As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 31, 2008

Registration No. 333-150876

 

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

 

Amendment No. 4

 

to

 

Form S-1

 

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

Grand Canyon Education, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

 

3300 W. Camelback Road

Phoenix, Arizona 85017

(602) 639-7500

(Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)

 

Christopher C. Richardson

General Counsel

Grand Canyon Education, Inc.

3300 W. Camelback Road

Phoenix, Arizona 85017

(602) 639-7500

(Name, Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent For Service)

 

Copies to:

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:  As soon as practicable after this registration statement becomes effective.

 

If any of the securities being registered on this form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box.  o

 

If this form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  o

 

If this form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  o

 

If this form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

 

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

 

 

 

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), shall determine.

 

 

 

Subject to Completion
Dated October 31, 2008

 

10,500,000 Shares

 

 

 

Grand Canyon Education, Inc.
Common Stock

 

 

 

 

This is the initial public offering of common stock of Grand Canyon Education, Inc. We are offering 10,500,000 shares of our common stock.

 

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. The initial public offering price of our common stock is expected to be between $18.00 and $20.00 per share. We have received approval to list our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “LOPE.”

 

Seventy-five percent (75%) of the gross proceeds from the sale of stock in this offering, before underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses, will be paid to our existing stockholders as a special distribution.

 

Investing in our common stock involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 11.

 

 

 

We have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 1,575,000 additional shares of common stock from us at the public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions, to cover over-allotments of shares, if any.

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

Delivery of the shares of common stock will be made on or about          , 2008.

 

 

 

 

Joint Book-Running Managers

 

          

 

 

BMO Capital Markets William Blair & Company Piper Jaffray

 

 

 

The date of this prospectus is          , 2008.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

 

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained in this prospectus. We are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, shares of common stock only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. You should assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or of any sale of common stock. Our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects may have changed since that date.

 

Until          , 2008 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers, whether or not participating in this offering, that effect transactions in these securities may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter in this offering and when selling previously unsold allotments or subscriptions.

 

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

	•	we are unable to attract and retain students as a result of the highly competitive markets in which we operate;

	•	we are unable to comply with the extensive regulatory requirements to which our business is subject, including requirements governing the Title IV federal student financial aid programs, state laws and regulations, and accrediting commission requirements;
	•	we experience any student, regulatory, reputational, or other events that adversely affect our graduate degree offerings, from which we currently derive a significant portion of our revenues;
	•	we experience damage to our reputation or other adverse effects in connection with any compliance audit; regulatory action; investigation, including the investigation of Grand Canyon University currently being conducted by the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education; or litigation, including the pending qui tam action regarding the manner in which we have compensated our enrollment personnel; or as a result of negative publicity affecting us or other companies in the for-profit postsecondary education sector;
	•	we are unable to attract and retain key personnel needed to sustain and grow our business;
	•	our students are unable to obtain student loans on affordable terms, or at all;
	•	adverse economic or other developments affect demand in our core disciplines; or
	•	we are unable to develop new programs or expand our existing programs in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Common stock offered by us		10,500,000 shares
Common stock outstanding after this offering		41,999,354 shares
Use of proceeds		We estimate that the net proceeds to us from this offering will be approximately $179.7 million, or approximately $207.6 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, based on the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus and after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

		As described in “Use of Proceeds” and “Special Distribution,” we will use the proceeds of this offering to pay a special distribution to our stockholders of record as of September 26, 2008, in the amount of 75% of the gross proceeds received by us from the sale of stock in this offering, including any proceeds we receive from the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option, before underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses. We also intend to use $16.0 million of the proceeds of this offering to repurchase an outstanding warrant to purchase shares of our common stock. We intend to use the remaining proceeds to pay the expenses of this offering and for general corporate purposes.

		The payment of the special distribution in the amount described above permits a return of capital to all of our stockholders as of the record date, and does so without significantly decreasing our capital resources or requiring these stockholders to sell their shares. Of the estimated aggregate amount of the special distribution of $149.6 million (exclusive of any amounts that may be received from the underwriters’ exercise of the over-allotment option), assuming an initial public offering price of $19.00 per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, $81.1 million will be paid in respect of shares of our capital stock over which our directors and executive officers are deemed to exercise sole or shared voting or investment power. These proceeds will be allocated as set forth in the following table.

	(1)	Represents shares owned by Endeavour Capital Fund IV, L.P. and certain affiliated funds. D. Mark Dorman and Chad N. Heath, two

		of our directors, are managing directors of Endeavour Capital IV, LLC, the general partner of such funds.

		See “Special Distribution” and “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions — Special Distribution” for additional information regarding the beneficiaries of the special distribution.
Dividend policy		Except with respect to the special distribution, we do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future.
Risk factors		You should carefully read and consider the information set forth under the heading titled “Risk Factors” and all other information set forth in this prospectus before deciding to invest in shares of our common stock.
Proposed Nasdaq Global Market symbol		LOPE

	•	no exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase up to 1,575,000 additional shares from us;

	•	a 1,826-for-one split of our outstanding common stock effected on September 29, 2008;

	•	the automatic conversion of all outstanding shares of Series A convertible preferred stock into 10,870,178 shares of common stock upon the closing of the offering;
	•	the filing of an amendment to our certificate of incorporation to provide for the automatic conversion of all outstanding shares of Series C preferred stock into 1,410,526 shares of common stock upon the closing of the offering based on a conversion price equal to the initial public offering price per share, assuming an initial public offering price of $19.00 per share, which is the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus;
	•	the repurchase by us of an outstanding warrant to purchase 909,348 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.58 per share for $16.0 million in cash, as described under “Use of Proceeds;”
	•	the filing of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the adoption of our amended and restated bylaws immediately prior to the effectiveness of this offering; and
	•	the rounding of all fractional share amounts to the nearest whole number.

		Year Ended December 31,												Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2005				2006				2007				2007				2008
		(Restated)(1)												(Unaudited)
		(In thousands, except enrollment
		and per share data)
Statement of Operations Data:
Net revenue		$	51,793			$	72,111			$	99,326			$	68,472			$	109,626
Costs and expenses:
Instructional costs and services			28,063				31,287				39,050				27,531				36,995
Selling and promotional			14,047				20,093				35,148				24,291				46,035
General and administrative			12,968				15,011				17,001				11,848				15,992
Royalty to former owner			1,619				2,678				3,782				2,585				1,612
Total costs and expenses			56,697				69,069				94,981				66,255				100,634
Operating income (loss)			(4,904	)			3,042				4,345				2,217				8,992
Interest expense			(3,098	)			(2,827	)			(2,975	)			(2,236	)			(2,156	)
Interest income			276				912				1,172				887				508
Income (loss) before income taxes			(7,726	)			1,127				2,542				868				7,344
Income tax expense (benefit)(2)			(3,440	)			529				1,016				347				2,868
Net income (loss)			(4,286	)			598				1,526				521				4,476
Preferred dividends			—				(527	)			(349	)			(251	)			(791	)
Net income available (loss attributable) to common stockholders		$	(4,286	)		$	71			$	1,177			$	270			$	3,685
Earnings (loss) per common share
Basic		$	(0.23	)		$	0.00			$	0.06			$	0.01			$	0.19
Diluted		$	(0.23	)		$	0.00			$	0.03			$	0.01			$	0.11
Shares used in computing earnings (loss) per common share
Basic			18,470				18,853				18,923				18,885				19,133
Diluted			18,470				36,858				35,143				35,189				32,097
Pro forma earnings per common share (Unaudited)(3)
Basic										$	0.03							$	0.09
Diluted										$	0.03							$	0.09
Shares used in computing pro forma earnings per common share (Unaudited)(3)
Basic											38,913								39,047
Diluted											44,263								41,141

		Year Ended December 31,												Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2005				2006				2007				2007				2008
		(Restated)(1)												(Unaudited)
		(In thousands, except enrollment
		and per share data)
Other Data:
Capital expenditures		$	817			$	2,387			$	7,406			$	5,136			$	6,015
Depreciation and amortization		$	1,879			$	2,396			$	3,300			$	2,319			$	3,676
Adjusted EBITDA(4)		$	(895	)		$	9,074			$	11,723			$	7,309			$	14,468
Period end enrollment:
Online			6,212				8,406				12,497				11,306				19,287
Ground			2,210				2,256				2,257				2,193				2,670

		As of September 30, 2008
										Pro Forma,
										as
		Actual				Pro Forma(3)				Adjusted(5)
		(Unaudited)
		(In thousands)
Balance Sheet Data:
Cash and cash equivalents		$	22,227			$	22,227			$	36,337
Total assets			105,618				105,618				119,728
Capital lease obligations (including short-term)			30,775				30,775				30,775
Other indebtedness (including short-term indebtedness)			1,814				1,814				1,814
Preferred stock			32,739				—				—
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)(2)(3)			(7,457	)			(124,343	)			45,947

(1)		Our financial statements at December 31, 2006 and 2007 and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2007 have been restated. See Note 3, “Restatement of Financial Statements,” in our financial statements that are included elsewhere in this prospectus.
(2)		On August 24, 2005, we converted from a limited liability company to a taxable corporation. For all periods subsequent to such date, we have been subject to corporate-level U.S. federal and state income taxes.

(3)		As described in “Use of Proceeds” and “Special Distribution,” we will use the proceeds of this offering to pay a special distribution to our stockholders of record as of September 26, 2008, in the amount of 75% of the gross proceeds received by us from the sale of stock in this offering, including any proceeds we receive from the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option, before underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses. Since the special distribution represents distributions to existing stockholders to be made from the proceeds of an initial public offering, the pro forma balance sheet as of September 30, 2008 reflecting the distribution, but not giving effect to the offering proceeds, is presented. In addition, since the amount of the special distribution exceeds net income for the twelve-month period ended September 30, 2008, pro forma earnings per common share, basic and diluted, are presented for the year ended December 31, 2007 and for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2008, which amounts give effect to the number of shares that would be required to be issued at an assumed initial public offering price of $19.00 per share to pay the amount of dividends that exceeds net income for the twelve-month period ended September 30, 2008. The pro forma balance sheet and earnings per common share data also assume the conversion of all outstanding shares of Series A convertible preferred stock into 10,870,178 shares of common stock, as well as the conversion of all outstanding shares of Series C preferred stock into 1,410,526 shares of common stock upon the closing of the offering based on a conversion price equal to $19.00 per share, which is the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.

(4)		Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) plus interest expense net of interest income, plus income tax expense (benefit), and plus depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), as adjusted for (i) royalty payments incurred pursuant to an agreement with our former owner that has been terminated as of April 15, 2008, as

		discussed in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Factors affecting comparability — Settlement with former owner” and Note 2 to our financial statements that are included elsewhere in this prospectus, and (ii) management fees and expenses that are no longer paid or that will no longer be payable following completion of this offering.
		We present Adjusted EBITDA because we consider it to be an important supplemental measure of our operating performance. We also make certain compensation decisions based, in part, on our operating performance, as measured by Adjusted EBITDA. See “Compensation Discussion and Analysis — Impact of Performance on Compensation.” All of the adjustments made in our calculation of Adjusted EBITDA are adjustments to items that management does not consider to be reflective of our core operating performance. Management considers our core operating performance to be that which can be affected by our managers in any particular period through their management of the resources that affect our underlying revenue and profit generating operations during that period. Management fees and expenses and royalty expenses paid to our former owner are not considered reflective of our core operating performance.

