(Reuters) - The Washington Post Co said its quarterly profit jumped more than three fold, helped by its education, television broadcasting and newspaper publishing divisions.

However, the company said Kaplan, its educational segment that accounts for more than 60 percent of revenue, might be required to limit program offerings to ensure compliance with the planned regulations by the U.S. Department of Education.

For-profit colleges, facing criticism for saddling students with debt and not fully preparing them for jobs, are overhauling their enrollment practices to comply with new rules due to take effect mid-next year.

Student enrollment growth at Kaplan slowed to 8 percent, compared to a growth of 28 percent a year earlier.

Quarterly revenue at Washington Post's education division came in at $743.3 million, up 9 percent from a year ago.

The company, which sold its Newsweek magazine to stereo magnate Sidney Harman for a token cash price of $1, said print advertising revenue at its Washington Post newspaper rose 3 percent in the September quarter.

For the third quarter, the company's income from continuing operations was $81.2 million, or $9.12 per share, compared to $25.9 million, or $2.76 per share, in the year-ago period.

The number of diluted average shares outstanding in the quarter fell by about half a million.

The results includes a goodwill charge and unrealized foreign currency gains.

Revenue rose 7 percent to $1.19 billion.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of $4.44 a share on revenue of $1.26 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of Washington Post, which have risen about 2 percent since its last quarterly report in August, closed at $383.90 Thursday on New York Stock Exchange.

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