ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risk factors and the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K before investing in our common stock. Our business and results of operations could be seriously harmed by any of the following risks. The risks set out below are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and/or operating results. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. In such case, the value and trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to the Highly Regulated Field in Which We Operate
If our institutions fail to comply with the extensive educational regulatory requirements applicable to our business, we could incur financial penalties, restrictions on our operations, loss of federal and state financial aid funding for our students, loss of accreditation, or loss of our authorization to operate our institutions or our educational programs.
As a provider of postsecondary education, we are subject to extensive regulation by federal, state, and accrediting agencies. The applicable educational regulatory requirements cover virtually all phases of the operations of our institutions, including, but not limited to, educational program offerings, facilities, instructional and administrative staff, administrative procedures, marketing and recruiting, financial operations, data security and privacy, adequacy and substantiation of graduation and job placement rates and other student outcomes, distribution of information to current and prospective students, professional licensure requirements, payment of refunds to students who withdraw, the receipt of federal and state financial aid by our students (including institutional, programmatic, and student eligibility requirements), private and institutional loan programs, distance education, third party servicers, written arrangements with other institutions or organizations to provide some or all of an educational program, student complaints, student services, student admissions, transfer of academic credits, acquisitions or openings of new institutions, additions of new campuses and educational programs, closure or relocation of existing locations, and changes in corporate structure and ownership.
Each of our institutions (HDMC, CCC, Integrity, and CCMCC) participates in the federal student aid programs authorized by Title IV of the HEA, as amended (Title IV Programs), as well as other federal and state financial aid programs and are subject to extensive regulation by ED, other federal and state educational agencies and accreditors. CCC, HDMC, and CCMCC are approved to offer, and must comply with applicable requirements related to, veterans education assistance administered by the VA. CCC and HDMC are also approved to offer, and must comply with applicable requirements related to, Cal Grants administered by the California Student Aid Commission, and funds administered under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. We derive a substantial portion of our revenue and cash flows from the Title IV Programs and a significant portion of our students rely on financial aid received under the Title IV Programs in order to attend our institutions. To qualify as an eligible institution to participate in the Title IV Programs, an institution must among other things receive and maintain authorization by the appropriate state education agencies, be accredited by an accreditor recognized by ED, and be certified by ED as an eligible institution.
The laws, regulations, standards and policies of our regulators change periodically and are subject to new and changing interpretation by our regulators. Changes in, or new interpretations of, applicable laws, regulations, standards, or policies, or our failure to comply with those laws, regulations, standards, or policies could have a material adverse effect on our receipt of funds under the Title IV Programs and other federal and state financial aid programs, the accreditation of our institutions and programs, the authorization of our institutions to operate in various states, our permissible activities or our costs of doing business. We cannot predict with certainty how all of the requirements applied by our regulators will be interpreted or whether our institutions will be able to comply with these requirements in the future. Given the complex nature of these requirements and the fact that they are subject to interpretation, it is possible that we may inadvertently violate these laws, regulations, standards, or policies.
If we are found to have violated any applicable laws, regulations, standards or policies, we may be subject to the following sanctions, among others, imposed by any one or more regulatory agencies or other government bodies who regulate us and our schools:
imposition of monetary fines or penalties, including imposition of a requirement to submit a substantial letter of credit or other form of financial protection;
repayment of funds received under the Title IV Programs or other federal or state financial aid programs the amounts of which could be material;
restrictions on, or termination, revocation, or nonrenewal of, the eligibility of one or more of our institutions or one or more of their locations or programs to participate in the Title IV Programs or other federal or state financial aid programs;
limits on, or termination, revocation, or nonrenewal of, our authorizations to operate our institutions in one or more states or ability to grant degrees, diplomas and certificates;
restrictions on, or termination, revocation or nonrenewal of, our institutions’ approvals and/or accreditations or the approval and/or accreditation of one or more of our locations or programs;
limitations on our operations including, but not limited to, our ability to open new institutions or locations (i.e., campuses), offer new programs, change the length of our existing programs, or increase enrollment levels or amounts of funding received from Title IV or other financial assistance programs;
costly investigations, litigation or other adversarial proceedings; and
civil or criminal penalties being levied against us or our institutions.
In addition, findings or allegations of noncompliance may subject us to qui tam lawsuits under the Federal False Claims Act, under which private plaintiffs seek to enforce remedies on behalf of the U.S. and, if successful, are entitled to recover their costs and to receive a portion of any amounts recovered by the U.S. in the lawsuit. The U.S. can also bring a Federal False Claims Act claim on its own behalf, and in either instance, a party found to have violated the Federal False Claims Act can be subject to treble damages. We may be subject to similar lawsuits brought under state false claims acts. We may also be subject to other types of lawsuits or claims by third parties. The costs of these proceedings may be significant, and we may not have sufficient resources to fund any material adverse outcomes.
Any penalties, repayment obligations, injunctions, restrictions, terminations, revocations, nonrenewal, lawsuits or other sanctions or conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. If any of our institutions lose or experience limitations on their Title IV Program eligibility, we would experience a dramatic decline in revenue, and we would be unable to continue our business as it currently is conducted.
Any failure to comply with state laws and regulatory requirements, including educational regulations, or new state legislative or regulatory initiatives affecting our institutions, could have a material adverse effect on our total student enrollment, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Our institutions are subject to the educational laws and regulations of the State of California where our physical campuses are located. We also may be subject to the educational laws of other states if we acquire a new institution in the state or if one of our institutions adds a new campus in the state or otherwise conducts other operations in the state covered by applicable state educational law including, but not limited to, student recruitment, advertising or certain types of distance education. State educational laws establish standards and requirements for, among other things, student instruction, faculty qualifications, campuses and facilities, educational programs, financial stability, administrative staff, marketing and recruiting, distribution of information to current and prospective students, payment of refunds to students who withdraw, private and institutional loans, distance education, student services, student complaints, student admissions, transfer of academic credits, substantive changes, acquisitions, and policies and minimum graduation and job placement outcomes for institutions and/or their individual educational programs. Our institutions are authorized to operate by BPPE. We also may be required to obtain approvals and comply with requirements of state agencies that regulate certain occupational educational programs such as, for example, VN and phlebotomy. The California Board of Registered Nurses approves the Associate degree of Nursing program at HDMC. The VN programs at HDMC, Integrity, and CCMCC are approved by BVNPT. The phlebotomy programs at HDMC and CCC are approved by California Department of Public Health. In addition, we are subject to state consumer protection laws.
Attorneys general in many states have become more active in enforcing consumer protection laws, including, for example, laws related to marketing, advertising and recruiting practices and the financing of education at for-profit educational institutions. Further, some state attorneys general have partnered with federal and state agencies to review industry practices and collaborate on enforcement actions against educational institutions. These actions increase the likelihood of scrutiny of marketing, advertising, recruiting, financing, and other practices of educational institutions and may result in unforeseen consequences, increasing risk and making our operating environment more challenging.
Adverse media coverage regarding the allegations of state consumer protection law violations by us or other for-profit education companies could damage our reputation, result in decreased enrollments, revenues and profitability, and have a negative impact on our stock price. Such coverage could also result in continued scrutiny and regulation by ED, Congress, accreditors, state legislatures, state attorneys general or other governmental authorities of us and other for-profit educational institutions.
State education laws and regulations may limit our campuses’ ability to operate or to award degrees, diplomas, or certificates or offer new programs. Moreover, under the HEA, authorization by state education agencies is necessary to maintain eligibility to participate in the Title IV Programs. ED regulations also require institutions offering postsecondary education through distance education to students located in a state in which the institution is not physically located (as determined by the institution at the time of a student’s initial enrollment and, if applicable, upon formal receipt of information from the student that their location has changed to another state) to meet state educational requirements in that state or participate in a state authorization reciprocity agreement in order to disburse Title IV funds to such students. We have obtained approval to offer portions of our programs via distance education from ACCET for CCC, CCMCC and HDMC, ABHES for Integrity, and from the BPPE for HDMC, CCC, CCMCC and Integrity. The State of California does not, however, presently participate in any state authorization reciprocity agreement whereby our institutions may offer programs via distance education to students located in other states without our obtaining applicable authorizations from those other states. Our institutions presently do not have any state postsecondary authorizations outside of California.
In addition, an institution must make disclosures readily available to enrolled and prospective students regarding whether programs leading to professional licensure or certification meet state educational requirements, and provide a direct disclosure to students in writing if the program leading to professional licensure or certification does not meet state educational requirements in the state in which the student is located (which is only California for our current students). Under ED’s rules effective July 1, 2024, an institution must certify that its programs satisfy the applicable educational requirements for professional licensure or certification needed to practice or find employment in an occupation for which the program prepares a student in the state in which the school or where a student is located or intends to seek employment (which, although our current students are located in California, could be a state other than California and could require us to refrain from enrolling students in a state if our program does not satisfy the applicable educational requirements in the state). We believe the Title IV-eligible educational programs offered by our institutions satisfy all such currently applicable state educational requirements for professional licensure or certification.
State legislatures often consider legislation affecting regulation of postsecondary educational institutions. Our institutions are located in California which has expansive laws and regulations impacting for-profit schools like our institutions. Enactment of this legislation and ensuing regulations, or changes in interpretation of existing regulations, may impose substantial costs on our institutions and require them to modify their operations in order to comply with the new regulations.
If we are unable to comply with applicable past, current or future state education, consumer protection, licensing, authorization or other requirements, or determine that we are unable to cost effectively comply with new or revised requirements, we could be subject to loss of state authorization and to monetary fines or penalties or limitations on the manner in which we conduct our business, or we could lose enrollments, eligibility to participate in the Title IV Programs and revenues, in any affected states, which could materially affect our results of operations and our growth opportunities.
If one or more of our institutions fails to maintain institutional accreditation, or if certain of our programs cannot obtain or maintain programmatic accreditation, our student enrollments would diminish, and our business would suffer.
Institutional Accreditation. In the U.S., accrediting agencies are non-governmental entities that periodically review the academic quality of an institution’s instructional programs and its administrative and financial operations to ensure the institution has the resources to perform its educational mission. Accrediting agencies impose standards that extend to most aspects of an institution’s operations and educational programs including, but not limited to, requirements to maintain threshold graduation and job placement rates for its educational programs. ED requires an institution to be accredited by an ED-recognized accrediting agency in order for the institution to participate in the Title IV Programs. HDMC, CCC, and CCMCC are currently accredited by ACCET through April 2029, April 2030, and April 2026, respectively. Integrity is accredited by ABHES through February 2026. ACCET and ABHES are ED-recognized accrediting agencies. The failure to comply with accreditation standards could subject an institution to additional oversight and reporting requirements, accreditation proceedings such as a show-cause directive, an action to defer or deny action related to an institution’s application for a new grant of accreditation, or an action to suspend or revoke an institution’s accreditation or a program’s approval. If our institutions or programs are subject to negative accreditation actions or are placed on probationary accreditation status, we may experience adverse publicity, impaired ability to attract and retain students, and substantial expense to obtain unqualified accreditation status. The inability to obtain reaccreditation following periodic reviews or any final loss of institutional accreditation after exhaustion of the administrative agency processes would result in a loss of Title IV Program funds and state authorization for the affected institution. Such events and any related claims brought against us could have a material adverse impact on our business, reputation, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Programmatic Accreditation. Many states and professional associations require professional programs to be accredited. While programmatic accreditation is not a sufficient basis to qualify for institutional Title IV Program certification, programmatic accreditation may improve employment opportunities for program graduates in their chosen field. Moreover, ED requires an institution to hold programmatic accreditation for an educational program if required by a state or federal agency (including as a condition of employment in the occupation for which the institutional program prepares the students). The veterinary technology program at CCC is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association. Integrity’s Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing holds pre- accreditation candidacy status from the Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation. Additionally, CCC is pursuing initial programmatic accreditation with ABHES for the Surgical Technology Associate of Applied Science program for consideration during the Spring 2026 visit cycle. The Associate of Applied Science in Surgical Technology at CCMCC is accredited by ABHES and will engage in reaccreditation in the Spring 2026 visit cycle. All of the Title IV-eligible educational programs offered by our institutions are within the scope of institutional accreditation from either ACCET or ABHES, and we do not believe any of our Title IV-eligible educational programs that do not hold programmatic accreditation are required to hold programmatic accreditation by any currently applicable state or federal agency. Those of our programs that do not have programmatic accreditation, where available, or fail to maintain such accreditation, may experience adverse publicity, loss of access to Title IV funds, declining enrollments, litigation or other claims from students or suffer other adverse impacts, which could result in it being impractical for us to continue offering such programs.
ED Recognition of Accrediting Agencies. Our participation in Title IV Programs is dependent on ED continuing to recognize the accrediting agencies that accredit our colleges and universities. Each of our institutions currently are accredited by an ED- recognized accrediting agency. The standards and practices of these agencies have become a focus of attention by state attorneys general, members of Congress, ED’s Office of Inspector General and ED over recent years. ED held negotiated rulemaking sessions between January and March 2024, and the negotiators did not reach consensus on proposed language. ED terminated the negotiated rulemaking process for accreditation as of December 20, 2024. However, ED published a proposed regulatory agenda in early September 2025 that, among other things, includes a proposal to engage in negotiated rulemaking to provide institutions flexibility to change accreditors and “remove other burdensome requirements that erect barriers to entry for new accreditation agencies.” This proposal is in its early stages and, therefore, we cannot predict whether and how such a rulemaking would impact the accreditors that accredit our institutions or the accreditation requirements applicable to our institutions.
If ED withdraws recognition from ACCET and/or ABHES, ED may continue our schools’ eligibility for a period of up to 18 months from the date of the withdrawal of recognition, and our schools could apply for accreditation from other ED-recognized accrediting agencies. ED could impose provisional certification and other conditions and restrictions on our schools during this period. If ACCET and/or ABHES lose recognition from ED and our schools are unable to obtain accreditation from a different ED-recognized accrediting agency in the required time period, our schools could lose eligibility to participate in Title IV Programs.