	•	in developing our internal budgets and strategic plan;
	•	as a measurement of operating performance;
	•	as a factor in evaluating the performance of our management for compensation purposes; and
	•	in presentations to the members of our board of directors to enable our board to have the same measurement basis of operating performance as are used by management to compare our current operating results with corresponding prior periods and with the results of other companies in our industry.

		However, Adjusted EBITDA is not a recognized measurement under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, and when analyzing our operating performance, investors should use Adjusted EBITDA in addition to, and not as an alternative for, net income, operating income, or any other performance measure presented in accordance with GAAP, or as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities or as a measure of our liquidity. Because not all companies use identical calculations, our presentation of Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies. Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, as discussed under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Non-GAAP Discussion.”
		The following table provides a reconciliation of net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP measure, for the periods indicated:

		Year Ended December 31,												Nine Months Ended September 30,
		2005				2006				2007				2007				2008
		(Restated)(1)												(Unaudited)
		(In thousands)
Net income (loss)		$	(4,286	)		$	598			$	1,526			$	521			$	4,476
Plus: interest expense net of interest income			2,822				1,915				1,803				1,349				1,648
Plus: income tax expense (benefit)			(3,440	)			529				1,016				347				2,868
Plus: depreciation and amortization			1,879				2,396				3,300				2,319				3,676
EBITDA			(3,025	)			5,438				7,645				4,536				12,668
Plus: royalty to former owner(a)			1,619				2,678				3,782				2,585				1,612
Plus: management fees and expenses(b)			511				958				296				188				188
Adjusted EBITDA		$	(895	)		$	9,074			$	11,723			$	7,309			$	14,468

(a)		Reflects the royalty fee arrangement with the former owner of Grand Canyon University in which we agreed to pay a stated percentage of cash revenue generated by our online programs. As a result of the settlement of a dispute with our former owner, we are no longer obligated to pay this royalty, although the settlement includes a prepayment of future royalties that will be amortized in 2008 and

		future periods. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Factors affecting comparability — Settlement with former owner” and Note 2 to our financial statements, which are included elsewhere in this prospectus.

(b)		Reflects management fees and expenses of $0.1 million, $0.3 million, and $0.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2006, and 2007, respectively, and $0.2 million and $0.2 million for the nine month periods ended September 30, 2007 and 2008, respectively, to the general partner of Endeavour Capital, and an aggregate of $0.4 million and $0.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2005 and 2006, respectively, to an entity affiliated with a former director and another affiliated with a significant stockholder, in each case following their investment in us. The agreements relating to these arrangements have all terminated or will terminate by their terms upon the closing of this offering. See “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions.”

(5)		For a description of the offering and pro forma adjustments, see “Capitalization.”

 

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Before making an investment in our common stock, you should carefully consider the following risks and the other information contained in this prospectus, including our financial statements and related notes, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and “Regulation.” The risks described below are those that we believe are the material risks we face. Any of the risk factors described below, and others that we did not anticipate, could significantly and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. As a result, the trading price of our common stock could decline and you may lose all or part of your investment.

 

Risks Related to Our Industry

 

Our failure to comply with the extensive regulatory requirements governing our school could result in financial penalties, restrictions on our operations or growth, or loss of external financial aid funding for our students.

 

For our fiscal years ended December 31, 2006 and 2007, we derived cash receipts equal to approximately 67.9% and 70.2%, respectively, of our net revenue from tuition financed under federal student financial aid programs, referred to in this prospectus as the Title IV programs, which are administered by the U.S. Department of Education, or Department of Education. To participate in the Title IV programs, a school must be authorized by the appropriate state education agency or agencies, be accredited by an accrediting commission recognized by the Department of Education, and be certified as an eligible institution by the Department of Education. In addition, our operations and programs are regulated by other state education agencies and additional accrediting commissions. As a result of these requirements, we are subject to extensive regulation by the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education and education agencies of other states, the Higher Learning Commission, which is our primary accrediting commission, specialized accrediting commissions, and the Department of Education. These regulatory requirements cover the vast majority of our operations, including our educational programs, instructional and administrative staff, administrative procedures, marketing, recruiting, financial operations, and financial condition. These regulatory requirements also affect our ability to open additional schools and locations, add new educational programs, change existing educational programs, and change our corporate or ownership structure. The agencies that regulate our operations periodically revise their requirements and modify their interpretations of existing requirements. Regulatory requirements are not always precise and clear, and regulatory agencies may sometimes disagree with the way we have interpreted or applied these requirements. Any misinterpretation by us of regulatory requirements could materially adversely affect us.

 

If we fail to comply with any of these regulatory requirements, we could suffer financial penalties, limitations on our operations, loss of accreditation, termination of or limitations on our ability to grant degrees and certificates, or limitations on or termination of our eligibility to participate in the Title IV programs, each of which could materially adversely affect us. In addition, if we are charged with regulatory violations, our reputation could be damaged, which could have a negative impact on our stock price and our enrollments. We cannot predict with certainty how all of these regulatory requirements will be applied, or whether we will be able to comply with all of the applicable requirements in the future.

 

If the Department of Education does not recertify us to continue participating in the Title IV programs, our students would lose their access to Title IV program funds, or we could be recertified but required to accept significant limitations as a condition of our continued participation in the Title IV programs.

 

Department of Education certification to participate in the Title IV programs lasts a maximum of six years, and institutions are thus required to seek recertification from the Department of Education on a regular basis in order to continue their participation in the Title IV programs. An institution must also apply for recertification by the Department of Education if it undergoes a change in control, as defined by Department of Education regulations, and may be subject to similar review if it expands its operations or educational programs in certain ways.

 

Our most recent recertification, which was issued on a provisional basis in May 2005 after an extended review by the Department of Education following the change in control that occurred in February 2004,

contained a number of conditions on our continued participation in the Title IV programs. At that time we were required by the Department of Education to post a letter of credit, accept restrictions on the growth of our program offerings and enrollment, and receive certain Title IV funds under the heightened cash monitoring system of payment (pursuant to which an institution is required to credit students with Title IV funds prior to obtaining those funds from the Department of Education) rather than by advance payment (pursuant to which an institution receives Title IV funds from the Department of Education in advance of disbursement to students). In October 2006, the Department of Education eliminated the letter of credit requirement and allowed the growth restrictions to expire, and in August 2007, it eliminated the heightened cash monitoring restrictions and returned us to the advance payment method. We submitted our application for recertification in March 2008 in anticipation of the expiration of our provisional certification on June 30, 2008. The Department of Education did not make a decision on our recertification application by June 30, 2008 and therefore our participation in the Title IV programs has been automatically extended on a month-to-month basis until the Department of Education makes its decision. See “Regulation — Regulation of Federal Student Financial Aid Programs — Eligibility and certification procedures.” There can be no assurance that the Department of Education will recertify us while the investigation by the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Education is being conducted, while the qui tam lawsuit is pending, or at all, or that it will not impose restrictions as a condition to approving our pending recertification application or with respect to any future recertification. If the Department of Education does not renew or withdraws our certification to participate in the Title IV programs at any time, our students would no longer be able to receive Title IV program funds. Similarly, the Department of Education could renew our certification, but restrict or delay our students’ receipt of Title IV funds, limit the number of students to whom we could disburse such funds, or place other restrictions on us. Any of these outcomes would have a material adverse effect on our enrollments and us.

 

The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Education has commenced an investigation of Grand Canyon University, which is ongoing and which may result in fines, penalties, other sanctions, and damage to our reputation in the industry.

 

The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Education is responsible for, among other things, promoting the effectiveness and integrity of the Department of Education’s programs and operations, including compliance with applicable statutes and regulations. The Office of Inspector General performs investigations of alleged violations of law, including cases of alleged fraud and abuse, or other identified vulnerabilities, in programs administered or financed by the Department of Education. On August 14, 2008, the Office of Inspector General served an administrative subpoena on Grand Canyon University requiring us to provide certain records and information related to performance reviews and salary adjustments for all of our enrollment counselors and managers from January 1, 2004 to the present. Based on the records and information requested in the subpoena, we believe the Office of Inspector General is conducting an investigation focused on whether we have compensated any of our enrollment counselors or managers in a manner that violated the Title IV statutory requirements or the related Department of Education regulations concerning the payment of incentive compensation based on success in securing enrollments or financial aid. See “Regulation — Regulation of Federal Student Financial Aid Programs — Incentive compensation rule.”

 

We are currently reviewing documents and emails that may be responsive to the Office of Inspector General’s subpoena. The outcome of the Office of Inspector General investigation may depend in part on information contained in these materials or any information or testimony that may be provided by former employees or other third parties.

 

The Department of Education may impose fines and other monetary penalties as a result of a violation of the incentive compensation law and such fines and other monetary penalties may be substantial. In addition, the Department of Education retains the authority to impose other sanctions on an institution for violations of the incentive compensation law. The possible effects of a determination of a regulatory violation are described more fully in “Regulation — Regulation of Federal Student Financial Aid Programs — Potential effect of regulatory violations.” Any such fine or other sanction could damage our reputation and impose significant costs on us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations. We are cooperating with the Office of Inspector General to facilitate its investigation, but

cannot presently predict the ultimate outcome of the investigation or any liability or other sanctions that might result.

 

We were recently notified that a qui tam lawsuit has been filed against us alleging, among other things, that we have improperly compensated certain of our enrollment counselors, and we may incur liability, be subject to sanctions, or experience damage to our reputation as a result of this lawsuit.

 

On September 11, 2008, we were served with a qui tam lawsuit that had been filed against us in August 2007, in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona by a then-current employee on behalf of the federal government. All proceedings in the lawsuit had been under seal until September 5, 2008, when the court unsealed the first amended complaint, which had been filed on August 11, 2008. The qui tam lawsuit alleges, among other things, that we violated the False Claims Act by knowingly making false statements, and submitting false records or statements, from at least 2001 to the present, to get false or fraudulent claims paid or approved, and asserts that we have improperly compensated certain of our enrollment counselors in violation of the Title IV law governing compensation of such employees, and as a result, improperly received Title IV program funds. See “Regulation — Regulation of Federal Student Financial Aid Programs — Incentive compensation rule.” The complaint specifically alleges that some of our compensation practices with respect to our enrollment personnel, including providing non-cash awards, have violated the Title IV law governing compensation. While we believe that our compensation policies and practices at issue in the complaint have not been based on success in enrolling students in violation of applicable law, the Department of Education’s regulations and interpretations of the incentive compensation law do not establish clear criteria for compliance in all circumstances and some of our practices, including in respect of non-cash awards, have not been within the scope of any specific “safe harbor” provided in the compensation regulations. The complaint seeks treble the amount of unspecified damages sustained by the federal government in connection with our receipt of Title IV funding, a civil penalty for each violation of the False Claims Act, attorneys’ fees, costs, and interest.

