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Revenue
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]  
Revenue Revenue
    On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, using the modified retrospective approach. Results for reporting periods beginning after January 1, 2018 are presented under ASC 606, while prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported in accordance with previous accounting under ASC 605, Revenue Recognition.

    The following is a description of principal activities from which the Company generates its revenue.

    Instructional services. Instructional services revenue includes tuition, technology, and laboratory fees. The Company generally recognizes revenue ratably as instructional services are provided over the period or term, which is, for APUS, either an eight- or sixteen-week period, and for HCN, a quarterly term. Tuition is charged by course or term, technology fees are charged to APUS students on a per course basis, and technology and laboratory fees are charged to HCN students on a per term basis, when applicable. Generally, instructional services are billed when a course or term begins and paid within thirty days of the bill date.

    Graduation fees. APUS graduation fee revenue represents a one-time, non-refundable $100 fee per degree, charged to students upon submission of a program graduation application. The fee covers administrative costs associated with completing
a review of the student’s academic and financial standing prior to graduation. The Company recognizes revenue once graduation review services are completed. Generally, graduation fees are billed and paid when the student submits the graduation application.

    Textbook and other course material fees. Textbook and other course materials revenue represent fees related to the sale of textbooks and other course materials to HCN students. Revenue is recognized at the beginning of the term when the textbooks and other course materials fees are billed. Payment is generally received within thirty days of the bill date. Sales tax collected from students on the sale of textbooks and other course materials is excluded from revenue.

    Other fees. Other fees revenue represents one-time, non-refundable fees such as application, enrollment, transcript, and other miscellaneous fees. Generally, other fees revenue is recognized when the fee is charged to the student, which coincides with the completion of the specific performance obligation to the student.

    APUS provides an APUS funded tuition grant to support students who are U.S. Military active-duty service members, National Guard members, reservists, military spouses and dependents, and, until January 2020, veterans, as well as a grant to cover the technology fee for students using TA. APUS and HCN also provide grants and scholarships to certain students to assist them financially with their educational goals.

    The statement of retained earnings at January 1, 2018 was adjusted by $278,000 to reflect the after tax impact of the adoption of ASC 606, related to the recognition of graduation fee revenue at APUS. There were no adjustments to any other revenue type as a result of the adoption of ASC 606.

For the year ended December 31, 2020, there were no material adverse impacts to revenue, deferred revenue, or accounts receivable due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Disaggregation of Revenue
    In the following table, revenue, shown net of grants and scholarships, is disaggregated by type of service provided. The table also includes a reconciliation of the disaggregated revenue with the reportable segments:

Year Ended December 31, 2018
(In thousands)
APEIHCNIntersegmentConsolidated
Instructional services, net of grants and scholarships$258,253 $32,468 $— $290,721 
Graduation fees1,069 — — 1,069 
Textbook and other course materials— 4,678 — 4,678 
Other fees740 479 — 1,219 
Total Revenue$260,062 $37,625 $— $297,687 

Year Ended December 31, 2019
(In thousands)
APEIHCNIntersegmentConsolidated
Instructional services, net of grants and scholarships$254,961 $25,369 $(108)$280,222 
Graduation fees1,138 — — 1,138 
Textbook and other course materials— 3,650 — 3,650 
Other fees800 460 — 1,260 
Total Revenue$256,899 $29,479 $(108)$286,270 
Year Ended December 31, 2020
(In thousands)
APEIHCNIntersegmentConsolidated
Instructional services, net of grants and scholarships$283,656 $30,346 $(72)$313,930 
Graduation fees1,336 — — 1,336 
Textbook and other course materials— 5,197 — 5,197 
Other fees774 548 — 1,322 
Total Revenue$285,766 $36,091 $(72)$321,785 
    
Effective January 1, 2019, the APEI Segment began charging the HCN Segment for the value of courses taken by HCN Segment employees at APUS. The intersegment elimination represents the elimination of this intersegment revenue in consolidation.

Contract Balances and Performance Obligations

The Company has no contract assets or deferred contract costs as of December 31, 2020.
    The Company recognizes a contract liability, or deferred revenue, when a student begins an online course, in the case of APUS, or starts a term, in the case of HCN, and revenue is recognized as described earlier in this footnote. Deferred revenue at December 31, 2019 was $17.4 million and includes $9.6 million in future revenue that has not yet been earned for courses and terms that are in progress, as well as $7.8 million in consideration received in advance for future courses or terms, or student deposits, and represents the Company’s performance obligation to transfer future instructional services to students. Deferred revenue at December 31, 2020 was $22.1 million and includes $13.7 million in future revenue that has not yet been earned for courses and terms that are in progress as well as $8.4 million in student deposits.

    The Company has elected, as a practical expedient, not to disclose additional information about unsatisfied performance obligations for contracts with students that have an expected duration of one year or less.