Congress may revise the laws governing the Title IV Programs or reduce funding for those programs which could reduce our enrollment and revenue and increase costs of operations.
The U.S. Congress must periodically reauthorize the HEA and other laws governing the Title IV Programs and annually determine the funding level for each Title IV Program, and may pass new laws or revise existing laws at any time. Political and budgetary concerns significantly affect the Title IV Programs. We cannot predict when or whether Congress will consider or vote on legislation to reauthorize the HEA or to create new laws or revise existing laws. Furthermore, we cannot predict with any certainty the outcome of the HEA reauthorization process nor the extent to which any legislation that Congress could adopt at any time could materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Current requirements for student or school participation in Title IV Programs may change or one or more of the present Title IV Programs could be replaced by other programs with materially different student or school eligibility requirements. For example, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) was signed into law in March 2021 and included, among other things, a provision that amended the 90/10 Rule (as defined herein) in the HEA. See “Risk Factors - Our institutions could lose their eligibility to participate in the Title IV programs if the percentage of their revenues derived from applicable federal educational student aid programs is too high.” If we cannot comply with the provisions of the HEA, as they may be enforced or amended, or if the cost of such compliance is excessive, or if funding is materially reduced, our revenues or profit margin could be materially adversely affected.
More recently, on July 4, 2025, the President signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”), which has a general effective date of July 1, 2026 and makes changes to the HEA, including the Title IV programs. ED intends to conduct a negotiated rulemaking process in 2025 for the purpose of establishing new regulations impacting the new OBBBA requirements. See “Education Regulations – Negotiated Rulemaking.” Consequently, we expect the new requirements will impact our institutions and operations, but we cannot predict the ultimate scope, content, and impact of the new OBBBA requirements under future ED regulations and guidance. We are currently assessing, and will continue to assess, the potential impact of the requirements on us and our institutions.
Among other things, the OBBBA establishes limits on the amount of Title IV loans students and parents can borrow. These limits will not apply to students that will be enrolled as of the effective date, up until their expected time of completion as defined by the OBBBA. The OBBBA establishes a limit of $20,000 annually and $65,000 in total for PLUS loans taken out by parent borrowers for undergraduate programs. The OBBBA also creates a lifetime loan limit of $257,500 for all borrowers. It also requires institutions to prorate loans for students attending less than full-time. We are in the process of evaluating the impact these loan limitations may have on our institutions and enrollments and the extent to which alternative sources of funding such as third-party loans may be needed for some of our students.
The OBBBA also establishes a new accountability measure that applies to our degree programs and that is based on a comparison of graduate earnings to the earnings of working adults without degrees under a complex formula that ED is expected to address in future regulations. Under the new accountability measure, an associate degree program would lose its Title IV loan eligibility if the median earnings of a cohort of graduates are less than the median earnings of working adults with a high school diploma and no further degrees for two out of three years. ED will create a process for appealing the programmatic median earnings data. Institutions that do not meet the accountability measure for one year will also be required to notify students of the risk of losing eligibility. Our institutions offer a limited number of associate degree programs that will be subject to the new accountability measure. We cannot yet predict with certainty whether our degree programs will meet the accountability measure or whether they will be at risk of losing eligibility to participate in the Title IV loan programs.
The OBBBA also restricts student eligibility for the Pell Grant by disqualifying students with a student aid index that equals or exceeds twice the amount of the total maximum Pell Grant, and disqualifying students who receive grant aid from non-federal sources that equals or exceeds the student’s cost of attendance for that period. We are evaluating whether and to what extent this change might impact the Pell eligibility of some of our students and whether alternative sources of financial aid, such as third-party loans, might be necessary for these students. The OBBBA also establishes Workforce Pell Grants for eligible students enrolled in certain short-term educational programs that meet eligibility requirements. The eligibility requirements include criteria related to the program’s length and a determination of eligibility by the state. Many of our programs are longer than the eligibility requirements, but we are evaluating whether opportunities exist for other current or future programs at our institutions.
Additionally, the OBBBA delays the effective date of the 2022 version of the revised borrower defense to repayment regulations and closed school loan discharge regulations for ten years, until July 1, 2035. See “Education Regulations - Borrower Defense to Repayment Regulations.”
Congressional committees and members actively continue to propose and consider legislation on a wide range of topics related to the Title IV programs that could impact further the amount of Title IV funding available to schools and students and impose additional accountability requirements on institutions and also that could eliminate or modify certain rules that are less favorable to schools like ours. However, the process of Congressional passage of new legislation is ongoing, is subject to further negotiation and amendment, and is further subject to Congressional approval. Therefore, the timing and outcome of this process and the scope of any additional legislation that might be enacted cannot be predicted with any certainty at this time. We are continuing to monitor the process.
Executive action could affect access to Title IV funding which could reduce our enrollment and revenue and increase costs of operations .
As previously reported, there are indications based on recent elections that the new administration, and potentially the U.S. Congress, will attempt to dissolve ED, diminish its operational role, and/or transfer some or all of its functions to one or more agencies. See our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed with the SEC on February 13, 2025, for the section titled “Regulatory Updates” for additional information. In March 2025, ED implemented a reduction in force (“RIF”) that, coupled with resignations by ED staff, reportedly reduced ED’s workforce by approximately half. The RIF also eliminated several school participation divisions, including the school participation division that previously oversaw the operations of our institutions, and eliminated or significantly reduced several other offices or divisions within ED. We currently are working with other offices and personnel at ED on some of our pending matters, but it is possible that we could encounter delays and difficulties obtaining timely ED approval of recent and future acquisitions of other schools. See “Education Regulations – School Acquisitions” and “Education Regulations – Change of Control.” We also could encounter delays and difficulties obtaining timely ED approval of new campuses or other educational programs for which we wish to offer Title IV funds to students and which require ED approval. See “Education Regulations – Opening Additional Campuses and Adding Educational Programs.”
In March 2025, the President issued an Executive Order calling for all necessary steps to close ED although the executive order did not indicate the process or timing for accomplishing this task nor identify where some of the functions of ED might be transferred. We continue to monitor developments in this area, but cannot yet predict whether the administration or Congress will be successful in closing or further reducing ED and/or transferring some or all of its functions to one or more agencies, or whether such a proposal would disrupt or change the availability of Title IV funds to us and our students or change the rules applicable to us and our schools to continue receiving Title IV funds. We also cannot predict the success of any litigation challenging any efforts to close or restructure ED. Any executive or legislative action impacting ED, the availability of Title IV funds, or the rules applicable to us could have a material adverse effect on us and our institutions.
Additional ED or other rulemaking could materially and adversely affect our operations, business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
ED has promulgated a substantial number of new regulations in recent years that impact our business, including, but not limited to, the “borrower defense to repayment” regulations discussed in the risk factors below, as well as rules regarding compensation for persons engaged in certain aspects of admissions and financial aid, state authorization, clock and credit hours, prohibitions on “substantial misrepresentations,” gainful employment, certification procedures, financial responsibility, administrative capability, ability to benefit, closed school loan discharges, the 90/10 Rule, changes in ownership, Title IX, cash management, return of Title IV funds, distance education, accreditation and other topics. These and other regulations have had significant impacts on our business, requiring a large number of reporting and operational changes and resulting in changes to and elimination of certain educational programs.
On July 24, 2025, ED announced it intends to establish two negotiated rulemaking committees: one that will consider changes to the federal student loan programs and one that will consider institutional and programmatic accountability, including changes to the Pell Grant. The rulemaking is intended to implement recent changes to the Title IV, HEA programs included in the OBBBA. See “Education Regulations – Congressional Action.” We expect the new requirements will impact our institutions and operations, but we cannot predict the ultimate scope, content, and impact of the new OBBBA requirements under future ED regulations and guidance. We are currently assessing, and will continue to assess, the potential impact of the requirements on us and our institutions and to monitor the negotiated rulemaking process.
On April 4, 2025, ED announced its intention to conduct negotiated rulemaking to prepare proposed regulations on topics pertaining to Title IV regulations, potentially including Public Service Loan Forgiveness, loan repayment programs, and “streamlining” current federal student financial assistance regulations. ED held public hearings to discuss the rulemaking agenda on April 29, 2025 and May 1, 2025 and requested comments on rulemaking topics be submitted by May 5, 2025. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Committee met from June 30, 2025 to July 2, 2025. We cannot predict the ultimate timing, content, and impact of any regulations and guidance ED might propose and ultimately adopt. In addition, the President directed federal agencies on April 9, 2025 to identify existing regulations that are unlawful or otherwise objectionable and to take steps to repeal or modify these regulations. We cannot predict what rules ED might attempt to repeal or modify, the timing and outcome of these efforts, or the impact of any regulatory repeals of modifications on our business and schools.
ED’s proposed regulatory agenda published in early September 2025 indicates an intent to address several topics (including through rulemaking), including accreditation, changes in ownership, cash management, administrative capability, and financial responsibility requirements, civil rights investigations, and privacy of education records. Whether via sub-regulatory guidance or a rulemaking process, we cannot predict how ED’s actions on these topics will impact schools like ours. Future regulatory actions by ED or other agencies that regulate our institutions are likely to occur and to have significant impacts on our business, require us to change our business practices and incur costs of compliance and of developing and implementing changes in operations, as has been the case with past regulatory changes.
We cannot predict with certainty the ultimate combined impact of the regulatory changes which have occurred in recent years, nor can we predict the effect of future legislative or regulatory action by federal, state or other agencies regulating our education programs or other aspects of our operations, how any resulting regulations will be interpreted or whether we and our institutions will be able to comply with these requirements in the future. Any such actions by legislative or regulatory bodies that affect our programs and operations could have a material adverse effect on our student population and our institutions, including the need to cease offering a number of programs.
ED’s financial value transparency and gainful employment regulations may limit the programs we can offer students and increase our cost of operations.
In May 2021, ED announced its intention to initiate a rulemaking process on several topics, including gainful employment. On May 19, 2023, ED published a notice of proposed rulemaking on financial value transparency and gainful employment, and on October 10, 2023, ED published final regulations which became effective on July 1, 2024. Multiple lawsuits were filed challenging these regulations and these were consolidated into one case. We cannot predict the outcome of this case.
The financial value transparency and gainful employment regulations include standards for annually evaluating postsecondary educational programs based on the calculation of debt-to-earnings rates and an “earnings premium” measure. The rule establishes formulae for calculating these rates using data such as student debt, student earnings data, and median earnings data for working adults with only a high school diploma or GED, which the rule uses to compare to median earnings data of the institution’s graduates. Under the regulations, ED will annually calculate and publish the debt-to-earnings rates and median earnings data for our educational programs. If these calculations show that any of our educational programs do not comply with debt-to-earnings or median earnings regulatory thresholds for two of three consecutive years, those educational programs would lose Title IV Program eligibility. ED also requires institutions to provide warnings to current and prospective students about programs in danger of losing of Title IV Program eligibility which could negatively impact our retention of current students and enrollment of new students in these programs. The regulations also require certifications and data reporting to ED and providing required student disclosures related to gainful employment. Some of the data ED will use to calculate the debt-to-earnings rates and earnings premium measures is not yet readily accessible to institutions. Therefore, it is difficult for us to predict how our institutions will perform under the new standards and the extent to which our programs could lose Title IV Program eligibility under the new standards. We also do not have control over some of the factors that could impact the rates and measures for our programs which could make it difficult to mitigate the impact of the regulations on our programs. However, the new regulations could require us to modify or eliminate programs to comply with the new regulations and could result in the loss of Title IV Program eligibility for our programs that fail to comply with the regulations which could have a material adverse effect on our student population and our revenues. As noted elsewhere, our degree programs also will be subject to a new separate earnings measure under the OBBBA.
ED’s “borrower defense to repayment” regulations may subject us to significant repayment liability to ED for discharged federal student loans, posting of substantial letters of credit and other requirements that could have a material adverse effect on us.
In 1994, pursuant to certain provisions of the Higher Education Act, ED published its first version of the “borrower defense to repayment” (“BDR”) regulations which generally allow federal student loan borrowers to assert a defense to repaying their federal loans based on the conduct of the institution they attended. The amount of loans discharged by ED pursuant to an adjudicated BDR claim may be assessed by ED as a Title IV Program liability against the institution. On November 1, 2016, the Department adopted revised BDR regulations that became effective on July 1, 2017. Under the 2017 version of the BDR regulations, borrowers with federal student loans disbursed after July 1, 2017 can assert a defense to repayment and be eligible for relief based on a nondefault, favorable, contested judgement against the institution from a state or federal court; a claim that the institution failed to perform its obligations under a contract with the student or a claim the institution committed a “substantial misrepresentation” on which the borrower reasonably relied to his or her detriment. On September 23, 2019, the Department again revised its BDR regulations effective July 1, 2020, and created a distinct standard and process for BDR applications applicable to federal student loans first disbursed after July 1, 2020. Under the 2019 version of the BDR regulations, a borrower can assert a defense to repayment and be eligible for relief if the borrower establishes that the institution made a misrepresentation of material fact upon which the borrower reasonably relied in deciding to obtain their loan; the misrepresentation related to the borrower’s enrollment or continuing enrollment at the institution or the provision of education services for which the loan was made; and the borrower was financially harmed by the misrepresentation.
On November 1, 2022, ED again revised the BDR regulations with an effective date of July 1, 2023. The 2022 version of the BDR regulations included amendments regarding, among other things, (i) acts or omissions by or on behalf of an institution of higher education a borrower may assert as a defense to repayment of certain Title IV Program loans; (ii) procedures for adjudicating borrower defense claims, and (iii) prohibiting the use of mandatory pre-dispute arbitration clauses and class action waivers in enrollment agreements and requiring disclosures of judicial and arbitration filings and awards pertaining to a borrower defense claim.
