Diversity in Private-Sector Education: The Effects of Ownership/Governance Structure and Accreditation Status on Institutional Outcomes

This mixed methods study helped bring specific attention to the differences within private-sector education by looking at ownership/governance structure and accreditation status and the unique impact that these differences make on certain dependent measures. Considering several research questions surrounding the management decisions made by private-sector owners and leaders, this study also hypothesized that ownership/governance structure and accreditation status would have a significant relationship with graduation rate, student retention and student loan default rate. This study examined data from 65 private-sector institutions analyzed through a statistical MANOVA as well as interview materials from eight owners/affiliates with the Private Education Research Council (PERC) compared and coded utilizing grounded theory processes. The quantitative findings illustrated the significant effect that ownership/governance structure and accreditation status have on graduation rate and student loan default rate while the qualitative findings theoretically explained the importance of "pursuit of institutional mission" on the differences within the private sector based upon certain decision-making strategies. The theoretical roles of ownership/governance structure and accreditation status supported the statistical significance identified in the quantitative output. This research helps cumulatively addresses the assumption that the entire private sector of higher education operates in exactly the same way and offers recommendations for future study in the fields of both management and higher education.