Strategic Education Inc

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, 2024, 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, 2024, other than as set forth below. The risks described below and 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.

If either Capella University or Strayer 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 Universitys 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 federal education assistance (defined below) 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. For fiscal year 2024, Capella University or derived approximately 67.88% of its cash-basis revenues from federal education assistance. For fiscal year 2024, Strayer University fails to maintaiderived approximately 89.64% of its cash-basis revenues from federal education assistance. 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 any of its state authorissistance in the 90 side of the ratio calculation. The legislation required the Department to conduct a negotiated rulemaking process to modify related Department regulations, which was considered by the Institutional and Programmatic Eligibility negotiated rulemaking committee. The Department of Education released final 90/10 regulations on October 27, 2022. The final regulations provided for an expanded definition of federal education assistance that will be periodically defined by the Secretary. The preamble to the final rule and subsequent sub-regulatory guidance prohibited the inclusion of non-Title IV eligible programs offered in part or in full through distance education or at unapproved locations in the 10% calculation, but this language was effectively rescinded by new interpretive guidance published by the Department on July 7, 2025. On December 21, 2022, the Department released a list of federal agencies and federal education assistance programs that must be included as federal revenue in the 90/10 calculation. Such agencies include the U.S. Department of Defense (military tuition assistance) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (veterans education benefits) in addition to the Title IV programs already covered by the 90/10 Rule. These revisions to the 90/10 Rule apply to institutional fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2023. From time to time, legislation has been introduced in both chambers of Congress that seeks 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 Capella University or Strayer University were unable to meet the threshold, loss of eligibility to enroll students in certain states would have a material adverse effect on our business.

If either Capella University or Strayer University fails to maintain any of its state authorizations, the University would lose its ability to operate in that state and to participate in Title IV programs there.

Capella University is registered as a private institution with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, as required for most post-secondary private institutions that grant degrees at the associate level or above in Minnesota and as required by the Higher Education Act to participate in Title IV programs. The loss of state authorization would, among other things, limit Capella

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Universitys ability to operate in that state, render Capella University ineligible to participate in Title IV programs, and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Each Strayer University campus is authorized to operate and to grant degrees, diplomas, or certificates by the applicable education agency or agencies of the state where the campus is located. Such state authorization is required for students at the campus to participate in Title IV programs. The loss of state authorization would, among other things, limit Strayer Universitys ability to operate in that state, render Strayer University ineligible to participate in Title IV programs at least at those state campus locations, and could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Effective July 1, 2011, Department of Education regulations provide that an institution is considered legally authorized by a state if the state has a process to review and appropriately act on complaints concerning the institution, including enforcing applicable state laws, and the institution complies with any applicable state approval or licensure requirements consistent with the new rules. If a state in which Capella University or Strayer University is located fails to comply in the future with the provisions of the new rule or fails to provide the University with legal authorization, it could limit the Universitys ability to operate in that state and to participate in Title IV programs at least for students in that state and could have a material adverse effect on our operations.

On December 19, 2016, the Department of Education published final regulations addressing, among other issues, state authorization of programs offered through distance education. The final regulations, which became effective on May 26, 2019, require an institution offering distance education programs to be authorized by each state in which the institution enrolls students (other than the state(s) in which the institution is physically located), if such authorization is required by the state, in order to award Title IV aid to such students. An institution could obtain such authorization directly from the state or (except in California) through a state authorization reciprocity agreement. Under those rules, if one of our universities should fail to obtain or maintain required state authorization to provide post-secondary distance education in a specific state in which the institution is not physically located, the institution could lose its ability to provide distance education in that state and to award Title IV aid to online students in that state. The 2016 rules require that schools disclose all applicable prerequisites for licensure for professional programs and whether the schools programs satisfy those prerequisites in each state where enrolled students reside. The institution must make direct disclosures to students and prospective students if the institution determines that a program does not meet a states professional licensure requirements. If an institution has not made these determinations, it must make a general disclosure to the public to that effect. The disclosure rules have been modified by U.S. Department of Education regulations effective July 1, 2024, as described below. An institution must also notify students within 14 days if it determines that a program does not meet a states requirements. If one of our universities failed to make any of these disclosures, the Department of

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Education could limit, suspend, or terminate its participation in Title IV programs or impose other penalties such as requiring our universities to make refunds, pay liabilities, or pay an administrative fine upon a material finding of noncompliance.