 

A qui tam case is a civil lawsuit brought by one or more individuals (a “relator”) on behalf of the federal government for an alleged submission to the government of a false claim for payment. The relator, often a current or former employee, is entitled to a share of the government’s recovery in the case. A qui tam action is always filed under seal and remains under seal until the government decides whether to intervene in the case. If the government intervenes, it takes over primary control of the litigation. If the government declines to intervene in the case, the relator may nonetheless elect to continue to pursue the litigation at his or her own expense on behalf of the government. In our case, the qui tam lawsuit was initially filed under seal in August 2007 and was unsealed and served on us following the government’s decision not to intervene at this time.

 

If it were determined that any of our compensation practices violated the incentive compensation law, we could experience an adverse outcome in the qui tam litigation and be subject to substantial monetary liabilities, fines, and other sanctions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations and could adversely affect our stock price. We cannot presently predict the ultimate outcome of this qui tam case or any liability that might result.

 

Congress may change the eligibility standards or reduce funding for the Title IV programs, which could reduce our student population, revenue, and profit margin.

 

Political and budgetary concerns significantly affect the Title IV programs. The Higher Education Act, which is the federal law that governs the Title IV programs, must be periodically reauthorized by Congress, and was most recently reauthorized in August 2008. The new law contains numerous revisions to the requirements governing the Title IV programs. See “Regulation — Regulation of Federal Student Financial Aid Programs.” In addition, Congress must determine funding levels for the Title IV programs on an annual basis, and can change the laws governing the Title IV programs at any time. Because a significant percentage of our revenue is derived from the Title IV programs, any action by Congress that significantly reduces Title IV program funding or our ability or the ability of our students to participate in the Title IV programs could require us to seek to arrange for other sources of financial aid for our students and could materially decrease our student enrollment. Such a decrease in our enrollment could have a material adverse effect on us.

Congressional action could also require us to modify our practices in ways that could increase our administrative and regulatory costs.

 

If we do not meet specific financial responsibility standards established by the Department of Education, we may be required to post a letter of credit or accept other limitations in order to continue participating in the Title IV programs, or we could lose our eligibility to participate in the Title IV programs.

 

To participate in the Title IV programs, an institution must either satisfy specific quantitative standards of financial responsibility prescribed by the Department of Education, or post a letter of credit in favor of the Department of Education and possibly accept operating restrictions as well. These financial responsibility tests are applied to each institution on an annual basis based on the institution’s audited financial statements, and may be applied at other times, such as if the institution undergoes a change in control. These tests may also be applied to an institution’s parent company or other related entity. The operating restrictions that may be placed on an institution that does not meet the quantitative standards of financial responsibility include being transferred from the advance payment method of receiving Title IV funds to either the reimbursement or the heightened cash monitoring system, which could result in a significant delay in the institution’s receipt of those funds. For example, when we were recertified by the Department of Education to participate in the Title IV programs in May 2005 following the change in control that occurred in February 2004, the Department of Education reviewed our fiscal year 2004 audited financial statements and advised us that our composite score, which is a standard of financial responsibility derived from a formula established by the Department of Education, reflected financial weakness. As a result of this and other concerns about our administrative capability, the Department of Education required us to post a letter of credit, accept restrictions on the growth of our program offerings and enrollment, and receive Title IV funds under the heightened cash monitoring system of payment rather than by advance payment. In October 2006, the Department of Education eliminated the letter of credit requirement and allowed the growth restrictions to expire, and in August 2007, it eliminated the heightened cash monitoring restrictions and returned us to the advance payment method. However, if, in the future, we fail to satisfy the Department of Education’s financial responsibility standards, we could experience increased regulatory compliance costs or delays in our receipt of Title IV funds because we could be required to post a letter of credit or be subjected to operating restrictions, or both. Our failure to secure a letter of credit in these circumstances could cause us to lose our ability to participate in the Title IV programs, which would materially adversely affect us.

 

If we do not comply with the Department of Education’s administrative capability standards, we could suffer financial penalties, be required to accept other limitations in order to continue participating in the Title IV programs, or lose our eligibility to participate in the Title IV programs.

 

To continue participating in the Title IV programs, an institution must demonstrate to the Department of Education that the institution is capable of adequately administering the Title IV programs under specific standards prescribed by the Department of Education. These administrative capability criteria require, among other things, that the institution has an adequate number of qualified personnel to administer the Title IV programs, has adequate procedures for disbursing and safeguarding Title IV funds and for maintaining records, submits all required reports and financial statements in a timely manner, and does not have significant problems that affect the institution’s ability to administer the Title IV programs. If we fail to satisfy any of these criteria, the Department of Education may assess financial penalties against us, restrict the manner in which the Department of Education delivers Title IV funds to us, place us on provisional certification status, or limit or terminate our participation in the Title IV programs, any of which could materially adversely affect us. When we were recertified by the Department of Education to participate in the Title IV programs in May 2005 following the change in control that occurred in February 2004, the Department of Education required us to post a letter of credit, accept restrictions on the growth of our program offerings and enrollment, and receive Title IV funds under the heightened cash monitoring system of payment rather than by advance payment, due to the Department of Education’s concerns about our administrative capability combined with our financial weakness under the Department of Education’s standards of financial responsibility.

We would lose our ability to participate in the Title IV programs if we fail to maintain our institutional accreditation, and our student enrollments could decline if we fail to maintain any of our accreditations or approvals.

 

An institution must be accredited by an accrediting commission recognized by the Department of Education in order to participate in the Title IV programs. We have institutional accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission, which is an accrediting commission recognized by the Department of Education. To remain accredited, we must continuously meet accreditation standards relating to, among other things, performance, governance, institutional integrity, educational quality, faculty, administrative capability, resources, and financial stability. We were reaccredited by the Higher Learning Commission in 2007 for the maximum term of 10 years. While the Higher Learning Commission concluded that we were in compliance with its accreditation standards, it did note certain deficiencies to be addressed by us. See “Regulation — Accreditation.” In February 2009, we must file a monitoring report with the Higher Learning Commission addressing our progress in resolving these deficiencies. If we fail to resolve the Higher Learning Commission’s concerns, the Higher Learning Commission could ask for another monitoring report, send a team to confirm progress in addressing the deficiencies, or determine that we are not making adequate progress in addressing the Higher Learning Commission’s concerns. If we fail to satisfy any of the Higher Learning Commission’s standards, or fail to address the deficiencies noted in our last review, we could lose our accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission, which would cause us to lose our eligibility to participate in the Title IV programs and could cause a significant decline in our total student enrollments and have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, many of our individual educational programs are also accredited by specialized accrediting commissions or approved by specialized state agencies. If we fail to satisfy the standards of any of those specialized accrediting commissions or state agencies, we could lose the specialized accreditation or approval for the affected programs, which could result in materially reduced student enrollments in those programs and have a material adverse effect on us.

 

If we do not maintain our state authorization in Arizona, we may not operate or participate in the Title IV programs.

 

A school that grants degrees or certificates must be authorized by the relevant education agency of the state in which it is located. We are located in the state of Arizona and are authorized by the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education. State authorization is also required for our students to be eligible to receive funding under the Title IV programs. To maintain our state authorization, we must continuously meet standards relating to, among other things, educational programs, facilities, instructional and administrative staff, marketing and recruitment, financial operations, addition of new locations and educational programs, and various operational and administrative procedures. If we fail to satisfy any of these standards, we could lose our authorization by the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education to offer our educational programs, which would also cause us to lose our eligibility to participate in the Title IV programs and have a material adverse effect on us.

 

If a substantial number of our students cannot secure Title IV loans as a result of decreased lender participation in the Title IV programs or if lenders increase the costs or reduce the benefits associated with the Title IV loans they provide, we could be materially adversely affected.

 

The cumulative impact of recent regulatory and market developments and conditions, including the widespread disruption in the credit markets, has caused some lenders to cease providing Title IV loans to students, including some lenders that have previously provided Title IV loans to our students. Other lenders have reduced the benefits and increased the fees associated with the Title IV loans they provide. We and other schools have had to modify student loan practices in ways that could result in higher administrative costs. If the cost of Title IV loans increases or availability decreases, some students may not be able to take out loans and may not enroll in a postsecondary institution. In May 2008, new federal legislation was enacted to attempt to ensure that all eligible students will be able to obtain Title IV loans in the future and that a sufficient number of lenders will continue to provide Title IV loans. Among other things, the new legislation:

 

 

 

We cannot predict if this legislation will be effective in ensuring students’ access to Title IV loans. If a substantial number of lenders cease to participate in the Title IV loan programs, increase the costs of student access to such programs, or reduce the benefits available under such programs, our students may not have access to such loans, which could cause our enrollments to decline and have a material adverse effect on us.

 

An increase in interest rates could adversely affect our ability to attract and retain students.

 

For our fiscal years ended December 31, 2006 and 2007 we derived cash receipts equal to approximately 67.9% and 70.2%, respectively, of our net revenue from tuition financed under the Title IV programs, which include student loans with interest rates subsidized by the federal government. Additionally, some of our students finance their education through private loans that are not subsidized. If our students’ employment circumstances are adversely affected by regional or national economic downturns, they may be more heavily dependent on student loans. Interest rates have reached relatively low levels in recent years, creating a favorable borrowing environment for students. However, in the event interest rates increase or Congress decreases the amount available for federal student aid, our students may have to pay higher interest rates on their loans. Any future increase in interest rates will result in a corresponding increase in educational costs to our existing and prospective students, which could result in a significant reduction in our student population and revenues. Higher interest rates could also contribute to higher default rates with respect to our students’ repayment of their education loans. Higher default rates may in turn adversely impact our eligibility to participate in some or all of the Title IV programs, which could result in a significant reduction in our student population and our profitability. See “We may lose our eligibility to participate in the Title IV programs if our student loan default rates are too high” located elsewhere in “Risk Factors” for further information.

 

Our failure to comply with the regulatory requirements of states other than Arizona could result in actions taken by those states that could have a material adverse effect on our enrollments.

 

Almost every state imposes regulatory requirements on educational institutions that have physical facilities located within the state’s boundaries. These regulatory requirements establish standards in areas such as educational programs, facilities, instructional and administrative staff, marketing and recruitment, financial operations, addition of new locations and educational programs, and various operational and administrative procedures, some of which are different than the standards prescribed by the Department of Education or the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education. In addition, several states have sought to assert jurisdiction over educational institutions offering online degree programs that have no physical location or other presence in the state but that have some activity in the state, such as enrolling or offering educational services to students who reside in the state, employing faculty who reside in the state, or advertising to or recruiting prospective students in the state. State regulatory requirements for online education vary among the states, are not well developed in many states, are imprecise or unclear in some states, and can change frequently. In the future, states could coordinate their efforts in order to more aggressively attempt to regulate or restrict schools’ offering of online education.

 

In addition to Arizona, we have determined that our activities in certain states constitute a presence requiring licensure or authorization under the requirements of the state education agency in those states. In certain other states, we have obtained approvals to operate as we have determined necessary in connection with our marketing and recruiting activities. If we fail to comply with state licensing or authorization requirements for a state, or fail to obtain licenses or authorizations when required, we could lose our state licensure or authorization by that state or be subject to other sanctions, including restrictions on our activities in that state, fines, and penalties. The loss of licensure or authorization in a state other than Arizona could prohibit us from recruiting prospective students or offering educational services to current students in that state, which could significantly reduce our enrollments and revenues and materially adversely effect us.

