Universities Experiment with For-profit, Nonprofit, and Other Hybrids

By John Brothers. Most people who know of Alliant International University (AIU) would regard it as a small, primarily graduate and professional studies university serving approximately 4000 students in several campuses throughout California and one site in Mexico. If asked about AIU’s corporate status, students or those otherwise knowledgeable might not know, or would guess the traditional answer of “nonprofit,” the legal status that has predominated most universities’ structures since the start of higher education in the United States. Until recently, that would have been true. More...