The goal of the conference will be to unify and extend available academic research on the social and economic impact, the cultural consequences, and the pedagogical implications of the rapid expansion and growth of for-profit institutions in higher education in the United States.

The questions to be explored during the conference will include: 1) does the growth of for-profit higher education constitute a social good 2) what role does public sector finances, especially means-tested federal subsidies and loans for low-income students, play as a source of revenue for for-profit colleges and universities 3) what are the effects on equity and equality of the dramatic rise in the numbers of students from underrepresented minorities now receiving degrees from for-profit institutions? and 4) as a nation, how may we best institutionalize data gathering and research on for-profit institutions to insure appropriate information is available for policy-making?

Objectives of Conference
This conference aims to:
1. Bring to bear interdisciplinary analysis on all facets of the social, political, economic, institutional, and cultural implications of for-profit higher education.
2. Define the existing body of research and make proposals for future research on for-profits.
3. Create a set of policy recommendations for individual researchers, universities, governmental and NGO agencies.
4. Create a methodological toolkit to facilitate the production of sound research on for-profits.
5. Produce a conference proposal, digital learning modules, and an outline for an edited volume

Of particular interest are proposals that address ethnic, racial, gender, and class stratification in for-profits, comparative organizational and national analysis (U.S., U.K., India, China, etc.), the role of the Internet and communication theory in the growth of the for-profit sector, case studies of contemporary political challenges to for-profits, and analyses of competition among and within higher education sectors.

All participants are invited to send inquiries about proposals for panels, papers, and working group sessions to Tressie McMillan Cottom at tcottom@emory.edu by April 15, 2012. Inquiries should include CVs of all participants and proposal abstracts of no more than 250 words. Logistical questions should be directed to Jackie Terrell at Terrell@duke.edu. Information can be found online at http://thenetwork.ssri.duke.edu/ and on twitter with hashtag #acfp12.

This research conference was supported by a grant from the Education Research Conferences Program of the American Educational Research Association.