XML 171 R130.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.8.0.1

Legal and Regulatory Matters - United States Postsecondary Education Regulation (Details) $ in Thousands | 12 Months Ended
--- | ---
Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) educational_institution program | Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Kendall College, St. Augustine, Walden University, and NewSchool of Architecture and Design |  |
Loss Contingencies [Line Items] |  |
Letters of credit outstanding, amount | $ | $ 136,900 | $ 105,600
United States |  |
Loss Contingencies [Line Items] |  |
Number of postsecondary educational institutions (educational institution) | educational_institution | 4 |
Percentage of funds received |  | 15.00%
Number of failed programs (program) | 1 |
Number of in the zone programs (program) | 5 |
Percentage of students enrolled in failed programs | 1.00% |
Percentage of students enrolled in zone programs | 5.00% |

X
- Definition Number Of Failed Programs + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | laur_NumberOfFailedPrograms
Namespace Prefix: | laur_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Number Of In The Zone Programs + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | laur_NumberOfInTheZonePrograms
Namespace Prefix: | laur_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Number Of Postsecondary Educational Institutions + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | laur_NumberOfPostsecondaryEducationalInstitutions
Namespace Prefix: | laur_
Data Type: | xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Percentage Of Students Enrolled In Failed Programs + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | laur_PercentageOfStudentsEnrolledInFailedPrograms
Namespace Prefix: | laur_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Percentage Of Students Enrolled In Zone Programs + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | laur_PercentageOfStudentsEnrolledInZonePrograms
Namespace Prefix: | laur_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Revenue From Grants, Percentage Of Funds Received + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | laur_RevenueFromGrantsPercentageOfFundsReceived
Namespace Prefix: | laur_
Data Type: | num:percentItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The total amount of the contingent obligation under letters of credit outstanding as of the reporting date. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_LettersOfCreditOutstandingAmount
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | instant

X
- Definition Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table. + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_LossContingenciesLineItems
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Details
Name: | laur_NameOfEducationalInstitutionAxis=laur_KendallCollegeSt.AugustineWaldenUniversityandNewSchoolofArchitectureandDesignMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_StatementGeographicalAxis=country_US
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |