#1apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. American Public Education, Inc. Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Results March 2, 2022 PRESENTED BY Angela Selden President and CEO Richard Sunderland, CPA Executive VP and CFO#2Safe Harbor Statement Please note that statements made in this presentation regarding American Public Education and its subsidiaries (the "Company") that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements based on current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections about the Company and the industry. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Forward-looking statements may be able to be identified by words such as anticipate, believe, seek, could, estimate, expect, intend, may, plan, should, will, would, and similar words or their opposites. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the impact of recent disruption to the Army's tuition assistance programs, expected growth, registrations and enrollments, revenues, net income, earnings per share and EBITDA, expected benefits of the acquisition of Rasmussen University, the closing of the acquisition and its timing, expected financial results for Rasmussen, future impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ability to transform the student experience and deliver a return on learners' educational investment, the impact of organizational changes, the ability to maintain an attractive risk profile, plans with respect to recent, current and future initiatives, and future demand for online and nursing education. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including risks related to the effects of and the Company's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including impacts on the demand environment as the pandemic abates, changes to and expectations regarding enrollment, registrations and the composition of the student body of the Company's institutions, the Company's dependence on the effectiveness of its ability to attract students who persist in its institutions' programs, actions taken by the Department of Defense or branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, including ongoing impacts related to the disruption and suspension of Department of Defense tuition assistance, the Company's inability to maintain strong relationships with the military and maintain course registrations and enrollments from military students; the Company's failure to comply with regulatory and accrediting agency requirements and to maintain institutional accreditation; the Company's loss of eligibility to participate in Title IV programs or ability to process Title IV financial aid; the Company's need to successfully adjust to future market demands by updating existing programs and developing new programs, entering into and integrating acquisitions, including the integration of Rasmussen University and Graduate School USA, and the risk factors described in the risk factor section and elsewhere in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and in the Company's other SEC filings. You should not place any undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason, unless 2 required by law, even if new information becomes available or other events occur in the future.#3Table of Contents 1. APEI and Education Unit Enrollment Updates 2. 4Q and Full Year 2021 Financial Results & 1Q 2022 Outlook apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. 1800 C#4Market Leading Positions with Service-Minded Students #1 Educator of Active-Duty Military and Veterans Leading provider of Federal workforce training ༤༤ Graduate School USA Workforce Training / Certificates American Public AMU University System APU Associate/ Bachelor of Science or Arts Health Sciences 888 RASMUSSEN UNIVERSITY Advanced Nursing HEROICTM: Higher Education Return on Investment for Customers HEROICTM Affordable High-Quality Outcomes-Focused 1 APEI is the largest educator of ADN and PN pre-licensure nurses in the United States Only Educator with a Full Ladder of Nursing Curriculum apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. h COLLEGE OF NURSING HONDROS Registered Nurses #1 Educator in Creating New Nurses¹ 4#5APEI: Building a National Nursing Platform to Address Chronic Issue Chronic Nursing Shortfall BLS annual job projections: ☐ RNs: 9% increase from 2020 to 2030; 195k annual openings □ PNs: 9% increase from 2020 to 2030; 61k annual openings More than 40% of nursing population is age 55+ Healthcare systems experiencing depressed margins on elevated temporary and overtime labor costs APEI's curriculum gets new LPNs to work in as little as 15 months and new RNs to work in as little as 2.5 years. Significant barriers to entry exist due to regulatory, state board, and accreditation requirements; clinical partnership needs; and physical campus locations needed in pre-licensure space Hondros Rasmussen APEI's Nursing Platform Current Campuses Future Campuses apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. 