 

State laws and regulations are not always precise or clear, and regulatory agencies may sometimes disagree with the way we have interpreted or applied these requirements. Any misinterpretation by us of these

regulatory requirements or adverse changes in regulations or interpretations thereof by regulators could materially adversely affect us.

 

The inability of our graduates to obtain a professional license or certification in their chosen field of study could reduce our enrollments and revenues, and potentially lead to student claims against us that could be costly to us.

 

Many of our students, particularly those in our education and healthcare programs, seek a professional license or certification in their chosen fields following graduation. A student’s ability to obtain a professional license or certification depends on several factors, including whether the institution and the student’s program were accredited by a particular accrediting commission or approved by a professional association or by the state in which the student seeks employment. Additional factors are outside the control of the institution, such as the individual student’s own background and qualifications. If one or more states refuse to recognize a significant number of our students for professional licensing or certification based on factors relating to our institution or programs, the potential growth of those programs would be negatively impacted and we could be exposed to claims or litigation by students or graduates based on their inability to obtain their desired professional license or certification, each of which could materially adversely affect us.

 

Increased scrutiny by various governmental agencies regarding relationships between student loan providers and educational institutions and their employees have produced significant uncertainty concerning restrictions applicable to the administration of the Title IV loan programs and the funding for those programs which, if not satisfactorily or timely resolved, could result in increased regulatory burdens and costs for us and could adversely affect our student enrollments.

 

During 2007 and 2008, student loan programs, including the Title IV programs, have come under increased scrutiny by the Department of Education, Congress, state attorneys general, and other parties. Issues that have received extensive attention include allegations of conflicts of interest between some institutions and lenders that provide Title IV loans, questionable incentives given by lenders to some schools and school employees, allegations of deceptive practices in the marketing of student loans, and schools leading students to use certain lenders. Several institutions and lenders have been cited for these problems and have paid several million dollars in the aggregate to settle those claims. The practices of numerous other schools and lenders are being examined by government agencies at the federal and state level. The Attorney General of the State of Arizona has requested extensive documentation and information from us and other institutions in Arizona concerning student loan practices, and we recently provided testimony in response to a subpoena from the Attorney General of the State of Arizona about such practices. While no penalties have been assessed against us, we do not know what the results of that review will be.

 

As a result of this scrutiny, Congress has passed new laws, the Department of Education has enacted stricter regulations, and several states have adopted codes of conduct or enacted state laws that further regulate the conduct of lenders, schools, and school personnel. These new laws and regulations, among other things, limit schools’ relationships with lenders, restrict the types of services that schools may receive from lenders, prohibit lenders from providing other types of loans to students in exchange for Title IV loan volume from schools, require schools to provide additional information to students concerning institutionally preferred lenders, and significantly reduce the amount of federal payments to lenders who participate in the Title IV loan programs. The environment surrounding access to and cost of student loans remains in a state of flux, with reviews of many institutions and lenders still pending and with additional legislation and regulatory changes being actively considered at the federal and state levels. The uncertainty surrounding these issues, and any resolution of these issues that increases loan costs or reduces students’ access to Title IV loans, may adversely affect our student enrollments, which could have an adverse effect on us.

 

Government agencies, regulatory agencies, and third parties may conduct compliance reviews, bring claims, or initiate litigation against us based on alleged violations of the extensive regulatory requirements applicable to us, which could require us to pay monetary damages, be sanctioned or limited in our operations, and expend significant resources to defend against those claims.

 

Because we operate in a highly regulated industry, we are subject to program reviews, audits, investigations, claims of non-compliance, and lawsuits by government agencies, regulatory agencies, students,

stockholders, and other third parties alleging non-compliance with applicable legal requirements, many of which are imprecise and subject to interpretation. As we grow larger, this scrutiny of our business may increase. If the result of any such proceeding is unfavorable to us, we may lose or have limitations imposed on our state licensing, accreditation, or Title IV program participation; be required to pay monetary damages (including triple damages in certain whistleblower suits); or be subject to fines, injunctions, or other penalties, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations. In this regard, we are currently subject to an investigation by the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General, which we believe is focused on the manner in which we have compensated our enrollment counselors and managers, and a qui tam lawsuit brought by a former employee alleging violations in the same area. See “Risk Factors — The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Education has commenced an investigation of Grand Canyon University, which is ongoing and which may result in fines, penalties, other sanctions, and damage to our reputation in the industry,” “Risk Factors — We were recently notified that a qui tam lawsuit has been filed against us alleging, among other things, that we have improperly compensated certain of our enrollment counselors, and we may incur liability, be subject to sanctions, or experience damage to our reputation as a result of this lawsuit,” and “Regulation — Regulation of Federal Student Financial Aid Programs — Incentive compensation rule.” Claims and lawsuits brought against us, even if they are without merit, may also result in adverse publicity, damage our reputation, negatively affect the market price of our stock, adversely affect our student enrollments, and reduce the willingness of third parties to do business with us. Even if we adequately address the issues raised by any such proceeding and successfully defend against it, we may have to devote significant financial and management resources to address these issues, which could harm our business.

 

A decline in the overall growth of enrollment in postsecondary institutions, or in the number of students seeking degrees in our core disciplines, could cause us to experience lower enrollment at our schools, which could negatively impact our future growth.

 

According to a September 2008 report from the NCES, enrollment in degree-granting, postsecondary institutions is projected to grow 12.0% over the ten-year period ending fall 2016 to approximately 19.9 million. This growth is slower than the 23.6% increase reported in the prior ten-year period ended in fall 2006, when enrollment increased from 14.4 million in 1996 to 17.8 million in 2006. In addition, according to a March 2008 report from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, the number of high school graduates that are eligible to enroll in degree-granting, postsecondary institutions is expected to peak at approximately 3.3 million for the class of 2008, falling in the period between 2007-08 and 2013-14 by about 150,000 in total before resuming a growth pattern for the foreseeable future thereafter. In order to maintain current growth rates, we will need to attract a larger percentage of students in existing markets and expand our markets by creating new academic programs. In addition, if job growth in the fields related to our core disciplines is weaker than expected, as a result of any regional or national economic downturn or otherwise, including since the 2007 BLS report predicting strong job growth in these disciplines was completed, fewer students may seek the types of degrees that we offer. Our failure to attract new students, or the decisions by prospective students to seek degrees in other disciplines, would have an adverse impact on our future growth.

 

If our students were unable to obtain private loans from third-party lenders, our business could be adversely affected given our increasing reliance on such lenders as a source of net revenue.

 

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, private loans to students at our school represented approximately 5.1% of our revenue (calculated on a cash basis) as compared to 2.5% of revenue in fiscal 2006 and 1.9% of revenue in fiscal 2005. These loans were provided pursuant to private loan programs and were made available to eligible students to fund a portion of the students’ costs of education not covered by the Title IV programs and state financial aid sources. Private loans are made to our students by lending institutions and are non-recourse to us. Recent adverse market conditions for consumer and federally guaranteed student loans (including lenders’ increasing difficulties in reselling or syndicating student loan portfolios) have resulted, and could continue to result, in providers of private loans reducing the availability of or increasing the costs associated with providing private loans to postsecondary students. In particular, loans to students with low credit scores who would not otherwise be eligible for credit-based private loans have become increasingly difficult to obtain. Prospective students may find that these increased financing costs

make borrowing prohibitively expensive and abandon or delay enrollment in postsecondary education programs. If any of these scenarios were to occur, our students’ ability to finance their education could be adversely affected and our student population could decrease, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations.

 

If any of the education regulatory agencies that regulate us do not approve or delay their approval of any transaction involving us that constitutes a “change in control,” our ability to operate or participate in the Title IV programs may be impaired.

 

If we experience a change in control under the standards of the Department of Education, the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education, the Higher Learning Commission, or any other applicable state education agency or accrediting commission, we must notify or seek the approval of each such agency. These agencies do not have uniform criteria for what constitutes a change in control. Transactions or events that typically constitute a change in control include significant acquisitions or dispositions of the voting stock of an institution or its parent company, and significant changes in the composition of the board of directors of an institution or its parent company. Some of these transactions or events may be beyond our control. Our failure to obtain, or a delay in receiving, approval of any change in control from the Department of Education, the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education, or the Higher Learning Commission could impair our ability to operate or participate in the Title IV programs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition. Our failure to obtain, or a delay in receiving, approval of any change in control from any other state in which we are currently licensed or authorized, or from any of our specialized accrediting commissions, could require us to suspend our activities in that state or suspend offering the applicable programs until we receive the required approval, or could otherwise impair our operations. The potential adverse effects of a change in control could influence future decisions by us and our stockholders regarding the sale, purchase, transfer, issuance, or redemption of our stock, which could discourage bids for your shares of our stock and could have an adverse effect on the market price of your shares.

 

We have submitted a description of the offering to the Department of Education, including a description of a voting agreement that certain of our stockholders will enter into in connection with this offering. See “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions — Voting Agreement.” The Department of Education has informed us that the offering will not trigger a change in ownership resulting in a change in control under the Department of Education’s regulations.

 

The Higher Learning Commission has informed us that it will consider the offering to be a change in control under its policies, and we have obtained the Higher Learning Commission’s approval to consummate the offering. As a result of its determination that the offering will be a change in control, the Higher Learning Commission has informed us that it will conduct a site visit within six months of consummation of the offering to confirm the appropriateness of the approval and to evaluate whether we continue to meet the Higher Learning Commission’s eligibility criteria. In addition, based on our communications with the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education, we believe the offering will be a change in control under Arizona law. Accordingly, following the consummation of the offering, we will be required to file an application with the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education in order to obtain such approval. We cannot predict whether the Higher Learning Commission or the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education will impose any limitations or conditions on us, or identify any compliance issues related to us in the context of the change in control process, that could result in our loss of accreditation or authorization by such agency, as applicable. Any such loss of accreditation or authorization would result in our loss of eligibility to participate in the Title IV programs and cause a significant decline in our student enrollments.

 

We also notified other accrediting commissions and state agencies, as we believed necessary, of this offering and the reasons why we believe this offering will not constitute a change in control under their respective standards, or to determine what is required if any such commission or agency does consider the offering to constitute a change in control.

We are subject to sanctions if we pay impermissible commissions, bonuses, or other incentive payments to persons involved in certain recruiting, admissions, or financial aid activities.

 

A school participating in the Title IV programs may not provide, or contract with a third party that provides, any commission, bonus, or other incentive payment based on success in enrolling students or securing financial aid to any person involved in student recruiting or admission activities or in making decisions regarding the awarding of Title IV program funds. The Department of Education’s regulations set forth 12 “safe harbors” which describe payments and arrangements that do not violate the incentive compensation rule. The Department of Education’s regulations make clear that the safe harbors are not a complete list of permissible practices under this law. One of these safe harbors permits adjustments to fixed salary for enrollment personnel provided that such adjustments are not made more than twice during any twelve month period, and that any adjustment is not based solely on the number of students recruited, admitted, enrolled, or awarded financial aid. While we believe that our compensation policies and practices have not been based on success in enrolling students in violation of applicable law, the Department of Education’s regulations and interpretations of the incentive compensation law do not establish clear criteria for compliance in all circumstances and, in a limited number of instances, our actions have not been within the scope of any specific safe harbor provided in the compensation regulations. In addition, such safe harbors do not address non-cash awards to enrollment personnel.

