Consolidated Income Statements - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net revenue	$ 174,726	$ 158,594	$ 368,853	$ 326,026
Costs and expenses:
Instructional costs and services	75,357	67,847	154,044	138,525
Admissions advisory and related, including $489 and $806 for the three months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively, and $994 and $1,611 for the six months ended June 30, 2015 and 2014, respectively, to related parties	27,372	26,208	55,705	52,469
Advertising	18,419	15,751	38,450	32,463
Marketing and promotional	1,788	1,907	3,482	3,698
General and administrative	9,534	8,994	18,930	17,548
Total costs and expenses	132,470	120,707	270,611	244,703
Operating income	42,256	37,887	98,242	81,323
Interest expense	(146)	(356)	(521)	(879)
Interest and other income	127	197	384	334
Income before income taxes	42,237	37,728	98,105	80,778
Income tax expense	16,461	14,659	38,150	31,421
Net income	$ 25,776	$ 23,069	$ 59,955	$ 49,357
Earnings per share:
Basic income per share	$ 0.56	$ 0.51	$ 1.31	$ 1.09
Diluted income per share	$ 0.55	$ 0.49	$ 1.27	$ 1.05
Basic weighted average shares outstanding	46,012	45,598	45,901	45,403
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding	47,263	46,990	47,233	46,917

Admissions advisory and related expenses.

No definition available.

Name:	lope_AdmissionsAdvisoryAndRelatedExpenses
Namespace Prefix:	lope_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Costs directly attributable to educational services, including salaries and benefits for full-time faculty, administrators and academic advisors, and costs associated with adjunct faculty. Also includes costs for educational supplies such as books, costs associated with academic records and graduation, costs associated with collections from our students such as bad debt expense, and other university services such as evaluating transcripts.

+ References

No definition available.