Among other things, the 2022 version of the BDR regulations also amended the processes for borrowers to receive from ED a discharge of the obligation to repay certain Title IV Program loans when the BDR applications received on or after, or that were pending with ED as of, July 1, 2023. The 2022 version of the BDR regulations applies the revised federal BDR standard to all BDR claims received on or after, or pending with the Secretary as of, July 1, 2023, but would not allow for recovery against institutions for discharged amounts first disbursed prior to July 1, 2023 unless the BDR claim would have been approved under the substantive BDR standard applicable to the time period in which the loan was disbursed as set forth in the prior versions of the BDR regulations. The defenses to repayment are based on certain acts or omissions, including misrepresentations, by an institution or a covered party. The regulations establish detailed procedures and standards for the loan discharge processes, including the information required for borrowers to receive a loan discharge, and the authority of ED to seek recovery from the institution of the amount of discharged loans. The 2022 version of the BDR regulations were to take effect on July 1, 2023, in addition to certain closed school loan discharge provisions part of the same rule, but are currently enjoined and delayed. The Career Colleges and Schools of Texas (“CCST”) filed a complaint challenging the regulations in February 2023. In April 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a preliminary injunction to block enforcement of the 2022 version of the BDR regulations while the case is pending. Further, the OBBBA, enacted July 4, 2025, delays the effective date of the 2022 version of the revised BDR regulations for ten years, until July 1, 2035.Therefore, the 2022 version of the BDR regulations are not in effect, but the previous BDR regulations in effect prior to July 1, 2023, generally remain in effect in the meantime and apply different substantive standards and procedures based on when a BDR claimant’s loans were disbursed.
On June 22, 2022, ED reached a settlement with plaintiffs in the case titled Sweet v. Cardona , which was filed by student loan borrowers to challenge ED’s adjudication of BDR claims. The settlement resulted in automatic relief of claims pending as of June 22, 2022 that were filed against institutions on a list of about 150 institutions named in the settlement agreement, which did not include any of our institutions. In addition, under the settlement, any borrower who filed a defense to repayment claim between June 22, 2022 and November 15, 2022 are “Post-Class Applicants” whose applications will be adjudicated under the 2016 version of the BDR regulations and will be decided by January 2026. HDMC received and timely responded to seven BDR applications from Post-Class Applicants. CCC, Integrity, and CCMCC (at least since we acquired CCMCC) have not received any BDR applications from Post-Class Applicants. It is possible that we could receive BDR claims in the future. If we or our representatives are found to have engaged in certain acts or omissions under the broad definitions contained in the 2016 version of the BDR regulations, or other BDR regulations that could be in place in the future, we could be subject to substantial repayment obligations and subject to other sanctions.
The enjoined 2022 version of the BDR regulations, and the versions of the BDR regulations that are currently in effect and that could be in effect in the future, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows and result in the imposition of significant restrictions on us and our ability to operate, including a requirement that our institutions to submit a letter of credit based on expanded standards of financial responsibility. See “Risk Factors - A failure to maintain compliance with ED’s “financial responsibility” requirements would have negative impacts on our operations .”
In recent years, ED has been more active in processing BDR applications and has recently distributed claims to institutions for an opportunity to respond to borrower allegations. ED may, on its own or in response to other constituencies, allocate additional resources to reviewing and adjudicating BDR applications from federal student loan borrowers. We cannot predict how many BDR applications have been filed by our former students, but if we receive such claims from ED, we may incur significant costs in responding to the borrower allegations and, if adjudicated as valid by ED, repaying the federal government for the amount of loans discharged pursuant to such claims.
ED also grants closed school loan discharges to students when it determines the student’s institution or campus has closed. When an institution or location meets ED’s definition of a closed school or location, affected students can apply for a discharge of the Title IV loans incurred for the program of study the student did not complete due to the closure, and ED grants the discharge if the student meets certain requirements. ED also may seek to recover the cost of the discharge from the institution. If any of our locations or institutions close, our institutions could be subject to liabilities for closed school loan discharges. In conjunction with the 2022 revisions to the BDR rule, ED also revised the closed school loan discharge provisions. However, these revisions are also enjoined as well as delayed under the OBBBA. We cannot predict the outcome of any future revisions to the closed school loan discharge provisions that ED may initiate.
A failure to maintain compliance with ED’s “financial responsibility” requirements would have negative impacts on our operations.
All institutions participating in the Title IV Programs must satisfy specific standards of financial responsibility. ED evaluates institutions for compliance with these standards each year, based on the institution’s annual audited financial statements, as well as following a change in ownership resulting in a change of control of the institution. The most significant financial responsibility measurement is the institution’s composite score, which is calculated by ED based on three ratios:
the equity ratio, which measures the institution’s capital resources, ability to borrow and financial viability;
the primary reserve ratio, which measures the institution’s ability to support current operations from expendable resources; and
the net income ratio, which measures the institution’s ability to operate at a profit.
ED assigns a strength factor to the results of each of these ratios on a scale from negative 1.0 to positive 3.0, with negative 1.0 reflecting financial weakness and positive 3.0 reflecting financial strength. ED then assigns a weighting percentage to each ratio and adds the weighted scores for the three ratios together to produce a composite score for the institution. The composite score must be at least 1.5 for the institution to be deemed financially responsible without the need for further oversight. If an institution’s composite score is below 1.5, but is at least 1.0, it is in a category denominated by ED as “the zone.” Under ED regulations, institutions that are in the zone typically may be permitted by ED to continue to participate in the Title IV Programs by choosing one of two alternatives: 1) the “Zone Alternative” under which an institution is required to make disbursements to students under the Heightened Cash Monitoring 1 (“HCM1”) payment method (or another payment method that differs from the standard advance payment method) and to notify ED within 10 days after the occurrence of certain oversight and financial events or 2) submit a letter of credit to ED equal to at least 50 percent of the Title IV Program funds received by the institution during its most recent fiscal year. ED permits an institution to participate under the “Zone Alternative” for a period of up to three consecutive fiscal years. Under the HCM1 payment method, the institution is required to make Title IV Program disbursements to eligible students and parents before it requests or receives funds for the amount of those disbursements from ED. Unlike the Heightened Cash Monitoring 2 (“HCM2”) and the reimbursement payment methods, the HCM1 payment method typically does not require schools to submit documentation to ED and wait for ED approval before drawing down Title IV Program funds. Schools under HCM1, HCM2 or reimbursement payment methods must also pay any credit balances due to a student before drawing down funds for the amount of those disbursements from ED, even if the student or parent provides written authorization for the schools to hold the credit balance.
If an institution’s composite score is below 1.0, the institution is considered by ED to lack financial responsibility. If ED determines that an institution does not satisfy ED’s financial responsibility standards, depending on its composite score and other factors, that institution may establish its eligibility to participate in the Title IV Programs on an alternative basis by, among other things:
posting a letter of credit in an amount equal to at least 50% of the total Title IV Program funds received by the institution during the institution’s most recently completed fiscal year; or
posting a letter of credit in an amount equal to at least 10% of the Title IV Program funds received by the institution during its most recently completed fiscal year accepting provisional certification; complying with additional ED monitoring requirements and agreeing to receive Title IV Program funds under an arrangement other than ED’s standard advance funding arrangement.
If, in the future, we are required to satisfy ED’s standards of financial responsibility on an alternative basis, including potentially by posting irrevocable letters of credit, we may not have the capacity to post these letters of credit which could result in sanctions including loss of Title IV Program eligibility.
ED annually evaluates the financial responsibility of HDMC, CCC, Integrity, and CCMCC on a consolidated basis. We have calculated our composite score for the 2024 fiscal year to be 3.0, however this score is subject to determination by ED based on its review of our consolidated audited financial statements for the 2024 fiscal year. Our next composite score will be calculated based on audited financial statements for the 2025 fiscal year due for submission to ED by December 31, 2025. We expect the composite score for the 2025 fiscal year to exceed 1.5, but the final composite score is subject to our final calculation and to determination by ED based on its review of our consolidated financial statements for the 2025 fiscal year. However, if our composite scores in the future were to decrease, we may become subject to the additional requirements noted above or our Title IV Program eligibility could be affected. We cannot predict how long it will take the ED to make its determination or the outcome of its determination.
On October 31, 2023, ED published final regulations with a general effective date of July 1, 2024 that, among other things, amended the “general” standards of financial responsibility to revise the timeframe for institutions to submit annual audits, require reporting on the status of foreign entity owners, and add events that constitute a failure to demonstrate an institution is able to meet financial obligations. These regulations also modified the list of triggering events that could result in ED determining that the institution lacks financial responsibility and must submit to ED a letter of credit or other form of acceptable financial protection and accept other conditions on the institution’s Title IV Program eligibility. The regulations create lists of mandatory triggering events and discretionary triggering events. An institution is not able to meet its financial or administrative obligations if a mandatory triggering event occurs. The mandatory triggering events include:
an institution with a composite score of less than 1.5 has a recalculated composite score of less than 1.0 as determined by ED as a result of an institutional liability from a monetary award or judgment or settlement resulting from a legal proceeding;
an institution (or an entity that has submitted financial statements to ED in connection with a change in ownership) is subject to a government enforcement action (sued by a federal or state authority or via a qui tam action) and the action has been pending for 120 days and no motion to dismiss is pending or has been granted;
the institution’s recalculated composite score is less than 1.0 after ED initiates action to recoup funds from institution after BDR claim decided in borrower’s favor;
an institution or entity that submitted an application with ED for a change of ownership has a recalculated composite score is less than 1.0 after a final monetary judgment, award or settlement that was entered against it at any point through the end of the second full fiscal year after the change of ownership;
a proprietary institution with a composite score of less than 1.5 or that underwent a change of ownership in the current or previous fiscal year has a recalculated composite score of. less than 1.0 as determined by ED as a result of a withdrawal of owner’s equity from the institution unless certain exceptions apply;
at least half of Title IV funds in the institution’s most recently completed fiscal year are for “failing” gainful employment programs;
the institution is required to submit a teach-out plan due to financial concerns;
the SEC takes certain actions against a publicly listed entity that directly or indirectly owns at least 50% of an institution or such entity fails to comply with certain filing requirements;
the institution did not receive at least 10 percent of its revenue from sources other than Federal educational assistance as calculated under 90/10 rule during its most recently completed fiscal year;
the institution’s two most recent cohort default rates are 30 percent or greater, unless a pending appeal could reduce one of the rates;
the institution’s composite score is less than 1.0 when recalculated to reflect the offset of distribution after a contribution;
the institution or entity included in financial statements is subject to adverse or impermissible conditions under a financing arrangement as a result of ED action;
the institution declares financial exigency to government agency or accrediting agency;
the institution or an owner files for a receivership or is ordered to appoint a receiver.
ED also may determine that an institution lacks financial responsibility if one or more of the following discretionary triggering events occurs and the event is likely to have a significant adverse effect on the financial condition of the institution:
a show cause or similar order from the institution’s accrediting agency or a government authority;
a notice from the institution’s state authorizing or licensing agency of an intent to withdraw or terminate the institution’s state authorization or licensure if the institution does not take steps to comply with state requirements;
the institution (or an owner entity covered by the regulation) is subject to a default, delinquency, or other adverse creditor event, or to a condition not permitted under the regulation, under or related to a loan agreement or other financing arrangement or has a judgement awarding monetary relief entered against it that is subject to appeal or under appeal;
there is a significant fluctuation in Pell Grant and/or Direct Loans received by an institution during a period of award years;
high annual drop-out rates from the institution as determined by ED;
ED requires the institutions to provide additional financial reporting due to a failure to meet financial responsibility standards or indicators of significant change in the financial condition of the institution;
ED forms a group process to consider pending borrower defense to repayment claims that could be subject to recoupment;
a program is discontinued that enrolls more than 25% of the institution’s total enrolled students who receive Title IV Program funds;
the institution closes a location that enrolls more than 25% of its total enrolled students who receive Title IV Program funds;
the institution, or one of its programs, is cited by a State agency for failing to meet requirements;
the institution, or one of its programs, loses eligibility to participate in another Federal educational assistance program;
a publicly traded company that directly or indirectly owns at least 50% of the institution discloses in public securities exchange filing that it is under investigation for possible violation of law;
the institution is cited by another federal agency and risks losing education assistance funds by that agency;
the institution is required to submit a teach-out plan due to concerns other than those constituting a mandatory triggering event; or
any other event or condition that ED finds is likely to have significant adverse effect on the financial condition of the institution.
The regulations require an institution to notify ED of the occurrence of a mandatory or discretionary triggering event and, in some cases, provide an opportunity to submit certain information to ED to demonstrate why the event does not establish the institution’s lack of financial responsibility or require the submission of a letter of credit and impose other conditions or requirements. If more than one of these financial responsibility triggers occur, ED could impose separate letters of credit to address each triggering event.
The financial responsibility regulations could result in ED recalculating and reducing our composite score, on a retroactive basis, to account for ED estimates of potential losses under one or more of the extensive list of triggering circumstances and also could result in the imposition of conditions and requirements including a requirement to provide one or more letters of credit or other form of financial protection. It is difficult to predict the amount or duration of any letter of credit requirements that ED might impose under the regulation. The requirement to submit letters of credit or to accept other conditions or restrictions could have a material adverse effect on our schools’ business and results of operations.
Accreditor and state regulatory requirements also address financial responsibility, and these requirements vary among agencies and also are different from ED requirements. Any developments relating to our satisfaction of ED’s financial responsibility requirements may lead to additional focus or review by our accreditors or applicable state agencies regarding their respective financial responsibility requirements.
If our institutions fail to maintain financial responsibility, they could lose their eligibility to participate in the Title IV Programs, have that eligibility adversely conditioned or be subject to similar negative consequences under accreditor and state regulatory requirements, which would have a material adverse effect on our business. In particular, limitations on, or termination of, participation in the Title IV Programs as a result of the failure to demonstrate financial responsibility or administrative capability would limit students’ access to Title IV Program funds, which would materially and adversely reduce the enrollments and revenues of our institutions.
ED’s proposed regulatory agenda first published in early September 2025 includes an intent to address certain issues including financial responsibility requirements via negotiated rulemaking. We cannot predict how ED will address these requirements or the impact the changes to financial responsibility requirements may have on our schools.
A failure to maintain compliance with ED’s “administrative capability” requirements would negatively impact our operations.
