PERDOCEO EDUCATION Corp - Quarter Report: 2010 March (Form 10-Q)

Table of Contents

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark one)

FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED MARCH 31, 2010

OR

FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM              TO             

Commission File Number: 0-23245

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (847) 781-3600

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  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T 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 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.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company, as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.    Yes  ¨    No  x

Number of shares of registrant’s common stock, par value $0.01, outstanding April 30, 2010: 81,819,798

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION

INDEX

2

Table of Contents

PART I—FINANCIAL INFORMATION

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited consolidated financial statements.

3

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited consolidated financial statements.

4

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited consolidated financial statements.

5

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

1. DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPANY

The colleges, schools and universities that are part of the Career Education Corporation (“CEC”) family offer high-quality education to a diverse student population of over 116,000 students across the world in a variety of career-oriented disciplines. The approximately 90 campuses that serve these students are located throughout the U.S. and in France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Monaco, and offer doctoral, master’s, bachelor’s and associate degrees and diploma and certificate programs. Approximately 40% of our students attend the web-based virtual campuses of American InterContinental University, Colorado Technical University, International Academy of Design & Technology and Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.

CEC is an industry leader whose brands are recognized globally. Those brands include, among others, American InterContinental University (“AIU”); Brooks Institute; Colorado Technical University (“CTU”); Harrington College of Design; INSEEC Group (“INSEEC”) Schools, including the International University of Monaco (“IUM”); International Academy of Design & Technology (“IADT”); Istituto Marangoni; Le Cordon Bleu North America (“LCB”); and Sanford-Brown Institutes and Colleges. Through our schools, CEC is committed to providing quality education, enabling students to graduate and pursue rewarding careers.

For more information, see CEC’s website at www.careered.com. The website includes a detailed listing of individual campus locations and web links to CEC’s colleges, schools, and universities.

As used in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” and “CEC” refer to Career Education Corporation and our wholly-owned subsidiaries. The terms “school” and “university” refer to an individual, branded, proprietary educational institution, owned by us and includes its campus locations. The term “campus” refers to an individual main or branch campus operated by one of our schools or universities.

2. BASIS OF PRESENTATION

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, the financial statements do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, including normal recurring accruals, considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2010, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2010.

The unaudited consolidated financial statements presented herein include the accounts of CEC and our wholly-owned subsidiaries. All inter-company transactions and balances have been eliminated.

On January 15, 2010, we realigned our resources to more effectively execute our new strategic growth plan. We began the integration of our schools which previously comprised the Art & Design Strategic Business Unit (“SBU”) alongside AIU and CTU, within the University SBU. This realignment will facilitate synergies between the programs in Art & Design and University, especially in the areas of fashion design, merchandising and interior design and technology. It will also enable the sharing of student-focused online platforms and expertise and aid IADT as it pursues its longer-term strategy of regional accreditation. Harrington College of Design, Collins College and Brooks Institute joined the IADT schools in the alignment of the Art & Design group into the University SBU. The realignment also shifted Brown College and Briarcliffe College into the Health Education SBU. We expect Briarcliffe’s regional accreditation to be beneficial in providing greater opportunity for Sanford- Brown students to enroll in higher degree programs. This realignment resulted in new reportable

6

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

segments, and prior period results have been revised to reflect these new reportable segments. See Note 12 “Segment Reporting” of the notes to our unaudited consolidated financial statements for further discussion.

In addition to the realignment, we completed a detailed review of our shared service costs to determine which of these costs should be charged to the SBUs as well as how these shared service costs should be allocated. These services include legal, finance, human resources, marketing, certain academic functions and certain centralized activities related to student finance, including financial aid processing, student account posting and collections. These costs, recorded within Corporate and other, were previously allocated to our SBUs based upon a percentage of revenue. Improved data and analytical capabilities have provided us insight into costs being incurred to support the SBUs versus costs being incurred to support the corporation as a whole. The new methodology allocates costs based on usage and consumption factors such as student population, employee headcount, advertising spend, number of financial aid recipients and revenue where appropriate. In the case of certain services which are shared evenly across the SBUs, we will allocate evenly. The new methodology is intended to provide improved transparency into the costs of the shared services. The effect of these changes impact the costs reported within each SBU and reduce the level of unallocated shared service costs. Results beginning in 2010 are presented under the new methodology and prior period results have been revised to be comparable to the current reporting.

3. RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

On January 1, 2009, we adopted the most recent authoritative guidance issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification (“FASB ASC”) under Topic 820 – Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures for our nonfinancial assets and nonfinancial liabilities, including long-lived assets, goodwill and intangible assets. This adoption did not have a material impact on our unaudited consolidated financial statements. Furthermore, the authoritative guidance clarifies determination of fair value of a financial asset when the market for that asset is not active and what constitutes an inactive market. Additional guidance is given on measuring the fair value of financial instruments when market activity has decreased and quoted prices may not be determinative of fair value. Management has fully considered this guidance and related update when determining the fair value of our financial assets as of March 31, 2010, and our adoption did not have a material impact on our unaudited consolidated financial statements.

On April 9, 2009, we adopted the most recent authoritative guidance issued by FASB ASC under Topic 825 – Financial Instruments. Disclosures related to the fair value of financial instruments to interim periods have been expanded to improve upon the comparability and transparency of financial statements. Additionally, authoritative guidance issued under Topic 320 – Investments – Debt and Equity Securities provides further guidance related to other-than temporary impairment for debt securities by now requiring that an investor must assert that it has both the intent and the ability to hold a security for a period of time sufficient to allow for an anticipated recovery in its fair value to its amortized cost basis to avoid recognizing an other-than-temporary impairment. Management has fully considered this guidance when determining the fair value of our financial assets as of March 31, 2010 and does not believe it has a material impact on our unaudited consolidated financial statements.

In the second quarter of 2009, we adopted the most recent authoritative guidance issued by FASB ASC under Topic 855 – Subsequent Events. The authoritative guidance establishes general standards of accounting and disclosure guidelines for events or transactions that occur after the balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued or are available to be issued. This guidance is effective for interim and annual periods ending after June 15, 2009. Our adoption of the guidance and the related 2010 update did not have a material impact on our unaudited consolidated financial statements.