30 campuses $204MM in revenue¹ 1.Pro forma trailing twelve months 12/31/21 APEI's Full Nursing Curriculum Ladder Post-Licensure Online Pre-Licensure Campus, online Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Family Nurse Practitioner (Masters) 2022 Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) RN to MSN RN to BSN Accelerated (ABSN) and Traditional (BSN) Bachelor of Science in Nursing Associate Degree Nurse (RN) Direct Entry Associate Degree Nurse (RN) Practical Nursing Diploma (LPN) RU APUS HCN ✓ Laddered program that encompasses nursing education lifecycle ✓ RN program has significant enrollment due to market demand ✓ Attractive multiple entry points for diverse populations ✓ 15 additional programs in Allied Health and Healthcare Administration UT 5#6APEI Nursing Enrollment Update 4Q 2021 +8% 8,700 8,000 6,700 Rasmussen Nursing Enrollment + 10% 11,210 10,140 8,300 +17% 1,600 2,140 2,510 HCN apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. 1Q 2022 1Q22 Total nursing student enrollment growth of 4% versus prior year comparable period, comping to tough growth periods • Enrollment caps raised again at HCN Indianapolis campus Enrollment 1Q20 1Q21 1Q22 Total Nursing Ras Nursing HCN Nursing 6,700 8,200 8,400 " 1,570 2,270 2,460 Total Nursing 8,270 10,470 10,860 % Change 21/20 22/21 2 Yr CAGR Ras Nursing 22% 2% 12% HCN Nursing 45% 8% 25% Total Nursing 27% 4% 15% 4Q 2019 4Q 2020 4Q 2021 • 4Q21 nursing enrollment reached record number 10% growth in nursing in total, record enrollment levels at both Rasmussen and HCN 50+% of Rasmussen Total Enrollments are in Nursing Education 100% of Hondros Enrollments are in Nursing Education 6#7apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. APUS and Rasmussen Non-Nursing Enrollment Update APUS APUS Net Course Registrations -2% 353.1K 345.3K Rasmussen Non-Nursing Rasmussen Non-Nursing Enrollment - 13% 2020 2021 ArmylgniteED Portal Issue +10% -8% -8% -2% 84.8K 92.9K 89.6K 82.6K 90.3K 83.1K 88.4K 86.6K 1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q YTD 2 Yr CAGR +4% 9,700 4Q 2020 2 Yr CAGR 8,400 -8% ■4Q 2021 Significant rebound in Army registrations at APUS 4Q21 APUS military registrations strong, offsetting broader education sector enrollment headwinds 1Q22 APUS registrations of approximately 0-3% growth versus prior year period or between 92.9K and 95.7K enrollments Strong military registrations, partly offset by non-military and veteran broader market decline Rasmussen continues to direct marketing resources toward nursing vs non-nursing enrollments 4Q21 Rasmussen non-nursing enrollment was impacted by the broader economic environment leading to enrollment performance in-line with the broader peer group 1Q22 Rasmussen non-nursing enrollments of 7,800 Down roughly 14% from 1Q21 7#8Table of Contents 1. APEI and Education Unit Enrollment Updates 2. 4Q and Full Year 2021 Financial Results & 1Q 2022 Outlook apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC.#9Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2021 Financial Highlights Financial Summary Three Months Ended apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. Capitalization and Liquidity December 31, Year Ended December 31, Dec. 31, 2020 Dec. 31, 2021 ($ in 000s) 2021 2020 % Change 2021 2020 % Change Term Loan $172,813 ($ in millions) Revolver, drawn APUS Revenue (1) 73.4 75.6 -3% 283.7 285.9 -1% Total Debt $172,813 Rasmussen Revenue 68.4 N/A 89.5 N/A Unrestricted Cash 226,486 122,627 HCN Revenue 12.3 10.4 18% 45.8 36.1 27% Net Debt $50,186 Corporate, other, and Eliminations (1) (0.0) (0.1) NM (0.2) (0.2) NM Total revenue 154.0 85.9 79% 418.8 321.8 30% Net income (loss) Adjusted EBITDA (2) EPS (diluted) 9.4 7.1 33% 17.8 18.8 -6% 29.3 15.8 86% 64.7 50.6 28% 0.50 0.47 6% 0.97 1.25 -22% (1) During the third quarter of 2021, we revised our reportable segments and updated the results for the