ED assesses the administrative capability of each institution that participates in the Title IV Programs under a series of separate standards. Failure to satisfy any of the standards may lead ED to find the institution ineligible to participate in the Title IV Programs or to place the institution on provisional certification as a condition of its participation and potentially impose fines or other sanctions. On October 31, 2023, ED published regulations revising and expanding its administrative capability standards. Those revisions, effective July 1, 2024, modified the criteria for administrative capability such that they now include, among other things, that the institution:
comply with all applicable federal student financial aid requirements;
have capable and sufficient personnel to administer the Title IV Programs;
administer the Title IV Programs with adequate checks and balances in its system of internal controls over financial reporting;
divide the function of authorizing and disbursing or delivering Title IV Program funds so that no office has the responsibility for both functions;
establish and maintain records required under the Title IV Programs regulations;
develop and apply an adequate system to identify and resolve discrepancies in information from sources regarding a student’s application for financial aid under the Title IV Programs;
have acceptable methods of defining and measuring the satisfactory academic progress of its students;
refer to the Office of the Inspector General any credible information indicating that any applicant, student, employee, third party servicer or other agent of the school has been engaged in any fraud or other illegal conduct involving the Title IV Programs;
not be, and not have any principal or affiliate who is, debarred or suspended from federal contracting or engaging in activity that is cause for debarment or suspension;
provide adequate financial aid counseling to its students;
submit, in a timely manner, all reports and financial statements required by the Title IV Program regulations;
provide adequate career services and geographically accessible clinical or externship opportunities to it students;
disburse funds to students in a timely manner that best meets their needs;
does not have programs that “fail” gainful employment rates and measures and that represent 50 percent or more of its total receipts under the Title IV Programs in the most recent award year;
does not engage in substantial misrepresentations or aggressive and deceptive recruitment tactics; and
not otherwise appear to lack administrative capability.
Failure by us to satisfy any of these or other administrative capability criteria could cause our institutions to be subject to sanctions or other actions by ED or to lose eligibility to participate in the Title IV Programs, which would have a significant impact on our business and results of operations.
ED published a notice in early September 2025 regarding its agenda for regulatory initiatives which, among other things, indicated an intent to address certain issues including administrative capability requirements. We cannot predict whether ED intends to address these requirements through negotiated rulemaking, published guidance, or other actions, nor can we predict the impact on our institutions of any changes that might occur to the administrative capability requirements. We are continuing to monitor developments on this topic.
Our institutions could be subject to liabilities and sanctions if they violate ED regulations and guidance limiting compensation to individuals and entities involved in certain recruiting, admissions or financial aid activities.
An institution participating in the Title IV Programs may not provide any commission, bonus or other incentive payment based directly or indirectly on success in securing enrollments or financial aid to any person or entity engaged in any student recruiting or admission activities or in making decisions regarding the awarding of Title IV Program funds. This statutory prohibition under the HEA, and as implemented by ED, applies to all institutional employees and service providers who are engaged in or responsible for any student recruitment or admission activity or making decisions regarding the award of financial aid. We cannot predict how ED will interpret and enforce the incentive compensation prohibition. The prohibition on incentive compensation has had and will continue to have a significant impact on the productivity of our employees, on the retention of our employees and on our business and results of operations. Failure to comply with the incentive compensation prohibition could result in loss of an institution’s certification to participate in the Title IV Programs, limitations on Title IV Program participation or financial penalties. On July 17, 2024, ED announced it will issue guidance related to the incentive compensation rule no sooner than later that year, but it has not yet issued such guidance.
Our institutions could lose their eligibility to participate in the Title IV programs if the percentage of their revenues derived from applicable federal educational assistance programs is too high.
Under the HEA, a proprietary institution that derives more than 90% of its total revenue from the Title IV Programs or, for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2023, from all federal educational assistance funds, for two consecutive fiscal years becomes immediately ineligible to participate in the Title IV Programs and may not reapply for eligibility until the end of at least two fiscal years (“90/10 Rule”). An institution whose receipts of applicable funds exceeds 90% of revenue for a single fiscal year will be placed on provisional certification, be required to notify ED and its students of the possibility of a loss of Title IV Program eligibility, and may be subject to other enforcement measures, including a requirement to submit a letter of credit. See “Business - Education Regulations - Financial Responsibility Standards.” We have calculated the 90/10 Rule percentages for the 2024, 2023, and 2022 fiscal years as follows for HDMC, CCC, and Integrity: HDMC 87.55%, 84.53%, and 82.17%; CCC 79.51%, 74.48%, and 72.34%; Integrity 84.19%, 88.14%, and 85.43% respectively. CCMCC’s 90/10 Rule percentage for its 2022 fiscal year was 21.76%, and for its 2023 fiscal year was 48.63%. CCMCC’s next 90/10 Rule percentage will be reported to ED in connection with the Company’s next annual financial statement and compliance audit submissions. Our calculations of the 90/10 Rule percentage for the 2025 fiscal year for HDMC, CCC, Integrity, and CCMCC are due on December 31, 2025 and each are expected to be below 90%. The 90/10 calculations for our institutions are subject to review and potential recalculation by ED. In addition, the 90/10 Rule is complex and there is some ambiguity in certain technical aspects of the calculation methodology under the 90/10 Rule. If ED comes out with additional guidance or interpretations that are different than our interpretations, ED could recalculate the 90/10 Rule percentages of our institutions, which could result in one or more of the percentages exceeding 90%. All of these calculations are subject to review, differing interpretations, and potential recalculation by ED which makes it more difficult for our institutions to comply with the 90/10 Rule. A loss of eligibility to participate in Title IV Programs for any of our institutions would have a significant impact on the rate at which our students enroll in our programs and on our business and results of operations. Moreover, if an institution violated the 90/10 Rule and became ineligible to participate in Title IV Programs but continued to disburse Title IV Program funds, ED would require the institution to repay all Title IV Program funds received by the institution after the effective date of the loss of eligibility.
The American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”) amended the 90/10 Rule by treating other federal student financial assistance funds in the same manner as Title IV Program funds in the 90/10 Rule percentage. This amendment requires our institutions to limit the combined amount of Title IV Program funds and other federal student financial assistance funds in a fiscal year to no more than 90% in a fiscal year as calculated under the 90/10 Rule. ED published final regulations on the 90/10 Rule on October 28, 2022. The final regulations became effective July 1, 2023 and applied to fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2023 (which was the fiscal years ending June 30, 2024 for our schools). The new rule modified how institutions counted revenue when calculating compliance with the 90/10 Rule, and added a requirement to notify students of the potential loss of eligibility resulting from not meeting the 90/10 standard, among other changes. ED has published a Notice in the Federal Register listing the types of funds that are considered federal education assistance funds under the new 90/10 Rule. The funds include GI Bill funding and Military Tuition Assistance, among other sources of funds. We expect the change in the 90/10 Rule will increase our 90/10 Rule percentages and make it more difficult to comply with the 90/10 Rule and could require changes to maintain compliance.
ED regulations have restricted the ability of institutions to limit the amount of Title IV Program loans that students and parents may borrow which can impact our ability to control compliance with the 90/10 Rule at our institutions. However, under a provision of the OBBBA that will be effective July 1, 2026, institutions are permitted to limit the total amount of loans that a student may borrow, and that a parent may borrow on behalf of a student, as long as the limit is applied consistently to all students in a program of study. In addition, there is a lack of clarity regarding some of the technical aspects of the calculation methodology under the 90/10 Rule, which may lead to regulatory action or investigations by ED. Changes in, or new interpretations of, the calculation methodology or other industry practices under the 90/10 Rule could further significantly impact our compliance with the 90/10 Rule, and responding to any review or investigation by ED involving us could require a significant amount of resources. Efforts to reduce the 90/10 Rule percentage for our institutions have and may in the future involve taking measures that involve interpretations of the 90/10 Rule that are without clear precedent, reduce our revenue or increase our operating expenses (or all of the foregoing, in each case perhaps significantly). Because of the changes to the 90/10 Rule made by ARPA and ED, we may be required to make structural changes to our business to remain in compliance, which changes may materially alter the manner in which we conduct our business and materially and adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Furthermore, these required changes could be unsuccessful and could make more difficult our ability to comply with other important regulatory requirements, such as the cohort default rate regulations.
However, we cannot predict the need or timing of any such changes, whether these changes would be successful in maintaining compliance with the 90/10 Rule or whether such changes will have other adverse effects on our business.
Our institutions could lose their eligibility to participate in the Title IV Programs or have other limitations placed upon them if their federal student loan cohort default rates are greater than the standards set by ED.
The HEA limits participation in the Title IV Programs by institutions whose percentage of former students who defaulted on the repayment of certain federally guaranteed or funded student loans (the “cohort default rate”) exceeds prescribed thresholds. ED calculates these rates based on the number of students who have defaulted, not the dollar amount of such defaults. The cohort default rate is calculated on a federal fiscal year basis and measures the percentage of students who enter repayment of a loan during the federal fiscal year and default on the loan on or before the end of the federal fiscal year or the subsequent two federal fiscal years.
Under the HEA, an institution whose cohort default rate is 30% or greater for three consecutive federal fiscal years loses eligibility to participate in certain Title IV Programs for the remainder of the federal fiscal year in which ED determines that such institution has lost its eligibility and for the two subsequent federal fiscal years. An institution whose cohort default rate for any single federal fiscal year exceeds 40% loses its eligibility to participate in certain Title IV Programs for the remainder of the federal fiscal year in which ED determines that such institution has lost its eligibility and for the two subsequent federal fiscal years. If an institution’s three-year cohort default rate equals or exceeds 30% in two of the three most recent federal fiscal years for which ED has issued cohort default rates, the institution may be placed on provisional certification status and could be required to submit a letter of credit to ED. See “Risk Factors - A failure to maintain compliance with ED’s “financial responsibility” requirements would have negative impacts on our operations. ”
In September 2025, ED released the final cohort default rates for the 2022 federal fiscal year. These are the most recent final rates published by ED. The rates for our existing institutions for the 2022, 2021, and 2020 federal fiscal years respectively are as follows: HDMC 0%, 0% and 0%; CCC 0%, 0% and 0%, Integrity 0%, 0%, and 0%; and CCMCC 0%, 0%, and 0%. Consequently, none of our institutions had a cohort default rate equal to or greater than 30% for the 2022, 2021, and 2020 federal fiscal years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ED temporarily suspended federal student loan repayment obligations. This suspension, which lasted over three years, contributed to a reduction in our cohort default rates. Our cohort default rates could be substantially higher for the periods after October 2023, when the suspension expired if borrowers do not timely repay their federal student loans. We are engaging in activities aimed at reminding borrowers of their obligations to repay loans and to reduce the number of borrowers who default on their loans; however, we cannot predict or guarantee that these activities will be successful or that the cohort default rates will not increase or exceed applicable eligibility thresholds.
If any of our institutions were to lose eligibility to participate in the Title IV Programs due to student loan default rates being higher than ED’s thresholds and we could not arrange for adequate alternative student financing sources, we might have to close those institutions, which could have a material adverse effect on our total student enrollment, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
If ED denies, or significantly conditions, recertification of any of our institutions to participate in the Title IV Programs, that institution could not conduct its business as it is currently conducted.
Under the provisions of the HEA, an institution must apply to ED for continued certification to participate in the Title IV Programs at least every six years or when it undergoes a change in ownership resulting in a change of control. ED defines an institution to consist of both a main campus and its additional locations, if any. Under this definition, for ED purposes, we operate the following four institutions, collectively consisting of four main campuses and two additional locations: HDMC with locations in Lancaster, Bakersfield, and Temecula; CCC located in Salinas; Integrity located in Pasadena, and CCMCC with a location in Antioch. Generally, the recertification process includes a review by ED of an institution’s educational programs and locations, administrative capability, financial responsibility and other oversight categories. The current expiration date of the program participation agreements for HDMC and CCC is September 30, 2026. Integrity and CMCC are currently participating in the Title IV Programs under a temporary provisional program participation agreement in connection with their change in ownership and control resulting from our acquisition of the institutions. The CCMCC temporary provisional program participation agreement had an expiration date of January 31, 2025 and the Integrity temporary provisional program participation agreement had an expiration date of November 30, 2020, but each temporary provisional program participation agreement continues on a month-to-month basis thereafter based on the institution’s submission to ED of certain required documentation and remains in effect until the conclusion of ED’s review of Integrity’s and CCMCC’s pending applications for approval of its change in ownership and control.
ED typically provides provisional certification to an institution following a change in ownership resulting in a change of control and also may provisionally certify an institution for other reasons, including, but not limited to, noncompliance with certain standards of administrative capability and financial responsibility. Our Integrity and CCMCC institutions are currently approved under a temporary provisional program participation agreement which (as described in the subsequent section) permits an institution to continue participating in the Title IV Programs on a month-to-month basis while ED reviews the change in ownership and as long as the institution timely submits certain documentation to ED during the process. An institution that is provisionally certified receives fewer due process rights than those received by other institutions in the event ED takes certain adverse actions against the institution, is required to obtain prior ED approvals of new campuses and educational programs and may be subject to heightened scrutiny by ED. However, provisional certification does not otherwise limit an institution’s access to Title IV Program funds.