 

As described in “Risk Factors — The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Education has commenced an investigation of Grand Canyon University, which is ongoing and which may result in fines, penalties, other sanctions, and damage to our reputation in the industry,” and in “Regulation — Regulation of Federal Student Financial Aid Programs — Incentive compensation rule,” we are currently subject to an investigation by the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General, which we believe is focused on the manner in which we have compensated our enrollment counselors and managers. In addition, in recent years several for-profit education companies, including us, have been faced with whistleblower lawsuits, known as “qui tam” cases, by current or former employees alleging violations of this prohibition. See “Risk Factors — We were recently notified that a qui tam lawsuit has been filed against us alleging, among other things, that we have improperly compensated certain of our enrollment counselors, and we may incur liability, be subject to sanctions, or experience damage to our reputation as a result of this lawsuit.” If the Department of Education determines as a result of the pending investigation that we have violated this law, if we are found to be liable in the pending qui tam action, or if we or any third parties we have engaged otherwise violate this law, we could be fined or sanctioned by the Department of Education, or subjected to other monetary liability or penalties that could be substantial, any of which could harm our reputation, impose significant costs on us, and have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations.

 

Our reputation and our stock price may be negatively affected by the actions of other postsecondary educational institutions.

 

In recent years, regulatory proceedings and litigation have been commenced against various postsecondary educational institutions relating to, among other things, deceptive trade practices, false claims against the government, and non-compliance with Department of Education requirements, state education laws, and state consumer protection laws. These proceedings have been brought by the Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and state governmental agencies, among others. These allegations have attracted adverse media coverage and have been the subject of legislative hearings and regulatory actions at both the federal and state levels, focusing not only on the individual schools but in some cases on the larger for-profit postsecondary education sector as a whole. Adverse media coverage regarding other for-profit education companies or other educational institutions could damage our reputation, result in lower enrollments, revenues, and operating profit, and have a negative impact on our stock price. Such coverage could also result in increased scrutiny and regulation by the Department of Education, Congress, accrediting commissions, state legislatures, state attorneys general, or other governmental authorities of all educational institutions, including us.

If the percentage of our revenue that is derived from the Title IV programs is too high, we may lose our eligibility to participate in those programs.

 

A for-profit institution loses its eligibility to participate in the Title IV programs if, under a formula that requires cash basis accounting and other adjustments to the calculation of revenue, it derives more than 90% of its revenues from those programs in any fiscal year. The period of ineligibility is at least the next succeeding fiscal year, and any Title IV funds already received by the institution and its students in that succeeding year would have to be returned to the applicable lender or the Department of Education. Using the Department of Education’s formula for this test, we have calculated that, for our 2006 and 2007 fiscal years, we derived approximately 71.5% and 74.0%, respectively, of our revenue from the Title IV programs. The August 2008 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act makes significant changes to this revenue requirement, effective upon the date of the law’s enactment. Under the new law, an institution will be subject to loss of eligibility to participate in the Title IV programs only if it exceeds the 90% threshold for two consecutive years, the period of ineligibility is extended to at least two years, and an institution whose rate exceeds 90% for any single year will be placed on provisional certification. Recent changes in federal law that increased Title IV grant and loan limits, and any additional increases in the future, may result in an increase in the revenues we receive from the Title IV programs. Economic downturns that adversely affect our students’ employment circumstances could also increase their reliance on Title IV programs. These developments could make it more difficult for us to satisfy this requirement. Exceeding the 90% threshold and losing our eligibility to participate in the Title IV programs would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations.

 

We may lose our eligibility to participate in the Title IV programs if our student loan default rates are too high.

 

An institution may lose its eligibility to participate in some or all of the Title IV programs if, for three consecutive years, 25% or more of its students who were required to begin repayment on their student loans in one year default on their payment by the end of the following year. In addition, an institution may lose its eligibility to participate in some or all of the Title IV programs if the default rate of its students exceeds 40% for any single year. The August 2008 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act extends by one year the period for which students’ defaults on their loans will be included in the calculation of an institution’s default rate, a change that is expected to increase most institutions’ default rates. The new law also increases the threshold for an institution to lose its eligibility to participate in the relevant Title IV programs from 25% to 30%. These changes to the law take effect for institutions’ cohort default rates for federal fiscal year 2009, which are expected to be calculated and issued by the Department of Education in 2012. Although our cohort default rates have historically been significantly below these levels, we cannot assure you that this will continue to be the case. Any increase in interest rates or declines in income or job losses for our students could contribute to higher default rates on student loans. Exceeding the student loan default rate thresholds and losing our eligibility to participate in the Title IV programs would have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations. Any future changes in the formula for calculating student loan default rates, economic conditions, or other factors that cause our default rates to increase, could place us in danger of losing our eligibility to participate in some or all of the Title IV programs and materially adversely affect us.

 

We are subject to sanctions if we fail to correctly calculate and timely return Title IV program funds for students who withdraw before completing their educational program.

 

A school participating in the Title IV programs must calculate the amount of unearned Title IV program funds that it has disbursed to students who withdraw from their educational programs before completing such programs and must return those unearned funds to the appropriate lender or the Department of Education in a timely manner, generally within 45 days of the date the school determines that the student has withdrawn. If the unearned funds are not properly calculated and timely returned for a sufficient percentage of students, we may have to post a letter of credit in favor of the Department of Education equal to 25% of the Title IV funds that should have been returned for such students in the prior fiscal year, and we could be fined or otherwise sanctioned by the Department of Education, which could increase our cost of regulatory compliance and materially adversely affect us.

We cannot offer new programs, expand our operations into certain states, or acquire additional schools if such actions are not timely approved by the applicable regulatory agencies, and we may have to repay Title IV funds disbursed to students enrolled in any such programs, schools, or states if we do not obtain prior approval.

 

Our expansion efforts include offering new educational programs. In addition, we may increase our operations in additional states and seek to acquire existing schools from other companies. If we are unable to obtain the necessary approvals for such new programs, operations, or acquisitions from the Department of Education, the Higher Learning Commission, the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education, or any other applicable state education agency or accrediting commission, or if we are unable to obtain such approvals in a timely manner, our ability to consummate the planned actions and provide Title IV funds to any affected students would be impaired, which could have a material adverse effect on our expansion plans. If we were to determine erroneously that any such action did not need approval or had all required approvals, we could be liable for repayment of the Title IV program funds provided to students in that program or at that location.

 

Risks Related to Our Business

 

Our success depends, in part, on the effectiveness of our marketing and advertising programs in recruiting new students.

 

Building awareness of Grand Canyon University and the programs we offer is critical to our ability to attract prospective students. It is also critical to our success that we convert prospective students to enrolled students in a cost-effective manner and that these enrolled students remain active in our programs. Some of the factors that could prevent us from successfully recruiting, enrolling, and retaining students in our programs include:

 

 

If we are unable to continue to develop awareness of Grand Canyon University and the programs we offer, and to recruit, enroll, and retain students, our enrollments would suffer and our ability to increase revenues and maintain profitability would be significantly impaired.

If we are unable to hire and train new and existing employees responsible for student recruitment, the effectiveness of our student recruiting efforts would be adversely affected.

 

In order to support our planned revenue growth we intend to hire, develop, and train a significant number of additional employees responsible for student recruitment and retain and continue to develop and train our current student recruitment personnel. Our ability to develop and maintain a strong student recruiting function may be affected by a number of factors, including our ability to integrate and motivate our enrollment counselors, our ability to effectively train our enrollment counselors, the length of time it takes new enrollment counselors to become productive, regulatory restrictions on the method of compensating enrollment counselors, and the competition in hiring and retaining enrollment counselors. If we are unable to hire, develop, and retain a sufficient number of qualified enrollment counselors, our ability to increase enrollments would be adversely affected.

 

We will incur increased costs as a result of being a public company, and the requirements of being a public company may divert management attention from our business.

 

As a public company, we will be subject to a number of additional requirements, including the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the listing standards of Nasdaq. These requirements will cause us to incur increased costs and might place a strain on our systems and resources. The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly, and current reports with respect to our business and financial condition. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, and also requires that our internal controls be assessed by management and attested to by our auditors as of December 31 of each year commencing with our year ending December 31, 2009. In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, significant resources and management oversight will be required. As a result, our management’s attention might be diverted from other business concerns, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations. Furthermore, we might not be able to retain our independent directors or attract new independent directors for our committees.

 

We have material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. If we fail to develop or maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, current and potential stockholders could lose confidence in our financial reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our common stock.

 

During the preparation of our financial statements for 2005, 2006, and 2007, and for the six month period ended June 30, 2008, our management identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, as defined in the standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, that affected our financial statements for each of the periods covered by such statements. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.” We have restated our financial statements as of December 31, 2006 and 2007 and for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2006, and 2007. See Note 3, “Restatement of Financial Statements,” to our financial statements.

 

We are currently in the process of remediating these material weaknesses, but have not yet been able to complete our remediation efforts. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.” It will take additional time to design, implement, and test the controls and procedures required to enable our management to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective. We cannot at this time estimate how long it will take to complete our remediation efforts. We cannot assure you that measures we plan to take will be effective in mitigating or preventing significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. Any failure to maintain or implement required new or improved controls, or any difficulties we encounter in their implementation, could result in additional material weaknesses, cause us to fail to meet our periodic reporting obligations or result in material misstatements in our financial statements. Any such failure could also adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations and annual auditor attestation reports regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting that will be required when

the SEC’s rules under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 become applicable to us beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2009, to be filed in early 2010. The existence of a material weakness could result in errors in our financial statements that could result in further restatements of our financial statements, cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, leading to a decline in our stock price.

 

We operate in a highly competitive industry, and competitors with greater resources could harm our business.

 

The postsecondary education market is highly fragmented and competitive. We compete for students with traditional public and private two-year and four-year colleges and universities and other for-profit schools, including those that offer online learning programs. Many public and private schools, colleges, and universities, including most major colleges and universities, offer online programs. We expect to experience additional competition in the future as more colleges, universities, and for-profit schools offer an increasing number of online programs. Public institutions receive substantial government subsidies, and public and private non-profit institutions have access to government and foundation grants, tax-deductible contributions, and other financial resources generally not available to for-profit schools. Accordingly, public and private non-profit institutions may have instructional and support resources superior to those in the for-profit sector, and public institutions can offer substantially lower tuition prices. Some of our competitors in both the public and private sectors also have substantially greater financial and other resources than we do. We may not be able to compete successfully against current or future competitors and may face competitive pressures that could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations. These competitive factors could cause our enrollments, revenues, and profitability to significantly decrease. See “Business — Competition” for further information.

 

Capacity constraints, system disruptions, or security breaches in our online computer networks could have a material adverse effect on our ability to attract and retain students.

