Career Education Corporation

What Career Education Corporation does

Perdoceo Education Corporation (formerly Career Education Corporation) is a publicly traded for-profit education holding company headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, founded in 1994 and listed on NASDAQ under the ticker CECO. The company operates a portfolio of seven wholly-owned post-secondary education brands, with four focused on online university-level programs for working adults: Colorado Technical University (CTU), American InterContinental University (AIU), Trident University International, and California Southern University. Beyond traditional degree programs, the company has expanded into shorter-format vocational training through acquisitions of DigitalCrafts and Coding Dojo (coding bootcamps) and Hippo Education (professional test preparation and continuing education).

The company targets working adult learners seeking flexible, primarily online post-secondary education and career-focused training. Its go-to-market is digital-first, relying on brand-specific websites and direct online enrollment rather than traditional campus-based recruitment. The business model is tuition-driven, with revenue per student determined by program, degree level, and pace of completion. Geographic operations are concentrated in the United States, with the bootcamp and test-prep brands extending the addressable market into technology workforce training and professional credentialing. Leadership is anchored by President & CEO Scott W. Steffey, with Jeffrey R. Cooper as SVP & Chief Commercial Officer and Judy Komar as VP of Educational Technology.

The company faces a structural concentration in Title IV federal student aid dependency across its university brands, which is characteristic of the U.S. for-profit education sector and represents a material regulatory risk to the dominant revenue base. The market context for its vocational training brands is favorable: the global vocational training market is estimated at USD 62.05 billion in 2026 and projected to reach USD 166.76 billion by 2035, providing meaningful tailwinds for the short-format, career-aligned programs within the bootcamp portfolio.

Name

Career Education Corporation

Legal name

Perdoceo Education Corporation

Website

https://careered.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Perdoceo Education Corporation is a publicly traded for-profit education holding company that operates four online universities (CTU, AIU, Trident, California Southern) plus three acquired bootcamp and test-prep brands, targeting working adult learners seeking flexible, career-aligned post-secondary education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Higher Education and Career Training

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (61131), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Professional Schools (MBA/MPA/MPH/Etc.) (EDAHALAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Professional & Applied Skills Noncredit Certificates (Non-licensure) (EDAAAEAD)

Keywords

• Online higher education
• Career-focused learning
• Coding bootcamps
• Degree programs
• Professional test prep

Headquarters

HQ city

Hoffman Estates

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Perdoceo Education Corporation (formerly Career Education Corporation) delivers post-secondary education services through seven wholly owned brands: four online degree-granting universities (Colorado Technical University, American InterContinental University, Trident University, California Southern University) and three shorter-format training providers (DigitalCrafts and Coding Dojo coding bootcamps, Hippo Education test preparation and continuing education). Programs are delivered online and hybrid and target working adult learners seeking flexible academic and career outcomes.

Product overview

Perdoceo Education Corporation operates a portfolio of post-secondary education institutions and training platforms, organized as a platform-plus-institutions architecture. The company comprises seven distinct educational brands: Colorado Technical University, American InterContinental University, Trident University, and California Southern University (online degree-granting universities offering undergraduate and graduate programs), along with DigitalCrafts and Coding Dojo (coding bootcamps focused on technology skills training), and Hippo Education (test preparation and professional development). These institutions serve diverse student populations seeking career advancement through online and hybrid learning models.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Colorado Technical University (CTU) Online university offering bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs in business, information technology, nursing, and healthcare, delivered through a digital learning platform for adult learners.
• American InterContinental University (AIU) Online university providing career-focused undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, information systems, and healthcare with flexible online course delivery.
• Trident University International Online university offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business administration, health sciences, and information technology for adult learners.
• California Southern University Regionally accredited online university offering degree programs including nursing, business, psychology, and criminal justice at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels.
• DigitalCrafts Coding bootcamp offering immersive programs in software development, web development, and cybersecurity with career support services.
• Coding Dojo Coding bootcamp providing full-stack software development training with programs in web development, data science, and cybersecurity.
• Hippo Education Online education platform offering test preparation, continuing education, and professional development courses for working professionals.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Adtalem Global Education: Operates Chamberlain University, Walden University, and ACAMS, targeting nursing and broader postsecondary online learners. Highly comparable multi-institution for-profit education model with similar regulatory and demographic exposure.
• Grand Canyon Education: Provides services to Grand Canyon University, a large for-profit university serving online and ground students. Closely comparable in for-profit online higher education scale, service-fee structure, and target segments.
• Strategic Education: Owns Strayer University and Capella University, both online-focused postsecondary institutions serving working adults. Closest publicly traded comparable to Perdoceo's CTU/AIU/Trident portfolio in scale, target student, and online delivery model.
• 2U: Online program management and degree platform partnering with nonprofit universities to deliver online graduate programs. Overlaps with Perdoceo's online degree delivery thesis and adult learner focus.
• Southern New Hampshire University: Large nonprofit online university with strong adult-learner enrollment, particularly in business and IT. Competes head-to-head with CTU/AIU on price, accreditation, and outcomes claims.
• DeVry University (Adtalem spin): For-profit university offering online and hybrid programs in technology, business, and healthcare. Long-standing direct competitor to CTU/AIU with similar target demographic and delivery format.
• Western Governors University: Nonprofit, competency-based online university serving adult learners nationwide. Directly competes for the same working-adult online degree segment but at lower tuition with a nonprofit cost structure.

Emerging players

• Coursera: Online learning platform offering degrees, certificates, and short courses from university and industry partners. Comparable to Perdoceo's non-degree credentialing and bootcamp offerings, with similar tech-skills curriculum emphasis.
• Udemy: Online skills marketplace covering technology, business, and professional development. Comparable on the skills/bootcamp side (e.g., Coding Dojo) but operating a marketplace model rather than owned-institution model.

Broad incumbents

• Kaplan (Graham Holdings): Kaplan's higher education and professional division offers online degrees, test prep, and professional training. Comparable through diversified adult education portfolio overlapping Perdoceo's universities and Hippo test prep business.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ctuniversity
• Facebookfacebook.com/74363376434
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/4963

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Career Education Corporation