On October 31, 2023, ED published a final rule revising its Title IV Program certification regulations, with an effective date of July 1, 2024. The rule codifies additional grounds for placing an institution on provisional certification, including a determination by ED that an institution is at risk of closure and ED’s consideration of supplementary performance measures that include an institution’s withdrawal rate, recruiting expenses, and licensure pass rate. The revised certification regulations also increase the number of requirements contained in an institution’s Program Participation Agreement (including, for example, a requirement to comply with all state laws related to closure), require certain ownership entities to sign the Program Participation Agreement, establish new standards for maximum program length (including a prohibition on the length of certain educational programs from exceeding the required minimum number of hours established by applicable state(s) for entry-level training requirements for the occupation for which the programs train students), require certification that an institution’s programs meet applicable educational requirements for graduates to obtain required occupational licensure or certification in a state, and restricts the ability of institutions to withhold transcripts. The revised regulations also impose new potential conditions on provisionally certified institutions, including but not limited to the submission of teach-out and/or document retention plans, growth restrictions, acquisition restrictions, additional reporting requirements, limitations on written arrangements, and additional conditions applicable to institutions found to have engaged in substantial misrepresentations or institutions seeking to convert to nonprofit status following a change in ownership. The revised certification regulations are expansive, complex and could be difficult for our institutions to comply with as its applicable requirements are interpreted by ED. If ED finds that any of our institutions do not fully satisfy all required eligibility and certification standards, ED could limit, condition, suspend, terminate, revoke, or decline to renew our institutions’ participation in the Title IV Programs or impose liabilities or other sanctions. Continued Title IV Program eligibility is critical to the operation of our business. If our institutions become ineligible to participate in the Title IV Programs, or have that participation significantly conditioned, we may be unable to conduct our business as it is currently conducted which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
If we acquire an institution, the acquisition generally constitutes a change in ownership and control that requires the institution to obtain approvals from ED and applicable state and accrediting agencies in order to remain eligible to participate in the Title IV Programs and continue to operate as an accredited institution in the states where the institution operates.
When a company acquires an institution that is eligible to participate in the Title IV Programs, the acquisition generally will result in the institution undergoing a change of ownership resulting in a change of control as defined by ED and under the rules of other agencies and accreditors. Upon such a change, an institution’s eligibility to participate in the Title IV Programs is generally suspended until it has applied for recertification by ED as an eligible school under its new ownership, which requires that the school also re- establish its state authorization and accreditation. ED may temporarily and provisionally certify an institution seeking approval of a change of control under certain circumstances while ED reviews the institution’s application. The temporary provisional certification typically remains in effect on a month-to-month basis during ED’s review of the application as long as the school timely submits certain documentation during the course of ED’s review. ED’s proposed regulatory agenda published in early September of 2025 includes an intent to address certain issues including change of ownership requirements. We cannot predict how ED will address these requirements or the impact the changes to change of ownership requirements may have on our schools.
The time required for ED to act on such an application may vary substantially. ED recertification of an institution following a change of control will be on a provisional basis if ED approves the institution’s application and could contain restrictions or conditions depending on the outcome of its review of the institution including its administrative capability and financial stability. Under ED regulations that took effect July 1, 2023, the institutions must submit certain information and documentation at least 90 days in advance of the change in ownership including, for example, notice to current and prospective students of the planned change in ownership. The approval processes for state and accrediting agencies vary in scope and timing with some agencies requiring approval prior to the acquisition and others not conducting their review until after the acquisition has taken place. Thus, any plans to expand our business through acquisition of additional schools and have them certified by ED to participate in the Title IV Programs will be subject to the timing and outcome of the application, review and approval processes and requirements of ED and the relevant state education agencies and accreditors and could be impacted by any conditions or restrictions imposed by ED or other agencies on the institution under our ownership.
On December 31, 2019, we entered into a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement with the sole member of Integrity. We purchased from the sole member of Integrity on that date 24.5% of her interest and obtained an exclusive option to acquire her remaining membership interest upon payment of $100, which was exercised on September 15, 2020. For purposes of our financial statements, our acquisition of Integrity is deemed to have been effective as of December 31, 2019. We believe that a change in ownership and control of Integrity did not occur until September 15, 2020 under the change in ownership and control standards of ED and the other educational agencies that regulate Integrity, but these standards are subject to interpretation by the respective agencies. The review by ED of the change in ownership and control of Integrity in connection with our acquisition of Integrity remains ongoing. Integrity currently holds a temporary provisional program participation agreement with ED in connection with our acquisition of the institution, which has continued its Title IV Program participation on a month-to-month basis pending ED’s approval of the change in ownership and control. If ED concludes that a change in ownership or control of Integrity occurred prior to September 15, 2020, we could be subject to liabilities or other sanctions by ED, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.
Legacy Education Antioch, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legacy LLC entered into the APA with the Company, Legacy Education, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, CCMCC, CCMCC Online and, solely with respect to certain portions of the APA, Stacey Orozco and Bulmaro Orozco, the sole owners CCMCC and CCMCC Online. The CCMCC Transaction was consummated on December 18, 2024.
When a company acquires an institution that is eligible to participate in the Title IV Programs, like CCMCC, the acquisition generally will result in the institution undergoing a change of ownership resulting in a change of control as defined by ED and under the rules of other educational agencies and accreditors. Upon such a change, an institution’s eligibility to participate in the Title IV Programs is generally suspended until it has applied for recertification by ED as an eligible school under its new ownership, which requires that the school also re-establish its state authorization and accreditation. ED may temporarily and provisionally certify an institution seeking approval of a change of control under certain circumstances while ED reviews the institution’s application. The temporary provisional certification typically remains in effect on a month-to-month basis during ED’s review of the application as long as the school timely submits certain documentation during the course of ED’s review. Legacy timely submitted a materially complete change in ownership application to ED and CCMCC is now a party to a temporary provisional program participation agreement (“TPPPA”) that allows CCMCC to continue participating in the Title IV Programs. CCMCC also timely filed the required documentation for the TPPPA to remain in effect during ED’s review of the change of ownership. On March 11, 2025, CCMCC provided additional financial information requested by ED.
CCMCC’s TPPPA contains conditions on its participation in the Title IV Programs that are typically imposed by ED when a change of ownership occurs. These conditions include restrictions on growth (e.g., the addition of new programs and locations, increase in credential level, change in program length), bi-weekly and monthly financial reporting, and a reporting requirement related to certain types of student complaints. If CCMCC does not timely comply with these reporting requirements, or its reports contain information of concern to ED, ED may request further information from CCMCC or the Company or take action against CCMCC or the Company.
We cannot predict the timing or outcome of ED’s review of the change of ownership of CCMCC. The time required for ED to act on such an application for approval of a change of ownership resulting in a change of control may vary substantially. ED recertification of an institution following a change of control will be on a provisional basis if ED approves the institution’s application and could contain restrictions or conditions depending on the outcome of its review of the institution under the new ownership including its administrative capability and financial stability.
The approval processes for state and accrediting agencies vary in scope and timing with some agencies requiring approval prior to the acquisition and others not conducting their review until after the acquisition has taken place. With regard to the agencies that accredit CCMCC and CCMCC Online, authorize them to operate in the state of California, or approve their programs:
California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (“BPPE”) : Institutions that are licensed by BPPE by means of accreditation, like CCMC, are required to notify BPPE of the change within 30 days of the change and demonstrate that the substantive change was made in accordance with the institution’s accreditation standards. CCMCC submitted an Application for a Change of Business Organization/Control/Ownership to BPPE on January 16, 2025 which included ACCET’s approval of the change of ownership. By letter dated January 31, 2025, BPPE approved CCMCC to operate under its new ownership.
Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (“ACCET”) : ACCET accreditation standards require that institutions undergoing a change in ownership or control submit notice at least ten days prior to a prospective agreement for the change. ACCET also requires submission of an application for approval of the change in ownership or control within ten days following the change. CCMCC submitted the application on December 27, 2024. By letter dated January 15, 2025, ACCET provisionally reinstated CCMCC’s accreditation following the change in ownership, and by letter dated September 4, 2025, ACCET granted final approval of the change of ownership.
California State Approving Agency for Veterans Education (“CSAAVE”) : CSAAVE requires approved institutions to make a post-change submission to CSAAVE for approval of the change when there has been a material change to the institution’s current approval. CCMCC provided notice to CSAAVE of the change on November 12, 2024, and submitted the change of ownership forms. On April 28, 2025, CCMCC provided additional information to CSAAVE regarding its reapproval and on May 1, 2025, CSAAVE approved the application.
Accreditation Bureau of Health Education Schools (“ABHES”) : ABHES requires institutions that hold ABHES programmatic accreditation to notify it of any change in organizational oversight or legal structure, and to submit a completed application for change in legal status, ownership, or control within five days after the change. CCMCC submitted the application on December 23, 2024. By letter dated January 29, 2025, ABHES approved the change in ownership.
California Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (“BVNPT”) : BVNPT instructed CCMCC to submit formal notification of the change of ownership after receiving BVNPT’s approval to admit a new class of students. CCMCC received such approval on February 4, 2025 and submitted the required form for the change of ownership on February 12, 2025, and is awaiting approval.
California Department of Public Health, Laboratory Field Services (“CDPH”) : CDPH requires certain training programs undergoing a change of ownership to notify CDPH within 30 days after the change has occurred and submit a new application package. CCMCC notified CDPH of the change and submitted the application on February 6, 2025, and is awaiting approval.
If agencies require us to obtain other approvals in connection with the CCMCC Transaction, we will be required to undergo an application process for approvals from the applicable agencies and could be subject to conditions or restrictions (or loss of approval) depending on the outcome of the approval process. If any applicable agencies determine that we did not follow required procedures in providing notification and seeking approval of the CCMCC Transaction, or if any agencies do not approve the CCMCC Transaction, we could be subject to sanctions by the applicable agencies including loss of CCMCC’s approvals from these agencies.
Other types of transactions could constitute a change in ownership and control that requires the institution to obtain approvals from ED and applicable state and accrediting agencies in order to remain eligible to participate in the Title IV Programs and continue to operate as an accredited institution in the states where the institution operates.
In addition to school acquisitions, other types of transactions can also cause a change of control. ED, most of our state education agencies, our accreditors, and other regulators have standards pertaining to the change of control of schools, but these standards are not uniform. ED regulations describe some transactions that constitute a change of control, including the transfer of a controlling interest in the voting stock of an institution or the institution’s parent corporation including our Company. A significant purchase or disposition of our common stock could be determined by ED to be a change of control under this standard. On October 28, 2022, ED published a final rule revising its change in ownership regulations, which became effective July 1, 2023. The new requirements, such as requiring notice to ED and current and prospective students at least 90 days prior to a change in ownership, could make it more difficult to execute a change in ownership or an acquisition, which could make it less desirable to acquire an ownership interest in our Company, or which could result in conditions or restrictions as a result of a transaction involving us or an acquired institution. In addition, ED’s revisions to its financial responsibility standards published on October 31, 2023 and effective July 1, 2024 impose additional financial tests, and potentially additional letter of credit requirements, related to changes in ownership.
Most of our state education agencies, our accreditors, and other regulators include the sale of a controlling interest of common stock in the definition of a change of control although some agencies could determine that the sale or disposition of a smaller interest would result in a change of control. A change of control under the definition of one of these agencies would require the affected school to reaffirm its state authorization, accreditation, or other approval. Some agencies would require approval prior to a sale or disposition that would result in a change of control in order to maintain authorization or accreditation. The requirements to obtain such reaffirmation from the states and our accreditors vary widely.
ED requires institutions to periodically report changes in ownership even when a change does not result in a change in control or require ED approval. While ED’s regulations require reporting of owners holding at least a five percent ownership interest (as well as changes representing at least 5% but under 25% on a quarterly basis or sooner if the institution plans to undergo a change in ownership), the recently implemented overhaul of ED’s electronic application system through which institutions report ownership requests a disclosure of all owners regardless of their ownership percentage. The new electronic application also requests granular detail about reported owners. We may not have access to contemporaneous ownership information given the day-to-day fluctuations of trading on the public market. Access to information regarding Non-Objecting Beneficial Owners is expensive and this information is typically not current by the time obtained. Moreover, we cannot predict whether investors will timely report investments such that we could access accurate beneficial ownership information and even if investors do comply with reporting requirements, certain passive investors would not typically be reported until 45 days following our fiscal year end. We are as yet uncertain regarding our ability to timely obtain ownership information and timely report this information to ED. Failure to timely report ownership changes could result in adverse action by ED, or conditions or restrictions imposed by ED on one or more of our institutions.
Our institutions may encounter difficulty timely identifying and reporting to ED on the electronic application for each of our institutions’ several hundred owners. Integrity may also encounter additional difficulty reporting ownership given ED has not yet approved the prior change in control of Integrity and, as a result, we could encounter difficulty obtaining access to the electronic application. ED has informed us that it only will require us to report owners with a five percent or greater ownership interest in the Company although this guidance could change in the future and we could encounter difficulty identifying and timely reporting owners under current or future ED guidance. Our institutions will also be required to timely report any additional changes to ownership percentages and given the frequency such changes can occur for a publicly traded company, we may have difficulty timely complying with ED’s reporting requirements. These difficulties could result in adverse action by ED, or conditions or restrictions imposed by ED on one or more of our institutions.
If we decide to issue preferred stock or additional common stock in the future, this issuance could result in a change in ownership or control requiring regulatory approval. ED considers both control rights and beneficial ownership interest among other factors when evaluating whether a change in ownership resulting in a change in control has occurred. Similarly, changes to our board of directors or the right to appoint directors could result in a change in ownership or control requiring regulatory approval.
We have verified that most of our education regulators and accreditors do not treat the initial public offering as a change in ownership or control requiring agency approval. If agencies require us to obtain approvals in connection with the initial public offering, we will be required to undergo an application process for approvals from the applicable agencies and could be subject to conditions or restrictions depending on the outcome of the approval process. If an agency notified us that we moved forward with the initial public offering without making or obtaining required pre-closing notices and approvals prior to the initial public offering, we could be subject to sanctions by the applicable agencies including loss of our approvals from these agencies. On July 30, 2024, ED provided written confirmation the offering as described would not constitute a change of control under its regulations. However, subsequent offerings, transactions or other events could be deemed to be a change of control in the future.
With regard to the agencies that institutionally accredit our institutions or authorize them to operate in the state of California:
BPPE : BPPE regulations require that institutions that are authorized based on their accredited status and which undergo a change in ownership timely submit notice of such change with accompanying documentation to demonstrate that the change was made in accordance with the applicable accreditation standards. On August 8, 2024, BPPE responded to our request for guidance regarding a potential change of ownership process and stated that it would look to the determinations of ABHES and ACCET with respect to the initial public offering. As described below, ABHES and ACCET have provided written confirmation that the initial public offering as described would not constitute a change in legal status, ownership or control under the respective standards. Based on those responses from ABHES and ACCET, we sought confirmation that our institutions need not undergo an approval process with BPPE prior to the offering, and BPPE confirmed on September 11, 2024 that the initial public offering would not be viewed as a change in control and would not require approval from BPPE.
