XML 20 R10.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT
v3.22.2

Significant Accounting Policies | 6 Months Ended
--- | ---
Jun. 30, 2022
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Significant Accounting Policies | Significant Accounting Policies Financial Statement Presentation The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in the consolidated financial statements. All information as of June 30, 2021 and 2022, and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021 and 2022 is unaudited but, in the opinion of management, contains all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary to present fairly the condensed consolidated financial position, results of operations, and cash flows of the Company. The condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2021 has been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements at that date. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. The results of operations for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full fiscal year. Below is a description of the nature of the costs included in the Company’s operating expense categories. Instructional and support costs generally contain items of expense directly attributable to activities that support students. This expense category includes salaries and benefits of faculty and academic administrators, as well as admissions and administrative personnel who support and serve student interests. Instructional and support costs also include course development costs and costs associated with delivering course content, including educational supplies, facilities, 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 instructional and support costs. General and administration expenses include salaries and benefits of management and employees engaged in finance, human resources, legal, regulatory compliance, marketing and other corporate functions. Also included are the costs of advertising and production of marketing materials. General and administration expense also includes the facilities occupancy and other related costs attributable to such functions. Amortization of intangible assets consists of amortization and depreciation expense related to intangible assets and software assets acquired through the Company's merger with Capella Education Company (“CEC”) and the Company's acquisition of Torrens University and associated assets in Australia and New Zealand (“ANZ”). Merger and integration costs include integration expenses associated with the Company's merger with CEC and the Company's acquisition of ANZ. Restructuring costs include severance and other personnel-related expenses from voluntary and involuntary employee terminations, as well as early lease termination costs and impairments of right-of-use lease assets and fixed assets associated with vacating leased space in connection with the Company's restructuring plans. See Note 4 for additional information. Foreign Currency Translation and Transaction Gains and Losses The United States Dollar (“USD”) is the functional currency of the Company and its subsidiaries operating in the United States. The financial statements of its foreign subsidiaries are maintained in their functional currencies. The functional currency of each of the foreign subsidiaries is the currency of the economic environment in which the subsidiary primarily does business. Financial statements of foreign subsidiaries are translated into USD using the exchange rates applicable to the dates of the financial statements. Assets and liabilities are translated into USD using the period-end spot foreign exchange rates. Income and expenses are translated at the weighted-average exchange rates in effect during the period. Equity accounts are translated at historical exchange rates. The effects of these translation adjustments are reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income within shareholders’ equity. For any transaction that is in a currency different from the entity’s functional currency, the Company records a net gain or loss based on the difference between the exchange rate at the transaction date and the exchange rate at the transaction settlement date (or rate at period end, if unsettled), in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of income. Restricted Cash In the United States, a significant portion of the Company’s revenues are funded by various federal and state government programs. The Company generally does not receive funds from these programs prior to the start of the corresponding academic term. The Company may be required to return certain funds for students who withdraw from a U.S. higher education institution during the academic term. The Company had approximately $0.7 million and $0.9 million of these unpaid obligations as of December 31, 2021 and June 30, 2022, respectively. In Australia and New Zealand, advance tuition payments from international students are required to be restricted until that student commences his or her course. In addition, a portion of tuition prepayments from students enrolled in a vocational education and training program are held in trust by a third party law firm to adhere to tuition protection requirements. As of December 31, 2021 and June 30, 2022, the Company had approximately $9.1 million and $12.1 million, respectively, of restricted cash related to these requirements in Australia and New Zealand. These balances are recorded as restricted cash and included in other current assets in the unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheets. As part of conducting operations in Pennsylvania, the Company is required to maintain a “minimum protective endowment” of at least $0.5 million in an interest-bearing account as long as the Company operates its campuses in the state. The Company holds these funds in an interest-bearing account, which is included in other assets. The following table illustrates the reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash shown in the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of cash flows as of June 30, 2021 and 2022 (in thousands):
| As of June 30,
| 2021 |  | 2022
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 261,585 |  |  | $ | 262,941 |
Restricted cash included in other current assets | 11,829 |  |  | 12,916 |
Restricted cash included in other assets | 500 |  |  | 500 |
Total cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash shown in the statement of cash flows | $ | 273,914 |  |  | $ | 276,357 |
Tuition Receivable and Allowance for Credit Losses The Company records tuition receivable and contract liabilities for its students upon the start of the academic term or program. Tuition receivables are not collateralized; however, credit risk is minimized as a result of the diverse nature of the Company's student bases and through the participation of the majority of the students in federally funded financial aid programs. An allowance for credit losses is established based upon historical collection rates by age of receivable and adjusted for reasonable expectations of future collection performance, net of estimated recoveries. These collection rates incorporate historical performance based on a student’s current enrollment status, likelihood of future enrollment, degree mix trends and changes in the overall economic environment. In the event that current collection trends differ from historical trends, an adjustment is made to the allowance for credit losses and bad debt expense. The Company’s tuition receivable and allowance for credit losses were as follows as of December 31, 2021 and June 30, 2022 (in thousands):
| December 31, 2021 |  | June 30, 2022
Tuition receivable | $ | 100,060 |  |  | $ | 119,444 |
Allowance for credit losses | (48,783) |  |  | (43,507) |
Tuition receivable, net | $ | 51,277 |  |  | $ | 75,937 |
Approximately $2.5 million and $1.9 million of tuition receivable are included in other assets as of December 31, 2021 and June 30, 2022, respectively, because these amounts are expected to be collected after 12 months. The following table illustrates changes in the Company’s allowance for credit losses for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021 and 2022 (in thousands).
