Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Aspen Group, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Significant estimates in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the allowance for doubtful accounts and other receivables, the valuation of collateral on certain receivables, amortization periods and valuation of software and courseware, valuation of stock-based compensation, the valuation of net assets and liabilities from discontinued operations and the valuation allowance on deferred tax assets.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash represents amounts pledged as security for letters of credit for transactions involving Title IV programs. The Company considers $265,131 (includes accrued interest of $466) as restricted cash (shown as a current asset as of March 31, 2013) until such letter of credit expires on December 31, 2013. As of March 31, 2013, the account bears interest of 0.20%.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. The Company classifies assets and liabilities recorded at fair value under the fair value hierarchy based upon the observability of inputs used in valuation techniques. Observable inputs (highest level) reflect market data obtained from independent sources, while unobservable inputs (lowest level) reflect internally developed market assumptions. The fair value measurements are classified under the following hierarchy:

The estimated fair value of certain financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses are carried at historical cost basis, which approximates their fair values because of the short-term nature of these instruments.

Revenue Recognition and Deferred Revenue

Revenues consist primarily of tuition and fees derived from courses taught by the Company online as well as from related educational resources that the Company provides to its students, such as access to our online materials and learning management system. Tuition revenue is recognized pro-rata over the applicable period of instruction. The Company maintains an institutional tuition refund policy, which provides for all or a portion of tuition to be refunded if a student withdraws during stated refund periods. Certain states in which students reside impose separate, mandatory refund policies, which override the Company’s policy to the extent in conflict. If a student withdraws at a time when a portion or none of the tuition is refundable, then in accordance with its revenue recognition policy, the Company recognizes as revenue the tuition that was not refunded. Since the Company recognizes revenue pro-rata over the term of the course and because, under its institutional refund policy, the amount subject to refund is never greater than the amount of the revenue that has been deferred, under the Company’s accounting policies revenue is not recognized with respect to amounts that could potentially be refunded. The Company’s educational programs have starting and ending dates that differ from its fiscal quarters. Therefore, at the end of each fiscal quarter, a portion of revenue from these programs is not yet earned and is therefore deferred. The Company also charges students annual fees for library, technology and other services, which are recognized over the related service period. Deferred revenue represents the amount of tuition, fees, and other student payments received in excess of the portion recognized as revenue and it is included in current liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Other revenues may be recognized as sales occur or services are performed. 

Revenue Recognition and Deferred Revenue - Discontinued Operations

The Company enters into certain revenue sharing arrangements with consultants whereby the consultants will develop course content primarily for technology-related courses, recommend, but not select, faculty, lease equipment on behalf of the Company for instructional purposes for the on-site laboratory portion of distance learning courses and make introductions to corporate and government sponsoring organizations that provide students for the courses. The Company has evaluated ASC 605-45 "Principal Agent Considerations" and determined that there are more indicators than not that the Company is the primary obligor in the arrangements since the Company establishes the tuition, interfaces with the student or sponsoring organization, selects the faculty, is responsible for delivering the course, is responsible for issuing any degrees or certificates, and is responsible for collecting the tuition and fees. The gross tuition and fees are included in revenues while the revenue sharing payments are included in instructional costs and services, an operating expense. As a result of presenting this component as discontinued operations, the revenues are now included in income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes for all periods presented (See Note 1).

Reclassifications

Certain amounts in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2012 have been reclassified in order to conform to the March 31, 2013 presentation.

On the consolidated statements of operations, bad debt expense has been reclassified from instructional costs and services to general and administrative costs. The following table shows the reclassifications to the unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

Net Loss Per Share

Net loss per common share is based on the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during each year. Options to purchase 7,353,667 and 2,070,000 common shares, warrants to purchase 8,063,665 and 493,500 common shares, and $800,000 and $650,000 of convertible debt (convertible into 1,357,143 and 951,126 common shares) were outstanding during the three months ended March 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively, but were not included in the computation of diluted loss per share because the effects would have been anti-dilutive. The options, warrants and convertible debt are considered to be common stock equivalents and are only included in the calculation of diluted earnings per common share when their effect is dilutive.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In July 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2012-02, which amends ASC Topic 350 to allow an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of an indefinite-lived intangible asset is less than its carrying value. An entity would not be required to determine the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible unless the entity determines, based on the qualitative assessment, that it is more likely than not that its fair value is less than the carrying value. ASU 2012-02 is effective for annual and interim impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012 and early adoption is permitted. The Company has adopted this standard as of January 1, 2013.

We have implemented all new accounting standards that are in effect and that may impact our consolidated financial statements and do not believe that there are any other new accounting pronouncements that have been issued that might have a material impact on our consolidated financial position or results of operations.