The use of e-textbooks might not be big in nonprofit universities, but it is being widely used in for-profit colleges. Both online for-profit colleges, American Public University Systems and the University of Phoenix, have been using e-textbooks for a number of years. The law school at Kaplan University assigns 80% of their reading through e-textbooks. "In for-profit education, more than any other sector, the traditional book is becoming obsolete."

The University of Phoenix mandates instructors to use digital text whenever feasible. With the exception of textbooks that have copyrighted images, "roughly 90 percent of Phoenix's course content is delivered via e-book or other electronic means." For-profit institutions have been moving toward a greater use of e-textbooks compared to other sectors of higher education. One reason that nonprofits might have a harder time switching over to e-books is due to their "more distributed governance models. At those [nonprofit] colleges, faculty control of curricular text...is 'sacred.'" To learn more click here.