Item 1A. Risk Factors
Item 1A. Risk Factors
You should carefully consider the factors discussed in Part I, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, which could materially affect our business, adversely affect the market price of our common stock and could cause you to suffer a partial or complete loss of your investment. There have been no material changes to the risk factors previously described in Part I, "Item 1A. Risk Factors" included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, other than the revised risk factor included below. The risks described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K are not the only risks facing the Company. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also could materially adversely affect our business. See “Cautionary Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”
Strayer University or Capella University could lose its eligibility to participate in federal student financial aid programs or be provisionally certified with respect to such participation if the percentage of its revenues derived from those programs were too high, or could be restricted from enrolling students in certain states if the percentage of the University’s revenues from federal or state programs were too high.
A proprietary institution may lose its eligibility to participate in the federal Title IV student financial aid program if it derives more than 90% of its revenues, on a cash basis, from Title IV programs for two consecutive fiscal years. A proprietary institution of higher education that violates the 90/10 Rule for any fiscal year will be placed on provisional status for up to two fiscal years. Using the formula specified in the Higher Education Act, Strayer University derived approximately 82.95% of its cash-basis revenues from these programs in 2020. Capella University derived approximately 71.98% of its cash-basis revenues from Title IV program funds in 2020. On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which amends the “90/10 Rule” to include “all federal education assistance” in the “90” side of the ratio calculation. The legislation requires the Department to conduct a negotiated rulemaking process to modify related Department regulations. This rulemaking process may result in a definition of “federal education assistance” that will include tuition assistance programs offered by the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, in addition to the Title IV programs already covered by the 90/10 Rule. Under the legislation, these revisions to the 90/10 Rule would apply to institutional fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2023. Further legislation has been introduced in both chambers of Congress that seek to modify the 90/10 Rule further, including proposals to change the ratio requirement to 85/15 (federal to nonfederal revenue). We cannot predict whether Congress will pass any of these legislative proposals. If one of the Universities were to violate the 90/10 Rule, the loss of eligibility to participate in the federal student financial aid programs would have a material adverse effect on our business. Certain states have also proposed legislation that would prohibit enrollment of their residents based on a state and federal funding threshold that is more restrictive than the federal 90/10 Rule. If such legislation were to be enacted, and the Universities were unable to meet the threshold, loss of eligibility to enroll students in certain states would have a material adverse effect on our business.
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