Dive Brief:

• DeVry, Apollo, and Laureate, three of the largest for-profit higher education providers in the United States, are all seeing profits in Brazil while their U.S. business model breaks down.

• Inside Higher Ed reports that Brazil is a refuge for companies looking to escape harsh regulations and a country with huge demand for for-profit colleges, which enroll about one-third of that nation’s students.

• Like the U.S., government student loans support for-profit colleges in Brazil, but Americans are starting to question whether, in the middle of an economic downturn, it makes sense to spend so much on what critics say is a poor-quality education, according to the article.

Dive Insight

Inside Higher Ed reports that Devry’s latest earnings data showed almost 39% growth in its Brazil division from the prior year. The country seems to be a new market, repeating the initial support of and demand for for-profit schools that the United States saw a decade ago. While there is already similar rumbling about the quality and expense of such programs, a significantly greater share of Brazilian students enroll in the sector, specifically because public institutions don’t have the capacity to absorb additional students. According to the article, Brazil’s public schools are the elite institutions that enroll the top students, but even still, a higher education degree substantially expands opportunity for adults, so demand for alternatives is not expected to wane.