Capella University and Strayer University participate in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), which originated after the 2016 rulemaking and allows the universities to enroll students in distance education programs in each SARA member state. Capella University and Strayer University apply separately to non-SARA member states (i.e., California) for authorization to enroll students, if such authorization is required by the state. If Capella University or Strayer University fails to comply with the requirements to participate in SARA or state licensing or authorization requirements to provide distance education in a non-SARA state, the University could lose its ability to participate in SARA or may be subject to the loss of state licensure or authorization to provide distance education in that non-SARA state, respectively.

On November 1, 2019, the Department released final regulations on accreditation and state authorization of distance education, which became effective July 1, 2020. The rules maintain the requirement from the 2016 rule that institutions offering post-secondary education through distance education or correspondence courses to students located in a state in which the institution is not located meet state requirements in that state or participate in a state authorization reciprocity agreement. 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, or if no determination for such state has been made by the institution. The disclosure rules have been modified by U.S. Department of Education regulations effective July 1, 2024, as described below.

SARAs coordinating entity, the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA), conducts an annual process to consider potential changes to NC-SARA policies. From time to time, changes have been proposed that, if adopted, would have significantly altered the distance education reciprocity agreements, including a proposal that NC-SARA permit states to apply more stringent standards to for-profit institutions or to eliminate the ability of for-profit institutions to participate in the agreements altogether. Although such proposals were not adopted, the process demonstrates the possibility that the adoption of certain NC-SARA proposals in the future, including those described above, could have a material adverse effect on Capella University, Strayer University, and the Company. For example, if excluded from the ability to participate in the

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agreements, Capella University and Strayer University would need to seek authorization in each state, which would increase costs and present the risk that certain jurisdictions would decline authorization.

On January 21, 2025, NC-SARA initiated its 2025 policy manual modification process with a call for proposals for SARA policy changes. The call for proposals ended February 7, 2025 and yielded 32 proposed changes to NC-SARA policies, some of which, if adopted, could significantly alter the distance education reciprocity agreements. Such proposals included circumstances under which an institution may be denied participation in SARA or have its participation limited as a result of investigations or adverse actions against it related to the institutions academic quality, financial stability, or student consumer protection issues. On April 25, 2025, NC-SARA will hoheld its public comment forum to seek input on these potential changes. In addition to the public comment forum, NC-SARA permitted submission of written comments in two rounds: between March 6, 2025 and April 7, 2025 (now closed), and between June 9, 2025 and July 7, 2025 (both now closed). NC-SARAs regional compacts/regional steering committees and the NC-SARA board of directors will vote on each proposal presented by September 2, 2025, and October 23, 2025, respectively. We cannot predict whether NC-SARA will adopt any of these proposals. The adoption of certain proposals, including those described above, to the extent they affect the ability of institutions to participate in the agreements, could have a material adverse effect on Capella University, Strayer University, and the Company.

Pursuant to new U.S. Department of Education regulations, beginning July 1, 2024, in each state where an institution is located, students enrolled by the institution are located, or students attest that they intend to seek employment, the institution must determine that each program eligible for Title IV: (i) is programmatically accredited if the state or a Ffederal agency requires such accreditation, including as a condition for employment in the occupation for which the program prepares the student and (ii) satisfies the applicable educational requirements for professional licensure or certification requirements in the state so that a student who enrolls in the program, and seeks employment in that state after completing the program, qualifies to take any licensure or certification exam that is needed for the student to practice or find employment in an occupation that the program prepares students to enter; and (iii) complies with all state laws related to closure, including record retention, teach-out plans or agreements, and tuition recovery funds or surety bonds. Institutions may not enroll for Title IV purposes a student located in a state in which the program does not meet such requirements, unless at the time of initial enrollment the student attests their intent to seek employment in another state that would satisfy such requirements.

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The failure by Capella University or Strayer University to comply with the Clery Act or Title IX could result in sanctions and other liability.

Capella University and Strayer University must comply with the campus safety and security reporting requirements as well as other requirements in the Clery Act, including changes made to the Clery Act by the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013. On October 20, 2014, the Department of Education promulgated final regulations implementing amendments to the Clery Act. In addition, the Department of Education has interpreted Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs that receive funding from the federal government, to categorize sexual violence as a form of prohibited sex discrimination and to require institutions to follow certain disciplinary procedures with respect to such offenses. Failure to comply with the Clery Act or Title IX requirements or regulations thereunder could result in action by the Department of Education to require corrective action, fine the University, or limit or suspend its participation in Title IV programs, which could lead to litigation and could harm the Universitys reputation. In addition, individuals alleging sex discrimination may sue an institution under Title IX for corrective action and monetary damages.

