探花视频app

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

o ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

or

þ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from: January 1, 2013 to April 30, 2013

ASPEN GROUP, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

720 South Colorado Boulevard, Suite 1150N, Denver, CO 80246

(Address of Principal Executive Office) (Zip Code)

(303) 333-4224

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. ¨ Yes   þ No

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. ¨ Yes   þ No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. þ Yes  ¨  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 (§232-405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files.)    þ  Yes   ¨ No  

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  Not Applicable

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company.

Large accelerated filer  o      Accelerated filer  o      Non-accelerated file  o      Smaller reporting company  þ

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). ¨  Yes  þ No

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the closing price as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter was approximately $32 million.

The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s classes of common stock, as of July 29, 2013 was 59,190,366 shares.

INDEX

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS.

On March 13, 2012, 探花视频app, Inc., or 探花视频app, and Aspen University Inc., a privately held Delaware corporation, or Aspen, closed a Merger Agreement whereby Aspen became a wholly-owned subsidiary of 探花视频app. We refer to the merger as the “Reverse Merger.” All references to “we,” “our” and “us” refer to 探花视频app, unless the context otherwise indicates. In referring to academic matters, these words refer solely to Aspen University Inc.

Change in Fiscal Year

On April 25, 2013, 探花视频app changed its fiscal year to end each year on April 30th. In connection with our change in fiscal year, we are filing this Transition Report and the accompanying consolidated financial statements which cover the four month period beginning January 1, 2013 and ending April 30, 2013 and the historical activities of the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011. Our next fiscal year will cover the period from May 1, 2013 through April 30, 2014.

Description of Business

Aspen’s mission is to become an institution of choice for adult learners by offering cost-effective, comprehensive, and relevant online education. We are dedicated to helping our students exceed their personal and professional objectives in a socially conscious and economically sensible way. Aspen’s mission in fact is to help students achieve their long-term goals of upward mobility and long-term economic success through providing superior education, exerting financial prudence, and supporting our students’ career advancement goals. Aspen is dedicated to providing the highest quality education experiences taught by top-tier professors - 61% of our adjunct professors hold doctorate degrees.

Because we believe higher education should be a catalyst to our students’ long-term economic success, we exert financial prudence by offering affordable tuition that is one of the greatest values in online higher education. We have expanded our degree offerings broadly but the vision remains the same: to provide students with the best value in high quality education and to help them achieve their academic and career goals.

One of the key differences between Aspen and other publicly-traded, exclusively online, for-profit universities is an emphasis on post-graduate degree programs (master or doctorate). As of April 30, 2013, 1,875 students were enrolled as full-time degree-seeking students with 1,625 of those students or 87% in a master or doctoral graduate degree program. In addition, 951 students are engaged in part-time programs, such as continuing education courses and certificate level programs (includes 391 part-time undergraduate military students). Aspen plans to maintain its focus on being a predominantly graduate school for the near future.

Today, Aspen offers certificate programs and associate, bachelor, master and doctoral degree programs in a broad range of areas, including business and organization management, education, nursing, information technology, and general studies. In terms of enrollments, our most popular schools are our school of business and our school of nursing. Specifically, our Master of Business Administration, or MBA, and Master of Science in Nursing represent the two largest degree programs among our full-time, degree-seeking student body as of April 30, 2013. Aspen’s School of Nursing is our fastest growing program, having grown from 5% of our full-time, degree-seeking student body at year-end 2011, to 20% of our full-time, degree-seeking student body at April 30, 2013.

We are accredited by the DETC. Aspen first received DETC accreditation in 1993 and most recently received re-accreditation in January 2009. Aspen is scheduled for re-accreditation review in November 2013.

Aspen is provisionally certified by the DOE through September 30, 2013. Under such certification, Aspen is restricted to a limit of 1,200 student recipients for Title IV funding for the period ending June 30, 2013. As of April 30, 2013, Aspen had 462 students that were currently participating in the Title IV programs. Since inception of Aspen’s provisional certification status, it has had 596 total Title IV student participants. In the future when it considers whether to extend the provisional certification or make the certification permanent, the DOE may impose additional or different terms and conditions, including growth restrictions or limitation on the number of students who may receive Title IV aid. In terms of future deadlines with the DOE, Aspen re-applied as of June 30, 2013 to continue its participation in the Title IV Higher Education Act, or HEA, programs. Aspen is awaiting DOE action.

