#1apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. American Public Education, Inc. William Blair 42nd Annual Growth Stock Conference Investor Presentation June 7, 2022 PRESENTED BY Angela Selden President and CEO#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 about expected growth, registrations and enrollments, and the anticipated nursing shortage. 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, the Company's dependence on the effectiveness of its ability to attract students who persist in its institutions' programs, changing market demands, the Company's inability to market its programs, the loss of the Company's ability to receive funds under tuition assistance programs or ability to process tuition assistance financial aid, 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, subsequent quarterly report on Form 10-Q 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 required by law, even if new information becomes available or other events occur in the future.#3The Bottom-Line Up Front #1 Positions in Key "Right to Win" Markets; Diversified Revenue apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. 1Q'22 Growth in "Right to Win" Markets ■ #1 Market Positions: - Active-duty military, veterans, pre-licensure nursing ■ Diversified Revenue: - Approximately 1/3 military and veterans, 1/3 nursing, 1/3 other service-minded students Large National Nursing Platform Poised for Organic and Inorganic Growth ■ HCN + Rasmussen = $208MM¹ of nursing revenue ▪ 30 Campuses across 9 States with 10,900 nursing students ■ Strong demand for nurses: >190k annual RN openings and >60k annual PN openings projected by BLS over next decade ★ American Public AMU University System APU 1.Pro forma trailing twelve months 3/31/22 ■ APUS: Rebound in military registration momentum - 11% Army growth in 1Q'22 vs prior year, 7% total military growth Nursing: Strong overall enrollment against steep prior year comps 4% 10'22 vs prior year (30+%), 14% on two-year CAGR basis $ — Strong Balance Sheet with Solid Capital Structure and Liquidity Position ■ Unrestricted cash position of $145MM at end of 1Q 22 with $20MM undrawn revolver ■ $26MM of net debt with $20MM undrawn revolver RASMUSSEN h HONDROS COLLEGE OF NURSING Graduate School USA UNIVERSITY#4The "New" APEI: Educating Service-Minded Students Fully Online Blended Online / On-Ground apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. American Public AMU University System APU Flexible learning solutions, including for military and veterans to utilize their earned education benefit Student Focus Military Demographics Veterans Non-traditional Avg age: ~32 Public service Working adult Service-minded 1st Generation Some college RASMUSSEN + HONDROS COLLEGE OF NURSING UNIVERSITY Helping to solve US nursing shortage by creating new nurses and health science professionals Student Focus Nurses Clinical & health Sciences Career-oriented Demographics Non-traditional Working adult 1st generation Graduate School USA Modernizing government and professional training Student Focus Federal employees Public service Government Service-minded Offerings Remote/one-course-at-a-time Specific bundles (e.g. officer requirements) Practical training + specialized degrees: Offerings Purpose-built curriculum and pacing Direct path to career Career placements Space Intelligence Security Fire Police HEROIC™: Higher Education Return on Investment for Customers Offerings Short-form courses Training Career advancement & mobility • Continuing education#5Market Leading Positions with Service-Minded Students #1 Educator of Active-Duty Military and Veterans Leading Provider of Federal Workforce Training ༤༤ Graduate School USA Career Learning/ Certificates American Public AMU University System APU Associate/ Bachelor of Science or Arts Health Sciences 888 RASMUSSEN UNIVERSITY Pre- and Post- Licensure 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#6American Public University System (APUS) Background Provides affordable, high-quality online post-secondary education to service-minded adult learners #1 Educator of Active-Duty Military #1 Educator of Veterans Approximately 90,000 adult learners from over 90 countries during 2021 Enrollment momentum measured by net course registrations Accredited by: American Public AMU University System APU apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. Focus on High Affordability & Quality Outcomes APUS undergraduate tuition is 30% lower (1) than average 4-year public in-state tuition and fees $0 for books and materials, after grants, for most students since 2001 72% of students graduate with no APUS-incurred student debt Over 116,000 alumni, with 27% returning for a second degree (2) 96% of students (3) said programs met expectations 46% of new students referred (4) by others. 