On May 6, 2020, the Department of Education published final rules related to implementation of Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs that receive funding from the federal government (the 2020 Title IX Rule). The 2020 Title IX Rule defines what constitutes sexual harassment for purposes of Title IX in the administrative enforcement context, describes what actions trigger an institutions obligation to respond to incidents of alleged sexual harassment, and specifies how an institution must respond to allegations of sexual harassment. Among other matters, the 2020 Title IX Rule includes a requirement for live hearings on Title IX sexual harassment claims, which includes direct and cross-examination of parties, university-provided advisors (in the event a student or party does not provide an advisor), rulings on questions of relevance by decision-makers, and the creation and maintenance of a record of the live hearing proceedings. The final rule became effective August 14, 2020. On August 24, 2021, the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights issued guidance indicating it would cease enforcement of the rules prohibition against consideration of statements made by individuals failing to submit to cross-examination at a live hearing.

On June 23, 2022, the Department of Education released proposed Title IX regulations for public comment, and on October 4, 2022, the Department of Educations Office for Civil Rights released a resource document for students and institutions addressing pregnancy and related conditions. On April 19, 2024, the Department of Education released its final rule regarding the implementation of Title IX (the 2024 Title IX Rule). The 2024 Title IX Rule applies to all forms of sex-based harassment (not only sexual harassment); clarifies that Title IXs prohibition against sex discrimination includes discrimination on the basis of sex

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stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity; and eliminates the requirement for live hearings with an opportunity for cross-examination at the post-secondary level. Multiple states have joined lawsuits against the Department challenging the 2024 Title IX Rule, and federal district courts have granted preliminary injunctions enjoining the Department from enforcing the final rule in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Certain courts have issued orders expanding the injunction to named schools, irrespective of where those schools are located; Capella University and Strayer University were named among nearly 700 schools in one such order on July 15, 2024. Kansas v. U.S. Dept of Educ., No. 5:24-cv-4041 (D. Kan. 2024). Except where enjoined, the 2024 Title IX Rule otherwise became effective on August 1, 2024. On January 9, 2025, in State of Tennessee et al v. Cardona, 2:24-cv-00072, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted summary judgment against the U.S. Department of Education, vacating the 2024 Title IX Rule as unlawful. The Department did not appeal this decision before the March 10, 2025 appeal deadline passed; however, a nonprofit legal organization is seeking to intervene in support of the 2024 Title IX Rule. On February 4, 2025, the Departments Office for Civil Rights issued a Dear Colleague Letter confirming that it will enforce Title IX under the 2020 Title IX Rule, and that open investigations initiated under the 2024 Title IX Rule should be reevaluated for consistency with the 2020 Title IX Rule.

On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14168 Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government ordering, among other matters, all agencies to enforce laws governing sex-based rights, protections, opportunities, and accommodations consistent with definitions provided in the executive order. The executive order defines sex as a binary classification that does not include gender identity and requires agencies to take various actions consistent with that position.

On April 4, 2025, the Department and the U.S. Department of Justice jointly announced a Title IX Special Investigations Team (the Title IX SIT) in response to what the agencies describe as a staggering volume of Title IX complaints. The Title IX SIT is intended to streamline Title IX investigations conducted by the federal government by leveraging teams with personnel from both agencies to coordinate on investigation and enforcement.

Failure to comply with these final rules and the resulting sanctions could have a material adverse effect on our business.

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Student loan defaults in the U.S. could result in the loss of eligibility to participate in Title IV programs.

In general, under the Higher Education Act, an educational institution may lose its eligibility to participate in some or all Title IV programs if, for three consecutive federal fiscal years, 30% or more of its students who were required to begin repaying their student loans in the relevant federal fiscal year default on their payment by the end of the second federal fiscal year following that fiscal year. Institutions with a cohort default rate equal to or greater than 15% for any of the three most recent fiscal years for which data are available are subject to a 30-day delayed disbursement period for first-year, first-time borrowers. In addition, an institution may lose its eligibility to participate in some or all Title IV programs if its default rate for a federal fiscal year was greater than 40%.