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In 2008, Aspen received accreditation of its Master of Science in Nursing Program with the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, or the Nursing Commission. Officially recognized by the DOE, the Nursing Commission is a nongovernmental accrediting agency, which ensures the quality and integrity of education programs in preparing effective nurses. Aspen’s Master of Science in Nursing program most recently underwent accreditation review by the Nursing Commission in March 2011. At that time, the program’s accreditation was reaffirmed, with the accreditation term to expire December 30, 2021. We currently offer a variety of nursing degrees including: Masters of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing - Nursing Education, Masters of Science in Nursing – Nursing Administration and Management and Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

Aspen is a Global Charter Education Provider for the Project Management Institute, or PMI, and a Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) of the PMI. The PMI recognizes select Aspen Project Management Courses as Professional Development Units. These courses help prepare individuals to sit for the Project Management Professional, or PMP, certification examination. PMP certification is the project management profession’s most recognized and respected certification credential. Project management professionals may take the PMI approved Aspen courses to fulfill continuing education requirements for maintaining their PMP certification.

In connection with our Bachelor and Master degrees in Psychology of Addiction and Counseling, the National Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors, or NAADAC, has approved Aspen as an “academic education provider.” NAADAC-approved education providers offer training and education for those who are seeking to become certified, and those who want to maintain their certification, as alcohol and drug counselors. In connection with the approval process, NAADAC reviews all educational training programs for content applicability to state and national certification standards.

Competitive Strengths - We believe that we have the following competitive strengths:

Exclusively Online Education - We have designed our courses and programs specifically for online delivery, and we recruit and train faculty exclusively for online instruction. We provide students the flexibility to study and interact at times that suit their schedules. We design our online sessions and materials to be interactive, dynamic and user friendly.

Debt Minimization - We are committed to offering among the lowest tuition rates in the sector, which to date has alleviated the need for a significant majority of our students to borrow money to fund Aspen’s tuition requirements. In May 2013, we lowered our course-by-course tuition rates to $250/credit hour for all degree-seeking undergraduate programs and $333/credit hour for graduate programs. However, we believe based on our competitors' public information that our tuition rates remain significantly lower than our competitors. For example, University of Phoenix, Capella University and Grand Canyon University charge $740, $720, and $562, respectively, per credit hour for their MBA program versus Aspen’s $333 per credit hour. Additionally, our monthly installment payment plan provides our students with the ability to pay for their classes in monthly installments as opposed to full payment by the first day of class. We believe this will lower the number of our students who rely on financial aid to pay for their education.

Commitment to Academic Excellence - We are committed to continuously improving our academic programs and services, as evidenced by the level of attention and resources we apply to instruction and educational support. We are committed to achieving high course completion and graduation rates compared to competitive distance learning, for-profit schools. 61% of our adjunct faculty members hold a doctorate degree. One-on-one contact with our highly experienced faculty brings knowledge and great perspective to the learning experience. Faculty members are available by telephone and email to answer questions, discuss assignments and provide help and encouragement to our students.

Highly Scalable and Profitable Business Model - We believe our exclusively online education model, our relatively low student acquisition costs, and our variable faculty cost model will enable us to expand our operating margins. If we increase student enrollments we will be able to scale on a variable basis the number of adjunct faculty members after we reach certain enrollment metrics (not before). A single adjunct faculty member can work with as little as two students or as many as 25 over the course of an enrollment period.

“One Student at a Time” personal care - We are committed to providing our students with fast and personal individualized support. Every student is assigned an academic advisor who becomes an advocate for the student’s success. Our one-on-one approach assures contact with faculty members when a student needs it and monitoring to keep them on course. Our administrative staff is readily available to answer any questions and works with a student from initial interest through the application process and enrollment, and most importantly while the student is pursuing a degree or studies. Based on Aspen’s 2011 DETC Annual Report of student satisfaction survey results, calculated in accordance with applicable DETC policy, 95% of students on average expressed satisfaction with their recently completed course.

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Admissions

In considering candidates for acceptance into any of our certificate or degree programs, we look for those who are serious about pursuing – or advancing in – a professional career, and who want to be both prepared and academically challenged in the process. We strive to maintain the highest standards of academic excellence, while maintaining a friendly learning environment designed for educational, personal and professional success. A desire to meet those standards is a prerequisite. Because our programs are designed for self-directed learners who know how to manage their time, successful students have a basic understanding of management principles and practices, as well as good writing and research skills. Admission to Aspen is based on thorough assessment of each applicant’s potential to complete successfully the program. Additionally, we require students to complete an essay as part of their admission process – as we are looking for students not only with the potential to succeed but also with the motivation to succeed.

