Lessons from the Edge: For-Profit and Nontraditional Higher Education in America

The author highlights that he wrote the book with the University of Phoenix in mind, but when he asked for feedback, he was told that he should include other for-profit institutions. Although he did this, the book gives the reader the feeling that the other examples were added hastily at the end of the project. Some of the major for-profit institutions (like City University) are not even mentioned. Nonetheless, he does have enough information to give a good background to this up-and-coming trend. This book is not who's who of the for-profit university world. Instead, it talks about the mindset of the nontraditional university and explores why it succeeds. It also makes a call for the traditional university to rethink its mission. I would recommend this book to people who want to get a good background understanding on nontraditional universities. These universities will not replace the traditional universities, but they will help us to be better educated and more productive.

Berg offers a careful and thorough evaluation of for-profit higher education in America, today. The book is an evaluation of the foremost regionally-accredited, for-profit universities from an academic administrator who joined University of Phoenix faculty and taught online, during the course of his research. From a description of the beginnings of for-profit education in America to the challenges and future potential of the business of education, this book carefully explains the value of for-profit education to our society. The profit motive for the illustrated institutions reflects a core focus that puts student success ahead of traditional concerns: rather than allowing the professorial cadre to manage these universities, responsibility is shared between faculty and administration, always keeping the students' best interests in mind. This book should be in the personal library of all scholars' libraries.