Consolidated Balance Sheets - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents (includes VIE amounts of $199,609 and $231,940, see Note 2)	$ 479,011	$ 468,733
Restricted cash	184,989	224,934
Receivables:
Accounts and notes receivable	786,145	535,176
Other receivables	21,474	21,551
Allowance for doubtful accounts	(196,159)	(198,802)
Receivables, net	611,460	357,925
Income tax receivable	25,150	41,178
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	134,615	93,461
Current assets held for sale	57,990	102,623
Total current assets (includes VIE amounts of $537,880 and $407,315, see Note 2)	1,493,215	1,288,854
Notes receivable, net	9,448	4,116
Property and equipment:
Land	402,781	397,153
Buildings	995,922	1,026,656
Furniture, equipment and software	1,238,810	1,188,211
Leasehold improvements	440,121	423,658
Construction in-progress	75,392	84,520
Accumulated depreciation and amortization	(1,257,674)	(1,185,294)
Property and equipment, net	1,895,352	1,934,904
Land use rights, net	2,735	2,713
Goodwill	1,942,335	1,954,666
Other intangible assets:
Tradenames	1,280,617	1,295,614
Other intangible assets, net	34,095	35,927
Deferred costs, net	67,061	64,128
Deferred income taxes	177,601	156,006
Derivative instruments	41,341	48,186
Other assets	261,727	214,218
Long-term assets held for sale	311,231	392,391
Total assets (includes VIE amounts of $1,375,479 and $1,419,579, see Note 2)	7,516,758	7,391,723
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	82,825	79,568
Accrued expenses	310,362	291,216
Accrued compensation and benefits	191,755	247,575
Deferred revenue and student deposits	675,455	312,422
Current portion of long-term debt	131,738	154,234
Current portion of due to shareholders of acquired companies	35,431	40,140
Income taxes payable	18,636	29,857
Derivative instruments	123	4,458
Other current liabilities	42,101	38,560
Current liabilities held for sale	103,340	176,719
Total current liabilities (includes VIE amounts of $425,234 and $341,147, see Note 2)	1,591,766	1,374,749
Long-term debt, less current portion	2,852,334	3,207,064
Due to shareholders of acquired companies, less current portion	39,512	39,429
Deferred compensation	14,594	14,470
Income taxes payable	81,321	112,576
Deferred income taxes	293,957	278,215
Derivative instruments	14,772	9,390
Other long-term liabilities	312,001	260,144
Long-term liabilities held for sale	86,853	94,407
Total liabilities (includes VIE amounts of $496,419 and $449,561, see Note 2)	5,287,110	5,390,444
Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share – 49,488 shares authorized, no shares issued and outstanding as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017	0	0
Additional paid-in capital	3,383,778	3,446,206
Accumulated deficit	(772,283)	(946,236)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(839,322)	(925,556)
Total Laureate Education, Inc. stockholders' equity	1,772,924	1,575,164
Noncontrolling interests	(5,451)	12,118
Total stockholders' equity	1,767,473	1,587,282
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	7,516,758	7,391,723
Series A Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock
Current liabilities:
Total redeemable noncontrolling interests and equity	447,881	400,276
Redeemable noncontrolling interests and equity
Current liabilities:
Total redeemable noncontrolling interests and equity	14,294	13,721
Class A Common Stock
Stockholders' equity:
Common stock	221	220
Class B Common Stock
Stockholders' equity:
Common stock	$ 530	$ 530