Significant Accounting Policies (Policy)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Financial statement presentation

Effective during the first quarter of 2011, the Company made changes in its presentation of operating expenses and reclassified prior periods to conform to the current presentation. The Company determined that these changes would provide more meaningful information and increased transparency of its operations. There were no changes to total operating expenses or operating income as a result of these reclassifications. Below is a description of the nature of the costs included in the Company's operating expense categories.

Instruction and educational support expenses generally contain items of expense directly attributable to educational activities of the University. This expense category includes salaries and benefits of faculty and academic administrators, as well as administrative personnel who support and serve student interests. Instruction and educational support expenses also include costs of educational supplies and facilities, including rent for campus facilities, certain costs of establishing and maintaining computer laboratories and all other physical plant and occupancy costs, with the exception of costs attributable to the corporate offices. Bad debt expense incurred on delinquent student account balances is also included in instruction and educational support expenses.

Marketing expenses include the costs of advertising and production of marketing materials and related personnel costs.

Admissions advisory expenses include salaries, benefits, and related costs of personnel engaged in admissions.

General and administration expenses include salaries and benefits of management and employees engaged in accounting, human resources, legal, regulatory compliance, and other corporate functions, along with the occupancy and other related costs attributable to such functions.

The following table presents the Company's operating expenses as previously reported and as reclassified on its unaudited condensed consolidated statements of income for each of the three months ended:


	March 31, 2010				June 30, 2010				September 30, 2010				December 30, 2010
	As Reported		As Reclassified		As Reported		As Reclassified		As Reported		As Reclassified		As Reported		As Reclassified
Instruction and educational support	$	48,977	$	63,384	$	50,101	$	66,261	$	49,023	$	65,759	$	57,111	$	74,153
Marketing ⁽¹⁾		24,745		13,851		24,882		14,461		34,735		23,621		29,802		18,337
Admissions advisory		—		6,049		—		6,061		—		6,583		—		6,584
General and administration		24,253		14,691		25,609		13,809		25,590		13,385		26,133		13,972

	$	97,975	$	97,975	$	100,592	$	100,592	$	109,348	$	109,348	$	113,046	$	113,046

(1)

This line item was labeled Marketing and admissions expense on an "as reported" basis in 2010. Marketing and admissions expenses related to student support services were reclassified to Instruction and educational support expense, those related to admissions to Admissions advisory, and those related to corporate overhead were reclassified to General and administration expense in 2010.

Change In Accounting Principle

Change in accounting principle

Effective during the first quarter of 2011, the Company changed its presentation of tuition receivable and unearned tuition in its consolidated balance sheets. The Company believes that this change is preferable because it improves the comparability of results with others in the educational services industry and provides more transparency of its operations. Prior to the change, the Company recorded tuition receivable and unearned tuition upon a student's registration. Effective with this change, the Company records tuition receivable and unearned tuition for its students upon the start of the academic term. Therefore, at the end of the quarter (and academic term), tuition receivable represents amounts due from students for educational services already provided and unearned tuition represents advance payments from students for academic services to be provided in the future. This change has been reported retrospectively for all periods presented and had no impact on income from operations, net income, earnings per share, working capital, retained earnings, stockholders' equity or on net cash provided by operating activities. This change did not affect the Company's revenue recognition policies.

All prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.

Accounting For Derivatives Instruments And Hedging Activities

Accounting for Derivatives Instruments and Hedging Activities

On the date that the Company enters into a derivative contract, it designates the derivative as a hedge of (a) a forecasted transaction or (b) the variability of cash flows that are to be received or paid in connection with a recognized asset or liability (a cash flow hedge). All derivatives are recognized in the balance sheet at their fair value.

Changes in the fair value of a derivative that is highly effective and that is designated and qualifies as a cash flow hedge, to the extent that the hedge is effective, are recorded, net of income tax, in other comprehensive income, until earnings are affected by the variability of cash flows of the hedged transaction (e.g., until periodic settlements of a variable-rate asset or liability are recorded in earnings). Any hedge ineffectiveness (which represents the amount by which the changes in the fair value of the derivative exceed the variability in the cash flows of the forecasted transaction) is recorded in current-period earnings.

The Company formally documents all relationships between hedging instruments and hedged items, as well as its risk-management objective and strategy for undertaking various hedge transactions. The Company also formally assesses (both at the hedge's inception and on an ongoing basis) whether the derivatives that are used in hedging transactions have been highly effective in offsetting changes in the fair value or cash flows of hedged items and whether those derivatives may be expected to remain highly effective in future periods. When it is determined that a derivative is not (or has ceased to be) highly effective as a hedge, the Company discontinues hedge accounting prospectively.

- Definition

Disclosure of accounting policy for derivatives used in hedging relationships, which may include how gains or losses are recognized and presented in the financial statements, and amortization policies for deferred amounts.

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