If Capella University or Strayer University loses eligibility to participate in Title IV programs because of high student loan default rates, the loss would have a material adverse effect on our business. Capella Universitys three-year cohort default rates for federal fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021 were 1.1%, 0.0%, and 0.0%, respectively. Strayer Universitys three-year cohort default rates for federal fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021 were 2.2%, 0.0%, and 0.0%, respectively. The average official cohort default rates for proprietary institutions nationally were 3.1%, 0.0%, and 0.0% for federal fiscal years 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively. The federal governments elimination of the pause on federal student loan payments could result in an increase in the number of borrowers defaulting on their student loans, including among our graduates.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) was signed into law on July 4, 2025. Among other things related to loan repayment plans, OBBB requires that for new loans issued on or after July 2026, borrowers choose between two plans: a Standard Repayment Plan (with fixed monthly payments and fixed terms ranging from 10-25 years) or a new Income-Based Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). Current borrowers repaying loans under existing repayment options may, depending on the loan repayment type: (i) continue to repay under the selected plan or choose a new plan within a prescribed period; or (ii) be required to select from a limited set of plans as of a date certain. For example, borrowers currently on an Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan must transition to a different plan by July 1, 2028. OBBB also eliminates unemployment and economic hardship deferments for loans issued on or after July 1, 2027, and reduces the permitted forbearance period to 9 months per 24-month period. Additionally, borrowers will be permitted to rehabilitate defaulted loans twice beginning July 2027, rather than only once under the current rule.

On July 24, 2025, the Department of Education announced its intention to establish a negotiated rulemaking committee to prepare proposed regulations implementing the OBBBs federal student loan-related changes. The committee is scheduled to meet for two

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multi-day sessions between September 2025 and November 2025.

OBBB provisions that change repayment plans could affect borrowers ability to repay their student loans and could result in an increase in the number of borrowers defaulting on their student loans, including among our graduates.

The failure by Capella University or Strayer University to comply with the Department of Educations misrepresentation rules could result in sanctions and other liability.

The Higher Education Act prohibits an institution that participates in Title IV programs from engaging in substantial misrepresentation of the nature of its educational program, its financial charges, or the employability of its graduates. Final regulations that defined misrepresentation to include any statement that has the likelihood or tendency to mislead under the circumstances and any statement that omits information in such a way as to make the statement false, erroneous, or misleading were scheduled to take effect July 1, 2017 but, after a series of delays, became effective October 16, 2018. On August 30, 2019, the Department released final Borrower Defense to Repayment regulations that included a new definition of misrepresentation, which became effective July 1, 2020. The final rule defines a misrepresentation as: a statement, act, or omission by an eligible school to a borrower (a) that is false, misleading, or deceptive, (b) that was made with knowledge of its false, misleading, or deceptive nature or with a reckless disregard for the truth, and (c) that directly and clearly relates to either (1) enrollment or continuing enrollment at the institution or (2) the provision of educational services for which the loan was made. In 2021, the Department began the process to amend the Borrower Defense to Repayment rules, including the definition of misrepresentation, and on October 31, 2022, the Department released final Borrower Defense to Repayment regulations, which include among other defenses substantial misrepresentation, with a significantly expanded definition of misrepresentation that also includes omissions of fact. Specifically, the new rule defines a misrepresentation to include any false, erroneous or misleading statement made by the institution or its representatives, or its marketing, advertising, recruiting or admissions agents, as well as any omission of fact that a reasonable person would have considered in deciding to enroll in or continue attendance at the institution. A statement is deemed misleading if it has the likelihood or tendency to mislead under the circumstances. A misrepresentation includes statements and omissions made in any medium, whether directly or indirectly, to a student, prospective student or any member of the public, or to an accrediting agency, to a State agency, or to the Secretary of Education. Misrepresentation also includes the dissemination of a student endorsement or testimonial that a student gives either under duress or because the institution required such an endorsement or testimonial to participate in a program. This new definition was effective July 1, 2023; however, it has since been delayed by the OBBB as described below.