 

The performance and reliability of the infrastructure of our online operations are critical to our reputation and to our ability to attract and retain students. Any computer system disruption or failure, or a sudden and significant increase in traffic on the servers that host our online operations, may result in our online courses and programs being unavailable for a period of time. In addition, any significant failure of our computer networks or servers could disrupt our on-campus operations. Individual, sustained, or repeated occurrences could significantly damage the reputation of our online operations and result in a loss of potential or existing students. Additionally, our online operations are vulnerable to interruption or malfunction due to events beyond our control, including natural disasters and network and telecommunications failures. Our computer networks may also be vulnerable to unauthorized access, computer hackers, computer viruses, and other security problems. A user who circumvents security measures could misappropriate proprietary information or cause interruptions to or malfunctions in operations. As a result, we may be required to expend significant resources to protect against the threat of these security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by these incidents. Any interruption to our online operations could have a material adverse effect on our ability to attract students to our online programs and to retain those students.

 

We may not be able to successfully implement our growth strategy if we are not able to improve the content of our existing academic programs or to develop new programs on a timely basis and in a cost-effective manner, or at all.

 

We continually seek to improve the content of our existing programs and develop new programs in order to meet changing market needs. The success of any of our programs and courses, both ground and online, depends in part on our ability to expand the content of our existing programs, develop new programs in a cost-effective manner, and meet the needs of existing and prospective students and employers in a timely manner, as well as on the acceptance of our actions by existing or prospective students and employers. As of September 30, 2008, we offered 79 fully online programs, 17 of which we introduced in 2007, 12 of which we introduced in the first nine months of 2008, and many of which were based on our existing ground programs. In the future, we may develop programs solely, or initially, for online use, which may pose new challenges, including the need to develop course content without having an existing program on which such content can

be based. Even if we are able to develop acceptable new programs, we may not be able to introduce these new programs in a timely fashion or as quickly as our competitors are able to introduce competing programs. If we do not respond adequately to changes in market conditions, our ability to attract and retain students could be impaired and our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations could suffer.

 

The development and approval of new programs and courses, both ground and online, are subject to requirements and limitations imposed by the Department of Education, state licensing agencies, and the relevant accrediting commissions, and in certain cases, such as with our newly approved doctoral program in education, involves a process that can take several years to complete. The imposition of restrictions on the initiation of new educational programs by any of our regulatory agencies, or delays in obtaining approvals of such programs, may delay our expansion plans. Establishing new academic programs or modifying existing academic programs may also require us to make investments in specialized personnel, increase marketing efforts, and reallocate resources. We may have limited experience with the subject matter of new programs.

 

If we are unable to expand our existing programs, offer new programs on a timely basis or in a cost-effective manner, or otherwise manage effectively the operations of newly established programs, our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.

 

Our failure to keep pace with changing market needs and technology could harm our ability to attract students.

 

Our success depends to a large extent on the willingness of employers to employ, promote, or increase the pay of our graduates. Increasingly, employers demand that their new employees possess appropriate technical and analytical skills and also appropriate interpersonal skills, such as communication, and teamwork skills. These skills can evolve rapidly in a changing economic and technological environment. Accordingly, it is important that our educational programs evolve in response to those economic and technological changes. The expansion of existing academic programs and the development of new programs may not be accepted by current or prospective students or by the employers of our graduates. Even if we are able to develop acceptable new programs, we may not be able to begin offering those new programs in a timely fashion or as quickly as our competitors offer similar programs. If we are unable to adequately respond to changes in market requirements due to regulatory or financial constraints, unusually rapid technological changes, or other factors, the rates at which our graduates obtain jobs in their fields of study could suffer, our ability to attract and retain students could be impaired, and our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.

 

If we do not maintain existing, and develop additional, relationships with employers, our future growth may be impaired.

 

We currently have relationships with large school districts and healthcare systems, primarily in Arizona, and also recently began seeking relationships with national and international employers, to provide their employees with the opportunity to obtain degrees through us while continuing their employment. These relationships are an important part of our strategy as they provide us with a steady source of potential working adult students for particular programs and also serve to increase our reputation among high-profile employers. If we are unable to develop new relationships, or if our existing relationships deteriorate or end as a result of economic conditions affecting employers or otherwise, our efforts to seek these sources of potential working adult students will be impaired, and this could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations.

 

Our failure to effectively manage our growth could harm our business.

 

Our business recently has experienced rapid growth. Growth and expansion of our operations may place a significant strain on our resources and increase demands on our executive management team, management information and reporting systems, financial management controls and personnel, and regulatory compliance systems and personnel. We may not be able to maintain or accelerate our current growth rate, effectively manage our expanding operations, or achieve planned growth on a timely or profitable basis. If we are unable to manage our growth effectively, we may experience operating inefficiencies and our earnings may be materially adversely affected.

Our success depends upon our ability to recruit and retain key personnel.

 

Our success to date has largely depended on, and will continue to depend on, the skills, efforts, and motivation of our executive officers, who generally have significant experience with our company and within the education industry. Our success also largely depends on our ability to attract and retain highly qualified faculty, school administrators, and additional corporate management personnel. We may have difficulties in locating and hiring qualified personnel and in retaining such personnel once hired. In addition, because we operate in a highly competitive industry, our hiring of qualified executives or other personnel may cause us or such persons to be subject to lawsuits alleging misappropriation of trade secrets, improper solicitation of employees, or other claims. Other than non-compete agreements of limited duration that we have with certain executive officers, we have not historically sought non-compete agreements with key personnel and they may leave and subsequently compete against us. The loss of the services of any of our key personnel, many of whom are not party to employment agreements with us, or our failure to attract and retain other qualified and experienced personnel on acceptable terms, could cause our business to suffer.

 

The protection of our operations through exclusive proprietary rights and intellectual property is limited, and from time to time we encounter disputes relating to our use of intellectual property of third parties, any of which could harm our operations and prospects.

 

In the ordinary course of our business we develop intellectual property of many kinds that is or will be the subject of copyright, trademark, service mark, patent, trade secret, or other protections. This intellectual property includes but is not limited to courseware materials and business know-how and internal processes and procedures developed to respond to the requirements of operating our business and to comply with the rules and regulations of various education regulatory agencies. We rely on a combination of copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade secrets, domain names, and agreements to protect our intellectual property. We rely on service mark and trademark protection in the United States to protect our rights to the mark “Grand Canyon University,” as well as distinctive logos and other marks associated with our services. We rely on agreements under which we obtain rights to use course content developed by faculty members and other third party content experts, as well as license agreements pursuant to which we license the right to brand certain of our program offerings. We cannot assure you that the measures that we take will be adequate or that we have secured, or will be able to secure, appropriate protections for all of our proprietary rights in the United States or select foreign jurisdictions, or that third parties will not infringe upon or violate our proprietary rights. Unauthorized third parties may attempt to duplicate or copy the proprietary aspects of our curricula, online resource material, and other content, and offer competing programs to ours.

 

In particular, we license the right to utilize the name of Ken Blanchard in connection with our business school and Executive MBA programs and have spent significant resources in related branding efforts. Nevertheless, our license agreement with Blanchard Education, LLC has a fixed term and may not necessarily be extended in the future. In addition, third parties may attempt to develop competing programs or copy aspects of our curriculum, online resource material, quality management, and other proprietary content. The termination of this license agreement, or attempts to compete with or duplicate our programs, if successful, could adversely affect our business. Protecting these types of intellectual property rights can be difficult, particularly as it relates to the development by our competitors of competing courses and programs.

 

We may from time to time encounter disputes over rights and obligations concerning intellectual property, and we may not prevail in these disputes. In certain instances, we may not have obtained sufficient rights in the content of a course. Third parties may raise a claim against us alleging an infringement or violation of the intellectual property of that third party. Some third-party intellectual property rights may be extremely broad, and it may not be possible for us to conduct our operations in such a way as to avoid those intellectual property rights. Any such intellectual property claim could subject us to costly litigation and impose a significant strain on our financial resources and management personnel regardless of whether such claim has merit, and we may be required to alter the content of our classes or pay monetary damages, which may be significant.

We are subject to laws and regulations as a result of our collection and use of personal information, and any violations of such laws or regulations, or any breach, theft, or loss of such information, could adversely affect our reputation and operations.

 

Possession and use of personal information in our operations subjects us to risks and costs that could harm our business. We collect, use, and retain large amounts of personal information regarding our applicants, students, faculty, staff, and their families, including social security numbers, tax return information, personal and family financial data, and credit card numbers. We also collect and maintain personal information of our employees in the ordinary course of our business. Our services can be accessed globally through the Internet. Therefore, we may be subject to the application of national privacy laws in countries outside the U.S. from which applicants and students access our services. Such privacy laws could impose conditions that limit the way we market and provide our services.

 

Our computer networks and the networks of certain of our vendors that hold and manage confidential information on our behalf may be vulnerable to unauthorized access, employee theft or misuse, computer hackers, computer viruses, and other security threats. Confidential information may also inadvertently become available to third parties when we integrate systems or migrate data to our servers following an acquisition of a school or in connection with periodic hardware or software upgrades.

 

Due to the sensitive nature of the personal information stored on our servers, our networks may be targeted by hackers seeking to access this data. A user who circumvents security measures could misappropriate sensitive information or cause interruptions or malfunctions in our operations. Although we use security and business controls to limit access and use of personal information, a third party may be able to circumvent those security and business controls, which could result in a breach of student or employee privacy. In addition, errors in the storage, use, or transmission of personal information could result in a breach of privacy for current or prospective students or employees. Possession and use of personal information in our operations also subjects us to legislative and regulatory burdens that could require notification of data breaches and restrict our use of personal information, and a violation of any laws or regulations relating to the collection or use of personal information could result in the imposition of fines against us. As a result, we may be required to expend significant resources to protect against the threat of these security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by these breaches. A major breach, theft, or loss of personal information regarding our students and their families or our employees that is held by us or our vendors, or a violation of laws or regulations relating to the same, could have a material adverse effect on our reputation and result in further regulation and oversight by federal and state authorities and increased costs of compliance.

 

We operate in a highly competitive market with rapid technological change, and we may not have the resources needed to compete successfully.

 

Online education is a highly competitive market that is characterized by rapid changes in students’ technological requirements and expectations and evolving market standards. Our competitors vary in size and organization, and we compete for students with traditional public and private two-year and four-year colleges and universities and other for-profit schools, including those that offer online learning programs. Each of these competitors may develop platforms or other technologies, including technologies such as streaming video, that allow for greater levels of interactivity between faculty and students, that are superior to the platform and technology we use, and these differences may affect our ability to recruit and retain students. We may not have the resources necessary to acquire or compete with technologies being developed by our competitors, which may render our online delivery format less competitive or obsolete.

 

At present we derive a significant portion of our revenues and operating income from our graduate programs.

 

As of September 30, 2008, approximately 56% of our students were graduate students. Although we anticipate that this percentage will decline over time due as a result of our planned growth emphasis in our undergraduate business and liberal arts programs, if we were to experience any event that adversely affected our graduate offerings or the attractiveness of our programs to prospective graduate students, our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations could be significantly and adversely affected.

We may incur liability for the unauthorized duplication or distribution of class materials posted online for class discussions.

 

In some instances, our faculty members or our students may post various articles or other third-party content on class discussion boards. Third parties may raise claims against us for the unauthorized duplication of material posted online for class discussions. Any such claims could subject us to costly litigation and impose a significant strain on our financial resources and management personnel regardless of whether the claims have merit. Our general liability insurance may not cover potential claims of this type adequately or at all, and we may be required to alter the content of our courses or pay monetary damages, which may be significant.

 

We use third-party software for our online classroom, and if the provider of that software were to cease to do business or was acquired by a competitor, we may have difficulty maintaining the software required for our online classroom or updating it for future technological changes, which could adversely affect our performance.

 

Our online classroom employs the ANGEL Learning Management Suite pursuant to a license from ANGEL Learning, Inc. The ANGEL system is a web-based portal that stores, manages, and delivers course content; enables assignment uploading; provides interactive communication between students and faculty; and supplies online evaluation tools. We rely on ANGEL Learning, Inc. for administrative support of the ANGEL system and, if ANGEL Learning, Inc. ceased to operate or was unable or unwilling to continue to provide us with services or upgrades on a timely basis, we may have difficulty maintaining the software required for our online classroom or updating it for future technological changes. Any failure to maintain our online classroom would have an adverse impact on our operations, damage our reputation, and limit our ability to attract and retain students.

 

Seasonal and other fluctuations in our results of operations could adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.

 

Our net revenue and operating results normally fluctuate as a result of seasonal variations in our business, principally due to changes in enrollment, and are typically lowest in our second fiscal quarter and highest in our fourth fiscal quarter. Accordingly, our results in any quarter may not indicate the results we may achieve in any subsequent quarter or for the full year. Student population varies as a result of new enrollments, graduations, and student attrition. A significant portion of our general and administrative expenses do not vary proportionately with fluctuations in revenues. We expect quarterly fluctuations in operating results to continue as a result of seasonal enrollment patterns. Such patterns may change, however, as a result of new program introductions, the timing of colloquia and events, and increased enrollments of students. These fluctuations may result in volatility or have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.

 

We only recently began operating as a for-profit company and have a limited operating history as a for-profit company. Accordingly, our historical and recent financial and business results may not necessarily be representative of what they will be in the future.

 

We have only operated as a for-profit company with private ownership interests since February 2004. We have a limited operating history as a for-profit business on which you can evaluate our management decisions, business strategy, and financial results. Moreover, until October 2006, we operated under various Department of Education limitations on our growth and activities. As a result, our historical and recent financial and business results may not necessarily be representative of what they will be in the future. We are subject to risks, uncertainties, expenses, and difficulties associated with changing and implementing our business strategy that are not typically encountered by established for-profit companies. As a result, we may not be able to operate effectively as a for-profit corporation. It is possible that we may incur significant operating losses in the future and that we may not be able to achieve or sustain long-term profitability.

Our current success and future growth depend on the continued acceptance of the Internet and the corresponding growth in users seeking educational services on the Internet.

 

Our business relies in part on the Internet for its success. A number of factors could inhibit the continued acceptance of the Internet and adversely affect our profitability, including:

 

 

If Internet use decreases, or if the number of Internet users seeking educational services on the Internet does not increase, our business may not grow as planned.

 

Government regulations relating to the Internet could increase our cost of doing business, affect our ability to grow or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

The increasing popularity and use of the Internet and other online services has led and may lead to the adoption of new laws and regulatory practices in the United States or foreign countries and to new interpretations of existing laws and regulations. These new laws and interpretations may relate to issues such as online privacy, copyrights, trademarks and service marks, sales taxes, fair business practices, and the requirement that online education institutions qualify to do business as foreign corporations or be licensed in one or more jurisdictions where they have no physical location or other presence. New laws and regulations or interpretations thereof related to doing business over the Internet could increase our costs and materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations.

 

A reclassification of our online faculty by federal or state authorities from independent contractor to employee status could materially increase our costs.

 

A majority of our faculty at September 30, 2008 were online faculty, whom we treat as independent contractors. Because we classify our online faculty as independent contractors, we do not withhold federal or state income or other employment-related taxes, make federal or state unemployment tax or Federal Insurance Contributions Act, or FICA, payments or provide workers’ compensation insurance with respect to our online faculty. The determination of whether online faculty members are properly classified as independent contractors or as employees is based upon the facts and circumstances of our relationship with our online faculty members. Federal or state authorities may challenge our classification as incorrect and assert that our online faculty members must be classified as employees. In the event that we were to reclassify our online faculty as employees, we would be required to withhold the appropriate taxes, make unemployment tax and FICA payments, and pay for workers’ compensation insurance and additional payroll processing costs. If we had reclassified our online faculty members as employees for 2007, we estimate our additional tax, workers’ compensation insurance, and payroll processing payments would have been approximately $1.2 million for that year. The amount of additional tax and insurance payments would increase in the future as the total amount we pay to online faculty increases. In addition to these known costs, we could be subject to retroactive taxes and penalties, which may be significant, by federal and state authorities, which could adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations.

 

We may incur significant costs complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act and similar laws.

 

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or the ADA, all public accommodations must meet federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. Additional federal, state, and local laws also may require modifications to our properties, or restrict our ability to renovate our properties. For example, the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, or FHAA, requires apartment properties first occupied after March 13, 1990 to be accessible to the handicapped. We have not conducted an audit or investigation of all of our properties to determine our compliance with present requirements. Noncompliance with the ADA or FHAA could result in the imposition of fines or an award or damages to private litigants and also could result in an order to correct any non-complying feature. We cannot predict the ultimate amount of the cost of

compliance with the ADA, FHAA, or other legislation. If we incur substantial costs to comply with the ADA, FHAA, or any other legislation, we could be materially and adversely affected.

 

Our failure to comply with environmental laws and regulations governing our activities could result in financial penalties and other costs.

 

We use hazardous materials at our ground campus and generate small quantities of waste, such as used oil, antifreeze, paint, car batteries, and laboratory materials. As a result, we are subject to a variety of environmental laws and regulations governing, among other things, the use, storage, and disposal of solid and hazardous substances and waste, and the clean-up of contamination at our facilities or off-site locations to which we send or have sent waste for disposal. In the event we do not maintain compliance with any of these laws and regulations, or are responsible for a spill or release of hazardous materials, we could incur significant costs for clean-up, damages, and fines, or penalties which could adversely impact our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations.

 

If we expand in the future into new markets outside the United States, we would be subject to risks inherent in non-domestic operations.

 

If we acquire schools or establish programs in new markets outside the United States, we will face risks that are inherent in non-domestic operations, including the complexity of operations across borders, new regulatory regimes, currency exchange rate fluctuations, monetary policy risks, such as inflation, hyperinflation and deflation, and potential political and economic instability in the countries into which we expand.

 

Our failure to obtain additional capital in the future could adversely affect our ability to grow.

 

We believe that the proceeds from this offering being retained by us, funds from operations, cash, and investments will be adequate to fund our current operating and growth plans for the foreseeable future. However, we may need additional financing in order to finance our continued growth, particularly if we pursue any acquisitions. The amount, timing, and terms of such additional financing will vary principally depending on the timing and size of new program offerings, the timing and size of acquisitions we may seek to consummate, and the amount of cash flows from our operations. To the extent that we require additional financing in the future, such financing may not be available on terms acceptable to us or at all, and, consequently, we may not be able to fully implement our growth strategy.

 

If we are not able to integrate acquired schools, our business could be harmed.

 

From time to time, we may pursue acquisitions of other schools. Integrating acquired operations into our institution involves significant risks and uncertainties, including:

 

 

If we complete one or more acquisitions and are unable to integrate acquired operations successfully, our business could suffer.

 

Risks Related to the Offering

 

There is no existing market for our common stock, and we do not know if one will develop to provide you with adequate liquidity.

 

Immediately prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. An active and liquid public market for our common stock may not develop or be sustained after this offering. The price of our common stock in any such market may be higher or lower than the price you pay. If you purchase shares

of common stock in this offering, you will pay a price that was not established in a competitive market. Rather, you will pay the price that we negotiated with the representatives of the underwriters and such price may not be indicative of prices that will prevail in the open market following this offering.

 

The price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

 

Volatility in the market price of our common stock may prevent you from being able to sell your shares at or above the price you paid for your shares. The market price of our common stock could fluctuate significantly for various reasons, which include:

 

 

In addition, in recent years, the stock market has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. This volatility has had a significant impact on the market price of securities issued by many companies, including companies in our industry. The changes frequently appear to occur without regard to the operating performance of these companies. The price of our common stock could fluctuate based upon factors that have little or nothing to do with our company, and these fluctuations could materially reduce our stock price.

 

Our executive officers, directors, and principal existing stockholders will continue to own a large percentage of our voting stock after this offering, which may allow them to collectively control substantially all matters requiring stockholder approval and, in the case of certain of our principal stockholders, will have other unique rights that may afford them access to our management.

 

Our directors, executive officers, and principal existing stockholders will beneficially own approximately 30,645,702 shares, or 72.8%, of our common stock upon the completion of this offering. Our directors and executive officers will beneficially own in the aggregate approximately 28,810,572 shares, or 68.4%, of our common stock after the offering. In addition, pursuant to a voting agreement entered into among Brent Richardson, Chris Richardson, and certain of our existing stockholders, the Richardsons will have voting control over approximately 45.3% or our common stock effective upon completion of the offering. See “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions — Voting Agreement.” Accordingly, the Richardsons could significantly influence the outcome of any actions requiring the vote or consent of stockholders, including elections of directors, amendments to our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, mergers, going private transactions, and other extraordinary transactions, and any decisions concerning the terms of any of these

transactions. The ownership and voting positions of these stockholders may have the effect of delaying, deterring, or preventing a change in control or a change in the composition of our board of directors. These stockholders may also use their contractual rights, including access to management, and their large ownership position to address their own interests, which may be different from those of our other stockholders, including investors in this offering.

 

Your percentage ownership in us may be diluted by future issuances of capital stock, which could reduce your influence over matters on which stockholders vote.

 

Following the completion of this offering, our board of directors has the authority, without action or vote of our stockholders, to issue all or any part of our authorized but unissued shares of common stock, including shares issuable upon the exercise of options, shares that may be issued to satisfy our payment obligations under our incentive plans, or shares of our authorized but unissued preferred stock. Issuances of common stock or voting preferred stock would reduce your influence over matters on which our stockholders vote, and, in the case of issuances of preferred stock, likely would result in your interest in us being subject to the prior rights of holders of that preferred stock.

 

The sale of a substantial number of shares of our common stock after this offering may cause the market price of shares of our common stock to decline.

 

Sales of our common stock by existing investors may begin shortly after the completion of this offering. Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market following this offering, or the perception that these sales could occur, could cause the market price of our common stock to decline. The shares of our common stock outstanding prior to this offering will be eligible for sale in the public market at various times in the future. All of our directors, executive officers, and stockholders agreed with the underwriters, subject to certain exceptions, not to dispose of or hedge any of their common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of common stock until 180 days after the date of this prospectus, except with the prior written consent of the representatives identified in the section of this prospectus entitled “Underwriting.” Upon expiration of this lock-up period, up to approximately 31,499,354 additional shares of common stock may be eligible for sale in the public market without restriction, and up to approximately 26,771,211 shares of common stock held by affiliates may become eligible for sale, subject to the restrictions under Rule 144 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act.