| For the three months ended June 30, |  | For the six months ended June 30,
| 2021 |  | 2022 |  | 2021 |  | 2022
Allowance for credit losses, beginning of period | $ | 49,179 |  |  | $ | 44,892 |  |  | $ | 49,773 |  |  | $ | 48,783 |
Additions charged to expense | 9,737 |  |  | 8,787 |  |  | 20,559 |  |  | 16,004 |
Write-offs, net of recoveries | (9,325) |  |  | (10,172) |  |  | (20,741) |  |  | (21,280) |
Allowance for credit losses, end of period | $ | 49,591 |  |  | $ | 43,507 |  |  | $ | 49,591 |  |  | $ | 43,507 |
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price of an acquired business over the amount assigned to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination. Indefinite-lived intangible assets, which include trade names, are recorded at fair value on their acquisition date. An indefinite life was assigned to the trade names because they have the continued ability to generate cash flows indefinitely. Goodwill and the indefinite-lived intangible assets are assessed at least annually for impairment on the first day of the fourth quarter, or more frequently if events occur or circumstances change between annual tests that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of the respective reporting unit or indefinite-lived intangible asset below its carrying amount. The Company identifies its reporting units by assessing whether the components of its operating segments constitute businesses for which discrete financial information is available, and management regularly reviews the operating results of those components. Finite-lived intangible assets that are acquired in business combinations are recorded at fair value on their acquisition dates and are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset. Finite-lived intangible assets consist of student relationships. The Company reviews its finite-lived intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. If such assets are not recoverable, a potential impairment loss is recognized to the extent the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets. Authorized Stock The Company has authorized 32,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01, of which 24,592,098 and 24,637,268 shares were issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021 and June 30, 2022, respectively. The Company also has authorized 8,000,000 shares of preferred stock, none of which is issued or outstanding. Before any preferred stock may be issued in the future, the Board of Directors would need to establish the preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends, qualifications, and the terms or conditions of the redemption of the preferred stock. In April 2022, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a regular, quarterly cash dividend of $0.60 per share of common stock. The dividend was paid on June 6, 2022. Net Income Per Share Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the periods. Diluted earnings per share reflects the potential dilution that could occur assuming conversion or exercise of all dilutive unexercised stock options, restricted stock, and restricted stock units. The dilutive effect of stock awards was determined using the treasury stock method. Under the treasury stock method, all of the following are assumed to be used to repurchase shares of the Company’s common stock: (1) the proceeds received from the exercise of stock options, and (2) the amount of compensation cost associated with the stock awards for future service not yet recognized by the Company. Stock options are not included in the computation of diluted earnings per share when the stock option exercise price of an individual grant exceeds the average market price for the period. Set forth below is a reconciliation of shares used to calculate basic and diluted earnings per share for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021 and 2022 (in thousands):
| For the three months ended June 30, |  | For the six months ended June 30,
| 2021 |  | 2022 |  | 2021 |  | 2022
Weighted average shares outstanding used to compute basic earnings per share | 23,975 |  |  | 23,796 |  |  | 23,974 |  |  | 23,872 |
Incremental shares issuable upon the assumed exercise of stock options | 5 |  |  | 3 |  |  | 6 |  |  | 2 |
Unvested restricted stock and restricted stock units | 146 |  |  | 264 |  |  | 159 |  |  | 215 |
Shares used to compute diluted earnings per share | 24,126 |  |  | 24,063 |  |  | 24,139 |  |  | 24,089 |
Anti-dilutive shares excluded from the diluted earnings per share calculation | 385 |  |  | 15 |  |  | 252 |  |  | 218 |
Comprehensive Income (Loss) Comprehensive income (loss) includes net income and all changes in the Company’s equity during a period from non-owner sources, which for the Company consists of unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale marketable securities, net of tax, and foreign currency translation adjustments. As of December 31, 2021, the balance of accumulated other comprehensive income was $9.2 million, net of tax of $0.2 million, and as of June 30, 2022, the balance of accumulated other comprehensive loss was $28.0 million, net of tax of $0.1 million. There were no reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to net income for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021 and 2022. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the period reported. The most significant management estimates include allowances for credit losses, useful lives of property and equipment and intangible assets, incremental borrowing rates, potential sublease income and vacancy periods, accrued expenses, forfeiture rates and the likelihood of achieving performance criteria for stock-based awards, value of free courses earned by students that will be redeemed in the future, valuation of goodwill and intangible assets, and the provision for income taxes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Recently Issued Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted Accounting Standards Updates recently issued by the FASB but not yet effective are not expected to have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

X
- References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_AccountingPoliciesAbstract
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition The entire disclosure for all significant accounting policies of the reporting entity. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=126899994&loc=d3e18726-107790 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -URI https://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2122369 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_SignificantAccountingPoliciesTextBlock
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | dtr-types:textBlockItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration