At the time, Sylvan was primarily focused on services for students in primary and secondary education through company owned and franchise locations.

[4][5] By 2001, the company had expanded to include institutions including Mexico's Universidad del Valle de México (UMV), Chile's Universidad de las Américas, Switzerland's Les Roches International School of Hotel Management,[6] and 41% ownership of the online institution Walden University.

The Baltimore Sun reported in 2004 that "Walden's enrollment grew tenfold from the time Laureate first invested in it four years ago.

Former United States President Bill Clinton held a role as honorary chancellor of Laureate from 2010 until early April 2015.

[16] In January 2013, the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, made a $150 million equity investment in the firm to expand access to higher education in emerging markets.

[20] Arizona-based Thunderbird School of Global Management announced a partnership with the firm in March 2013 to set up a joint venture that would provide capital support for Thunderbird to open multiple international instruction sites, create an undergraduate program, and expand its executive education and online programs.

It sold schools such as Université Internationale de Casablanca in Morocco, and Kendall College, as well as others in China, Malaysia, Italy and Cyprus.

[42] In May 2019, Pública, a Brazilian news outlet, published an investigative report on Laureate Education's practices in the country after 150 teachers were dismissed in December 2018.

[43] In 2020, the firm announced a new strategy to review its operations, including possible sales of schools in Peru, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.

[46] By November, the firm had divested its universities in Australia, New Zealand and Chile,[46] Laureate also announced that it would sell its Brazilian operations to Ser Educacional for $724 million.

[49] In 2021, the firm focused on its continuing operations in Mexico and Peru and plans to safely return to in-class education, noting increased demand for higher-education in those markets.

[51] The Walden sale was completed in August 2021, following which the firm announced a $1.29 billion cash distribution that would be made available to eligible stockholders in October.

[51] Mexico[65] Peru[65] These schools were previously owned or managed by Laureate Education, or offered courses in partnership with the firm.