Industry Overview

The U.S. market for postsecondary education is a large, growing market. According to a 2012 publication by the National Center for Education Statistics, or NCES, the number of postsecondary learners enrolled as of Fall 2010 in U.S. institutions that participate in Title IV programs was approximately 21 million (including both undergraduate and graduate students), up from 18.2 million in the Fall of 2007. We believe the growth in postsecondary enrollment is a result of a number of factors, including the significant and measurable personal income premium that is attributable to postsecondary education, and an increase in demand by employers for professional and skilled workers, partially offset in the near term by current economic conditions. According to the NCES, in 2010, the median earnings of young adults with a bachelor’s degree was $45,000 compared to $37,000 for those with an associate’s degree and $21,000 for those with a high school diploma.

Eduventures, Inc., an education consulting and research firm, estimates that 20% of all postsecondary students will be in fully-online programs by 2014, with perhaps another 20% taking courses online. The estimated increase in students online increased 18% in 2010. We believe that the higher growth in demand for fully-online education is largely attributable to the flexibility and convenience of this instructional format, as well as the growing recognition of its educational efficacy.

Competition

There are more than 4,200 U.S. colleges and universities serving traditional college age students and adult students. Any reference to universities herein also includes colleges. Competition is highly fragmented and varies by geography, program offerings, delivery method, ownership, quality level, and selectivity of admissions. No one institution has a significant share of the total postsecondary market. While we compete in a sense with traditional “brick and mortar” universities, our primary competitors are with online universities. Our online university competitors that are publicly traded include: Apollo Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: APOL), American Public Education, Inc. (Nasdaq: APEI), DeVry Inc. (NYSE: DV), Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (Nasdaq: LOPE), ITT Educational Services, Inc. (NYSE: ESI), Capella Education Company (Nasdaq: CPLA), Career Education Corporation (Nasdaq: CECO) and Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (NYSE: BPI). American Public Education, Inc. and Capella Education Company are wholly online while the others are not. Based upon public information, Apollo Group, which includes University of Phoenix, is the market leader with University of Phoenix having degree enrollments exceeding 356,900 students (based upon APOL’s Form 10-K filed on October 22, 2012). As of April 30, 2013, Aspen had 2,826 students enrolled. These competitors have substantially more financial and other resources.

The primary mission of most accredited four-year universities is to serve generally full-time students and conduct research. Aspen acknowledges the differences in the educational needs between working and full-time students at “brick and mortar” schools and provides programs and services that allow our students to earn their degrees without major disruption to their personal and professional lives.

We also compete with public and private degree-granting regionally and nationally accredited universities. An increasing number of universities enroll working students in addition to the traditional 18 to 24 year-old students, and we expect that these universities will continue to modify their existing programs to serve working learners more effectively, including by offering more distance learning programs. We believe that the primary factors on which we compete are the following:

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active and relevant curriculum development that considers the needs of employers;

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the ability to provide flexible and convenient access to programs and classes;

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high-quality courses and services;

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comprehensive student support services;

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breadth of programs offered;

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the time necessary to earn a degree;

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qualified and experienced faculty;

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reputation of the institution and its programs;

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the variety of geographic locations of campuses;

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regulatory approvals;

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cost of the program;

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name recognition; and

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convenience.

Curricula

Certificates

Certificate in Information Technology with specializations in:

Information Systems Management

Java Development

Object Oriented Application Development

Web Development

Certificate in Project Management

Associates Degrees

Associate of General Studies

Associate of Applied Science Early Childhood Education

Associate of Fine Arts

Bachelors Degrees

Bachelor of General Studies

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Addiction Counseling

Bachelor of Science in Alternative Energy

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, (Completion Program)

Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice

Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, (Completion Program)

Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with specializations in

Criminal Justice Administration

Major Crime Investigation Procedure

Major Crime Investigation Procedure, (Completion Program)

Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education

Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education, (Completion Program)

Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education with a specialization in

Infants and Toddlers

Infants and Toddlers, (Completion Program)

Preschool

Preschool, (Completion Program)

