Grand Canyon Education Inc. will end the four-month IPO drought when it goes public this month. According to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), "The company plans to sell 10.5 million shares at a price between $16 and $18, $2 lower than originally planned, and will list on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol LOPE. Credit Suisse Group and Merrill Lynch & Co. are the lead underwriters. The deal is expected to begin trading Nov. 20."

Grand Canyon Education Inc. was formed when Grand Canyon University, then a struggling public college, was taken private by Significant Education LLC in January of 2004. The school's roots go back to 1949 when it was established as a Christian university by the Arizona Southern Baptists. The school's list of notable alumni is mainly athletes: former Major League Baseball players Tim Salmon and Chad Curtis, along with Ultimate Fighter Efrain Escudero.

The company may be adversely effected by tightening in the student loan market, which is likely to have a disproportionate effect on for-profit colleges. On the other hand, economic woes may inspire more workers to go back to school to seek more specialized training. So far shares of for-profit college operators like DeVry Inc. (NYSE: DV) and Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) have held up extremely well in comparison to the broader market.

For more information, read the registration statement here.

The Wall Street Journal's "Heard on the Street" column(subscription required) presents a strong bearish case for the for-profit educational providers -- companies such as University of Phoenix operator Apollo Group (NASDAQ: APOL) and ITT Educational Services (NYSE: ESI).

Sallie Mae (NYSE: SLM), a major provider of student loans, has tightened up its lending practices, and that could make career education less affordable for a lot of students.

According to the Journal, "The problem is that the schools will likely struggle to sustain their growth rates because of the tight lending environment and the slower-growing economy. If students have a tougher time borrowing, they may need to pay more out of their own pockets. But if their job prospects are looking rocky, or if they are worried they could be laid off from existing jobs, they won't want to shell out the tuition themselves."

But there may be another element to this that could make the outlook even more bleak for these companies, many of which have a lackluster reputation due to run-ins with regulators and questions surrounding their reporting and the value of the services they provide. Students attending career colleges are also thought to be at greater risk for default.

But here's another rub: Massachusetts' Democratic Governor Deval Patrick has proposed making two-year colleges free for all students -- a move like that would be devastating to the for-profit colleges. If that comes to pass in Massachusetts, or if other states make similar, less radical efforts to lower the cost of two-year colleges, for-profit colleges could see enrollment plummet.

Investors in these stocks will want to keep a close high on the political climate.