On June 22, 2022, in litigation in which neither SEI nor Capella University is a party, Sweet, et al. v. Miguel Cardona and the United States Department of Education, the Department joined a proposed class settlement agreement that resulted in a blanket grant of automatic, presumptive relief for all Borrower Defense to Repayment applications filed by students at any of approximately 150 different listed institutions, including Capella University, through June 22, 2022. The class settlement agreement also provided certain expedited review of borrower defense claims related to schools excluded from the automatic relief list, as well as for borrowers regardless of which institution they attended who applied during the period after execution of the settlement and before final approval (i.e., from June 23, 2022 to November 15, 2022) (the post-class applicants). The district court granted final approval of the settlement on November 16, 2022. Intervenors, including multiple intervening higher education institutions and companies, appealed the district courts order. Intervenors request to stay the district courts final judgment approving the settlement pending resolution of the appeal has been denied.

It is unclear whether the Department might seek recovery for the amounts of loans discharged pursuant to the automatic relief provision in the Sweet settlement. In a July 25, 2022 filing in the same litigation, the Department stated that providing automatic relief to such borrowers does not constitute the granting or adjudication of a borrower defense pursuant to the Borrower Defense Regulations, and therefore provides no basis to the Department for initiating a borrower defense recoupment proceeding against any institution identified on the list. The Department has indicated that any recoupment against institutions could be imposed only after the Department initiated a separate, future proceeding, in accordance with regulations that require the Department to prove a sufficient basis for liability and provide schools with notice and an opportunity to be heard. If the Department were to seek recovery for the amounts of automatically discharged loans of Capella University students under the Sweet settlement, Capella University would dispute and defend against such efforts. If the Department were to successfully seek recovery for the amounts of discharged loans from Capella University in future proceedings, any such recovery could have a material adverse effect on our business.

On August 7, 2023, in the matter of Career Colleges and Schs. of Tex. vs. U.S. Dept of Educ., et al. (No. 23-50491), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted a nationwide emergency injunction preventing the Department of Educations enforcement of the 2022 BDTR Rule. On April 4, 2024, the Fifth Circuit reversed the underlying district court decision denying injunctive relief and remanded the case to the district court with instructions to enjoin and postpone the effective date of the 2022 BDTR Rule pending final judgment. The Department petitioned the Fifth Circuit for panel rehearing, which the Fifth Circuit

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denied on June 12, 2024. On October 10, 2024, the Department timely filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, seeking review by the Supreme Court of the United States. The Respondent (i.e., Career Colleges and Schools of Texas) filed a response to the Departments petition on December 12, 2024, and the Department filed a reply on December 23, 2024. On January 10, 2025, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments on the Departments appeal, and on February 6, 2025, at the Departments request, the Supreme Court agreed to pause the briefing schedule. On June 23, 2025, at the Departments request, the Supreme Court agreed to resume the briefing schedule. On July 8, 2025, the Supreme Court granted a motion related to the briefing schedule, with the Departments brief due August 20, 2025, and the Respondents brief due October 2, 2025. The Department has previously stated that it will not adjudicate any borrower defense applications under the latest rule unless and until the effective date is reinstated. The Department will continue to adjudicate borrower defense applications using an earlier version of the regulations, including where required under the court settlement (i.e., the Sweet case). The Company is unable to predict the ultimate outcome of the litigation.

As a result of a Fifth Circuit August 7, 2023 nationwide injunction of the 2022 Borrower Defense to Repayment Regulations, the Department announced that while it will not adjudicate any borrower defense applications under the 2022 Borrower Defense to Repayment Regulations unless and until the effective date is reinstated, it will continue to adjudicate applications under a prior version of the rule if required pursuant to a court ordered settlement. For the Sweet post-class applicants, the Department agreed to adjudicate such claims under the 2016 BDTR Rule, and, if the Department does not adjudicate the applications by January 28, 2026, it will provide the applicants Full Settlement Relief (i.e., federal student loan(s) associated with the borrowers attendance at the school will be discharged, the Department will refund any amounts paid to the Department on those loans, and the credit tradeline for those loans will be deleted from the borrowers credit report). In 2023, the Department informed institutions that: it would be notifying most schools of all applications received from June 23, 2022 to November 15, 2022 in a single send (and anticipates completing notification to all schools by approximately April 2024); it is not reviewing applications prior to sending them to institutions; it is optional for institutions to respond to the applications; and not responding will result in no negative inference by the Department. The Department has also explained that it will separately decide whether to seek recoupment on any approved claim. Moreover, any recoupment actions the Department chooses to initiate will have their own notification and response processes, which include providing additional evidence to the institution. The Department has indicated that an institution will learn of the Departments determination only if it approves a BDTR application and the Department seeks recoupment.