Bachelor of Science in Foodservice Operations and Restaurant Management

Bachelor of Science in Medical Managements

Bachelor of Science in Fine Arts with a specialization in

Drawing and Painting

Entertainment 2D

Entertainment 3D

Illustration

Bachelor of Science in Nursing – Completion Program

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Masters

Master of Arts Psychology and Addiction Counseling

Master of Science in Criminal Justice

Master of Science in Criminal Justice with a specialization in

Forensic Sciences

Law Enforcement Management

Terrorism and Homeland Security

Master of Science in Information Management with a specialization in

Management

Project Management

Technologies

Master of Science in Information Systems with a specialization in

Enterprise Application Development

Web Development

Master of Science in Information Technology

Master of Science in Nursing with a specialization in

Administration and Management

Administration and Management, (RN to MSN Bridge Program)

Nursing Education

Nursing Education, (RN to MSN Bridge Program)

Master of Science in Physical Education and Sports Management

Master of Science in Technology and Innovation with a specialization in

Business Intelligence and Data Management

Electronic Security

Project Management

Systems Design

Technical Languages

Vendor and Change Control Management

Master in Business Administration

Master in Business Administration with specializations in

Entrepreneurship

Finance

Information Management

Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management

Project Management

Master in Education

Curriculum Development and Outcomes Assessment

Education Technology

Transformational Leadership

Doctorates

Doctorate of Science in Computer Science

Doctorate in Education Leadership and Learning

Doctorate in Education Leadership and Learning with specializations

Education Administration

Faculty Leadership

Instructional Design

Leadership and Learning

Independent online classes start on the 1st and the 16th of every month.

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Sales and Marketing

Prior to Mr. Michael Mathews becoming Aspen’s Chief Executive Officer in May 2011, Aspen had conducted minimal efforts and spent immaterial sums on sales and marketing. During the second half of 2011, Mr. Mathews and his team made significant changes to our sales and marketing program and spent a significant amount of time, money and resources on our marketing program.

What is unique about Aspen’s marketing program is that we have no plans in the near future to utilize third-party online lead generation companies to attract prospective students. To our knowledge, most if not all for-profit online universities utilize multiple third-party online lead generation companies to obtain a meaningful percentage of their prospective student leads. Aspen’s executive officers have many years of expertise in the online lead generation and Internet advertising industry, which for the foreseeable future will allow Aspen to cost-effectively drive all prospective student leads internally. This is a competitive advantage for Aspen because third-party leads are typically unbranded and non-exclusive (lead generation firms typically sell prospective student leads to multiple universities), therefore the conversion rate for those leads tends to be appreciably lower than internally generated, Aspen branded, proprietary leads.

In May 2011, Aspen expanded on its current search engine marketing initiatives related to Google. Aspen expanded the use of Aspen keyword search terms and keywords related to its MBA program and nursing program. Aspen also refined its testing of keywords, marketing messages and the establishment of program specific informational pages that have been matched to those keywords. Landing pages and keywords have been further optimized in order to facilitate streamlined communication of Aspen’s programs, degrees and courses offered in order to ensure that prospective students are provided with information necessary to make an informed decision regarding Aspen and to begin a dialogue with an Aspen advisor. The search engine marketing program was expanded in July 2011, to include the Microsoft Bing search engine for general university terms, MBA and nursing programs, utilizing the same paradigm of directing prospective students to an informational page about their desired interest within those programs.

In October 2011, Aspen began to advertise directly on publisher websites, reaching prospective students who would benefit from the programs we offer within nursing and business programs. When working directly with publisher websites, Aspen employs a number of sophisticated targeting techniques to most efficiently generate branded, proprietary student leads. In fact, the majority of our advertising spend and leads we generate today is through this direct publisher channel, rather than search.

Aspen’s marketing plan for 2013 is consistent with the changes made in 2012 and 2011. In January 2012, Aspen hired an Executive Vice President of Marketing, who supervises a call center in the Phoenix-metro area which opened in August 2012. This executive has prior experience in marketing with multiple online university competitors and, more recently, an online lead generation company. Since opening, the call center has expanded to meet the increasing number of inquiries.

This change in marketing coincided with our new tuition plan which we launched effective July 15, 2011. Our new plan, announced in May 2013, features tuition rates of $333.33/credit hour for masters or doctorate programs.

From 2005 through July 2011 Aspen initiated a number of pre-payment/low per course tuition plans. Together we refer to these plans as the Legacy Tuition Plan. The last Legacy Tuition Plan that ran from June 2010 through July 2011 charged students tuition of only $3,600 for the entire 12-course Master or Doctorate program (the pre-payment option offered the student the ability to pre-pay $2,700 for the first four courses or 12 credit hours, followed by $112.50 per course or $37.50/credit hour for the remaining eight courses). This program was terminated as of July 15, 2011. At April 30, 2013, 38% of our degree-seeking students were on the Legacy Tuition Plan. However, those students only represented approximately 9% of Aspen’s full-time degree-seeking revenues for the four month period ended April 30, 2013. The quarter ended December 31, 2012 represented the first quarter in which the Legacy Tuition Plan students were not a majority of our degree-seeking students. We expect that by the end of fiscal year 2014, the number of old-prepay students will cease to be material.

Anticipating significant growth from our new marketing efforts, we spent approximately $1,000,000 upgrading our information technology in 2011, approximately $400,000 in 2012 and approximately $130,000 for the four months ended April 30, 2013.

Employees

As of July 30, 2013, we had 44 full-time employees, and 64 adjunct professors. None of our employees are parties to any collective bargaining arrangement. We believe our relationships with our employees are good.

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Corporate History

探花视频app was incorporated on February 23, 2010 in Florida as a home improvement company intending to develop products and sell them on a wholesale basis to home improvement retailers. 探花视频app was unable to execute its business plan. In June 2011, 探花视频app changed its name to Elite Nutritional Brands, Inc. and terminated all operations. In February 2012, 探花视频app reincorporated in Delaware under the name 探花视频app, Inc.

Aspen was incorporated on September 30, 2004 in Delaware. Its predecessor was a Delaware limited liability company organized in Delaware in 1999. In May 2011, Aspen merged with EGC. Aspen survived the EGC Merger. EGC was a start-up company controlled by Mr. Michael Mathews. Mr. Mathews became Aspen’s Chief Executive Officer upon closing the EGC Merger. On March 13, 2012, 探花视频app acquired Aspen in the Reverse Merger.

Regulation

Students attending Aspen finance their education through a combination of individual resources, corporate reimbursement programs and federal financial aid programs. The discussion which follows outlines the extensive regulations that affect our business. Complying with these regulations entails significant effort from our executives and other employees. Our President has two unique roles: overseeing our accreditation and regulatory compliance and seeking to improve our academic performance. Accreditation and regulatory compliance is also expensive. Beyond the internal costs, we began using education regulatory counsel in the summer of 2011, as our current Chief Executive Officer focused his attention on compliance. Aspen participates in the federal student financial aid programs authorized under Title IV. For the year ended December 31, 2012, approximately 19% of our cash-basis revenues for eligible tuition and fees were derived from Title IV programs. In connection with a student’s receipt of Title IV aid, we are subject to extensive regulation by the DOE, state education agencies and the DETC. In particular, the Title IV programs, and the regulations issued thereunder by the DOE, subject us to significant regulatory scrutiny in the form of numerous standards that we must satisfy. To participate in Title IV programs, a school must, among other things, be:

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authorized to offer its programs of instruction by the applicable state education agencies in the states in which it is physically located (in our case, Colorado);

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accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary of the DOE; and

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certified as an eligible institution by the DOE.

The DOE enacted regulations relating to the Title IV programs which became effective July 1, 2011. Under these new regulations, an institution, like ours, that offers postsecondary education through distance education to students in a state in which the institution is not physically located or in which it is otherwise subject to state jurisdiction as determined by that state, must meet any state requirements to offer legally postsecondary education to students in that state. The institution must be able to document state approval for distance education if requested by the DOE.

This new regulation has been recognized as a significant departure from the state authorization procedures followed by most, if not all, institutions before its enactment. Although these new rules became effective July 1, 2011, the DOE indicated in an April 20, 2011 guidance letter that it would not initiate any action to establish repayment liabilities or limit student eligibility for distance education activities undertaken before July 1, 2014, provided the institution was making a good faith effort to identify and obtain necessary state authorization before that date. However, on July 12, 2011, a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia vacated the portion of the DOE’s state authorization regulation that requires online education providers to obtain any required authorization from all states in which their students reside, finding that the DOE had failed to provide sufficient notice and opportunity to comment on the requirement. An appellate court affirmed that ruling on June 5, 2012 and therefore this new regulation is currently invalid. However, further guidance is expected.

Should the requirements be enforced at a later date, and if we fail to obtain required state authorization to provide postsecondary distance education in a specific state, we could lose our ability to award Title IV aid to students within that state. In addition, a state may impose penalties on an institution for failure to comply with state requirements related to an institution’s activities in a state, including the delivery of distance education to persons in that state.

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Therefore, we are taking steps to ensure compliance in time for the earlier-effective July 1, 2014 enforcement date as recommended for all schools facing this new (but currently invalid) regulation. We enroll students in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. We have sought and received confirmation that our operations do not require state licensure or authorization, or we have been notified that we are exempt from licensure or authorization requirements, in three states. We, through our legal counsel, are researching the licensure requirements and exemption possibilities in the remaining 47 states. It is anticipated that Aspen will be in compliance with all state licensure requirements by June of 2014, in time for the earlier-effective compliance date set by the DOE. Because we enroll students in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, we may have to seek licensure or authorization in additional states in the future.

We are subject to extensive regulations by the states in which we become authorized or licensed to operate. State laws typically establish standards for instruction, qualifications of faculty, administrative procedures, marketing, recruiting, financial operations and other operational matters. State laws and regulations may limit our ability to offer educational programs and to award degrees. Some states may also prescribe financial regulations that are different from those of the DOE. If we fail to comply with state licensing requirements, we may lose our state licensure or authorizations. Failure to comply with state requirements could result in Aspen losing its authorization from the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, a department of the Colorado Department of Higher Education, or CDHE, its eligibility to participate in Title IV programs, or its ability to offer certain programs, any of which may force us to cease operations.

Additionally, Aspen is a Delaware corporation. Delaware law requires an institution to obtain approval from the Delaware Department of Education, or Delaware DOE, before it may incorporate with the power to confer degrees. In July 2012, Aspen received notice from the Delaware DOE that it is granted provisional approval status effective until June 30, 2015.

Accreditation

Aspen is accredited by the DETC, an accrediting agency recognized by the DOE. Accreditation is a non-governmental system for recognizing educational institutions and their programs for student performance, governance, integrity, educational quality, faculty, physical resources, administrative capability and resources, and financial stability. In the U.S., this recognition comes primarily through private voluntary associations that accredit institutions and programs. To be recognized by the DOE, accrediting agencies must adopt specific standards for their review of educational institutions. Accrediting agencies establish criteria for accreditation, conduct peer-review evaluations of institutions and programs for accreditation, and publicly designate those institutions or programs that meet their criteria. Accredited institutions are subject to periodic review by accrediting agencies to determine whether such institutions maintain the performance, integrity and quality required for accreditation.

Accreditation by the DETC is important. Accreditation is a reliable indicator of an institution’s quality and is an expression of peer institution confidence. Universities depend, in part, on accreditation in evaluating transfers of credit and applications to graduate schools. Accreditation also provides external recognition and status. Employers rely on the accredited status of institutions when evaluating an employment candidate’s credentials. Corporate and government sponsors under tuition reimbursement programs look to accreditation for assurance that an institution maintains quality educational standards. Moreover, institutional accreditation awarded from an accrediting agency recognized by the DOE is necessary for eligibility to participate in Title IV programs. From time to time, DETC adopts or makes changes to its policies, procedures and standards. If we fail to comply with any of DETC’s requirements, our accreditation status and, therefore, our eligibility to participate in Title IV programs could be at risk. The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (the panel charged with advising DOE on whether to recognize accrediting agencies for federal purposes, including Title IV program purposes) was scheduled to review DETC for recognition purposes in the Spring of 2012, at which point the committee voted to recommend that DETC recognition be continued pending its efforts to reach compliance with certain requirements. Aspen is next scheduled for accreditation review by DETC in November 2013.

Nature of Federal, State and Private Financial Support for Postsecondary Education

An institution that applies to participate in Title IV programs for the first time, if approved, will be provisionally certified for no more than one complete award year. Furthermore, an institution that undergoes a change in ownership resulting in a change of control must apply to the DOE in order to reestablish its eligibility to participate in Title IV programs. If the DOE determines to approve the application, it issues a provisional certification, which extends for a period expiring not later than the end of the third complete award year following the date of the provisional certification. Aspen is provisionally certified through September 30, 2013. A provisionally certified institution must apply for and receive DOE approval of substantial changes and must comply with any additional conditions included in its program participation agreement. If the DOE determines that a provisionally certified institution is unable to meet its responsibilities under its program participation agreement, the DOE may seek to revoke the institution's certification to participate in Title IV programs with fewer due process protections for the institution than if it were fully certified.

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The federal government provides a substantial part of its support for postsecondary education through the Title IV programs, in the form of grants and loans to students. Students can use those funds at any institution that has been certified by the DOE to participate in the Title IV programs. Aid under Title IV programs is primarily awarded on the basis of financial need, generally defined as the difference between the cost of attending the institution and the amount a student can reasonably contribute to that cost. All recipients of Title IV program funds must maintain satisfactory academic progress and must progress in a timely manner toward completion of their program of study. In addition, each school must ensure that Title IV program funds are properly accounted for and disbursed in the correct amounts to eligible students.

