Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2017
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Basis of presentation and accounting The accompanying unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP. Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified for comparative purposes to conform with the current presentation. Principles of consolidation The accompanying unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements include accounts of APEI and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All material intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. Unaudited Interim Financial Information The unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statement presentations. In the opinion of management, these statements include all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary to present a fair statement of the Company’s consolidated results of operations, financial position, and cash flows. Operating results for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2017. This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes in its audited financial statements included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, or Annual Report. Use of Estimates The preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in these unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Restricted Cash Cash and cash equivalents includes funds held for students for unbilled educational services that were received from Title IV programs. As a trustee of these Title IV program funds, the Company is required to maintain and restrict these funds pursuant to the terms of each subsidiary institution’s program participation agreement with ED. Restricted cash on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets was $1.5 million and $1.6 million as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. Changes in restricted cash that represent funds held for students as described above are included in cash flows from operating activities on the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows because these restricted funds are related to a core activity of its operations. Recent Accounting Pronouncements The Company considers the applicability and impact of all Accounting Standards Updates, or ASUs, issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB. ASUs issued but not listed below were assessed and determined to be either not applicable or expected to have minimal impact on our consolidated financial position and/or results of operations. In November 2015 the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-17, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes. The standard requires that deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities be classified as non-current on the balance sheet rather than being separated into current and non-current. This standard was effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2016. The guidance permitted either retrospective or prospective application. The Company adopted this ASU effective January 1, 2017 and it was applied retrospectively. As a result, the $5.1 million current deferred tax asset as of December 31, 2016 was reclassified against the $13.9 million non-current deferred tax liability on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets in these Consolidated Financial Statements. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, changing how entities account for certain aspects of share-based payments to employees. The new guidance requires excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies to be recognized as income tax expense or benefit in the income statement, and could introduce volatility to the Company’s provision for income taxes. Excess tax benefits must be presented as an operating activity on the statement of cash flows rather than a financing activity. ASU 2016-09 requires companies to make an accounting policy election at the time of adoption to either estimate the number of awards that are expected to vest (consistent with existing U.S. GAAP) or account for forfeitures when they occur. The forfeiture election provision must be applied using a retrospective transition approach, with a cumulative-effect adjustment recorded to retained earnings as of the beginning of the period of adoption. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted ASU No, 2016-09 effective January 1, 2017 and elected to continue to estimate the number of awards that are expected to vest using the forfeiture option. The adoption of 2016-09 increased the Company’s income tax expense by approximately $0.5 million for the period ending March 31, 2017 and may increase reported income tax expense between $0.6 million and $0.9 million in the first quarter of 2018 due to expiring stock options with an exercise price greater than the current stock price. Other increases in income tax expense may occur throughout the year for the vesting of restricted stock, determined by the stock price at the end of each reporting period. In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, which eliminates step two from the goodwill impairment test. Instead, if the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss should be recognized in an amount equal to the excess, but limited to the total amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. The guidance must be applied on a prospective basis and disclosure of the nature of and reason for the change in accounting principle is required upon transition. ASU 2017-04 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. The Company is currently evaluating the impact this standard will have on its Consolidated Financial Statements. There have been no other applicable material pronouncements issued since the filing of the Company’s Annual Report.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of presentation and accounting

The accompanying unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, or GAAP. Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified for comparative purposes to conform with the current presentation.

Principles of consolidation

The accompanying unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements include accounts of APEI and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All material intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

Unaudited Interim Financial Information

The unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statement presentations. In the opinion of management, these statements include all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary to present a fair statement of the Company’s consolidated results of operations, financial position, and cash flows. Operating results for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2017. This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes in its audited financial statements included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, or Annual Report.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements in accordance with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in these unaudited interim Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Restricted Cash

Cash and cash equivalents includes funds held for students for unbilled educational services that were received from Title IV programs. As a trustee of these Title IV program funds, the Company is required to maintain and restrict these funds pursuant to the terms of each subsidiary institution’s program participation agreement with ED. Restricted cash on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets was $1.5 million and $1.6 million as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. Changes in restricted cash that represent funds held for students as described above are included in cash flows from operating activities on the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows because these restricted funds are related to a core activity of its operations.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

The Company considers the applicability and impact of all Accounting Standards Updates, or ASUs, issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB. ASUs issued but not listed below were assessed and determined to be either not applicable or expected to have minimal impact on our consolidated financial position and/or results of operations.

In November 2015 the FASB issued ASU No. 2015-17, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes. The standard requires that deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities be classified as non-current on the balance sheet rather than being separated into current and non-current. This standard was effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2016. The guidance permitted either retrospective or prospective application. The Company adopted this ASU effective January 1, 2017 and it was applied retrospectively. As a result, the $5.1 million current deferred tax asset as of December 31, 2016 was reclassified against the $13.9 million non-current deferred tax liability on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets in these Consolidated Financial Statements.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, changing how entities account for certain aspects of share-based payments to employees. The new guidance requires excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies to be recognized as income tax expense or benefit in the income statement, and could introduce volatility to the Company’s provision for income taxes. Excess tax benefits must be presented as an operating activity on the statement of cash flows rather than a financing activity. ASU 2016-09 requires companies to make an accounting policy election at the time of adoption to either estimate the number of awards that are expected to vest (consistent with existing U.S. GAAP) or account for forfeitures when they occur. The forfeiture election provision must be applied using a retrospective transition approach, with a cumulative-effect adjustment recorded to retained earnings as of the beginning of the period of adoption. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted ASU No, 2016-09 effective January 1, 2017 and elected to continue to estimate the number of awards that are expected to vest using the forfeiture option. The adoption of 2016-09 increased the Company’s income tax expense by approximately $0.5 million for the period ending March 31, 2017 and may increase reported income tax expense between $0.6 million and $0.9 million in the first quarter of 2018 due to expiring stock options with an exercise price greater than the current stock price. Other increases in income tax expense may occur throughout the year for the vesting of restricted stock, determined by the stock price at the end of each reporting period.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment, which eliminates step two from the goodwill impairment test. Instead, if the carrying amount of a reporting unit exceeds its fair value, an impairment loss should be recognized in an amount equal to the excess, but limited to the total amount of goodwill allocated to the reporting unit. The guidance must be applied on a prospective basis and disclosure of the nature of and reason for the change in accounting principle is required upon transition. ASU 2017-04 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. The Company is currently evaluating the impact this standard will have on its Consolidated Financial Statements.

There have been no other applicable material pronouncements issued since the filing of the Company’s Annual Report.