prior period to conform to the current period presentation. (2) EBITDA plus stock comp, loss on disposal of long-lived assets, and M&A-related professional and integration fees. Please refer to appendix for GAAP to Non-GAAP reconciliation. Solid liquidity position: $123 million of unrestricted cash • $20 million undrawn revolver 9#10APEI's 1Q 2022 Outlook These statements are based on current expectations. These statements are forward-looking and actual results may differ materially. apei First Quarter 2022 Guidance (Approximate) (% Yr/Yr Change) APUS Net course registrations¹ 92,900 to 95,700 0% to 3% 2 HCN Student enrollment 2,500 8% 2 RU Student enrollment 16,200 -7% 8,400 2% - 7,800 -14% - Nursing Non-Nursing ($ in millions except EPS) APEI Consolidated revenue APEI Consolidated net income APEI Adjusted EBITDA³ APEI Diluted EPS 3 $155 to $159 $2.3 to $3.3 $17.7 to $19.8 $0.12 to $0.17 (1) APUS Net course registrations represent the approximate aggregate number of courses for which students remain enrolled after the date by which they may drop a course without financial penalty. (2) HCN and Rasmussen student enrollment represents the total number of students enrolled in a course after the date by which students may drop a course without financial penalty. (3) Please refer to appendix for GAAP to Non-GAAP reconciliation 75% to 80% -72% to -59% 10% to 23% -76% to -65% AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. 10#11INFORMATIONS 15.261 YOUR ACCOUNT NAME CITY ABOUT US 25% OPTIONS 1 50% OPTIONS 2 13.959 12.482 10.636 DATA1 25% DATA2 OPTIONS 3 DATA3 +25773 +24746 Thank You 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. +27372 1QT 20T 3QT 500 700% 000#12Appendix: Enrollment and Registration Summary APUS Registrations Total Rasmussen Enrollment 4Q 2021 4Q 2020 % Change 86,600 88,400 -2% 17,100 17,700 -3% Rasmussen Nursing Enrollment 8,700 8,000 8% Rasmussen Non-Nursing Enrollment 8,400 9,700 -13% HCN Enrollment 2,510 2,140 17% apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. 12#13Appendix: Disclosures AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. apei American Public Education is presenting adjusted EBITDA in connection with its GAAP results and urges investors to review the reconciliation of adjusted net income to the comparable GAAP financial measures that is included in the table below (under the caption "GAAP Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA") and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate its business. GAAP Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA: The following table sets forth the reconciliation of the Company's reported GAAP net income to the calculation of adjusted EBITDA for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020: Three Months Ended December 31, Twelve Months Ended December 31, (in thousands, except per share data) 2021 2020 2021 2020 Net income 9,381 $ 7,071 17,752 18,822 Income tax expense 4,002 2,729 7,511 7,020 Interest expense (income) 3,110 (90) 4,277 (1,092) Equity investment loss 4 5 831 7 Depreciation and amortization EBITDA 8,271 3,029 17,832 12,984 24,768 12,744 48,203 37,741 Stock Compensation 1,685 1,810 7,654 7,075 M&A - related professional fees Loss on disposals of long-lived assets Adjusted EBITDA 1,100 109 1,282 851 1,791 1,153 7,574 4,956 $ 29,344 $ 15,816 64,713 50,623 13#14Appendix: Disclosures (continued) apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. American Public Education is presenting adjusted EBITDA in connection with its GAAP outlook and urges investors to review the reconciliation of adjusted net income to the comparable GAAP financial measures that is included in the table below (under the caption "GAAP Outlook Net Income to Outlook Adjusted EBITDA") and not to rely on any single financial measure to evaluate its business. GAAP Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA: The following table sets forth the reconciliation of the Company's reported GAAP net income to the calculation of adjusted EBITDA for the three months ending March 31, 2022: (in thousands, except per share data) Net income Income tax expense Interest expense (income) Equity investment loss (income) Depreciation and amortization EBITDA Stock Compensation M&A and integration - related professional fees Adjusted EBITDA Three Months Ending March 31, 2022 Low High EA $ 2,260 $ 3,310 970 1,420 3,370 3,370 7,940 7,940 14,540 16,040 2,450 2,450 700 1,300 $ 17,690 $ 19,790 14