2015 Annual Report 3300 W

GRAND CANYON EDUCATION EDUCATION GRAND CANYON GRAND CANYON2015 EDUCATION ANNUAL REPORT | 2015 ANNUAL REPORT ANNUAL 2015 3300 W. Camelback Road | Phoenix, AZ 85017 | 800-800-9776 | www.gcu.edu DEAR SHAREHOLDERS, GRAND CANYON EDUCATION he year 2015 was truly groundbreaking and the men’s lacrosse club team captured a CORPORATE INFORMATION T for Grand Canyon University. Enrollment national championship. continued to soar; the focus on science, On our burgeoning Phoenix campus, technology, engineering and math (STEM) construction cranes have become a continued with the launch of our engineering regular fixture. In 2015, GCU started/ PRIMARY IR CONTACT TRANSFER AGENT ACCOUNTANTS programs; the incredible metamorphosis of finished building a soccer stadium, Student Dan Bachus Computershare Investor Services KPMG LLP our ground campus escalated further; GCU’s Services Building, two parking garages, Chief Financial Officer P.O. Box 30170 performance areas started gaining national two engineering classroom buildings, College Station, TX 77842-3170 attention; and the commitment to revitalize three apartment-style residence halls, four Grand Canyon Education our community showed signs of truly six-story dorms, two intramural fields, a 3300 W. Camelback Rd. transforming West Phoenix. recording studio and dining spots along Phoenix, AZ 85017 Online enrollment grew to 59,300 students Lopes Way. At 27th Avenue, the new GCU Phone: 602-639-7500 at year end (up 7.7 percent from 2014), and Hotel opened, and construction began on Web site: www.gcu.edu our ground campus student body reached a new lobby area, resort pool, restaurant, approximately 15,500 in the Fall (a 19.9 office complex and parking garage. GCU also percent jump from the Fall of 2014), with completed its $10 million renovation of the more than 90 percent of those on some new Grand Canyon University Golf Course, COMMON STOCK ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS level of institutional scholarship. Nearly 70 which opened to rave reviews. We expect The Company’s common stock The Company’s annual meeting of stockholders will percent of ground students were studying that property to begin making an immediate trades on the Nasdaq Global Market be held at 10 a.m., local time, on Thursday, June 16, 2016 in STEM or business fields, including new return on our investment. under the symbol LOPE. at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. academic programs in biomedical, electrical And, finally, in our neighborhood, GCU’s and mechanical engineering, computer efforts are paying huge dividends. The science, information technology, computer university’s expansion and partnership with programming and business information Habitat for Humanity led to a 30 percent BOARD OF DIRECTORS systems. We also debuted a new STEM increase in home values in our zip code while Brent Richardson Brian Mueller David J. Johnson Scholars program that provides a pathway to our partnership with the Phoenix Police Chairman Chief Executive Officer Director GCU for high school students beginning in Department resulted in a 30 percent decrease and Director and Director their junior year. in crime in the surrounding community. Our speech and debate team was ranked Nearby Alhambra High School, a D-rated Kevin F. Warren Jack A. Henry in the top 20 nationally, while students in our school three years ago, is now nine points Director Director Bradley A. Casper Center for Worship Arts produced their first away from being a B school thanks in part to Director EP, “Canyon Worship,” which included a song GCU’s Learning Lounge partnership, which that reached No. 37 on the iTunes Christian provides free tutoring and mentoring to the Sara R. Dial singles chart. Those CWA students now have a high school students. Director state-of-the-art music recording studio and are All of these remarkable accomplishments working on a full CD to be released in 2016. leave GCU well-positioned for another In other performance areas, the theatre banner year in 2016. Enrollment is expected MANAGEMENT and music programs continued to win to grow to 17,500 on the ground campus Dr. W. Stan Meyer Dan Bachus awards both locally and nationally; the men’s next year and reach 25,000 within five Brian Mueller Chief Operating Officer Chief Financial Officer basketball team finished the regular season years as we continue to make high-quality, Chief Executive Officer, with a 25-6 record and was ranked in the private Christian education affordable to all Director and President Grand Canyon University Men’s Mid Major Top 25, while the Havocs socioeconomic classes. Joe Mildenhall Brian Roberts student section gained national attention for Chief Information Officer General Counsel the atmosphere it creates at games; men’s swimming was ranked in the top 25 of the country; the baseball, men’s track and women’s track teams won Western Athletic Conference championships; beach volleyball Brian Mueller, CEO and Director players Mackenzie Phelps and Shannon GRAND CANYON EDUCATION Dugan reached the semifinals of the 2015 NCAA Tournament, while the current beach volleyball team is ranked 15th in the country; ON THE BACK COVER: GCU students put their Lopes Up as a sign of unity at a men’s basketball game in GCU Arena. UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 Form 10-K (Mark One) _ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended: December 31, 2015 OR TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from [ ] to [ ] Commission file number: 001-34211 GRAND CANYON EDUCATION, INC. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) DELAWARE 20-3356009 (State or other jurisdiction of (I.R.S. Employer incorporation or organization) Identification No.) 3300 W. CAMELBACK ROAD, PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85017 (Address of principal executive offices, including zip code) Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (602) 639-7500 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: (Title of Each Class) (Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered) Grand Canyon Education, Inc. The NASDAQ Global Market Common stock, $.01 par value Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None (Title of class) Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes _ No Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes No _ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes _ No Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes _ No Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. _ Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one): Large accelerated filer _ Accelerated filer Non-accelerated filer (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) Smaller reporting company Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act). Yes No _ The total number of shares of common stock outstanding as of February 12, 2016 was 46,486,319. As of June 30, 2015, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the registrant’s common stock was listed on the NASDAQ Global Market. As of June 30, 2015, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates was approximately $2.0 billion. DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE Certain portions of the registrant’s Definitive Proxy Statement for its 2016 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (which is expected to be filed with the Commission within 120 days after the end of the registrant’s 2015 fiscal year) are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Report. GRAND CANYON EDUCATION, INC. FORM 10-K INDEX Page PART I 4 Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements 3 Item 1. Business 4 Item 1A. Risk Factors 26 Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 40 Item 2. Properties 40 Item 3. Legal Proceedings 40 Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 41 PART II 41 Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 41 Item 6. Selected Consolidated Financial and Other Data 44 Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 47 Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 58 Item 8. Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 59 Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 86 Item 9A.

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