The Company and Basis of Presentation - Additional Information (Detail)	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2015 State Entity Location Segment Attendant
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Number of students in degree programs \| Attendant	48,000
Number of states where online programs are offered	50
Number of locations \| Location	140
Number of states	39
Number of variable interest entities \| Entity	2
Number of business segment \| Segment	1

The number of college locations that were in operation as of the balance sheet date.

No definition available.

Name:	esi_NumberOfLocationsInOperations
Namespace Prefix:	esi_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Number of states where online programs are offered.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	esi_NumberOfStatesForOnlinePrograms
Namespace Prefix:	esi_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Number of students enrolled in master, bachelor and associate degree programs

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	esi_NumberOfStudentsInDegreePrograms
Namespace Prefix:	esi_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The number of variable interest entities that were included in the reporting entity's consolidated financial statements as of the reporting date.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	esi_NumberOfVariableInterestEntities
Namespace Prefix:	esi_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Number of segments reported by the entity. A reportable segment is a component of an entity for which there is an accounting requirement to report separate financial information on that component in the entity's financial statements.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NumberOfReportableSegments
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The number of states the entity operates in as of the balance sheet date.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NumberOfStatesInWhichEntityOperates
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_OrganizationConsolidationAndPresentationOfFinancialStatementsAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration