Revenue Recognition

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Revenue From Contract With Customer [Abstract]

Revenue Recognition

5. REVENUE RECOGNITION

Disaggregation of Revenue

The following tables disaggregate our revenue by major source for the quarters ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 (dollars in thousands):

	For the Quarter Ended March 31, 2022								For the Quarter Ended March 31, 2021
	CTU (4)		AIUS (5)		Corporate and Other(6)		Total		CTU		AIUS		Corporate and Other(6)		Total
Tuition, net (1)	$	106,927	$	65,451	$	-	$	172,378	$	99,605	$	74,498	$	-	$	174,103
Technology fees		5,442		3,110		-		8,552		5,483		2,795		-		8,278
Other miscellaneous fees (2)		182		215		-		397		292		158		-		450
Total tuition and fees, net		112,551		68,776		-		181,327		105,380		77,451		-		182,831
Other revenue (3)		597		756		279		1,632		442		26		339		807
Total revenue	$	113,148	$	69,532	$	279	$	182,959	$	105,822	$	77,477	$	339	$	183,638

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(1) Tuition includes revenue earned for degree-granting programs as well as revenue earned for non-degree professional development and continuing education offerings related to the DigitalCrafts and Hippo acquisitions from the date of acquisitions.

(2) Other miscellaneous fees primarily include graduation fees.

(3) Other revenue primarily includes contract training revenue and miscellaneous non-student related revenue.

(4) CTU includes revenue related to the Hippo acquisition commencing on the September 10, 2021 date of acquisition.

(5) AIUS includes revenue related to the DigitalCrafts acquisition commencing on the August 2, 2021 date of acquisition.

(6) Revenue recorded within Corporate and Other relates to miscellaneous non-student related revenue.

Performance Obligations

Our revenue, which is derived primarily from academic programs taught to students who attend our universities, is generally segregated into two categories: (1) tuition and fees, and (2) other. Tuition and fees represent costs to our students for educational services provided by our universities and are reflected net of scholarships and tuition discounts. Our universities charge tuition and fees at varying amounts, depending on the university, the type of program and specific curriculum. Our universities bill students a single charge that covers tuition, fees and required program materials, such as textbooks and supplies, which we treat as a single performance obligation. Generally, we bill student tuition at the beginning of each academic term for our degree programs and recognize the tuition as revenue on a straight-line basis over the academic term. As part of a student’s course of instruction, certain fees, such as technology fees and graduation fees, are billed to students. These fees are earned over the applicable term and are not considered separate performance obligations. We bill student tuition upon enrollment for our non-degree professional development and continuing education offerings and recognize the tuition as revenue on a straight-line basis over the length of the offering.

Other revenue, which consists of contract training revenue, bookstore sales and miscellaneous non-student related revenue, is billed and recognized as goods are delivered or services are performed.

Our institutions’ academic year is generally at least 30 weeks in length but varies both by institution and program of study and is divided by academic terms. Academic terms are determined by regulatory requirements mandated by the federal government and/or applicable accrediting body, which also vary by university and program. Academic terms are determined by start dates, which vary by university and program and are generally 8-12 weeks in length. Our non-degree professional development and continuing education offerings are generally 16-52 weeks in length.

Contract Assets

For each term, the portion of tuition and fee payments received from students but not yet earned is recorded as deferred revenue and reported as a current liability on our condensed consolidated balance sheets, as we expect to earn these revenues within the next year. A contract asset is recorded for each student for the current term for which they are enrolled for the amount charged for the current term that has not yet been received as payment and to which we do not have the unconditional right to receive payment because the student has not reached the point in the student’s current academic term at which the amount billed is no longer refundable to the student. On a student by student basis, the contract asset is offset against the deferred revenue balance for the current term and the net deferred revenue balance is reflected within current liabilities on our condensed consolidated balance sheets. For AIUS’ Trident and DigitalCrafts programs and CTU’s Hippo programs, students are billed as they enroll in courses, including courses related to future periods. Any billings for future periods would meet the definition of a contract asset as we do not have the unconditional right to receive payment as the course has not yet started. Contract assets related to future periods are offset against the respective deferred revenue associated with the future period.

Due to the short-term nature of our academic terms, the contract asset balance which exists at the beginning of each quarter will no longer be a contract asset at the end of that quarter, with the exception of the contract assets associated with future periods. The decrease in contract asset balances are a result of one of the following: it becomes a student receivable balance once a student reaches the point in a student’s academic term where the amount billed is no longer refundable to the student; a refund is made to withdrawn students for the portion entitled to be refunded under each institutions’ refund policy; we receive funds to apply against the contract asset balance; or a student makes a change to the number of classes they are enrolled in which may cause an adjustment to their previously billed amount. As of the end of each quarter, a new contract asset is determined on a student by student basis based on the most recently started term and a student’s progress within that term as compared to the date at which the student is no longer entitled to a refund under each institution’s refund policy. Contract assets associated with future periods remain as contract assets until the course begins and the student reaches the point in that course that they are no longer entitled to a refund.

The amount of deferred revenue balances which are being offset with contract assets balances as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 were as follows (dollars in thousands):

	As of
	March 31, 2022			December 31, 2021
Gross deferred revenue	$	67,850		$	113,719
Gross contract assets		(28,742	)		(43,106	)
Deferred revenue, net	$	39,108		$	70,613

Deferred Revenue

Changes in our deferred revenue balances for the quarters ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 were as follows (dollars in thousands):

	For the Quarter Ended March 31, 2022									For the Quarter Ended March 31, 2021
	CTU			AIUS			Total			CTU			AIUS			Total
Gross deferred revenue, January 1	$	64,674		$	49,045		$	113,719		$	28,522		$	56,880		$	85,402
Revenue earned from prior balances		(53,952	)		(36,987	)		(90,939	)		(25,689	)		(42,403	)		(68,092	)
Billings during period(1)		86,621			48,575			135,196			101,784			52,561			154,345
Revenue earned for new billings during the period		(58,599	)		(31,789	)		(90,388	)		(79,691	)		(35,048	)		(114,739	)
Other adjustments		599			(337	)		262			210			896			1,106
Gross deferred revenue, March 31	$	39,343		$	28,507		$	67,850		$	25,136		$	32,886		$	58,022

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(1) Billings during period includes adjustments for prior billings.

Cash Receipts

Our students pay for their costs through a variety of funding sources, including federal loan and grant programs, institutional payment plans, employer reimbursement, Veterans’ Administration and other military funding and grants, private and institutional scholarships and cash payments, as well as private loans for our non-degree programs. Cash receipts from government related sources are typically received during the current academic term. We typically receive funds after the end of an academic term for students who receive employer reimbursements. Students who have not applied for any type of financial aid generally set up a payment plan with the university and make payments on a monthly basis per the terms of the payment plan.

If a student withdraws from one of our universities prior to the completion of the academic term, we refund the portion of tuition and fees already paid that, pursuant to our refund policy and applicable federal and state law and accrediting agency standards, we are not entitled to retain. Generally, the amount to be refunded to a student is calculated based upon the percent of the term attended and the amount of tuition and fees paid by the student as of their withdrawal date. In certain circumstances, we have recognized revenue for students who have withdrawn that we are not entitled to retain. We have estimated a reserve for these limited circumstances based on historical evidence in the amount of $2.3 million and $2.1 million as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively. Students are typically entitled to a partial refund until approximately halfway through their term. Pursuant to each university’s policy, once a student reaches the point in the term where no refund is given, the student would not have a refund due if withdrawing from the university subsequent to that date.

Management reassesses collectability when a student withdraws from the university and has unpaid tuition charges for the current term which the university is entitled to retain per the applicable refund policy. Certain unpaid charges do not meet the threshold of reasonably collectible and are recognized as revenue in accordance with ASC Topic 606 when cash is received and the contract is terminated and neither party has further performance obligations. We have no remaining performance obligations for students who have withdrawn from our universities, and once the refund calculation is performed and funds are returned to the student, if applicable under our refund policy, no further consideration is due back to the student. We recognized $0.4 million of revenue for each of the quarters ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, for payments received from withdrawn students.