Aspen’s mission is to offer students the opportunity to fund their education without relying on student loans. Effective June 1, 2013, Aspen launched a $333.33 monthly payment plan for graduate students with three monthly installments for each ten-week class. Although Aspen’s students use less Title IV borrowing than our competitors, our goal is to reduce that usage further.

When our students borrow from the federal government, they receive loans and grants to fund their education under the following Title IV programs: (1) the Federal Direct Loan program, or Direct Loan and (2) the Federal Pell Grant program, or Pell.

Currently, the majority of Aspen students self-finance all or a portion of their education. Additionally, students may receive full or partial tuition reimbursement from their employers. Eligible students can also access private loans through a number of different lenders for funding at current market interest rates.

Under the Direct Loan program, the DOE makes loans directly to students. The Direct Loan Program includes the Direct Subsidized Loan, the Direct Unsubsidized Loan, the Direct PLUS Loan (including loans to graduate and professional students), and the Direct Consolidation Loan. The Budget Control Act of 2011 signed into law in August 2011, eliminated Direct Subsidized Loans for graduate and professional students, as of July 1, 2012. The terms and conditions of subsidized loans originated prior to July 1, 2012 are unaffected by the law.

For Pell grants, the DOE makes grants to undergraduate students who demonstrate financial need. To date, few Aspen students have received Pell Grants. Accordingly, the Pell Grant program currently is not material to Aspen’s cash revenues.

Regulation of Federal Student Financial Aid Programs

The substantial amount of federal funds disbursed through Title IV programs, the large number of students and institutions participating in these programs, and allegations of fraud and abuse by certain for-profit institutions have prompted the DOE to exercise considerable regulatory oversight over for-profit institutions of higher learning. Accrediting agencies and state education agencies also have responsibilities for overseeing compliance of institutions in connection with Title IV program requirements. As a result, our institution is subject to extensive oversight and review. Because the DOE periodically revises its regulations and changes its interpretations of existing laws and regulations, we cannot predict with certainty how the Title IV program requirements will be applied in all circumstances. See the “Risk Factors” contained herein which disclose comprehensive regulatory risks.

In addition to the state authorization requirements and other regulatory requirements described herein, other significant factors relating to Title IV programs that could adversely affect us include the following legislative action and regulatory changes:

Congress reauthorizes the Higher Education Act approximately every five to eight years. Congress most recently reauthorized the Higher Education Act in August 2008. We cannot predict with certainty whether or when Congress might act to amend further the Higher Education Act. The elimination of additional Title IV programs, material changes in the requirements for participation in such programs, or the substitution of materially different programs could increase our costs of compliance and could reduce the ability of certain students to finance their education at our institution.

On December 23, 2011, President Obama signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2012, or the Act. The law includes a number of provisions that significantly affect the Title IV programs. For example, it reduces the income threshold at which students are assigned “an automatic zero expected family contribution” for purposes of awarding financial aid for the 2012-2013 award year. Under the Act, students who do not have a high school diploma or a recognized equivalent (e.g., GED) or do not meet an applicable home school requirement and who first enroll in a program of study on or after July 1, 2012 will not be eligible to receive Title IV aid. The Act also makes certain changes to the Pell Grant Program and temporarily eliminates the interest subsidy that is provided for Direct Subsidized Loans during the six-month grace period immediately following termination of enrollment.

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Over the last several years, Congressional committees have held hearings related to for-profit postsecondary education institutions. Additionally, the chairmen of the House and Senate education committees, along with other members of Congress, asked the GAO, to review various aspects of the for-profit education sector, including recruitment practices, educational quality, student outcomes, the sufficiency of integrity safeguards against waste, fraud and abuse in Title IV programs, and the degree to which for-profit schools’ revenue is comprised of Title IV and other federal funding sources. In 2010, the GAO released a report based on a three-month undercover investigation of recruiting practices at for-profit schools. The report concluded that employees at a non-random sample of 15 for-profit schools (which did not include Aspen) made deceptive statements to students about accreditation, graduation rates, job placement, program costs, or financial aid. On October 31, 2011, the GAO released a second report following an additional undercover investigation related to enrollment, cost, financial aid, course structure, substandard student performance, withdrawal, and exit counseling. The report concluded that while some of the 15 unidentified for-profit schools investigated appeared to follow existing policies, others did not. Although the report identified a number of deficiencies in specific instances, it made no recommendations. On December 7, 2011, the GAO released a report that attempted to compare the quality of education provided by for-profit, nonprofit, and public institutions based upon multiple outcome measures including graduation rates, pass rates on licensing exams, employment outcomes, and student loan default rates. The report found that students at for-profit institutions had higher graduation rates for certificate programs, similar graduation rates for associate’s degree programs, and lower graduation rates for bachelor’s degree programs than students at nonprofit and public institutions. It also found that a higher proportion of bachelor’s degree recipients from for-profit institutions took out loans than did degree recipients from other institutions and that some evidence exists that students at for-profits institutions default on their student loans at higher rates. On nine of the ten licensing exams reviewed, graduates of for-profit institutions had lower pass rates than students from nonprofit and public institutions.