ABHES : ABHES accreditation standards require that institutions undergoing a change in legal status, ownership or control submit an application for approval of the change at least 90 days in advance, and that ABHES must approve the change before it takes place. ABHES accreditation standards also require institutions undergoing a change in legal status, ownership or control to submit an additional application within five days after the change, which would also be subject to ABHES approval. We requested guidance from ABHES regarding whether the initial public offering as described will constitute a change in in legal status, ownership or control for the purposes of its accreditation standards. On August 12, 2024, ABHES provided written confirmation that the initial public offering as described would not constitute a change in legal status, ownership or control under its standards.
ACCET : ACCET accreditation standards require that institutions undergoing a change in ownership or control submit a notice at least ten days prior to such a change, and further submit an application for approval of such a change within ten days following the change. We requested guidance from ACCET regarding whether the initial public offering as described will constitute a change in ownership or control under its accreditation standards and confirmation no approval would be required from ACCET. On September 6, 2024, ACCET provided written confirmation that the initial public offering as described would not constitute a change in ownership or control under its standards.
The California Board of Registered Nursing requires pre-closing approval of a change of ownership before it occurs and requires post-closing approval of a change in organizational structure. We requested confirmation from the California Board of Registered Nursing that the initial public offering as described will not be treated as a change in ownership that requires approval before the offering occurs, but have not received a determination from the agency. If the California Board of Registered Nursing determines we were required to obtain the agency’s approval prior to the initial public offering under its statutes, rules or standards, then, as noted above, we could be subject to sanctions by this agency including potential loss of our approval.
We are in the process of initiating communications with our education regulators and accreditors on this subject and have not received responses as to whether they will treat the initial public offering as a change in ownership or control requiring agency approval. If we are required to go through a change of ownership and/or control review process with these agencies, one or more of these agencies could impose additional conditions or restrictions or delay or decline to issue an approval. If an agency does not require us to go through a change of ownership and/or control review process, we may be required to submit notices or other information to the agency which could result in further scrutiny or inquiries by the agency.
A change of control could occur as a result of future transactions in which the Company or our institutions are involved. Some corporate reorganizations and some changes in the board of directors of the Company are examples of such transactions. Once we become a publicly traded corporation, ED regulations provide that a change of control also could occur in one of at least two ways: (a) if a person acquires ownership and control of the corporation so that the corporation is required to file a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing the change of control or (b) if the corporation has a shareholder that owns at least 25% of the total outstanding voting stock of the corporation and is the largest shareholder of the corporation, and that shareholder ceases to own at least 25% of such stock or ceases to be the largest shareholder. These standards are subject to interpretation by ED.
Moreover, the potential adverse effects of a change of control could influence future decisions by us and our stockholders regarding the sale, purchase, transfer, issuance or redemption of our stock. In addition, the adverse regulatory effect of a change of control also could discourage bids for shares of our common stock and could have an adverse effect on the market price of our shares.
Our failure to comply with laws and regulations regarding prohibited misrepresentation could result in sanctions, liabilities or litigation that could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
ED’s regulations prohibit an institution that participates in the Title IV Programs from engaging in misrepresentations regarding the nature of its educational programs, financial charges, graduate employability or its relationship with ED. A “misrepresentation” includes any false, erroneous, or misleading statement (whether made in writing, visually, orally, or through other means) that is made by an eligible institution, by one of its representatives, or by a third party that provides to the institution educational programs, marketing, advertising, recruiting, or admissions services and that is made to a student, prospective student, any member of the public, an accrediting or state agency, or to ED. If ED determines that one of our institutions has engaged in “substantial misrepresentation,” ED may impose sanctions or other conditions upon the institution including, but not limited to, initiating an action to fine the institution or limit, suspend, or terminate its eligibility to participate in the Title IV Programs and may seek to discharge students’ loans and impose liabilities upon the institution. ED defines a “substantial misrepresentation” to include any misrepresentation on which the person to whom it was made could reasonably be expected to rely, or has reasonably relied, to that person’s detriment. The definition of “substantial misrepresentation” is broad and, therefore, it is possible that a statement made by the institution or one of its service providers or representatives could be construed by ED to constitute a substantial misrepresentation. Other federal agencies, state agencies, and accrediting agencies have similar rules that prohibit certain types of misrepresentations or unfair marketing and advertising practices by us or others on our behalf on a variety of subjects including, without limitation, the accuracy and substantiation of rates of graduation, job placement, and passage of occupational licensure examinations. Noncompliance with these requirements could result in sanctions, liabilities, or third-party litigation that could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations. ED published a final rule on November 1, 2022 which expanded the scope of prohibited misrepresentations, and which also prohibits certain types of conduct with respect to the recruitment of students. The adoption and implementation of new regulations could lead to findings of noncompliance and result in liabilities and other sanctions that could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
In addition, the FTC has indicated an increased focus on direct or implied misrepresentations. For example, on October 6, 2021, the FTC issued letters including a “Notice of Penalty Offenses Concerning Deceptive or Unfair Conduct in the Education Marketplace” to 70 institutions of higher education, but not any of our institutions. These letters were meant to place the recipients on actual notice of conduct the FTC previously found to violate the Federal Trade Commission Act. This conduct included several categories of direct or implied misrepresentations made by proprietary schools. These letters may reflect an increased interest by the FTC in monitoring schools in the for-profit proprietary school sector, including our schools. If our institutions fail to comply with an FTC statute or rule or are found to have committed misconduct determined to be unfair, deceptive, or otherwise improper, we and our institutions could face civil penalties, injunctions, or other remedies available to the FTC.
If our institutions fail to comply with regulations regarding accurate and timely refunds and returns of Title IV Program funds in connection with students who withdraw from their programs, we could be subject to liabilities and sanctions.
An institution participating in the Title IV Programs must calculate the amount of unearned Title IV Program funds that have been disbursed to students who withdraw from their educational programs before completing them, and must return those unearned funds to ED in a timely manner, which is generally within 45 days from the date the institution determines that the student has withdrawn. The failure to timely return funds can result in liabilities or sanctions.
If an institution is cited in an audit or program review for late returns of Title IV Program funds for 5% or more of the pertinent students within the audit or program review sample, or if an audit identifies a material weakness in the institution’s report on internal controls relating to the return of unearned Title IV Program funds, the institution may be required to post a letter of credit in favor of ED in an amount equal to 25% of the total amount of Title IV Program funds that should have been returned for students who withdrew in the institution’s prior fiscal year. Neither HDMC nor CCC has received such a finding in either of the two most recently completed annual Title IV Program compliance audits submitted to ED. On January 30, 2024, due to a failure to timely return unearned Title IV Program funds to ED, Integrity was required to submit an acceptable form of financial protection for 25% of the refunds that were made for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 in the amount of $18,828.
In January through March 2024, ED conducted negotiated rulemaking to prepare proposed regulations on several topics including the rules pertaining to returns of Title IV Program funds. On July 24, 2024, ED promulgated proposed amended regulations related to return of Title IV calculations. ED published the final regulations on January 3, 2025, with a general effective date of July 1, 2026. The regulations codify ED’s guidance requiring the date of determination of withdrawal to be documented within 14 days after the student’s last date of attendance for institutions that take attendance; remove the option for clock-hour programs to use the “cumulative” method to calculate Title IV earned; and changes Return of Title IV calculations amended for programs offered in modules. We are evaluating whether and the extent to which the new regulations may negatively impact our performance of return of Title IV.
If our institutions open new campuses or add or change new educational programs, we may be required to obtain approvals from ED and our state and accrediting agencies.
For-profit educational institutions must be authorized by their state education agencies and be fully operational for two years before applying to ED to participate in the Title IV Programs. However, an institution that is certified to participate in the Title IV Programs may establish an additional location and apply to participate in the Title IV Programs at that location without reference to the two-year requirement, if such additional location satisfies all other applicable ED eligibility requirements. Our expansion plans are based, in part, on our ability to open new schools as additional locations of our existing institutions and are dependent upon ED’s timely review and approval of new campuses. Effective July 1, 2024, ED has discretion to condition the participation of provisionally certified schools by restricting or limiting the addition of new programs or locations. If ED chose to impose such a condition on one or more of our institutions, that could negatively impact our expansion plans.
A student may use Title IV Program funds only to pay the costs associated with enrollment in an eligible educational program offered by an institution participating in the Title IV Programs. Generally, unless otherwise required by ED or regulation, an institution that is eligible to participate in the Title IV Programs may add a new educational program without ED approval. Institutions that are provisionally certified may be required to obtain approval of certain educational programs. Our Integrity and CCMCC institutions are provisionally certified and required to obtain prior ED approval of new locations and educational programs. If an institution erroneously determines that an educational program is eligible for purposes of the Title IV Programs, the institution would likely be liable for repayment of Title IV Program funds provided to students in that educational program. Our expansion plans are based, in part, on our ability to add new educational programs at our existing schools and make periodic updates to our programs.
In addition to ED, some of the state education agencies and our accreditors also have requirements that may affect our schools’ ability to open a new campus, establish an additional location of an existing institution or add or change educational programs. Approval by these agencies may be conditioned, delayed or denied and could be negatively impacted due to regulatory inquiries or reviews and any adverse publicity relating to such matters or the industry generally.
If our students’ access to financial aid from state sources, from federal sources other than the Title IV Programs, or from alternative loan programs is lost or reduced, it could impact our results of operations.
Some of our students receive financial aid from federal sources other than the Title IV Programs, such as programs administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. In addition, some of our students receive state financial aid in the form of grants, loans or scholarships. The eligibility and compliance requirements for these federal and state financial aid programs are extensive and vary among the funding agencies and by program. Our failure to comply with legal requirements applicable to federal and state financial assistance programs could result in repayment liabilities, sanctions, or loss of eligibility to participate in those programs which could impact our results of operations and also impact our compliance with ED’s 90/10 Rule which requires our institutions to generate revenues from sources other than the Title IV Programs and other federal financial assistance.
States that provide financial aid to our students face budgetary constraints, which in certain instances has reduced the level of state financial aid available to our students. Due to state budgetary shortfalls and constraints in certain states in which we operate, the overall level of state financial aid for our students could decrease in the near term, but we cannot predict how significant any such reductions will be or how long they will last. Federal budgetary shortfalls and constraints, or decisions by federal lawmakers to limit or prohibit access by our institutions or their students to federal financial aid, could result in a decrease in the level of federal financial aid for our students.
Under the WIOA, institutions currently must report data regarding credential attainment rates, job placement rates and other information and may be required to meet negotiated performance goals set by the state agency administering WIOA funds. Members of Congress have made proposals to reauthorize WIOA but no reauthorization bills have been passed. If passed, proposals to reauthorize WIOA that increase requirements or impose penalties could impact our schools.
If our participating institutions and their programs were to not meet other WIOA requirements, they would risk losing eligibility to participate in the program. Further, reauthorization of the WIOA could result in changes to the process for determining funding for its programs, which could affect our institutions’ revenues.
In addition to the Title IV Programs and other government-administered programs, all our schools participate in alternative loan programs for their students. Alternative loans fill the gap between what the student receives from all financial aid sources and what the student may need to cover the full cost of his or her education. We also extend credit for tuition and fees to students that attend our campuses. We are required to comply with applicable federal and state laws related to certain consumer and educational loans and credit extensions and education financing and are subject to review by federal and state agencies responsible for overseeing compliance with these requirements. Our failure to comply with these requirements could result in repayment liabilities, sanctions, investigations or litigation which could impact our results of operations.
On January 20, 2022, the CFPB announced its intent to examine the operations of postsecondary schools that extend private loans directly to students. Accompanying this announcement was an update to the CFPB’s Examination Procedures to now require CFPB examiners to review several aspects of educational loans including enrollment restrictions, withholding transcripts, improper accelerated payments, failure to issue refunds, and improper lending relationships. In May 2025, the CFPB indicated it would deprioritize regulation of student loans. Failure to comply with applicable laws and requirements could result in repayment liabilities, sanctions, investigations or litigation which could impact our operations. If the CFPB prioritizes regulation of student loans in the future, the likelihood of these results would increase.
Government and regulatory agencies and third parties may conduct compliance reviews and audits or bring actions against us that could result in monetary liabilities, injunctions, loss of eligibility for the Title IV Programs or other adverse outcomes.
Because we operate in a highly regulated industry, we are subject to compliance reviews and audits as well as claims of noncompliance and lawsuits by government agencies, regulatory agencies and third parties. Our institutions are subject to audits, program reviews, site visits and other reviews by various federal and state regulatory agencies, including, but not limited to, ED, ED’s Office of Inspector General, state education agencies and other state regulators, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and other federal agencies and by our accrediting agencies. In addition, each of our institutions must retain an independent certified public accountant to conduct an annual audit of the institution’s administration of Title IV Program funds. Each of our institutions must submit the resulting audit report to ED for review.
If one of our institutions fails to comply with accrediting or state licensing requirements, such school and its main and/or branch campuses and educational programs could be subject to the loss of state licensure or accreditation, which in turn could result in a loss of eligibility to participate in the Title IV Programs. If ED or another agency determined that one of our institutions improperly disbursed Title IV Program funds or other financial assistance funds or violated a provision of the HEA or ED regulations, the institution could be required to repay such funds and related costs to ED or other agencies, and could be assessed an administrative fine or subject to other sanctions including loss of eligibility to participate in the impacted financial assistance program. ED could also place the institution on provisional certification status and/or transfer the institution to the reimbursement or cash monitoring system of receiving Title IV Program funds, under which an institution must disburse its own funds to students and document the students’ eligibility for Title IV Program funds before receiving such funds from ED. It could also impose letters of credit, restrict participation, or take actions such as suspensions or emergency actions.