As described in Note 21, Litigation, to the consolidated financial statements appearing in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, on January 25, 2024, Capella University received notice from the Department of Borrower Defense to Repayment applications, and on February 1, 2024, Strayer University received notice from the Department of Borrower Defense to Repayment applications.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025, amends the Higher Education Act to delay the effective date of the 2022 borrower defense to repayment rules, including their closed school discharge provisions, until July 1, 2035. The OBBB reinstated the 2019 version of those rules, which took effect July 1, 2020.

In the event of substantial misrepresentation, the Department of Education may revoke or terminate an institutions program participation agreement, limit the institutions participation in Title IV programs, deny applications from the institution, such as to add new programs or locations, initiate proceedings to fine the institution or limit, suspend, or terminate its eligibility to participate in Title IV programs; relieve the borrower of the obligation to repay federal education loans in whole or in part under the Borrower Defense to Repayment Rule and require the institution to reimburse the Department of Education for those amounts. If the Department of Education or other third parties interpret statements made by one of the universities or on the universitys behalf to be in violation of the new regulations, the University could be subject to sanctions and other liability, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our failure to comply with the Department of Educations gainful employment regulations effective July 1, 2024, as well as Congressionally legislated accountability metrics effective July 2026, could result in heightened disclosure requirements and loss of Title IV eligibility.

To be eligible for Title IV funding, academic programs offered by proprietary institutions of higher education generally must prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation.

On September 27, 2023, the Department of Education released final regulations on gainful employment, effective July 1, 2024. The gainful employment final rule establishes two independent metrics, both of which must be passed by a gainful employment program in order to maintain Title IV eligibility. The two metrics are 1) a debt-to-earnings ratio that compares the median annual earnings and median discretionary earnings of graduates who received federal financial aid to the median annual payments on loan debt borrowed for the program (a program passes if the annual debt-to-earnings ratio is less than or equal to 8% of annual earnings or 20% of discretionary earnings), and 2) an earnings premium test that compares the median annual earnings of

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graduates from a program that received federal financial aid to an earnings threshold based on a typical high school graduate in their state (or, in some cases, nationally) and within a certain age range in the labor force (a program passes if the median annual earnings exceed the earnings threshold). In May 2025, the Trump administration filed a brief defending the 2024 gainful employment rule in pending cases challenging their lawfulness under the Higher Education Act.

Beginning on July 1, 2026, any gainful employment program that fails either or both metrics in a single year would be required to provide a warning to all to current and prospective students that meets certain minimum requirements specified by the Department of Education, including that the program failed one or both metrics for the year and may be subject to loss of Title IV eligibility. Any such program that fails the same metric in two out of three consecutive years for which the programs metrics are calculated would lose its access to Title IV funding. The Department has indicated that it will release metrics beginning in the 2025 financial aid award year, and, if so, we expect that the earliest a program could lose eligibility is 2026.

OBBB creates an accountability framework, effective July 2026, that institutions must satisfy at the program level in order for students to continue to receive Federal Direct Loans for such programs. OBBB requires that an undergraduate program become ineligible for Federal Direct Loans if, in two out of three consecutive years, the median earnings of a cohort of program completers are less than the median earnings of working adults aged 25-34 with only a high school diploma, either in the state where the institution is located or, if fewer than 50% of students at the institution reside in the institutions state, the national average. OBBB requires that a graduate or professional program become ineligible for Federal Direct Loans if, in two out of three consecutive years, the median earnings of a cohort of program completers are less than the median earnings of working adults aged 2534 with only a bachelors degree. Comparator median earnings for graduate or professional programs will be calculated based on Bureau of the Census data for working adults aged 25-34 with only a bachelors degree, and will be the lesser of: (i) working adults in the same field of study in the state where the institution is located, (ii) working adults in the same field of study in the United States, or (iii) all working adults in the state where the institution is located. If fewer than 50% of students at the institution reside in the institutions state, then the median earnings will be calculated based on the lesser of the national average for (i) all working adults or (ii) working adults in the same field of study. Both the undergraduate and graduate/professional accountability provisions apply to the cohort of students who completed the program four years prior, are working, are not enrolled at any institution, and who received Federal Direct Loan funds for enrollment in the program. If a cohort is less than 30 students, the Secretary of Education may aggregate additional years of programmatic data. If a program fails the earnings test for one year, institutions must notify students that the program is at risk of losing Federal Direct Loan eligibility. OBBB requires that an institutional appeals process be established by the Secretary of Education, and a programs Federal Direct Loan eligibility will continue during such appeal. Programs that lose eligibility under the accountability framework may reapply for eligibility after two years, consistent with requirements that will be established by the Secretary of Education.

On July 24, 2025, the Department of Education announced its intention to establish a negotiated rulemaking committee that will address, among other things, institutional and programmatic accountability (including with respect to low earnings outcomes, gainful employment, and financial value transparency). The committee is scheduled to meet for two multi-day sessions between December 2025 and January 2026.

The requirements associated with the gainful employment regulations and OBBBs accountability framework (which is distinct from and in addition to the gainful employment regulations) may substantially increase our administrative burdens and could affect our program offerings, student enrollment, persistence and retention. At this time, it is difficult to predict whether our programs will satisfy the gainful employment metrics or OBBB accountability metrics. Further, the continuing eligibility of our academic programs will be affected by factors beyond managements control such as changes in our graduates employment and income levels, changes in student borrowing levels, increases in interest rates, and various other factors. Even if we were able to correct any deficiency in the gainful employment or OBBB accountability metrics in a timely manner, the disclosure requirements associated with a programs failure to meet at least one metric may adversely affect student enrollments in that program and may adversely affect the reputation of our institution.

Our business could be harmed if Congress makes changes to the availability of Title IV funds.

Each of Capella University and Strayer University collected the majority of its fiscal year 2024 total consolidated net revenue from receipt of Title IV financial aid program funds, principally from federal student loans under the Federal Direct Loan Program. Changes in the availability of these funds or a reduction in the amount of funds disbursed may have a material adverse effect on our enrollment, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Congress eliminated further federal direct subsidized loans for graduate and professional students as of July 1, 2012. On August 9, 2013, Congress passed legislation that ties interest rates on Title IV loans to the rate paid on U.S. Treasury bonds. Interest rates are set every July 1st for loans taken out from July 1st to June 30th of the following year. In July 2012, Congress reduced eligibility for Pell Grants from 18 semesters to 12 semesters. To date, these changes have not had a material impact on our business, but we cannot predict any effect they may have in the future.

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OBBB eliminates, effective July 2026, Federal Direct PLUS loans for graduate and professional students, with some limited grandfathering for current graduate and professional student borrowers. The law also sets new annual and aggregate loan limits for such borrowers, with some limited grandfathering. For graduate students who are not and have not been professional students, the new aggregate graduate loan limit is $100,000, irrespective of any undergraduate borrowing. With respect to graduate students who are or have been professional students, the aggregate graduate loan limit is $200,000 minus the amounts borrowed for the professional degree program. OBBB also created a lifetime maximum aggregate amount for Title IV loans that a student may borrow of $257,500 (other than a loan made to the student as a parent borrower on behalf of a dependent student). OBBB provides institutions the opportunity to limit the amount of loans a student may borrow in an academic year as long as any such limit is applied consistently to all students enrolled in such program of study. Additionally, OBBB requires that the amount of loan funds available under a students annual loan eligibility must be reduced in direct proportion to the degree to which that student is not enrolled on a full-time basis during an academic year.

Effective July 2026, students with a Student Aid Index that equals or exceeds twice the maximum Pell Grant amount will be ineligible for Pell Grants. A student will also be ineligible for a Federal Pell Grant during any period for which the student receives grant aid from a non-federal source (including states, institutional aid, or private sources) in an amount that equals or exceeds the students cost of attendance. Additionally, OBBB creates Workforce Pell Grants effective July 2026 for students enrolled in eligible workforce programs. Eligible workforce programs must meet a specific definition, including that they are accredited, short-term, career-focused programs (150 to 600 clock hours of instruction over 8 to 15 weeks), which prepare students to pursue one or more certificate or degree programs. In addition, they must be approved by the state governor, aligned with high-demand, high-skill or high-wage jobs, have at least 70% completion and job placement rates, and tuition must be less than the value-added earnings of graduates who received the Workforce Pell Grant. Workforce Pell Grants may not be combined with a regular Pell grant.

Changes in the availability of Title IV funds could affect students ability to fund their education and thus may have a material adverse effect on our enrollment, financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows.