Pay vs Performance Disclosure - USD ($)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Dec. 31, 2021

Dec. 31, 2020

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Pay vs Performance [Table Text Block]

									Value of Initial Fixed $100
					Average		Average		Investment Based on:
	Summary				Summary		Compensation				Peer Group
	Compensation		Compensation		Compensation		Actually Paid		Total		Total
	Table		Actually Paid		Table Total for		to Non-CEO		Shareholder		Shareholder		Net		Adjusted
Year	Total for CEO (1)		to CEO (2)		Non-CEO NEOs (3)		NEOs (2) (3)		Return		Return (4)		Income (5)		EBITDA (6)
2022	$	1,997,113	$	2,919,364	$	1,205,110	$	1,604,033	$	110.30	$	92.68	$	184,675	$	291,336
2021	$	1,843,058	$	1,864,868	$	1,099,912	$	1,100,530	$	89.48	$	100.13	$	260,344	$	327,354
2020	$	2,105,208	$	1,830,647	$	1,322,165	$	1,222,327	$	97.20	$	124.90	$	257,196	$	323,830

(1) The dollar amounts reported are the amounts of total compensation reported for our CEO, Mr. Mueller, in the Summary Compensation Table for fiscal years 2022, 2021 and 2020. Mr. Mueller served as CEO for each of the years presented.

(2) The dollar amounts reported represent the amount of “compensation actually paid” or “CAP”, as computed in accordance with SEC rules. The dollar amounts do not reflect the actual amounts of compensation paid to our CEO or other NEOs during the applicable years, but include (i) the year-end value of equity awards granted during the reported year, and (ii) the change in the value of equity awards that were unvested at the end of the prior year, measured through the date the awards vested or were forfeited, or through the end of the reported fiscal year.

(3) For 2022 and 2021, reflects compensation information for our 2022 NEOs, other than our CEO, as described in the CD&A of this proxy statement (each of whom served as NEOs for both 2022 and 2021). For 2020, reflects compensation information for Dr. Meyer, Mr. Bachus, Mr. Mildenhall and Mr. Briggs.

(4) Reflects cumulative total shareholder return for the eight companies included in the customized peer group used by GCE for purposes of Item 201 (e) of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act in GCE’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. Those eight companies are: 2U Inc, Adtalem Global Education, Inc, Chegg Inc, Coursera Inc, John Wiley & Sons Inc, Laureate Education Inc, Pearson Plc and Strategic Education Inc.

(5) The decline in net income between 2021 and 2022 is partially due to the lower interest income achieved as a result of the repayment to us by Grand Canyon University of a secured note payable that had been in place since 2018.

(6) We defined Adjusted EBITDA for purposes of the Annual Cash Incentive Plan in a manner consistent with the definition we use when reporting our financial results. See Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Adjusted EBITDA (Non- GAAP Financial Measure), beginning on page 58 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 for information regarding our use and calculation of Adjusted EBITDA.

Company Selected Measure Name

Adjusted EBITDA

Named Executive Officers, Footnote [Text Block]

(1) The dollar amounts reported are the amounts of total compensation reported for our CEO, Mr. Mueller, in the Summary Compensation Table for fiscal years 2022, 2021 and 2020. Mr. Mueller served as CEO for each of the years presented.

(3) For 2022 and 2021, reflects compensation information for our 2022 NEOs, other than our CEO, as described in the CD&A of this proxy statement (each of whom served as NEOs for both 2022 and 2021). For 2020, reflects compensation information for Dr. Meyer, Mr. Bachus, Mr. Mildenhall and Mr. Briggs.

Peer Group Issuers, Footnote [Text Block]

(4) Reflects cumulative total shareholder return for the eight companies included in the customized peer group used by GCE for purposes of Item 201 (e) of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act in GCE’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022. Those eight companies are: 2U Inc, Adtalem Global Education, Inc, Chegg Inc, Coursera Inc, John Wiley & Sons Inc, Laureate Education Inc, Pearson Plc and Strategic Education Inc.

PEO Total Compensation Amount

$ 1,997,113

$ 1,843,058

$ 2,105,208

PEO Actually Paid Compensation Amount

$ 2,919,364

1,864,868

1,830,647

Adjustment To PEO Compensation, Footnote [Text Block]

To calculate the amounts in the “Compensation Actually Paid to CEO” column in the table above, the following amounts were deducted from and added to (as applicable) our CEO’s “Total” compensation as reported in the Summary Compensation Table (SCT):

	Summary
	Compensation		Reported		Equity Award
	Table Total for		Value of Equity		Adjustments		Compensation
Year	CEO		Awards for CEO (1)		for CEO (2)		Actually Paid to CEO
2022	$	1,997,113	$	(1,211,488)	$	2,133,739	$	2,919,364
2021	$	1,843,058	$	(1,211,575)	$	1,233,385	$	1,864,868
2020	$	2,105,208	$	(1,211,533)	$	936,972	$	1,830,647

(1) Represents the grant date fair value of the equity awards to our CEO, as reported in the “Stock Awards” column in the SCT for each applicable year.

(2) Represents the adjustments to equity awards granted to our CEO to arrive at CAP, as itemized in the table below. No awards vested in the year they were granted.