Significant violations of Title IV Program requirements by us or any of our institutions could be the basis for ED to limit, suspend, terminate, revoke, or decline to renew the participation of the affected institution in the Title IV Programs or to seek civil or criminal penalties. We and our institutions are also subject to claims and lawsuits relating to regulatory compliance brought not only by federal and state regulatory agencies and our accrediting bodies, but also by third parties, such as present or former students or employees and other members of the public.
If the result of any pending or future proceeding, lawsuit, audit, review, or investigation is unfavorable to us, we may be required to pay money damages or be subject to fines, limitations, conditions, loss of Title IV Program funding and eligibility for other financial assistance programs, loss of accreditation or state authorization, injunctions or other penalties which could impact our results of operations. Even if we adequately address issues raised by an agency review or successfully defend a lawsuit or claim, we may have to divert significant financial and management resources from our ongoing business operations to address issues raised by those actions. Claims and lawsuits brought against us may damage our reputation or adversely affect our stock price, even if such actions are eventually determined to be without merit.
The failure of any of our institutions to detect and prevent financial aid fraud could result in liabilities, loss of accreditation or Title IV eligibility, or third-party claims.
Institutions must detect and prevent financial aid fraud attempts. For example, ED requires institutions to maintain systems to identify conflicting information that affects a student’s eligibility for financial aid and resolve it before disbursing aid. ED also requires institutions to report suspicions of fraud to the ED’s Office of the Inspector General. If our efforts to detect and prevent financial aid fraud are unsuccessful or found to be deficient, it could lead to a finding of noncompliance with Title IV requirements, accreditation standards, or other agencies, and could result in liabilities, loss of accreditation or Title IV eligibility, as well as third-party claims.
Risks Related to Our Business
If we fail to comply with the rules under Sarbanes-Oxley related to accounting controls and procedures in the future, or, if we discover material weaknesses and other deficiencies in our internal control and accounting procedures, our stock price could decline significantly and raising capital could be more difficult.
Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (“Sarbanes-Oxley”), requires annual management assessments of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. If we fail to comply with the rules under Sarbanes-Oxley related to disclosure controls and procedures in the future, or, if we discover material weaknesses and other deficiencies in our internal control and accounting procedures, our stock price could decline significantly and raising capital could be more difficult. If material weaknesses or significant deficiencies are discovered or if we otherwise fail to achieve and maintain the adequacy of our internal control, we may not be able to ensure that we can conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal controls over financial reporting in accordance with Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley. Moreover, effective internal controls are necessary for us to produce reliable financial reports and are important to helping prevent financial fraud. If we cannot provide reliable financial reports or prevent fraud, our business and operating results could be harmed, investors could lose confidence in our reported financial information, and the trading price of our common stock could drop significantly.
Our financial performance depends on the level of student enrollment in our institutions.
Stagnant wage growth and heightened financial worries could continue to affect the willingness of students to incur loans to pay for postsecondary education and to pursue postsecondary education in general. An improving economy and improving job prospects may lead prospective students to choose to work rather than to pursue postsecondary education. Our enrollments could suffer from any of these circumstances.
Enrollment of students at our institutions is impacted by many of the regulatory risks discussed above and business risks discussed below, many of which are beyond our control. If the costs of Title IV loans increase and if availability of alternate student financial aid decreases, students may decide not to enroll in a postsecondary institution, including our institutions. We could experience decreasing enrollments in our institutions due to changing demographic trends in family size, overall declines in enrollment in postsecondary institutions or in for-profit institutions, job growth in fields unrelated to our core disciplines, immigration and visa laws, or other societal factors.
Reduced enrollments at our institutions, for any of the reasons mentioned or otherwise, may reduce our profitability and is likely to have a negative impact on our business, results of operation, financial condition and cash flows, which, depending on the level of the decline, could be material.
We compete with a variety of educational institutions and if we are unable to compete effectively, our total student enrollment and revenue could be adversely impacted.
The postsecondary education industry is highly fragmented and increasingly competitive. Our institutions compete with traditional public and private two-year and four-year colleges and universities, other for-profit institutions, and alternatives to higher education, such as immediate employment and military service. Some public and private institutions charge lower tuition for courses of study similar to those offered by our institutions due, in part, to government subsidies, government and foundation grants, tax-deductible contributions and other financial resources not available to for-profit institutions, and this competition may increase if additional subsidies or resources become available to those institutions. For example, a typical community college is subsidized by local or state government and, as a result, tuition rates for associate degree programs are much lower at community colleges than at our institutions. Both the federal government and several states have proposed programs to enable residents to attend public institutions and community colleges for free. Our competitors may have substantially greater brand recognition and financial and other resources than we have or may be subject to fewer regulatory burdens on enrollment and financial aid processes, which may enable them to compete more effectively for potential students. An increase in competition could affect the success of our recruiting efforts or cause us to reduce our tuition rates and increase our marketing and other recruiting expenses, which could adversely impact our profitability and cash flows.
Our financial performance depends on our ability to develop awareness among, and enroll and retain, students in our institutions and programs in a cost effective manner.
If our institutions are unable to successfully market and advertise their educational programs, our institutions’ ability to attract and enroll prospective students in those programs could be adversely affected. We have been investing in initiatives to improve student experiences, retention and academic outcomes. If these initiatives do not succeed, our ability to attract, enroll and retain students in our programs could be adversely affected. Consequently, our ability to increase revenue or maintain profitability could be impaired. Some of the factors that could prevent us from successfully marketing our institutions and the programs that they offer include, but are not limited to: student or employer dissatisfaction with educational programs and services; diminished access to prospective students; our failure to maintain or expand our brand names or other factors related to our marketing or advertising practices; FTC restrictions on contacting prospective students, Internet, mobile phone and other advertising and marketing media; costs and effectiveness of Internet, mobile phone and other advertising programs; and changing media preferences of our target audiences.
Our business is subject to fluctuations caused by seasonality or other factors beyond our control, which may cause our operating results to fluctuate from quarter to quarter.
We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, seasonal fluctuations in our revenues and results of operations, primarily due to seasonal changes in student enrollments. We generally experience a seasonal increase in new enrollments during the first quarter of our fiscal year, as well as during the third quarter each year, when most other colleges and universities begin their fall semesters and subsequent to holiday break. While we enroll students throughout the year, our second quarter revenue generally is lower than other quarters due to the holiday season. Other factors beyond our control, such as special events that take place during a quarter when our student enrollment would normally be high, may have a negative impact on our student enrollments. We expect quarterly fluctuations in our revenues and results of operations to continue. These fluctuations could result in volatility and adversely affect our operations from one quarter to the next.
If we are unable to successfully resolve future litigation and regulatory and governmental inquiries involving us, or face regulatory actions or litigation, our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.
From time to time, we and certain of our current and former directors and executive officers may become named as defendants in various lawsuits, investigations and claims covering a range of matters, including, but not limited to, violations of the federal securities laws, breaches of fiduciary duty and claims made by current and former students and employees of our institutions. Claims may include qui tam actions filed in federal court by individual plaintiffs on behalf of themselves and the federal government alleging violations of the False Claims Act. Qui tam actions are filed under seal and remain under seal until the government decides whether it will intervene in the case. If the government elects to intervene in an action, it assumes primary control of that matter; if the government elects not to intervene, then individual plaintiffs may continue the litigation at their own expense on behalf of the government.
We and our institutions may also become subject to audits, compliance reviews, inquiries, investigations, claims of non-compliance and litigation by ED, federal and state regulatory agencies, accrediting agencies, state attorney general offices, present and former students and employees, and others that may allege violations of statutes, regulations, accreditation standards, consumer protection and other legal and regulatory requirements applicable to us or our institutions. If the results of any such audits, reviews, inquiries, investigations, claims, or actions are unfavorable to us, we may be required to pay monetary damages or be subject to fines, operational limitations, loss of federal funding, injunctions, undertakings, additional oversight and reporting, or other civil or criminal penalties.
Even if we maintain compliance with applicable governmental and accrediting body regulations, regulatory scrutiny or adverse publicity arising from allegations of non-compliance may increase our costs of regulatory compliance and adversely affect our financial results, growth rates and prospects. For example, Congressional hearings and investigations by state attorneys general, CFPB, FTC, or other federal, state, or accrediting agencies affecting for-profit institutions may spur plaintiffs’ law firms or others to initiate additional litigation against us and other for-profit education providers.
We are subject to a variety of other claims and litigation that arise from time to time alleging non-compliance with or violations of state or federal regulatory matters including, but not limited to, claims involving students, graduates and employees. In the event the extensive changes in the overall federal and state regulatory construct results in additional statutory or regulatory bases for these types of matters, or other events result in more of such claims or unfavorable outcomes to such claims, there exists the possibility of a material adverse impact on our business, reputation, financial position, cash flows and results of operations for the periods in which the effects of any such matter or matters becomes probable and reasonably estimable. In addition, federal and other regulatory limitations on the use of pre-dispute resolution clauses and class action waivers in student enrollments agreements may result in increased litigation costs.
We cannot predict the ultimate outcome of these and future matters and may incur significant defense costs and other expenses in connection with them. We may be required to pay substantial damages or settlement costs in excess of our insurance coverage related to these matters. Government investigations and any related legal and administrative proceedings may result in the institution of administrative, civil injunctive or criminal proceedings against us and/or our current or former directors, officers or employees, or the imposition of significant fines, penalties or suspensions, or other remedies and sanctions. Any such costs and expenses could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations and the market price of our common stock.
Our future financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected if we are required to write down the carrying value of non-financial assets and non-financial liabilities, including long-lived assets, deferred tax assets and goodwill and intangible assets, such as our trade names.
In accordance with GAAP, we review our non-financial assets, including goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets, such as our trade names, for impairment on at least an annual basis. We test goodwill for impairment at the reporting unit level on an annual basis on June 30 for each fiscal year or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of goodwill may not be recoverable. If it is determined that the fair value is less than its carrying amount, the excess of the goodwill carrying amount over the implied fair value is recognized as an impairment loss. We evaluate long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their net book value may not be recoverable. When such factors and circumstances exist, we compare the projected undiscounted future cash flows associated with the related asset or group of assets over their estimated useful lives against their respective carrying amount. Impairment, if any, is based on the excess of the carrying amount over the fair value, based on market value when available, or discounted expected cash flows, of those assets and is recorded in the period in which the determination is made. On an interim basis, we review our assets and liabilities to determine if a triggering event had occurred that would result in it being more likely than not that the fair value would be less than the carrying amount for any of our reporting units or indefinite-lived intangible assets. Our estimates of fair value for these are based primarily on projected future results and expected cash flows consistent with our plans to manage the underlying businesses. However, should we encounter unexpected economic conditions or operational results or need to take additional actions not currently foreseen to comply with current and future regulations, the assumptions used to calculate the fair value of our assets, estimate of future cash flows, revenue growth, and discount rates, could be negatively impacted and could result in an impairment of goodwill or other long-lived assets which could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
The loss of our key personnel could harm us.
Our future success depends largely on the skills, efforts and motivation of our executive officers and other key personnel, including LeeAnn Rohmann, our Chief Executive Officer, as well as on our ability to attract and retain qualified managers and our institutions’ ability to attract and retain qualified faculty members and administrators. These transitions and loss of key personnel in the future could slow implementation of key initiatives, lead to changes in or create uncertainty about our business strategies or otherwise impact management’s attention to operations. We face competition in attracting, hiring and retaining executives and key personnel who possess the skill sets and experiences that we seek. In particular, our performance is dependent upon the availability and retention of qualified personnel for our ongoing investments in our student support operations. Cost reduction measures due to declining enrollments, our recent operating losses and the negative publicity surrounding our industry make it difficult and more expensive to attract, hire and retain qualified and experienced personnel. In addition, key personnel may leave us and subsequently compete against us after any period they are contractually obligated not to pursue such activities. The loss of the services of our key personnel, or our failure to attract, integrate and retain other qualified and experienced personnel on acceptable terms and in a timely manner could adversely affect our results of operations or growth prospects.
We may be compelled to terminate programs due to regulatory considerations or declining enrollments and may incur additional costs and expenses, or fail to achieve anticipated cost savings and business efficiencies, associated with past or future exit or restructuring activities.
We must balance current student populations and projected changes in student population with appropriate levels of costs and investment in real estate and our online platforms. Changes in the economy, regulatory environment or our eligibility for Title IV Program funds or other federal and state student financial assistance may cause us to terminate programs. Closing facilities or other exit activities involve costs and expenses which can be significant. Actual costs and expenses involved in closing facilities or other exit activities may be higher than expected. Under ED regulations, students who attended a closed institution or a closed location of an institution may qualify for discharges of federal student loans and ED may impose the amount of loan discharges as liabilities on the institution or affiliated parties including us. Under ED regulations effective July 1, 2024, a discontinuation of programs or locations that enroll more than 25 percent of an institution’s enrolled students can constitute a discretionary triggering event if ED determines the discontinuation is likely to have a significant adverse effect on the financial condition of the institution. The benefits anticipated from closing facilities, other exit activities or restructuring activities such as those involved in our transformation strategy may be less than anticipated due to a number of factors including unanticipated expenses in teaching out campuses and higher than expected lease costs. Negative trends in the real estate market could impact the costs related to teaching out campuses and the success of our initiatives to reduce our real estate obligations. Finally, our transformation strategy may not achieve the anticipated cost savings and business efficiencies.
Our financial performance depends, in part, on our ability to keep pace with changing market needs and technology.
Increasingly, prospective employers of students who graduate from our institutions demand that their new employees possess appropriate technological skills and also appropriate “soft” skills, such as communication, critical thinking and teamwork skills. These skills can evolve rapidly in a changing economic and technological environment, so it is important for our institutions’ educational programs to evolve in response to those economic and technological changes. Current or prospective students or the employers of our graduates may not accept expansion of our existing programs, improved program content and the development of new programs. Even if our institutions are able to develop acceptable new and improved programs in a cost-effective manner, our institutions may not be able to begin offering them as quickly as prospective employers would like 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, rapid technological changes or other factors, our ability to attract and retain students could be impaired, the rates at which our graduates obtain jobs involving their fields of study could decline, and our results of operations and cash flows could be adversely affected.
