Variable Interest Entities - Schedule of Revenue and Expenses of CUSO (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Student services and administrative expenses	$ 91,408	$ 97,547	$ 181,660	$ 196,785
Provision for private education loan losses	3,313	9,071	4,557	9,071
Interest expense	9,991	6,263	20,379	13,164
Income before provision for income taxes	1,671	$ 574	18,936	$ 6,715
CUSO [Member]
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Revenue	1,185		2,249
Student services and administrative expenses	483		879
Provision for private education loan losses	(1,302)		(861)
Interest expense	3,573		7,214
Income before provision for income taxes	$ (1,569)		$ (4,983)