Consolidated Income Statements (Unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net revenue	$ 218,301	$ 191,279	$ 466,507	$ 418,237
Costs and expenses:
Instructional costs and services	95,030	84,599	197,604	179,253
Admissions advisory and related	31,085	28,866	63,057	58,410
Advertising	24,776	22,149	49,407	43,256
Marketing and promotional	2,264	2,108	4,724	4,350
General and administrative	10,058	8,809	19,999	19,529
Total costs and expenses	163,213	146,531	334,791	304,798
Operating income	55,088	44,748	131,716	113,439
Interest expense	(495)	(158)	(1,075)	(487)
Interest and other income	739	293	741	2,341
Income before income taxes	55,332	44,883	131,382	115,293
Income tax expense	15,485	17,257	35,623	44,002
Net income	$ 39,847	$ 27,626	$ 95,759	$ 71,291
Earnings per share:
Basic income per share	$ 0.85	$ 0.60	$ 2.04	$ 1.56
Diluted income per share	$ 0.83	$ 0.59	$ 1.99	$ 1.52
Basic weighted average shares outstanding	47,151	46,004	46,949	45,813
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding	48,192	46,990	48,131	46,925

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.