65% of full-time faculty have a terminal degree in their fields ACBSP CCNE ACCREDITED ACCREDITED W CEPH ACCREDITED HUTNY HIGHER LEARNING COMMISSION (1) Source: College Board, IPEDS, and APUS estimates (2) Undergraduates who completed an associate or bachelor's degree in 2021 and returned for a second degree at any level (3) Source: 2021 end of program survey (4) Students starting in 2022#7APEI: Building a National Nursing Platform to Address Chronic Issue APEI's Nursing Platform apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. Chronic Nursing Shortfall BLS annual job projections: ☐ RNs: 9% increase from 2020 to 2030; 195k annual openings ☐ LPNs: 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 Current Campuses Future Campuses 30 campuses $208MM in revenue¹ 1.Pro forma trailing twelve months 3/31/22 APEI's Full Nursing Curriculum Ladder Post-Licensure Online Pre-Licensure Campus, online Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Family Nurse Practitioner (Master's) 2022 Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) RN to BSN Direct Entry/Accelerated (ABSN) Traditional (BSN) Bachelor of Science in Nursing Associate Degree Nurse (RN) Direct Entry Associate Degree Nurse (RN) Practical Nursing Diploma (LPN) RU APUS HCN ✓ Laddered program that encompasses nursing education lifecycle ✓ RN program has significant enrollment due to market demand ✓ Attractive multiple entry points for diverse populations ✓ 15 additional programs in Allied Health and Healthcare Administration#8Strong Tailwind from Chronic National Nursing Shortage Nursing education market poised for significant growth as nursing shortage projected to continue Projected 9% Increase in RN Workforce by 2030(1) NURSING WORKFORCE (MM'S) 3.40 3.30 Licensed practical / licensed vocational nurses also expected to grow at ~9% annually with ~60k average annual openings 3.36 3.33 3.30 3.27 3.25 3.22 3.19 3.20 3.16 3.14 3.11 3.10 3.08 apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. Annual Gap of >190k RNs Over Next 10 Years (1) Пош O McKinsey estimates US direct patient care nursing gap of 200k-450k by 2025 3.00 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 Projected US Nursing Education Market Size (2) 22% CAGR ($ in billions) $70 $60 $60 $49 $50 $41 $40 $33 $28 $30 $20 $10 $0 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 (1) Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics (2) Technavio Nursing Education Report (2020) (3) National Nursing Workforce Study and AMN Healthcare survey Factors Driving Demand for Nursing Education ✓ Aging US population driving demand for healthcare services ✓ Nursing shortage causing use of expensive temporary labor and overtime, pressuring healthcare system margins ✓ Increase in nurse retirements: 43% of nursing population >55 years old (3) ✓ Continued demand from both hospitals and home healthcare services#9APEI Nursing Enrollment Update 1Q 2022 Nursing Enrollment +2% 8,200 8,400 6,700 Rasmussen +8% 2,300 2,500 1,600 HCN +3% 10,500 10,900 8,300 Total Nursing 1Q 2020 1Q 2021 1Q 2022 1Q22 nursing enrollment reached record number 3% growth in nursing in total • ADN/RN growth increased ~4% 2 Yr CAGR +15% apei AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. Forecast 2Q 2022 • 2Q22 total nursing student enrollment growth of -1% versus PY comparable period Comping to steep 30+% PY growth periods Represents +14% 2-year CAGR 2Q20 2Q21 2Q22 Ras Nursing 6.400 8,300 8,200 HCN Nursing 1,800 2,400 2,400 " Total Nursing 8,200 10,700 10,600 % Change '21/'20 '22/'21 2 Yr CAGR Ras Nursing 30% -1% 13% HCN Nursing 33% 0% 15% Total Nursing 30% -1% 14%#10APUS and Rasmussen Non-Nursing Enrollment Update APUS APUS Net Course Registrations Rasmussen Non-Nursing apei Rasmussen Non-Nursing Enrollment AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC. 84.8K +1% 94.0K 92.9K 1Q 2020 1Q 2021 1Q 2022 2 Yr CAGR +5% - 14% 9,800 9,100 7,800 2 Yr CAGR -11% 1Q 2020 1Q 2021 1Q 2022 • 1Q22 military registrations strong, +7% compared to 1Q21 • 2Q22 registrations of approximately -2 to +1% growth versus prior year period or between 80.9K and 83.4K enrollments Strong military registrations, offset by non-military and veteran broader market decline 1Q22 Rasmussen non-nursing enrollment continued to be impacted by the broader challenging economic environment Early education accounted for ~25% of decline from 1Q20 to 1Q22, sharply affected by COVID 2Q22 Rasmussen non-nursing enrollments of 7,700 Down roughly 11% from 2Q21#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