7

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

In January 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued Release No. 33-9002, Interactive Data to Improve Financial Reporting. The rule requires all companies to provide their financial statements and financial statement schedules to the SEC and on their corporate websites in interactive data format using the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (“XBRL”), which is an electronic language specifically for the communication of business and financial data. The intention of XBRL is to improve its usefulness to users and to automate regulatory filings and business information processing. Interactive data has the potential to improve efficiencies and the analyses of financial disclosures by investors and other users. We are required to adopt this rule by June 15, 2010. We elected to early adopt this rule in the first quarter of 2010 and have made the necessary filings. The adoption of this rule did not have a material impact on our financial statements or other reporting.

4. DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS

As of March 31, 2010, the results of operations for schools that have ceased operations or were sold are presented within discontinued operations. We expect to incur approximately $7.0 million by the fourth quarter 2010 of future remaining lease obligations upon the closure of our AIU – Los Angeles, CA campus. The results for this campus will be recast as a component of discontinued operations upon the completion of its teach out.

Results of Discontinued Operations

Combined summary results of operations for our discontinued operations for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, were as follows:

8

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

Assets and Liabilities of Discontinued Operations

Assets and liabilities of discontinued operations on our unaudited consolidated balance sheets as of March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 include the following:

Remaining Lease Obligations

A number of the campuses that have ceased operations in 2008 and 2009 have remaining lease obligations that range from two to nine years. A liability is recorded representing the fair value of the remaining lease obligation at the time in which the space is no longer being utilized. Changes in our future remaining lease obligations, which are reflected within current and non-current liabilities of discontinued operations on our unaudited consolidated balance sheets, for our discontinued operations for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, were as follows:

9

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

5. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

Cash and Cash Equivalents and Investments

Cash and cash equivalents and investments from our continuing operations consist of the following as of March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009:

In the table above, unrealized holding losses as of March 31, 2010 relate to cash equivalents and available-for-sale investments that have been in a continuous unrealized loss position for less than one year. The table also includes unrealized holding losses that relate to our long-term investments in municipal bonds, which are auction rate securities (“ARS”). When evaluating our investments for possible impairment, we review factors such as the length of time and extent to which fair value has been less than the cost basis, the financial condition of the investee, and our ability and intent to hold the investment for a period of time that may be sufficient for anticipated recovery in fair value. The decline in the fair value of our municipal bonds through March 31, 2010 is attributable to the lack of activity in the ARS market, exposing these investments to liquidity risk.

10

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

Included in cash and cash equivalents above are amounts related to certain of our European campuses that are operated on a not-for-profit basis. The cash and cash equivalents related to these schools have restrictions which require that the funds be utilized for these particular not-for-profit schools. The amount of cash and cash equivalents of our not-for-profit schools with restrictions was $43.6 million and $49.9 million at March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009, respectively. Restrictions on cash balances have not affected our ability to fund operations.

Money Market funds. Money Market funds are mutual funds that invest in lower risk securities and generate low yields. Such funds maintain clear investment guidelines and seek to limit credit, market and liquidity risks.

Municipal bonds: Municipal bonds represent debt obligations issued by states, cities, counties, and other governmental entities, which earn federally tax-exempt interest. ARS generally have stated terms to maturity of greater than one year. We classify investments in ARS as non-current on our unaudited consolidated balance sheets within other assets. Auctions can “fail” when the number of sellers of the security exceeds the buyers for that particular auction period. In the event that an auction fails, the interest rate resets at a rate based on a formula determined by the individual security. The ARS for which auctions have failed continue to accrue interest and are auctioned on a set interval until the auction succeeds, the issuer calls the securities, or they mature. As of March 31, 2010, we have determined these investments are at risk for impairment due to the nature of the liquidity of the market over the past year. Cumulative unrealized losses as of March 31, 2010, amount to $0.8 million and are reflected within other comprehensive income as a component of stockholders’ equity. We believe this impairment is temporary, as we do not intend to sell the investments and it is unlikely we will be required to sell the investments before recovery of their amortized cost basis. Municipal bonds in the above table that are invested in ARS were $11.5 million and $11.6 million at March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009, respectively.

U.S. Treasury bills: Debt obligations issued by the U.S. government that pay interest at maturity. U.S. Treasury bills are traded at discounts to par value and mature in one year or less.

Fair Value Measurements

The fair value measure of accounting for financial instruments establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. These tiers include: Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets; Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable; and Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions.

As of March 31, 2010, we held investments that are required to be measured at fair value on a recurring basis. Investments (available-for-sale) consist of U.S. Treasury bills that are publicly traded and for which market prices are readily available.

As of March 31, 2010, we also held investments in auction rate securities, which are classified as available-for-sale and reflected at fair value. The auction events for these investments have failed for the past year. The fair values of these securities are estimated utilizing a discounted cash flow analysis as of March 31,

11

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

2010. These analyses consider, among other items, the collateralization underlying the security investments, the creditworthiness of the counterparty, the timing of expected future cash flows, and the expectation of the next time the security is expected to have a successful auction. These securities were also compared, when possible, to other observable market data with similar characteristics.

Investments measured at fair value on a recurring basis subject to the disclosure requirements issued by the FASB ASC under Topic 820 – Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures at March 31, 2010, were as follows:

The following table presents our assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) as defined in FASB ASC Topic 820 at March 31, 2010:

Credit Agreement

As of March 31, 2010, we had letters of credit totaling $10.1 million outstanding under our $185.0 million U.S. Credit Agreement. Credit availability under our U.S. Credit Agreement as of March 31, 2010, was $174.9 million.

6. RECEIVABLES

Student Receivables Valuation Allowance

Changes in our short-term and long-term receivables allowance for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009 were as follows:

12

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

Recourse Loan Agreements

Previously, we had recourse loan agreements with Sallie Mae and Stillwater National Bank and Trust Company (“Stillwater”) which required us to repurchase loans originated by them to our students after a certain period of time. Our recourse loan agreement with Stillwater was terminated on April 29, 2007. Our recourse loan agreement with Sallie Mae ended on March 31, 2008. Sallie Mae continues to offer its non-recourse products to our students but has made its underwriting criteria stricter.