Fair Value of Equity Awards for CEO	2022		2021		2020
As of year-end for awards granted during the year	$	1,542,425	$	1,207,911	$	1,341,808
Year-over-year increase (decrease) of unvested awards granted in prior years	$	555,228	$	(209,339)	$	(83,431)
Increase (decrease) from prior fiscal year-end for awards that vested during the year	$	36,086	$	234,813	$	(321,405)
Total Equity Award Adjustments	$	2,133,739	$	1,233,385	$	936,972

Non-PEO NEO Average Total Compensation Amount

$ 1,205,110

1,099,912

1,322,165

Non-PEO NEO Average Compensation Actually Paid Amount

$ 1,604,033

1,100,530

1,222,327

Adjustment to Non-PEO NEO Compensation Footnote [Text Block]

To calculate the amounts in the “Average Compensation Actually Paid to Non-CEO NEOs” column in the table above, the following amounts were deducted from and added to (as applicable) the average of the “Total” compensation of our non-CEO named executive officers for each applicable year, as reported in the SCT for that year:

	Average Summary		Average		Average
	Compensation		Reported Value of		Equity Award		Average
	Table Total for		Equity Awards for		Adjustments		Compensation Actually
Year	Non-CEO NEOs		Non-CEO NEOs (1)		for Non-CEO NEOs (2)		Paid to Non-CEO NEOs
2022	$	1,205,110	$	(560,722)	$	959,645	$	1,604,033
2021	$	1,099,912	$	(553,324)	$	553,942	$	1,100,530
2020	$	1,322,165	$	(609,865)	$	510,027	$	1,222,327

(1) Represents the average of the grant date fair value of the equity awards to our named executive officers (other than our CEO), as reported in the “Stock Awards” column in the SCT for each applicable year.

(2) Represents adjustments for the equity awards granted to our named executive officers (other than our CEO) to arrive at CAP, as itemized in the table below. No awards vested in the year they were granted.

Fair Value of Equity Awards for Non-CEO NEOs	2022		2021		2020
As of year-end for awards granted during the year	$	713,892	$	551,651	$	675,443
Year-over-year increase (decrease) of unvested awards granted in prior years	$	232,133	$	(79,117)	$	(34,816)
Increase (decrease) from prior fiscal year-end for awards that vested during the year	$	13,620	$	81,408	$	(130,600)
Total Equity Award Adjustments	$	959,645	$	553,942	$	510,027

Compensation Actually Paid vs. Total Shareholder Return [Text Block]

Compensation Actually Paid vs. Net Income [Text Block]

Compensation Actually Paid vs. Company Selected Measure [Text Block]

Total Shareholder Return Vs Peer Group [Text Block]

Tabular List [Table Text Block]

Most Important Financial Performance Measures

● Adjusted EBITDA

● Service Revenue

● Return on Equity

● Free Cash Flow

● Total Shareholder Return

● As Adjusted Non-GAAP Diluted EPS

● Net Income

Total Shareholder Return Amount

$ 110.30

89.48

97.20

Peer Group Total Shareholder Return Amount

92.68

100.13

124.90

Net Income (Loss)

$ 184,675

$ 260,344

$ 257,196

Company Selected Measure Amount

291,336

327,354

323,830

PEO Name

Mr. Mueller

Measure [Axis]: 1

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Measure Name

Adjusted EBITDA

Non-GAAP Measure Description [Text Block]

(6) We defined Adjusted EBITDA for purposes of the Annual Cash Incentive Plan in a manner consistent with the definition we use when reporting our financial results. See Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Adjusted EBITDA (Non- GAAP Financial Measure), beginning on page 58 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 for information regarding our use and calculation of Adjusted EBITDA.

Measure [Axis]: 2

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Measure Name

Service Revenue

Measure [Axis]: 3

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Measure Name

Return on Equity

Measure [Axis]: 4

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Measure Name

Free Cash Flow

Measure [Axis]: 5

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Measure Name

Total Shareholder Return

Measure [Axis]: 6

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Measure Name

As Adjusted Non-GAAP Diluted EPS

Measure [Axis]: 7

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Measure Name

Net Income

PEO [Member] | Reported Value of Equity Awards

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Adjustment to Compensation Amount

$ (1,211,488)

$ (1,211,575)

$ (1,211,533)

PEO [Member] | As of year-end for awards granted during the year

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Adjustment to Compensation Amount

1,542,425

1,207,911

1,341,808

PEO [Member] | Year-over-year increase (decrease) of unvested awards granted in prior years

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Adjustment to Compensation Amount

555,228

(209,339)

(83,431)

PEO [Member] | Increase (decrease) from prior fiscal year-end for awards that vested during the year

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Adjustment to Compensation Amount

36,086

234,813

(321,405)

PEO [Member] | Equity Award Adjustments

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Adjustment to Compensation Amount

2,133,739

1,233,385

936,972

Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Reported Value of Equity Awards

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Adjustment to Compensation Amount

(560,722)

(553,324)

(609,865)

Non-PEO NEO [Member] | As of year-end for awards granted during the year

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Adjustment to Compensation Amount

713,892

551,651

675,443

Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Year-over-year increase (decrease) of unvested awards granted in prior years

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Adjustment to Compensation Amount

232,133

(79,117)

(34,816)

Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Increase (decrease) from prior fiscal year-end for awards that vested during the year

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Adjustment to Compensation Amount

13,620

81,408

(130,600)

Non-PEO NEO [Member] | Equity Award Adjustments

Pay vs Performance Disclosure [Table]

Adjustment to Compensation Amount

$ 959,645

$ 553,942

$ 510,027