When the Company begins providing the performance obligations, a contract receivable is created, resulting in accounts receivable on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company accounts for receivables in accordance with ASC 310, Receivables. The Company uses the portfolio approach, a practical expedient, to evaluate if a contract exists and to assess collectability at the time of contract inception based on historical experience. Contracts are subsequently reviewed for collectability if significant events or circumstances indicate a change.
The allowance for doubtful accounts is based on management’s evaluation of the status of existing accounts receivable. Among other factors, management considers the age of the receivable, the anticipated source of payment, and historical allowance considerations. Consideration is also given to any specific known risk areas among the existing accounts receivable balances. Recoveries of receivables previously written off are recorded when received. APUS does not charge interest on past due accounts receivable. HCN charges interest on payment plans when a student leaves the payment plan program upon graduation or exit of the program. Interest earned for the years ended December 31, 2019, and 2020, was approximately $15,000 and $17,000, respectively. There was no interest earned for the year ended December 31, 2018.
Refund Policies
The Company provides a stated period of time during which students may withdraw from a course for APUS, or a term for HCN, without further financial obligation resulting in a refund liability. The refund policy for each subsidiary is as follows:
American Public University System

APUS’s tuition revenue varies from period to period based on the number of students enrolled, the number of net course registrations, the volume of undergraduate versus graduate registrations, and student payor source. Students may remit tuition payments through the online registration process at any time or they may elect various payment options, including payments by sponsors, alternative loans, financial aid, or TA, which remits payments directly to APUS. If one of the various other payment options is confirmed as secured, the student is allowed to start the course. These other payment options can delay the receipt of payment up until the course starts or longer, resulting in the recording of an account receivable at the beginning of each session. Tuition revenue that has not yet been earned by APUS is presented as deferred revenue in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.
APUS refunds 100% of tuition for courses that are dropped before the conclusion of the first seven days of a course. The Company does not recognize revenue for dropped courses. After a course begins, APUS uses the following refund policy:
8-Week Course- Tuition Refund Schedule
Withdrawal DateTuition Refund Percentage
Before or During Week 1100%
During Week 275%
During Weeks 3 through 450%
During Weeks 5 through 8No Refund
16-Week Course- Tuition Refund Schedule
Withdrawal Date Tuition Refund Percentage
Before or During Week 1100%
During Week 2 100%
During Weeks 3 through 4 75%
During Weeks 5 through 850%
During Weeks 9 through 16No Refund

     Students affiliated with certain organizations may have an alternate refund policy.

If a student withdraws during the academic term, APUS calculates the portion of instructional services and technology fees that are non-refundable based on the tuition refund policy and recognizes it as revenue in the period the withdrawal occurs.
Hondros College of Nursing
HCN’s tuition revenue varies from period to period based on the number of students enrolled and the programs in which they are enrolled. Students may remit tuition payments at any time, or they may elect various payment options that can delay receipt of payment up until the term starts or longer. These other payment options include payments by sponsors, financial aid, and alternative loans. Beginning July 1, 2018, HCN began offering its students an extended payment plan option designed to assist students with educational costs consisting of tuition, textbooks, and fees. The extended payment plan option is only available after all other student financial assistance has been applied to those costs. The payment plan requires monthly payments while the student is enrolled in a program and extends for a period up to six months after the last day of attendance or graduation. To the extent interest is applied, it is generally fixed and does not accrue until the student departs the program or graduates. The extended payment plan option does not impose any origination fees. Borrowers are advised about the terms of the loans and counseled to use all federal funding options. In addition, beginning January 1, 2020, HCN began offering an institutional grant to students demonstrating financial need to cover the difference between the total cost of tuition and fees less the amount of all eligible financial aid resources. The grant is designed to limit a student’s monthly payment to $200 through an award of up to $200 per month or $600 per term after consideration of financial aid, employer tuition reimbursement, and other financial resources. HCN awarded approximately $0.2 million of institutional grants during the year ended December 31, 2020.

Generally, financial aid is awarded prior to the start of the term and requests for authorization of disbursement begin in the second week of the term. Tuition revenue that has not yet been earned by HCN is presented as deferred revenue in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.
    HCN’s refund policy for Ohio campuses complies with the rules of the Ohio State Board of Career Colleges and Schools and is applicable to each term. For a course with an on-campus or other in-person component, the date of withdrawal is determined by a student’s last attended day of clinical offering, laboratory session, or lecture. For an online course, the date of withdrawal is determined by a student’s last submitted assignment in the course. HCN uses the following refund policies:

HCN’s refund policy for students at its Ohio campuses is as follows:
Quarterly Term
Withdrawal DateTuition Refund Percentage
Before first full calendar week of the quarter100%
During first full calendar week of the quarter75%
During second full calendar week of the quarter50%
During third full calendar week of the quarter25%
During fourth full week of the quarterNo Refund

HCN’s refund policy for students at its Indianapolis campus is as follows:
Withdrawal DateTuition Refund Percentage
Before first calendar week of quarter100%
During first full calendar week of the quarter90%
During third full calendar week of the quarter75%
During sixth full calendar week of the quarter50%
During ninth full calendar week of the quarter25%
After the ninth week of the quarterNo Refund

If a student withdraws during the term, HCN calculates the portion of tuition that is non-refundable based on the tuition refund policy and recognizes it as revenue in the period the withdrawal occurs.

Refund Liability
APUS uses the portfolio approach and applies the expected value method to determine if a refund liability exists. This requires management judgment and the use of estimates and historical data to assess the likelihood and magnitude of a revenue reversal due to a refund liability. Due to the short duration of the courses, and the refund policy described above, any uncertainty regarding a student’s withdrawal is resolved in a short time period. Based on measurement and analysis, the Company determined that a significant reversal in the cumulative amount of revenue recognized is not expected. The Company includes this estimate in the transaction price. At December 31, 2019 and 2020, there was approximately $9,000 and $28,800, respectively, of refund liabilities for APUS included in deferred revenue. APUS updates the measurement of the refund liability at the end of each reporting period for changes in expectations, and if the reversal becomes significant, recognizes corresponding adjustments to revenue.
Because each HCN term coincides with the Company’s fiscal quarter period, there is no refund liability as of December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020.