Outstanding net recourse loan receivable balances for continuing operations as of March 31, 2010 and December 31, 2009 were $3.7 million and $8.5 million, respectively. These receivables are reported under non-current assets as a component of student receivables, net within the unaudited consolidated balance sheets.

7. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Litigation

We are, or were, a party to the following legal proceedings that are outside the scope of ordinary routine litigation incidental to our business.

Student Litigation

Amador, et al. v. California Culinary Academy and Career Education Corporation; Adams, et al. v. California Culinary Academy and Career Education Corporation. On September 27, 2007, Allison Amador and 36 other current and former students of the California Culinary Academy (“CCA”) filed a complaint in the California Superior Court in San Francisco. Plaintiffs plead their complaint as a putative class action and allege four causes of action: fraud; constructive fraud; violation of the California Unfair Competition Law; and violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act. Plaintiffs contend that CCA made a variety of misrepresentations to them, primarily oral, during the admissions process. The alleged misrepresentations relate generally to the school’s reputation, the value of the education, the competitiveness of the admissions process, the students’ employment prospects upon graduation from CCA and CCA’s ability to arrange beneficial student loans. Plaintiffs filed a Third Amended Complaint on or about September 3, 2009 that alleges claims for fraud (misrepresentations); fraud (omissions), violations of the Unfair Competition Law and Violation of the Consumer Legal Remedies Act. Plaintiffs’ class is defined as students who enrolled in the four years prior to the filing of the initial complaint in the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary program and/or the Baking and Pastry program. Students who enrolled in the Hotel and Restaurant Management program are not included in the class.

On April 3, 2008, the same counsel representing plaintiffs in the Amador action filed the Adams action on behalf of Jennifer Adams and several other unnamed members of the Amador putative class. The Adams action also is styled as a class action and is based on the same allegations underlying the Amador action and attempts to plead the same four causes of action pled in the Amador action. The Adams action has been deemed related to the Amador action and is being handled by the same judge. The Adams action has been stayed.

The parties have conducted discovery on class certification issues in the Amador action, but the Court has not yet set a briefing schedule or a hearing date on a motion for class certification.

Plaintiffs recently filed a fifth amended complaint alleging the same causes of action, but including new claims based on: (1) violations of the California Education Code, which was recently reinstated by the California legislature; and (2) violations of the Le Cordon Bleu license agreement. We will be filing a motion to dismiss these new claims. The motion will be heard in June 2010.

13

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

The parties have also been engaged in mediation sessions and settlement discussions regarding the Amador and Adams actions. The mediation did not result in a settlement but the parties are continuing to negotiate.

Lilley, et al. v. Career Education Corporation, et al. On February 11, 2008, a class action complaint was filed in the Circuit Court of Madison County, Illinois, naming as defendants Career Education Corporation and Sanford-Brown College, Inc. Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on September 5, 2008. The five plaintiffs named in the amended complaint are current or former students who allegedly attended a medical assistant program at Sanford-Brown College located in Collinsville, Illinois, and the class is alleged to be all persons who enrolled in that program. The amended class action complaint asserts claims for unfair conduct and deceptive conduct under the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (“the Act”), as well as common law claims of fraudulent misrepresentation and fraudulent omission. The amended complaint alleges that defendants made misrepresentations and omissions relating to the quality of education, quantity of financial aid, fixed tuition, graduate employability and salaries and clinical externships. Plaintiffs seek unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

Defendants filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ claims of unfair practices under the Act and fraudulent omission. By Order dated June 24, 2009 the Court granted Defendants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ fraudulent omission claim (Count IV of the Amended Complaint), and denied Defendants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ Illinois Consumer Fraud Act Claim. Defendants have filed answers and affirmative defenses in response to the amended complaint. The parties have begun initial written discovery and the case is set for a case management conference on May 26, 2010.

Schuster, et al. v. Western Culinary Institute, Ltd. and Career Education Corporation. On March 5, 2008, original named plaintiffs Shannon Gozzi and Megan Koehnen filed a complaint in Portland, Oregon in the Circuit Court of the State of Oregon in and for Multnomah County. Plaintiffs filed the complaint individually and as a putative class action and alleged two claims for equitable relief: violation of Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act and unjust enrichment. Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on April 10, 2008, which added two claims for money damages: fraud and breach of contract. Plaintiffs allege that Western Culinary Institute, Ltd. (“WCI”) made a variety of misrepresentations to them, relating generally to WCI’s placement statistics, students’ employment prospects upon graduation from WCI, the value and quality of an education at WCI, and the amount of tuition students could expect to pay as compared to salaries they may earn after graduation. On May 21, 2008, plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint in which they simply changed the statement “Claims Subject to Mandatory Arbitration” on the caption to “Claims Not Subject to Mandatory Arbitration” (emphasis added). WCI and CEC filed an answer on June 13, 2008 and WCI subsequently moved to dismiss certain of plaintiffs’ claims under Oregon’s Unlawful Trade Practices Act; that motion was granted on September 12, 2008. Shannon Gozzi subsequently withdrew as a named plaintiff and is now asserting claims merely as an absent class member, and former named plaintiff Meghan Koehnen’s claims have been dismissed. Jennifer Schuster is now the sole named Plaintiff, and she filed a third amended complaint on November 20, 2008. Defendants filed an answer on December 5, 2008. Plaintiffs filed their most recent operative pleading, a fourth amended complaint, on September 2, 2009, and Defendants filed an answer on October 15, 2009. The parties completed written discovery on class issues. Plaintiffs filed their motion for class certification on August 31, 2009, and oral argument on the motion was heard on October 29, 2009. On February 5, 2010, the Court entered a formal Order granting class certification on part of the UTPA and fraud claims purportedly based on omissions, denying certification of the rest of those claims and denying certification of the breach of contract and unjust enrichment claims. The class will consist of students who enrolled at WCI between March 5, 2006 and February 5, 2010, excluding those who dropped out or were dismissed from the school for academic reasons. The parties are currently engaged in merits discovery.

