Commitments And Contingencies (Details) (USD $)	0 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Sep. 16, 2011	Apr. 22, 2011	Dec. 03, 2010	Oct. 31, 2010	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	May 03, 2012	Aug. 12, 2011	Jun. 15, 2011	Jun. 03, 2011	Jul. 14, 2010	Sep. 27, 2007	Apr. 10, 2008 Surrett [Member]	Mar. 05, 2008 Surrett [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Banks [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Abrica [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Aguilar [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Alday [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Ackerman [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Arechiga [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Anderson [Member]	Mar. 31, 2012 Allen [Member]	Jul. 14, 2008 False Claims Act Lawsuit [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Accrual for legal fees and settlements					$ 16,600,000	$ 15,400,000		$ 15,400,000
Number of student plaintiffs					5											36			316	373	88	73	27	60	58	12
Number of complaints related and transferred to judge														3
Initial settlement payment made				40,800,000
Amount agreed to pay to individual					200
Pretax charge of estimated loss						6,000,000				40,800,000
Disbursement by terms of agreement							40,000,000
Opt-out period expiration date		June 20, 2011			June 6, 2011
Number of opt-out Individuals												5	31	115
Number of opt out individuals after supplemental notice					112
Number of students in class		2,330	2,300
Number of alleged claims for equitable relief																		2
Number of claims added for money damages																	2
Number of claims against student lenders					15
Number of mass actions filed					8
Number of former employees who filed complaint																											4
Additional number of students joining litigation	19
Number of findings from program review															6
Number of findings deemed to be systemic															2
Number of findings that were isolated and related to processing errors															4
Estimated potential reimbursements by CTU								5,000,000
Other accrued liability for certain legal or regulatory matters								$ 5,000,000
Total number of schools on ACICS probation status											4
Number of CEC campuses accredited by ACICS that fell below placement rate standard									24
Current number of CEC campuses accredited by ACICS under placement rate standard									36
Number of CEC campuses accredited by ACICS						71		71			71
ACICS placement rate standard percentage									65.00%
Placement percentage minimum for schools on ACICS probation											40.00%
Probation schools percentage of consolidated revenue								3.60%