 

You will incur immediate and substantial dilution in the net tangible book value of your shares.

 

If you purchase shares in this offering, the value of your shares based on our actual book value will immediately be less than the price you paid. This reduction in the value of your equity is known as dilution. This dilution occurs in large part because our earlier investors paid substantially less than the initial public offering price when they purchased their shares of our common stock. Based upon the issuance and sale of 10,500,000 shares of our common stock by us in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $19.00 per share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, you will incur immediate dilution of $18.13 in the net tangible book value per share. A $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $19.00 per share would increase or decrease, as applicable, our pro forma as-adjusted net tangible book value per share of common stock by $0.05, and increase or decrease, as applicable, the dilution per share of common stock to new investors by $0.95, assuming the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us and after payment of the special distribution to our existing stockholders. If the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option, or if outstanding options to purchase our common stock are exercised, investors will experience additional dilution. For more information, see “Dilution.”

 

Provisions in our charter documents and the Delaware General Corporation Law could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us and could discourage a takeover and adversely affect existing stockholders.

 

Anti-takeover provisions of our certificate of incorporation, bylaws, the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, and regulations of state and federal education agencies could diminish the opportunity for

stockholders to participate in acquisition proposals at a price above the then-current market price of our common stock. For example, while we have no present plans to issue any preferred stock, our board of directors, without further stockholder approval, may issue shares of undesignated preferred stock and fix the powers, preferences, rights, and limitations of such class or series, which could adversely affect the voting power of your shares. In addition, our bylaws provide for an advance notice procedure for nomination of candidates to our board of directors that could have the effect of delaying, deterring, or preventing a change in control. Further, as a Delaware corporation, we are subject to provisions of the DGCL regarding “business combinations,” which can deter attempted takeovers in certain situations. The approval requirements of the Department of Education, our regional accrediting commission, and state education agencies for a change in control transaction could also delay, deter, or prevent a transaction that would result in a change in control. We may, in the future, consider adopting additional anti-takeover measures. The authority of our board to issue undesignated preferred or other capital stock and the anti-takeover provisions of the DGCL, as well as other current and any future anti-takeover measures adopted by us, may, in certain circumstances, delay, deter, or prevent takeover attempts and other changes in control of the company not approved by our board of directors. See “Description of Capital Stock” for further information.

 

We currently do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock and, consequently, your only opportunity to achieve a return on your investment is if the price of our common stock appreciates.

 

After we make the special distribution to our existing stockholders using the proceeds of this offering as described under “Use of Proceeds,” we do not expect to pay dividends on shares of our common stock in the foreseeable future and intend to use cash to grow our business. The payment of cash dividends in the future, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon such factors as earnings levels, capital requirements, our overall financial condition, and any other factors deemed relevant by our board of directors. Consequently, your only opportunity to achieve a positive return on your investment in us will be if the market price of our common stock appreciates.

 

We will have broad discretion in applying the net proceeds of this offering and may not use those proceeds in ways that will enhance the market value of our common stock.

 

We have significant flexibility in applying the net proceeds we will receive in this offering. We will use a substantial portion of the proceeds that we receive from the sale of stock in this offering to fund the special distribution payable to our existing stockholders and to use the remainder to redeem an outstanding warrant to purchase shares of our common stock, to pay the expenses of this offering, and for general corporate purposes. As part of your investment decision, you will not be able to assess or direct how we apply these net proceeds. If we do not apply these funds effectively, we may lose significant business opportunities. Furthermore, our stock price could decline if the market does not view our use of the net proceeds from this offering favorably.

 

This prospectus contains “forward-looking statements,” which include information relating to future events, future financial performance, strategies, expectations, competitive environment, regulation, and availability of resources. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding: proposed new programs; expectations that regulatory developments or other matters will not have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, or liquidity; statements concerning projections, predictions, expectations, estimates, or forecasts as to our business, financial and operational results, and future economic performance; and statements of management’s goals and objectives and other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Words such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” and similar expressions, as well as statements in future tense, identify forward-looking statements.

 

Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made or management’s good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to:

 

 

 

 

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions, or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information, except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. If we do update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

 

The net proceeds from the sale of 10,500,000 shares of our common stock offered by us in this offering will be approximately $179.7 million (or approximately $207.6 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), assuming an initial public offering price of $19.00 per share, which is the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

 

We will pay a special distribution of 75% of the gross proceeds of this offering, including any proceeds we receive from the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option, that will be payable promptly upon the completion of this offering (and following the exercise of the over-allotment option, if applicable) to our stockholders of record as of September 26, 2008. We will make this distribution upon completion of the offering. See “Special Distribution” for further information.

 

In 2004, we issued a warrant to purchase shares of our common stock in connection with a sale-leaseback transaction we entered into relating to our ground campus. Under the original terms of the warrant, we were entitled to repurchase the warrant for an aggregate price of $16.0 million. Under an amendment to the warrant that was effected in connection with our 2005 conversion from a limited liability company to a corporation, the right to repurchase the warrant, as well as a right to repurchase any shares issued upon exercise of the warrant, in each case for $16.0 million, was transferred to a holding company whose sole purpose was to hold the equity interests of all of our members at the time of conversion. In connection with this offering, we have the right to repurchase the warrant or the underlying shares and intend to use $16.0 million of the net proceeds of this offering to effect such repurchase.

 

We will use the remaining proceeds that we receive from this offering and from the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option to pay the expenses of this offering and for general corporate purposes.

 

Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed public offering price of $19.00 per share would increase or decrease, as applicable, the aggregate amount of the special distribution by $7.9 million, the per share amount of the special distribution by $0.25 on an as-if converted basis and the net proceeds to us by approximately $1.9 million, assuming the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and, with respect to the net proceeds to us, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and the special distribution noted above. Similarly, any increase or decrease in the number of shares that we sell in the offering will increase or decrease the special distribution and our net proceeds in proportion to such increase or decrease, as applicable, multiplied by the offering price per share, with respect to our net proceeds, less underwriting discounts and commissions.

 

We will pay a special distribution of 75% of the gross proceeds of this offering, including any proceeds we receive from the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option, that will be paid promptly upon the completion of this offering (and following the exercise of the over-allotment option, if applicable) to our stockholders of record as of September 26, 2008. Of the estimated aggregate amount of the special distribution of $149.6 million (exclusive of any amounts that may be received from the underwriters’ exercise of the over-allotment option), assuming an initial public offering price of $19.00 per share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover of this prospectus, $81.1 million will be paid in respect of shares of our capital stock over which our directors and executive officers are deemed to exercise sole or shared voting or investment power. These proceeds will be allocated among our directors and executive officers, as well as persons known to us to own beneficially 5% or more of our outstanding common stock, as set forth in the following table.

 

 

 

See “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions — Special Distribution” and “Beneficial Ownership of Common Stock” for additional information regarding the beneficiaries of the special distribution and share ownership.

 

Except as described under “Special Distribution” above, we do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. The payment of any dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon our financial condition, results of operations, earnings, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, outstanding indebtedness, and other factors deemed relevant by our board. As a result, you will need to sell your shares of common stock to realize a return on your investment, and you may not be able to sell your shares at or above the price you paid for them.

 

The following table sets forth our capitalization as of September 30, 2008:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You should read this table together with “Use of Proceeds,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” “Description of Capital Stock,” and our financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

 

 

 

Purchasers of the common stock in the offering will suffer an immediate and substantial dilution in net tangible book value per share. Dilution is the amount by which the initial public offering price paid by purchasers of shares of our common stock exceeds the net tangible book value per share of our common stock after the offering.

 

As of September 30, 2008, our pro forma net tangible book value would have been $22.3 million or, $0.71 per share. Pro forma net tangible book value per share represents the amount of our total tangible assets reduced by our total liabilities, divided by the number of shares of common stock outstanding after giving effect to the conversion of all outstanding classes of preferred stock into common stock.

 

Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share represents the amount of total tangible assets reduced by our total liabilities, divided by the number of shares of common stock outstanding after giving effect to the conversion of all outstanding classes of preferred stock into common stock, the repurchase of our outstanding warrant, the payment of the estimated amount of the special distribution to certain of our existing stockholders and the sale of 10,500,000 shares of common stock in the offering at an initial public offering price of $19.00, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. Our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value as of September 30, 2008 would have been $36.4 million, or $0.87 per share. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $0.16 per share to existing stockholders and an immediate dilution of $18.13 per share to new investors purchasing shares in the offering. The following table illustrates this per share dilution:

 

 

Our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value will be $41.8 million, or $0.96 per share, and the dilution per share of common stock to new investors will be $18.04, if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full.

 

A $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $19.00 per share would increase or decrease, as applicable, our as pro forma adjusted net tangible book value per share of common stock by $0.05, and increase or decrease, as applicable, the dilution per share of common stock to new investors by $0.95, assuming the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Similarly, any increase or decrease in the number of shares that we sell in the offering will increase or decrease our net proceeds in proportion to such increase or decrease, as applicable, multiplied by the offering price per share, less underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses.

 

The following table sets forth, as of September 30, 2008, on the pro forma as-adjusted basis described above, the differences between existing stockholders and new investors with respect to the total number of shares of common stock purchased from us, the total consideration paid, and the average price per share paid before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, at an assumed initial public offering price of $19.00 per share of common stock, which is the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus:

 

 

A $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $19.00 per share would increase or decrease, as applicable, total consideration paid by new investors, total consideration paid by all stockholders and average price per share paid by all stockholders by $10.5 million, $10.5 million, and $0.25, respectively, assuming the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same. Similarly, any increase or decrease in the number of shares that we sell in the offering will increase or decrease our net proceeds in proportion to such increase or decrease, as applicable, multiplied by the offering price per share, less underwriting discounts and commissions. This table does not give effect to the payment of the special distribution to existing stockholders.

 

If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, the number of shares held by existing stockholders after this offering would be 31,499,354, or 72.3%, and the number of shares held by new investors would increase to 12,075,000, or 27.7%, of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding after this offering.

 

The following table sets forth selected financial and other data as of the dates and for the periods indicated. The statement of operations and other data, excluding period end enrollment, for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2006, and 2007, and the balance sheet data as of December 31, 2006 and 2007, have been derived from our audited financial statements, which are included elsewhere in this prospectus. The selected statement of operations and other data for the period from February 2, 2004 (date of inception) through December 31, 2004, and the selected balance sheet data as of December 31, 2004 and 2005 have been derived from our unaudited financial statements, which are not included in this prospectus. The statement of operations and other data, excluding period end enrollment, for each of the nine month periods ended September 30, 2007 and 2008, and the balance sheet data as of September 30, 2008, have been derived from our unaudited financial statements, which are presented elsewhere in this prospectus and include, in the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting of normal, recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of such data. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of our results for any future period.

 

You should read the following selected financial and other data in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.