Property And Equipment

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

8. PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

The cost basis and estimated useful lives of property and equipment for continuing operations as of December 31, 2011 and 2010 are as follows:


	December 31,						Life
	2011			2010			Life
	(Dollars in thousands)
Land	$	3,375		$	6,769
Building and improvements		46,769			48,087		15-50 years
Computer hardware and software		139,714			176,828		3 years
Classroom equipment and other instructional materials		69,350			68,306		5-10 years
Furniture, fixtures and equipment		98,760			109,801		7 years
Leasehold improvements		414,720			387,607		Shorter of Life of Lease or Useful Life
Vehicles		962			879		5 years
Construction in progress		4,764			10,955

		778,414			809,232
Less-Accumulated depreciation		(428,626	)		(445,716	)

Total property and equipment, net	$	349,788		$	363,516

Depreciation expense for continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, was $77.5 million, $68.8 million and $63.5 million, respectively. Depreciation expense for discontinued operations, included in income (loss) from discontinued operations, was $0.9 million, $1.6 million and $3.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

Property and equipment was affected by asset impairment charges of approximately $0.3 million and $2.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. During 2010, we recorded a $0.3 million asset impairment charge for one of our leased facilities within the Art & Design reportable segment. During 2009, we recorded a $2.5 million asset impairment charge for one of our owned facilities, resulting from its carrying value exceeding its current fair value. This charge is reflected within Corporate and Other.

During 2011, we recorded a gain of approximately $1.4 million in connection with the sale of property located in California. This gain was recorded under miscellaneous income (expense) within Corporate and Other on our consolidated statement of operations.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for long-lived, physical assets that are used in the normal conduct of business to produce goods and services and not intended for resale. Examples include land, buildings, machinery and equipment, and other types of furniture and equipment including, but not limited to, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment and software. This disclosure may include property plant and equipment accounting policies and methodology, a schedule of property, plant and equipment gross, additions, deletions, transfers and other changes, depreciation, depletion and amortization expense, net, accumulated depreciation, depletion and amortization expense and useful lives, income statement disclosures, assets held for sale and public utility disclosures.

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