COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH EXIT OR DISPOSAL ACTIVITIES AND DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended						3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 18, 2013 Campus	Jul. 31, 2012 Campus	Jun. 18, 2013 Ohio [Member] Campus	Jun. 18, 2013 Kentucky [Member] Campus	Sep. 30, 2013 Five Campuses [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Five Campuses [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Five Campuses [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Exit or Disposal Activities [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 Exit or Disposal Activities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Exit or Disposal Activities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Exit or Disposal Activities [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Exit or Disposal Activities [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Number of campuses					5	7	4	1
Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 88,509,000	$ 102,057,000	$ 263,809,000	$ 300,246,000								$ (18,000)	$ 7,261,000	$ 19,924,000	$ 35,099,000	$ 61,028,000
Operating expenses												(3,898,000)	(19,322,000)	(33,564,000)	(29,885,000)	(31,947,000)
OPERATING (LOSS) INCOME	(2,697,000)	1,816,000	(28,153,000)	(17,477,000)								(3,916,000)	(12,061,000)	(13,640,000)	5,214,000	29,081,000
Compensation related to severance									200,000	1,200,000
Refunds given to students as a reduction of revenue									1,500,000	1,500,000
Impairment of goodwill and long-lived assets										2,300,000	8,700,000
Result of discontinued operations [Abstract]
Revenue		2,087,000		9,134,000
Loss before income taxes		(4,277,000)		(17,173,000)
Income tax benefit		(1,707,000)		(6,854,000)
Net loss from discontinued operations	$ 0	$ (2,570,000)	$ 0	$ (10,319,000)