14

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

Vasquez, et al. v. California School of Culinary Arts, Inc. and Career Education Corporation. On June 23, 2008, a putative class action lawsuit was filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court entitled Daniel Vasquez and Cherish Herndon v. California School of Culinary Arts, Inc. and Career Education Corporation. The plaintiffs allege causes of action for fraud, constructive fraud, violation of the California Unfair Competition Law and violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act. The plaintiffs allege improper conduct in connection with the admissions process during the alleged class period. The alleged class is defined as including “all persons who purchased educational services from California School of Culinary Arts, Inc. (“CSCA”), or graduated from CSCA, within the limitations periods applicable to the herein alleged causes of action (including, without limitation, the period following the filing of the action).” Defendants successfully demurred to the constructive fraud claim and the Court has dismissed it. The parties are engaged in class discovery. The Court has not yet set a briefing schedule or a hearing date on a motion for class certification.

Due to the inherent uncertainties of litigation, we cannot predict the ultimate outcome of these matters. An unfavorable outcome of any one or more of these matters could have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations, cash flows, and financial position.

False Claims Act

False Claims Act Lawsuit. On July 28, 2009, the same counsel in the Diallo actions served us with a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division. The complaint was originally filed under seal on July 14, 2008 by four former employees of the Dunwoody campus of our American InterContinental University on behalf of themselves and the federal government. The case is captioned United States of America, ex rel. Melissa Simms Powell, et al. v. American InterContinental University, Inc., a Georgia Corporation, Career Education Corp., a Delaware Corporation and John Doe Nos. 1-100.

On July 27, 2009, the Court ordered the complaint unsealed and we were notified that the U.S. Department of Justice declined to intervene in the action. When the federal government declines to intervene in a False Claims Act action, as it has done in this case, the private plaintiffs may elect to pursue the litigation on behalf of the federal government and, if they are successful, receive a portion of the federal government’s recovery. The action alleges violations of the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729(a)(1) and (2), and promissory fraud, including allegedly providing false certifications to the federal government regarding compliance with certain provisions of the Higher Education Act and accreditation standards. On September 1, 2009, we timely filed a Motion to Dismiss all of the claims, and the scheduled briefing on the matter was completed on November 2, 2009. Discovery in the matter is stayed pending resolution of our Motion to Dismiss.

Other Litigation

In addition to the legal proceedings and other matters described above, we are also subject to a variety of other claims, suits, and investigations that arise from time to time in the ordinary conduct of our business, including, but not limited to, claims involving students or graduates and routine employment matters. While we currently believe that such claims, individually or in aggregate, will not have a material adverse impact on our financial position, cash flows, or results of operations, the litigation and other claims noted above are subject to inherent uncertainties, and management’s view of these matters may change in the future. Were an unfavorable final outcome to occur in any one or more of these matters, there exists the possibility of a material adverse impact on our business, reputation, financial position, cash flows, and the results of operations for the period in which the effect becomes probable and reasonably estimable.

15

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

Accrediting Body and Federal Regulatory Matters

AIU’s accrediting agency, the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, or HLC, commissioned an advisory team to visit AIU in January 2010. The advisory team visit was focused on AIU’s educational and business practices. Although a final report of the advisory team has not yet been issued to AIU, AIU has been advised by HLC that the advisory team did not cite AIU for any violation of any HLC accreditation criteria and that the team did not recommend any sanction or limitation on AIU’s accreditation status based on the results of its review. AIU was also advised that the advisory team has recommended a focused visit for the 2011-2012 academic year to evaluate AIU’s transition to a new undergraduate credit structure which was introduced in February 2010. Finally, AIU has been advised that the recommended focused visit will supersede the focused visit concerning credit equivalence previously scheduled for 2010.

We anticipate that the final advisory team report will be issued to AIU within the next few weeks. HLC is not required to accept the conclusions and recommendations contained in the advisory team’s final report, and could order additional monitoring or other action against AIU with respect to the matters covered by the review or any other matters relating to the accreditation of the institution.

In addition and as previously disclosed, in connection with HLC’s initial accreditation of AIU in May 2009, AIU was required to submit a progress report to HLC relating to curricula design and AIU’s graduate programs’ student learning outcomes. AIU submitted the progress report to HLC in March 2010.

As part of Title IV administration, the U.S. Department of Education (“ED”) periodically conducts program reviews at selected schools that receive Title IV funds. ED program review reports for AIU and Gibbs College – Livingston, New Jersey (school closed) and final determination letters for Briarcliffe College and Katharine Gibbs School – New York, New York (school closed) are currently pending. The program review report and/or final determination letter will, generally, cover a school’s main campus and any branch campuses. We are committed to resolving all issues identified in connection with these program reviews to the ED’s satisfaction and ensuring that our schools operate in compliance with all ED regulations. We cannot predict the outcome of these program reviews, and any unfavorable outcomes could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, cash flows and financial position.

8. INCOME TAXES

The determination of the annual effective tax is based upon a number of significant estimates and judgments, including the estimated annual pretax income in each tax jurisdiction in which we operate and the ongoing development of tax planning strategies during the year. In addition, our provision for income taxes can be impacted by changes in tax rates or laws, the finalization of tax audits and reviews, as well as other factors that cannot be predicted with certainty. As such, there can be significant volatility in interim tax provisions.

The following is a summary of our income tax provision and effective tax rate for continuing operations:

16

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

The increase in our effective tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2010 as compared to the prior year quarter was primarily due to increases in our state income tax expense due to earnings mix shifts and various state law changes, less non-profit income as a percentage of pretax income. In addition, the current year quarter results include lower levels of tax-exempt interest as a percentage of pretax income and an increase of tax reserves compared to the prior year.

We estimate that it is reasonably possible that the liability for unrecognized tax benefits for a variety of uncertain tax positions will decrease by up to $9.5 million in the next twelve months as a result of the completion of various tax audits currently in process and the expiration of the statute of limitations in several jurisdictions. The income tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2010 does not take into account the possible reduction of the liability for unrecognized tax benefits. The impact of a reduction to the liability will be treated as a discrete item in the period the reduction occurs. We recognize interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in tax expense. As of March 31, 2010, we had accrued $3.6 million as an estimate for reasonably possible interest and accrued penalties.

Our tax returns are routinely audited by federal, state and foreign tax authorities and these audits are at various stages of completion at any given time. The Internal Revenue Service completed its examination of our U.S. income tax returns through our tax year ending December 31, 2004.

9. STOCK REPURCHASE PROGRAM

During the three months ended March 31, 2010, we repurchased approximately 3.4 million shares of our common stock for approximately $89.7 million at an average price of $26.71 per share.

As of March 31, 2010, approximately $355.8 million was available under our authorized stock repurchase program to repurchase outstanding shares of our common stock. Stock repurchases under this program may be made on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions from time to time, depending on various factors, including market conditions and corporate and regulatory requirements. The stock repurchase program does not have an expiration date and may be suspended or discontinued at any time. The repurchase of shares of our common stock reduces the amount of cash available to pay cash dividends to our stockholders. We have never paid cash dividends on our common stock.

On February 23, 2010, the Company entered into a stock repurchase plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), in connection with its previously authorized stock repurchase program. A Rule 10b5-1 plan allows a company to repurchase its shares at times when it otherwise might be unable to do so under the 1934 Act’s insider trading rules.

The Company’s 10b5-1 repurchase plan (the “10b5-1 Repurchase Plan”) will facilitate purchases of the Company’s common shares under its authorized stock repurchase program. The Company’s designated broker will have authority under the 10b5-1 Repurchase Plan to repurchase up to an additional $80.0 million of the Company’s common stock. Purchases under the 10b5-1 Repurchase Plan commenced on March 24, 2010. Purchases of common stock under the 10b5-1 Repurchase Plan are subject to specified parameters and certain price and volume restraints as established in the Plan. Through March 31, 2010, approximately $14.7 million of the $80.0 million authorized was used to repurchase stock under the Company’s 10b5-1 stock repurchase program. Through the Company’s 10b5-1 repurchase program announced by the Company on February 23, 2010, an additional $50.0 million, or 1.5 million shares, of our common stock was repurchased through April 30, 2010.

17

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

10. SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION

Overview of Share-Based Compensation Plans

On May 13, 2008, the stockholders of CEC approved the Career Education Corporation 2008 Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2008 Plan”). The 2008 Plan authorizes awards of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, deferred stock, performance units, annual incentive awards, and substitute awards. Any shares of CEC common stock that are subject to awards of stock options or stock appreciation rights payable in shares will be counted as 1.0 share for each share granted for purposes of the aggregate share limit and any shares of CEC common stock that are subject to any other form of award will be counted as 1.67 shares for each share granted for purposes of the aggregate share limit. The 2008 Plan replaced our 1998 Employee Incentive Compensation Plan, as amended (the “1998 Employee Plan”) and our 1998 Non-Employee Directors’ Stock Option Plan (the “Directors’ Plan”). As of March 31, 2010 there were approximately 5.8 million shares of common stock available for future share-based awards under the 2008 Plan.

As of March 31, 2010, we estimate that pretax compensation expense of $43.4 million will be recognized over the next five years for all unvested share-based awards that have been granted to participants, including both stock options and shares of restricted stock. We expect to satisfy the exercise of stock options and future distribution of shares of restricted stock by issuing new shares of common stock or by using treasury shares.

Stock Options. The exercise price of stock options granted under each of the plans is equal to the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant. Employee stock options generally become exercisable 25% per year over a four-year service period beginning on the date of grant and expire ten years after the date of grant, unless an earlier expiration date is set at the time of the grant. Non-employee directors’ stock options expire ten years after the date of grant and generally become exercisable as follows: one-third on the grant date, one-third on the first anniversary of the grant date, and one-third on the second anniversary of the grant date. Both employee stock options and non-employee director stock options are subject to possible earlier vesting and termination in certain circumstances. If a plan participant terminates his or her employment for any reason other than by death or disability during the vesting period, he or she forfeits the right to unvested stock option awards. Since the inception of the plans, grants of stock options have only been subject to the service conditions discussed previously. No stock option grants have included performance or market conditions or other factors that affect stock option vesting.

18

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

Stock option activity during the three months ended March 31, 2010, under all of our stock option plans was as follows:

Restricted Stock. Shares of restricted stock generally become vested either three years after the date of grant or 25% per year over a four-year service period beginning on the date of grant. If a plan participant terminates his or her employment for any reason other than by death or disability during the vesting period, he or she forfeits the right to the unvested shares of restricted stock. The vesting of shares of restricted stock is subject to possible acceleration in certain circumstances. Certain of the shares of restricted stock that we have granted to plan participants are subject to performance conditions that, even if the requisite service period is met, may reduce the number of shares of restricted stock that vest at the end of the requisite service period or result in all shares being forfeited. These awards are referred to as “performance-based restricted stock.”

The following table summarizes information with respect to all outstanding shares of restricted stock under our plans during the three months ended March 31, 2010:

Change in Control Provisions

Each of the share-based awards granted under the 2008 Plan, the 1998 Employee Plan and the Directors’ Plan, including stock options and shares of restricted stock, are subject to “change in control” provisions that accelerate vesting of outstanding equity awards under the plans under certain circumstances. As defined by these plans, a change in control generally is deemed to have occurred if, among other things, any corporation, person, or other entity (other than CEC, a majority-owned subsidiary of CEC or any of CEC’s subsidiaries, or an employee benefit plan sponsored or maintained by CEC), including a “group” as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act, becomes the beneficial owner of our common stock representing more than 20% under our 1998 Employee Plan and Directors’ Plan, or 35% under our 2008 Plan, of the combined voting power of our then outstanding common stock. Under the 1998 Plans, accelerated vesting of outstanding awards occurs upon a change in control; under the 2008 Plan, which is a ‘double-trigger’ plan, accelerated vesting occurs only when an award holder is terminated involuntarily not for cause within two years after a change in control of the Company.

19

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

On February 20, 2009, the Company entered into Option Extension and Amendment Agreements with its non-employee directors regarding outstanding option grants held by the Company’s non-employee directors under the Directors’ Plan and the 1998 Employee Plan, as applicable. These agreements amend such outstanding option grants to (i) increase the stock ownership threshold upon which a change in control is deemed to occur from twenty percent (20%) to thirty-five percent (35%) and (ii) amend all such outstanding option grants to extend the post-termination exercise period of such options to the earlier of (a) three (3) years following termination of service as a director of the Company, and (b) the original expiration date of the option, except in the case of termination of service as a director of the Company at a time when “Cause”, as defined in the 2008 Plan, exists. As a result of these agreements, all outstanding awards under the Directors’ Plan are subject to the thirty-five percent (35%) stock ownership threshold at which a change in control is deemed to occur, rather than the twenty percent (20%) threshold specified in the Directors’ Plan.

On February 20, 2009, the Company entered into Option and Restricted Stock Amendment Agreements with the Company’s Section 16 reporting officers (each, an “Officer”) amending all outstanding Company options and restricted stock held by such Officers under the 1998 Employee Plan. These agreements amend such outstanding options and restricted stock awards to (i) increase the stock ownership threshold upon which a change in control is deemed to occur from twenty percent (20%) to thirty-five percent (35%) and (ii) provide that, upon any Officer’s Termination of Employment by the Company without Cause, as such terms are defined in the 1998 Employee Plan, the options held by such Officer under the 1998 Employee Plan shall become fully exercisable and the shares of restricted stock held by such Officer under the 1998 Employee Plan shall become fully vested.

The amendments approved on February 20, 2009 represent modifications to the original equity awards and resulted in additional compensation expense of approximately $0.5 million being recorded by the Company in 2009.

If any person or entity, including a group, beneficially owned 20% or more, of the combined voting power of our then outstanding common stock as of March 31, 2010, triggering the accelerated vesting provisions of our 1998 Employee Plan discussed above, we would have recognized accelerated share-based compensation expense of approximately $2.7 million during the first quarter of 2010.

As of March 31, 2010, we are not aware of any person or entity, including a group, who beneficially owns 20% or more of the combined voting power of our outstanding common stock. As of March 31, 2010, no individual shareholder owned more than 19.3% of the combined voting power of our then outstanding common stock.

11. WEIGHTED AVERAGE COMMON SHARES

The weighted average numbers of common shares used to compute basic and diluted net income per share for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009 were as follows:

20

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

During the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009, we issued less than 0.1 million shares, each year respectively, of our common stock upon the exercise of employee stock options and the purchase of common stock pursuant to our employee stock purchase plan.

Included in stock options outstanding as of March 31, 2010 and 2009, are stock options to purchase 2.3 million shares, each year respectively, of our common stock that were not included in the computation of diluted net income per share because the stock options’ exercise prices were greater than the annual average market price of our common stock and, therefore, the effect of the inclusion of such stock options would have been anti-dilutive. These stock options may become dilutive in future periods.

12. SEGMENT REPORTING

During the first quarter of 2010, we realigned our resources more effectively by integrating our schools which previously comprised our Art & Design SBU alongside AIU and CTU within the University SBU. Harrington College of Design, Collins College and Brooks Institute joined the IADT schools in the alignment of the Art & Design group into the University SBU. The realignment also shifted Brown College and Briarcliffe College into the Health Education SBU.

As a result of the realignment, the Company now has five reportable segments consisting of University, Culinary Arts, Health Education, International and Transitional schools.

University includes our AIU, CTU, IADT, Harrington College of Design, Collins College and Brooks Institute schools. These schools collectively offer regionally and nationally accredited academic programs in the career-oriented disciplines of business studies, visual communications and design technologies, film and video production, photography, health education, information technology, criminal justice, and education in an online, classroom or laboratory setting.

Culinary Arts includes our LCB schools that collectively offer culinary arts programs in the career-oriented disciplines of culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, and hotel and restaurant management primarily in a classroom, kitchen or online setting.

Health Education includes our Sanford-Brown schools, along with Brown College, Briarcliffe College, Missouri College and our Gibbs Colleges—Farmington, CT and Boston, MA. These schools collectively offer academic programs in the career-oriented disciplines of health education, complemented by certain programs in business studies and information technology in a classroom, laboratory or online setting.

International includes our INSEEC schools, including IUM, and Istituto Marangoni schools located in France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Monaco, which collectively offer academic programs in the career-oriented disciplines of business studies, health education, fashion and design and visual communications and technologies in a classroom or laboratory setting.

Transitional Schools includes those schools that are currently being taught out. As of March 31, 2010, AIU – Los Angeles, CA is the only school included in Transitional Schools. We anticipate AIU-Los Angeles will complete its teach out by the fourth quarter 2010, and the results of its operations for all periods presented will be reflected within Discontinued Operations.

Segment performance is evaluated by the Company and its chief operating decision maker based on operating income. Adjustments to reconcile segment results to unaudited consolidated results are included under the caption “Corporate and other,” which primarily includes unallocated corporate activity and eliminations.

21

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

Summary financial information by reportable segment is as follows:

13. OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

The following table presents the components of other comprehensive income (loss) for the periods presented:

22

Table of Contents

CAREER EDUCATION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued)

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

14. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

On April 15, 2010, the Company acquired IUM for total consideration of approximately $12.2 million, which includes $7.9 million of purchase price and $4.3 million related to the assumption of outstanding shareholder loans. Subsequent adjustments may be made upon the finalization of purchase price and related purchase accounting adjustments. IUM is a leading international business university located in Monte Carlo, offering bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in such areas as finance, international business and luxury goods and services, and its current enrollment includes nearly 400 students representing 62 countries. IUM has joined the INSEEC group and will position INSEEC for continued growth as a leader in postsecondary education in Europe.

