Goodwill and Intangibles (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Aug. 31, 2014	Aug. 31, 2013	Aug. 31, 2012
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill beginning balance	$ 103,620,000	$ 103,345,000
Acquisitions	149,883,000
Currency translation adjustment	6,398,000	275,000
Goodwill ending balance	259,901,000	103,620,000	103,345,000
Goodwill net carrying amount [Abstract]
Gross carrying amount	285,976,000	136,093,000
Accumulated impairments	(28,917,000)	(28,917,000)
Foreign currency translation	2,842,000	(3,556,000)
Goodwill	259,901,000	103,620,000	103,345,000
Goodwill and other intangibles impairment	0	0	16,788,000
Intangible assets, net	189,365,000	132,192,000
Future intangible amortization [Abstract]
2015	24,007,000
2016	20,425,000
2017	11,075,000
2018	7,689,000
2019	3,327,000
Thereafter	8,166,000
Total estimated amortization expense	74,689,000
Amortization expense	22,400,000	15,100,000	20,200,000
Finite-lived intangibles weighted-average useful life	5 years 9 months 18 days
University Of Phoenix [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill beginning balance	71,812,000	71,812,000
Acquisitions	0
Currency translation adjustment	0	0
Goodwill ending balance	71,812,000	71,812,000
Goodwill net carrying amount [Abstract]
Gross carrying amount	71,812,000	71,812,000
Accumulated impairments	0	0
Foreign currency translation	0	0
Goodwill	71,812,000	71,812,000
Goodwill and other intangibles impairment	0
Future intangible amortization [Abstract]
2015	8,478,000
2016	8,478,000
2017	282,000
2018	0
2019	0
Thereafter	0
Total estimated amortization expense	17,238,000
Apollo Global [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill beginning balance	14,917,000	14,642,000
Acquisitions	149,883,000
Currency translation adjustment	6,398,000	275,000
Goodwill ending balance	171,198,000	14,917,000	14,642,000
Goodwill net carrying amount [Abstract]
Gross carrying amount	177,068,000	27,185,000
Accumulated impairments	(8,712,000)	(8,712,000)
Foreign currency translation	2,842,000	(3,556,000)
Goodwill	171,198,000	14,917,000	14,642,000
Goodwill and other intangibles impairment			16,788,000
Future intangible amortization [Abstract]
2015	14,765,000
2016	11,923,000
2017	10,793,000
2018	7,689,000
2019	3,327,000
Thereafter	8,166,000
Total estimated amortization expense	56,663,000
Ula [Member]
Goodwill net carrying amount [Abstract]
Goodwill and other intangibles impairment	0
Uniacc [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill beginning balance	0
Goodwill ending balance	0
UNIACC impairment			(11,900,000)
Goodwill net carrying amount [Abstract]
Goodwill	0
Intangible assets impairment			4,900,000
Goodwill and other intangibles impairment	0
Tax benefit on goodwill and intangibles impairment			0
Open Colleges [Member]
Goodwill net carrying amount [Abstract]
Goodwill and other intangibles impairment	0
Bpp [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill beginning balance	0
Goodwill ending balance	0
Goodwill net carrying amount [Abstract]
Goodwill	0
Goodwill and other intangibles impairment	0
Milpark Education [Member]
Goodwill net carrying amount [Abstract]
Goodwill and other intangibles impairment	0
BPP and UNIACC [Member]
Goodwill net carrying amount [Abstract]
Accumulated impairments	(366,000,000)
Other [Member]
Goodwill [Line Items]
Goodwill beginning balance	16,891,000	16,891,000
Acquisitions	0
Currency translation adjustment	0	0
Goodwill ending balance	16,891,000	16,891,000
Goodwill net carrying amount [Abstract]
Gross carrying amount	37,096,000	37,096,000
Accumulated impairments	(20,205,000)	(20,205,000)
Foreign currency translation	0	0
Goodwill	16,891,000	16,891,000
Future intangible amortization [Abstract]
2015	764,000
2016	24,000
2017	0
2018	0
2019	0
Thereafter	0
Total estimated amortization expense	788,000
Western International University [Member]
Goodwill net carrying amount [Abstract]
Goodwill and other intangibles impairment	0
Carnegie Learning [Member]
Goodwill net carrying amount [Abstract]
Goodwill and other intangibles impairment	0
Cffp [Member]
Goodwill net carrying amount [Abstract]
Goodwill and other intangibles impairment	$ 0