A Better Deal? Comparing Alumni's Experiences with Online Degrees at For-Profit and Nonprofit Colleges

This report summarizes survey findings from representative samples of 217 adult Americans 18 years and older who completed a degree or certificate program from a public or private nonprofit college and 169 adult Americans 18 years and older who completed a degree or certificate program from a for-profit college. For both groups, alumni were included in the sample if they completed their degrees or certificates within 15 years of survey fielding. A separate report summarizes findings from representative samples of current for-profit college students, for-profit non-completers, for-profit alumni, and community college students. The survey was designed by Public Agenda and fielded March 17 to May 31, 2022 by SSRS. Respondents completed the survey online in English and Spanish. The margin of error for the 217 nonprofit online alumni is ± 11.3 percentage points. The margin of error for the 169 for-profit online alumni is ± 12.4 percentage points. Margins of error for subgroups are larger.