23

Table of Contents

The discussion below contains “forward-looking statements,” as defined in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that reflect our current expectations regarding our future growth, results of operations, cash flows, performance and business prospects, and opportunities, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, our management. We have tried to identify forward-looking statements by using words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “plan,” “expect,” “intend,” “will,” and similar expressions, but these words are not the exclusive means of identifying these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on information currently available to us and are subject to various risks, uncertainties, and other factors, including, but not limited to, those discussed in Part II, Item 1A “Risk Factors” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, that could cause our actual growth, results of operations, cash flows, performance, business prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these statements. Except as expressly required by federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to update such factors or to publicly announce the results of any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future events, developments, or changed circumstances, or for any other reason.

Overview

The colleges, schools and universities that are part of the Career Education Corporation (“CEC”) family offer high-quality education to a diverse student population of over 116,000 students across the world in a variety of career-oriented disciplines. The approximately 90 campuses that serve these students are located throughout the U.S. and in France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Monaco, and offer doctoral, master’s, bachelor’s and associate degrees and diploma and certificate programs. Approximately 40% of our students attend the web-based virtual campuses of American InterContinental University, Colorado Technical University, International Academy of Design & Technology and Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts.

CEC is an industry leader whose brands are recognized globally. Those brands include, among others, American InterContinental University (“AIU”); Brooks Institute; Colorado Technical University (“CTU”); Harrington College of Design; INSEEC Group (“INSEEC”) Schools, including the International University of Monaco (“IUM”); International Academy of Design & Technology (“IADT”); Istituto Marangoni; Le Cordon Bleu North America (“LCB”); and Sanford-Brown Institutes and Colleges. Through our schools, CEC is committed to providing quality education, enabling students to graduate and pursue rewarding careers.

On January 15, 2010, we realigned our resources to more effectively execute our new strategic growth plan. We began the integration of our schools which previously comprised the Art & Design Strategic Business Unit (“SBU”) alongside AIU and CTU, within the University SBU. This realignment will facilitate synergies between the programs in Art & Design and University, especially in the areas of fashion design, merchandising and interior design and technology. It will also enable the sharing of student-focused online platforms and expertise and aid IADT as it pursues its longer-term strategy of regional accreditation. Harrington College of Design, Collins College and Brooks Institute joined the IADT schools in the alignment of the Art & Design group into the University SBU. The realignment also shifted Brown College and Briarcliffe College into the Health Education SBU. We expect Briarcliffe’s regional accreditation to be beneficial in providing greater opportunity for Sanford-Brown students to enroll in higher degree programs. This realignment resulted in new reportable segments, and prior period results have been revised to reflect these new reportable segments. See Note 12 “Segment Reporting” of the notes to our unaudited consolidated financial statements for further discussion.

In addition to the realignment, we completed a detailed review of our shared service costs to determine which of these costs should be charged to the SBUs as well as how these shared service costs should be allocated. These services include legal, finance, human resources, marketing, certain academic functions and certain centralized activities related to student finance, including financial aid processing, student account posting and collections. These costs, recorded within Corporate and other, were previously allocated to our SBUs based upon

24

Table of Contents

a percentage of revenue. Improved data and analytical capabilities have provided us insight into costs being incurred to support the SBUs versus costs being incurred to support the corporation as a whole. The new methodology allocates costs based on usage and consumption factors such as student population, employee headcount, advertising spend, number of financial aid recipients and revenue where appropriate. In the case of certain services which are shared evenly across the SBUs, we will allocate evenly. The new methodology is intended to provide improved transparency into the costs of the shared services. The effect of these changes impact the costs reported within each SBU and reduce the level of unallocated shared service costs. Results beginning in 2010 are presented under the new methodology and prior period results have been revised to be comparable to the current reporting.

Our reportable segments are:

University includes our AIU, CTU, IADT, Harrington College of Design, Collins College and Brooks Institute schools. These schools collectively offer regionally and nationally accredited academic programs in the career-oriented disciplines of business studies, visual communications and design technologies, film and video production, photography, health education, information technology, criminal justice, and education in an online, classroom or laboratory setting.

Culinary Arts includes our LCB schools that collectively offer culinary arts programs in the career-oriented disciplines of culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, and hotel and restaurant management primarily in a classroom, kitchen or online setting.

Health Education includes our Sanford-Brown schools, along with Brown College, Briarcliffe College, Missouri College and our Gibbs Colleges—Farmington, CT and Boston, MA. These schools collectively offer academic programs in the career-oriented disciplines of health education, complemented by certain programs in business studies and information technology in a classroom, laboratory or online setting.

International includes our INSEEC schools, including IUM, and Istituto Marangoni schools located in France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Monaco, which collectively offer academic programs in the career-oriented disciplines of business studies, health education, fashion and design and visual communications and technologies in a classroom or laboratory setting.

Transitional Schools includes those schools that are currently being taught out. As of March 31, 2010, AIU – Los Angeles, CA is the only school included in Transitional Schools. We anticipate AIU-Los Angeles will complete its teach out by the fourth quarter 2010, and the results of its operations for all periods presented will be reflected within Discontinued Operations.

See Note 12 “Segment Reporting” of the notes to our unaudited consolidated financial statements for further discussion.

2010 First Quarter Overview

2009 was a watershed year for us, as our focus transitioned from building a stronger foundation to accelerating the Company’s growth. The achievement of our previously set financial milestones provided us the opportunity to set new milestones for 2010 and beyond, and we are well positioned to continue to fulfill our purpose of changing lives through education. Our strategic initiatives for 2010 and beyond include:

25

Table of Contents

We will continue to improve our execution of operational initiatives by building scale through increased centralization and utilization of Company operations and shared services; continuing to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our marketing and admissions efforts; accelerating the development of new and timely programs; and continuing to grow and develop our people through increased commitment to leadership training and company-wide sharing of resources and best practices.

During the first quarter of 2010, our results demonstrated our commitment to accelerating growth and the expansion of our educational offerings. Revenue grew over 22%, and operating income grew more than 71%, increasing our operating margin to approximately 17% for the quarter. New student starts grew 32%, and student population increased 23% as compared to the prior year quarter. We are providing career-focused education to a record 116,630 students, and we expect to continue the growth momentum throughout the year.

