that for-profit universities gain a great deal of exposure through these partnerships.
Chance to Increase Enrollment
In a time when community colleges are at maximum capacity, for-profit colleges see an opportunity to increase their student enrollment numbers. "While our focus is around degree enrollments, this is an opportunity to help California," Gregory Marino, president of Kaplan University Group, told the WSJ.
A Good Move for Community Colleges or a Dangerous One?
Concern about Quality Control
In a historical Denver Post article on a proposal brought before the Colorado legislature that would allow students to take general education courses at for-profit schools and transfer those credits to community colleges and state universities, Alan Lamborn, vice provost for undergraduate affairs at Colorado State University, voiced concern about the issue of quality control when it comes to for-profit colleges. A state college that accepts transfer credits from a for-profit school is "selling our brand to other people without our ability to control it," he told the Post.
In 2026, the U.S. Department of Education continues to provide information about accreditation. Students should confirm whether credits will be accepted before enrolling in courses at another institution.
Necessary Response to Current State of Public Education
However, in a time when colleges are staggering under huge financial burdens and overwhelming demand for a limited number of courses, new options such as alliances with for-profit colleges may well be necessary.
In December 2009, Michael J. Wilson, the director of the organization Americans for Democratic Action, told MSNBC.com that he supports the use of for-profit colleges. "We don't believe we can use the same narrow bands of universities that we traditionally use, and we believe we need to use every arrow in our quiver," Wilson said.
Funding Questions
When publicly-funded community colleges and state universities start teaming with for-profit colleges, complex issues about funding can arise. MSNBC quotes Wilson as saying that for-profit schools “are not taking tax money to pay for themselves, but are paying back taxes,” which is a good fit for “the current fiscal system.”
However, some are concerned that for-profit colleges benefit unfairly from support in the form of federal education loans such as Pell Grants. MSNBC reports that in 2008-09, “24% of the government's record $18.3 billion Pell Grant program went to for-profit colleges.” These figures refer specifically to the 2008-09 academic year and are not current 2026 figures.
It remains to be seen whether working with for-profit colleges will help community colleges and state universities overcome their troubles. These agreements may seem to be a stop-gap measure that is necessitated by an education system in financial crisis mode. However, they may also signal an important turning point in the relationship between for-profit and nonprofit educational institutions and in the role for-profit colleges play in our country.
