Monday saw the release of the 2014 edition of the Fortune 500 rankings. While the list of the top 500 (by gross revenue) public and closely held companies in the U.S. doesn't include any from the education space, a handful of recognizable for-profit education firms populate the expanded list of 1,000. 

Read on to find out which four companies made the cut, and how their standings compare to last year's rankings.

Graham Holdings Company

Rank (Last year): 614 (580)

Along with cable, broadcasting, and news, the former Washington Post Company's business units also include education — namely Kaplan, which provides test prep services and online certification and degree programs. Graham's revenues may have fallen 4.5% to $3.87 billion, contributing to its 34-spot decline on the list, its profits are up 79.3% to $237 million. In fact, it's the only education-related company on the list with any increase in profit over 2013.

Apollo Education Group, Inc.

Rank (Last year): 638 (554)

Perhaps best known for the University of Phoenix, Apollo also operates Western International University, Milpark Education, and Bridge School of Management, among others. For-profit college companies have seen a number of factors — declining enrollment and federal scrutiny among them — take a toll on their bottom lines in recent years, and Apollo has been no exception. Its 84-spot tumble can be attributed to a 13.9% drop in revenues to $3.68 billion, which resulted in a 41.2% profit decline to $249 million.

Education Management Corporation

Rank (Last year): 837 (756)

Another for-profit higher ed provider, Education Management Corp. operates the Art Institutes, Argosy University, Brown Mackie College, and South University.  And it hasn't fared much better than Apollo against the issues facing the sector. In fact, Education Management took the biggest hit of any of the other three companies on this list — it actually lost $268 million last year as revenues fell 9.5% to $2.5 billion. 

DeVry Education Group Inc.

Rank (Last year): 978 (918)

Like Apollo and Education Management, DeVry Education Group operates for-profit higher ed institutions around the world, including DeVry University, American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Chamberlain College of Nursing, Becker Professional Education, and more. With $1.96 billion in revenue (down 6% from last year) and $107 million in profits (a 24.6% drop), its 60-spot slide got it closer to falling off of this year's Fortune 1000.