Throughout the quarter, we continued to experience significant growth in Health Education, which reported a 37% increase in new student starts as compared to the prior year quarter. In 2009, we opened eight start-up locations, seven of which are within Health Education, allowing us to expand the strong operating model and market opportunity of our Sanford-Brown Institutes and Colleges. In addition, we opened four new campuses within Health Education in 2010; SBC Hillside – Hillside, IL and SBI Cranston – Cranston, RI opened in the first quarter of 2010, and SBC Tinley Park – Tinley Park, IL and SBC Indianapolis – Indianapolis, IN opened in April 2010. We expect to open two to four new Health Education schools during the balance of the current year. These locations provide us with the opportunity to expand our presence in key locations in the U.S.

Our University segment grew student population by 21% in the first quarter, driven by strong new student demand in CTU and AIU, and positive impacts from calendar alignment initiatives within our IADT institutions. As a result, revenue increased more than 21%, and operating margins increased to approximately 24% from approximately 18%, as compared to the prior year quarter. We experienced lower new student starts in the prior year quarter as the effectiveness of our admissions model that was initiated in 2008 had not reached the level we anticipated in the first quarter of 2009. Our marketing and admissions teams collectively identified opportunities to increase the effectiveness of the admissions and marketing processes, and we began to see the positive results in the second half of 2009 and continuing in the current year quarter.

AIU’s accrediting agency, the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, or HLC, commissioned an advisory team to visit AIU in January 2010. The advisory team visit was focused on AIU’s educational and business practices. Although a final report of the advisory team has not yet been issued to AIU, AIU has been advised by HLC that the advisory team did not cite AIU for any violation of any HLC accreditation criteria and that the team did not recommend any sanction or limitation on AIU’s accreditation status based on the results of its review. AIU was also advised that the advisory team has recommended a focused visit for the 2011-2012 academic year to evaluate AIU’s transition to a new undergraduate credit structure which was introduced in February 2010. Finally, AIU has been advised that the recommended focused visit will supersede the focused visit concerning credit equivalence previously scheduled for 2010.

We anticipate that the final advisory team report will be issued to AIU within the next few weeks. HLC is not required to accept the conclusions and recommendations contained in the advisory team’s final report, and could order additional monitoring or other action against AIU with respect to the matters covered by the review or any other matters relating to the accreditation of the institution.

In addition and as previously disclosed, in connection with HLC’s initial accreditation of AIU in May 2009, AIU was required to submit a progress report to HLC relating to curricula design and AIU’s graduate programs’ student learning outcomes. AIU submitted the progress report to HLC in March 2010.

Finally, as previously disclosed, the ED conducted a program review of AIU in November 2009. AIU is currently awaiting the issuance of the program review report.

26

Table of Contents

Our international institutions continued to grow at both INSEEC and Istituto Marangoni. Revenue increased more than 22% as compared to the prior year quarter, with both institutions experiencing solid growth. Excluding the $2.5 million favorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates, revenue grew over 15% as compared to the prior year quarter. This revenue growth is attributable to strong student population growth, as well as strong student retention at INSEEC.

On April 15, 2010, the Company acquired the IUM for total consideration of approximately $12.2 million, which includes $7.9 million of purchase price and $4.3 million related to the assumption of outstanding shareholder loans. Subsequent adjustments may be made upon the finalization of purchase price and related purchase accounting adjustments. IUM is a leading international business university located in Monte Carlo, offering bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs in such areas as finance, international business and luxury goods and services, and its current enrollment includes nearly 400 students representing 62 countries. IUM has joined the INSEEC group and will position INSEEC for continued growth as a leader in postsecondary education in Europe.

Within Culinary Arts, new student start growth of 36% resulted in a 34% increase in student population as compared to the prior year quarter. As a result, Culinary Arts’ revenue grew more than 23% over the prior year quarter. Although we grew our academics support and staffing to sustain the increase in student population, we were able to leverage our existing cost structure to effectively minimize the impact of operating expenses on our margin. Additionally, we believe the introduction of the 21-month Culinary Arts program that began its rollout in January 2009 and is expected to be completed in mid-2010, along with our implementation of student support activities at each Culinary Arts campus, continues to help attract new students lost as a result of the severe contraction of the student loan market which occurred in the second quarter of 2008. By assisting our students throughout their entire course of study, including providing the opportunity for an additional year of Title IV funding with the decelerated 21-month program, we have improved the overall student experience and growth prospects of our culinary institutions.

Our acquisition of the outright rights to the LCB brand in North America in 2009 has allowed us to rebrand our existing Culinary Arts campuses with the LCB name resulting in efficiencies in our marketing campaigns, as we align our messages around this strong brand. Additionally, it solidifies a core asset essential to the future growth of our Culinary Arts segment.

The results of operations for those campuses previously taught out or sold are reflected as a component of discontinued operations. Currently, we estimate 2010 charges totaling approximately $7.0 million related to real estate actions resulting from the closure of our Transitional School, AIU – Los Angeles, CA. The AIU – Los Angeles, CA campus is the one remaining Transitional school, and it is scheduled to cease operations by the end of the fourth quarter 2010. See Note 4 “Discontinued Operations” of the notes to our unaudited consolidated financial statements for further discussion of our accounting for discontinued operations.

Effective January 19, 2010, we entered into a real estate lease for our new corporate center and administrative facilities for both our AIU Online and CTU Online campuses in Schaumburg, Illinois. We will be consolidating our corporate center facilities which will reduce the number of our corporate center buildings and related square footage and allow us to maximize efficiencies and reduce overhead expenses. The lease for the new location results in a $48.1 million real estate obligation through 2022. In addition, we intend to make capital improvements to our new corporate center totaling approximately $52.0 million over the next two years, with the majority of the investment expected in 2010. As a result of the real estate consolidation, our first quarter 2010 results include $3.7 million of pretax lease termination costs related to our existing space.

27

Table of Contents

CONSOLIDATED RESULTS

The summary of selected financial data table below should be referenced in connection with a review of the following discussion of our results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2010 and 2009.