Discontinued Operations (Narrative) (Details) $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2015 USD ($) school	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 school	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Pre-tax gain (loss) on sale and/or disposition			$ 0			$ 732
Kaplan International [Member] | Kaplan China [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Pre-tax gain (loss) on sale and/or disposition	$ (700)
Defined Benefit Pension Plan [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Curtailment gain		$ 0	3,267		$ 0	3,267
Discontinued Operations [Member] | Defined Benefit Pension Plan [Member] | Cable Spin-Off [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Curtailment gain			$ 2,200			$ 2,200
Kaplan International [Member] | Education [Member] | Kaplan China [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Number of schools sold | school	1			3
Discontinued Operations, Disposed of by Means Other than Sale, Spinoff [Member] | Discontinued Operations [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Spin-off Costs					$ 7,400