Government regulations relating to the Internet could increase our cost of doing business 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 in 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, regulations or interpretations related to doing business over the Internet could increase our costs and adversely affect enrollments.
We are subject to privacy and information security laws and regulations due to our collection and use of personal information, and any violations of those laws or regulations, or any breach, theft or loss of that information, could adversely affect our reputation and operations.
Our efforts to attract and enroll students result in us collecting, using and keeping substantial amounts of personal information regarding applicants, our students, their families and alumni, including social security numbers and financial data. We also maintain personal information about our employees in the ordinary course of our activities. Our services and those of our vendors and other information can be accessed globally through the Internet. We rely extensively on our network of interconnected applications and databases for day to day operations as well as financial reporting and the processing of financial transactions. Our computer networks and those of our vendors that manage confidential information for us or provide services to our students may be vulnerable to unauthorized access, inadvertent access or display, theft or misuse, hackers, computer viruses, or third parties in connection with hardware and software upgrades and changes. Such unauthorized access, misuse, theft or hacks could evade our intrusion detection and prevention precautions without alerting us to the breach or loss for some period of time or may never be detected. We have experienced malware and virus attacks on our systems which went undetected by our virus detection and prevention software. Regular patching of our computer systems and frequent updates to our virus detection and prevention software with the latest virus and malware signatures may not catch newly introduced malware and viruses or “zero-day” viruses, prior to their infecting our systems and potentially disrupting our data integrity, taking sensitive information or affecting financial transactions. Because our services can be accessed globally via the Internet, we may be subject to privacy laws in countries outside the U.S. from which students access our services, which laws may constrain the way we market and provide our services. While we utilize security and business controls to limit access to and use of personal information, any breach of student or employee privacy or errors in storing, using or transmitting personal information could violate privacy laws and regulations resulting in fines or other penalties. The adoption of new or modified state or federal data or cybersecurity legislation could increase our costs and/or require changes in our operating procedures or systems. A breach, theft or loss of personal information held by us or our vendors, or a violation of the laws and regulations governing privacy could have a material adverse effect on our reputation or result in lawsuits, additional regulation, remediation and compliance costs or investments in additional security systems to protect our computer networks, the costs of which may be substantial.
System disruptions and vulnerability from security risks to our online technology infrastructure could have a material adverse effect on our ability to attract and retain students.
For our campuses, the performance and reliability of program infrastructure is critical to their operations, reputation and ability to attract and retain students. Any computer system error or failure, significant increase in traffic on our computer networks, or any significant failure or unavailability of our computer networks, including, but not limited to, those as a result of natural disasters and network and telecommunications failures could materially disrupt our delivery of these programs. Any interruption to our institutions’ computer systems or operations could have a material adverse effect on our total student enrollment, our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Our computer networks may also be vulnerable to unauthorized access, computer hackers, computer viruses and other security threats. A user who circumvents security measures could misappropriate proprietary information or cause interruptions or malfunctions in our operations. Due to the sensitive nature of the information contained on our networks hackers may target our networks. 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. We cannot ensure that these efforts will protect our computer networks against security breaches despite our regular monitoring of our technology infrastructure security.
Any general decline in Internet use for any reason, including security or privacy concerns, cost of Internet service or changes in government regulation, could result in less demand for online educational services and inhibit growth in our online programs.
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 or download third-party content to personal computers. We may incur claims or liability for the unauthorized duplication or distribution of this material. Any such claims could subject us to costly litigation and could impose a strain on our financial resources and management personnel regardless of whether the claims have merit.
We rely on proprietary rights and intellectual property in conducting our business, which may not be adequately protected under current laws, and we may encounter disputes from time to time relating to our use of intellectual property of third parties.
Our success depends in part on our ability to protect our proprietary rights. We rely on a combination of copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade secrets, domain names and agreements to protect our proprietary rights. We may also rely upon service mark and trademark protection in the United States to protect our rights to our marks as well as distinctive logos and other marks associated with our services; however, any measures we may take may not be adequate, and we cannot be certain that we will be able to secure, appropriate protections for our proprietary rights. Unauthorized third parties may attempt to duplicate proprietary aspects of our curricula, online resource material and other content despite our efforts to protect these rights. Our management’s attention may be diverted by these attempts, and we may need to use funds for lawsuits to protect our proprietary rights against any infringement or violation.
In addition, we may encounter disputes from time to time over rights and obligations concerning intellectual property, and we may not prevail in these disputes. 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.
We may acquire other companies or technologies which could divert our management’s attention, result in dilution to our shareholders and otherwise disrupt our operations and adversely affect our operating results.
We may in the future seek to acquire or invest in businesses, applications and services or technologies that we believe could complement or expand our services, enhance our technical capabilities or otherwise offer growth opportunities. The pursuit of potential acquisitions may divert the attention of management and cause us to incur various expenses in identifying, investigating and pursuing suitable acquisitions, whether or not they are consummated.
In addition, we do not have any experience in acquiring other businesses. If we acquire additional businesses, we may not be able to integrate the acquired personnel, operations and technologies successfully, or effectively manage the combined business following the acquisition. We also may not achieve the anticipated benefits from the acquired business due to a number of factors, including:
inability to integrate or benefit from acquired technologies or services in a profitable manner;
unanticipated costs or liabilities associated with the acquisition;
difficulty integrating the accounting systems, operations and personnel of the acquired business;
difficulties and additional expenses associated with supporting legacy products and hosting infrastructure of the acquired business;
difficulty converting the customers of the acquired business onto our platform and contract terms, including disparities in the revenue, licensing, support or professional services model of the acquired company;
diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns;
adverse effects to our existing business relationships with business partners and customers as a result of the acquisition;
the potential loss of key employees;
use of resources that are needed in other parts of our business; and
use of substantial portions of our available cash to consummate the acquisition.
In addition, a significant portion of the purchase price of companies we acquire may be allocated to acquired goodwill and other intangible assets, which must be assessed for impairment at least annually. In the future, if our acquisitions do not yield expected returns, we may be required to take charges to our operating results based on this impairment assessment process, which could adversely affect our results of operations. Acquisitions could also result in dilutive issuances of equity securities or the incurrence of debt, which could adversely affect our operating results. In addition, if an acquired business fails to meet our expectations, our operating results, business and financial position may suffer.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
We are subject to the rules and regulation of the NYSE American and are required to comply with certain continued exchange listing standards and requirements or be subject to delisting.
We must meet certain financial and liquidity criteria to maintain the listing of our common stock on the NYSE American. If we fail to meet any of the NYSE American’s continued listing standards or we violate NYSE American listing requirements, our common stock may be delisted. A delisting of our common stock from NYSE American may materially impair our shareholders’ ability to buy and sell our common stock and could have an adverse effect on the market price of, and the efficiency of the trading market for, our common stock. The delisting of our common stock could significantly impair our ability to raise capital and the value of your investment.
Our stock price may be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
You should consider an investment in our common stock to be risky, and you should invest in our common stock only if you can withstand a significant loss and wide fluctuations in the market value of your investment. The trading price of our common stock may fluctuate substantially. This may be especially true for companies with a small public float. These fluctuations could cause you to lose all or part of your investment in our common stock. Some factors that may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate, in addition to the other risks mentioned in this “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, are:
actual or anticipated variations in our revenues, earnings, cash flow and changes or revisions of our expected results;
announcements of new investments, acquisitions, strategic partnerships or joint ventures by us or our competitors;
announcements of new products, services and courses and expansions by us or our competitors;
announcements of studies and reports relating to the quality of our product, service and course offerings or those of our competitors;
changes in the performance or market valuations of other education companies;
conditions in the education market;
detrimental negative publicity about us, our competitors or our industry;
additions or departures of key personnel;
regulatory developments affecting us or our industry; and
general economic or political conditions.
In addition, if the market for stocks in our industry or industries related to our industry, or the stock market in general, experiences a loss of investor confidence, the trading price of our common stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, in the past, shareholders of public companies have often brought securities class action suits against companies following periods of instability in the market price of their securities. If we were involved in a class action suit, it could divert a significant amount of our management’s attention and other resources from our business and operations and require us to incur significant expenses to defend the suit, which could harm our results of operations. Any such class action suit, whether or not successful, could harm our reputation and restrict our ability to raise capital in the future. In addition, if a claim is successfully made against us, we may be required to pay significant damages, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Future sales and issuances of our securities could result in additional dilution of the percentage ownership of our shareholders and could cause our share price to fall.
We expect that significant additional capital will be needed in the future to continue our planned operations, including research and development, increased marketing, hiring new personnel, commercializing our products, and continuing activities as an operating public company. To the extent we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities, our shareholders may experience substantial dilution. We may sell common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner we determine from time to time. If we sell common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in more than one transaction, investors may be materially diluted by subsequent sales. Such sales may also result in material dilution to our existing shareholders, and new investors could gain rights superior to our existing shareholders.
We do not intend to pay cash dividends.
While we have declared and paid cash dividends on our capital stock in 2023, we currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings for use in the operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. In addition, the terms of any future debt or credit facility may preclude us from paying any dividends. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be your sole source of potential gain for the foreseeable future.
Market and economic conditions may negatively impact our business, financial condition, and share price.
Concerns over medical epidemics, energy costs, geopolitical issues, the U.S. mortgage market and a deteriorating real estate market, unstable global credit markets and financial conditions, tariffs and volatile oil prices have led to periods of significant economic instability, diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in consumer confidence and discretionary spending, diminished expectations for the global economy and expectations of slower global economic growth, increased unemployment rates, and increased credit defaults in recent years. Our general business strategy may be adversely affected by any such economic downturns, volatile business environments and continued unstable or unpredictable economic and market conditions. If these conditions continue to deteriorate or do not improve, it may make any necessary debt or equity financing more difficult to complete, more costly, and more dilutive. Failure to secure any necessary financing in a timely manner and on favorable terms could have a material adverse effect on our growth strategy, financial performance, and share price and could require us to delay, curtail or abandon our business plans.
Our Bylaws provide that the Eighth Judicial District Court of Clark County, Nevada will be the sole and exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between the Company and its stockholders, which could limit stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with the Company or its directors, officers or employees.
Our Bylaws provide that unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Eighth Judicial District Court of Clark County, Nevada shall be the sole and exclusive forum for state law claims with respect to: (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought in the name or right of the Company or on its behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim for breach of any fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, employee or agent of the Company to the Company or the Company’s stockholders, (iii) any action arising or asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of Nevada Revised Statutes Chapters 78 or 92A or any provision of the Company’s Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws (“Bylaws”) or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine, including, without limitation, any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of the Company’s Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws. This exclusive forum provision would not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”), or the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. To the extent that any such claims may be based upon federal law claims, Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Furthermore, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with the Company or its directors, officers, other employees or agents, which may discourage such lawsuits against the Company and its directors, officers, other employees and agents. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our Bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, the Company may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Certain provisions of our Articles of Incorporation and Nevada law make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us and make a takeover more difficult to complete, even if such a transaction were in stockholders’ interest.
Our Articles of Incorporation and the Nevada Revised Statutes (“NRS”) contain certain provisions that may have the effect of making it more difficult or delaying attempts by others to obtain control of our company, even when these attempts may be in the best interests of our stockholders. For example, our Articles of Incorporation authorize us to issue up to 10 million shares of preferred stock. This preferred stock may be issued in one or more series, the terms of which may be determined at the time of issuance by our board of directors without further action by stockholders. The terms of any series of preferred stock may include voting rights (including the right to vote as a series on particular matters), preferences as to dividend, liquidation, conversion and redemption rights and sinking fund provisions. The issuance of any preferred stock could materially adversely affect the rights of the holders of our common stock, and therefore, reduce the value of our common stock. In particular, specific rights granted to future holders of preferred stock could be used to restrict our ability to merge with, or sell our assets to, a third party and thereby preserve control by the present management. Provisions of our Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws and Nevada law also could have the effect of discouraging potential acquisition proposals or making a tender offer or delaying or preventing a change in control, including changes a stockholder might consider favorable. Such provisions may also prevent or frustrate attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our management. In particular, our Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws and Nevada law, as applicable, among other things:
provide the board of directors with the ability to alter the Bylaws without stockholder approval;
establish advance notice requirements for nominations for election to the board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon at stockholder meetings; and
provide that vacancies on the board of directors may be filled by a majority of directors in office, although less than a quorum.
General Risk Factors
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research reports about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business, our market and our competitors. If no or few securities or industry analysts cover our company, the trading price for our common stock would be negatively impacted. If one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades our common stock or publishes incorrect or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our common stock could decrease, which could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.
We are an “emerging growth company” and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our securities less attractive to investors.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. We will remain an “emerging growth company” for up to five years. We may take advantage of these provisions until the earlier of (i) the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the closing of our initial public offering, (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion or more, (iii) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our equity securities that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter, and (iv) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt during the previous three-year period. These exemptions include not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and being exempt from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. Additionally, as an emerging growth company, we have elected to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until those standards apply to private companies. As such, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company effective dates. We cannot predict if investors will find our shares less attractive because we may rely on these provisions. If some investors find our shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our shares and our share price may be more volatile.
Financial reporting obligations of being a public company in the U.S. are expensive and time-consuming, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to compliance matters.
As a publicly traded company we incur significant additional legal, accounting and other expenses. The obligations of being a public company in the U.S. require significant expenditures and place significant demands on our management and other personnel, including costs resulting from public company reporting obligations under the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations regarding corporate governance practices, including those under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, and the listing requirements of the stock exchange on which our securities are listed. These rules require the establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and procedures, internal control over financial reporting and changes in corporate governance practices, among many other complex rules that are often difficult to implement, monitor and maintain compliance with. Moreover, despite recent reforms made possible by the JOBS Act, the reporting requirements, rules, and regulations will make some activities more time-consuming and costly, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company” and/or a “smaller reporting company.” Our management and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to ensure that we comply with all of these requirements and to keep pace with new regulations, otherwise we may fall out of compliance and risk becoming subject to litigation or being delisted, among other potential problems.