As described above, certain DOE regulations have been challenged and the lawsuit is currently before a federal appeals court. The same plaintiff in that lawsuit also filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the DOE’s final regulations on gainful employment, which are discussed below. The lawsuit is currently pending.

The DOE currently is in the process of developing proposed regulations to amend regulations pertinent to the Title IV loan programs and teacher education. We are unable to predict the timing or the proposed or final form of any regulations that the DOE ultimately may adopt and the impact of such regulations on our business.

Administrative Capability. DOE regulations specify extensive criteria by which an institution must establish that it has the requisite “administrative capability” to participate in Title IV programs. Failure to satisfy any of the standards may lead the DOE to find the institution ineligible to participate in Title IV programs or to place the institution on provisional certification as a condition of its participation. To meet the administrative capability standards, an institution must, among other things:

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comply with all applicable Title IV program regulations;

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have capable and sufficient personnel to administer the federal student financial aid programs;

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have acceptable methods of defining and measuring the satisfactory academic progress of its students;

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have cohort default rates above specified levels;

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have various procedures in place for safeguarding federal funds;

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not be, and not have any principal or affiliate who is, debarred or suspended from federal contracting or engaging in activity that is cause for debarment or suspension;

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provide financial aid counseling to its students;

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refer to the DOE’s Office of Inspector General any credible information indicating that any applicant, student, employee, or agent of the institution, has been engaged in any fraud or other illegal conduct involving Title IV programs;

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report annually to the Secretary of Education on any reasonable reimbursements paid or provided by a private education lender or group of lenders to any employee who is employed in the institution’s financial aid office or who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to education loans;

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develop and apply an adequate system to identify and resolve conflicting information with respect to a student’s application for Title IV aid;

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submit in a timely manner all reports and financial statements required by the regulations; and

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not otherwise appear to lack administrative capability.

Among other things, DOE regulations require that an institution must evaluate satisfactory academic progress (1) at the end of each payment period if the length of the educational program is one academic year or less or (2) for all other educational programs, at the end of each payment period or at least annually to correspond to the end of a payment period. Second, the DOE regulations add an administrative capability standard related to the existing requirement that students must have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent in order to be eligible for Title IV aid. Under the administrative capability standard, institutions must develop and follow procedures for evaluating the validity of a student’s high school diploma if the institution or the Secretary of Education has reason to believe that the student’s diploma is not valid.

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If an institution fails to satisfy any of these criteria or any other DOE regulation, the DOE may:

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require the repayment of Title IV funds;

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transfer the institution from the “advance” system of payment of Title IV funds to cash monitoring status or to the “reimbursement” system of payment;

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place the institution on provisional certification status; or

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commence a proceeding to impose a fine or to limit, suspend or terminate the participation of the institution in Title IV programs.

If we are found not to have satisfied the DOE’s “administrative capability” requirements, we could lose, or be limited in our access to, Title IV program funding.

Distance Education. We offer all of our existing degree and certificate programs via Internet-based telecommunications from our headquarters in Colorado. Under the Higher Education Opportunity Act, or HEOA, an accreditor that evaluates institutions offering distance education must require such institutions to have processes through which the institution establishes that a student who registers for a distance education program is the same student who participates in and receives credit for the program. Under DOE regulations, if an institution offers postsecondary education through distance education to students in a state in which the institution is not physically located or in which it is otherwise subject to state jurisdiction as determined by the state, the institution must meet any state requirements for it to offer legally postsecondary distance education in that state. The institution must be able to document state approval for distance education if requested by the DOE. In addition, states must have a process to review and take appropriate action on complaints concerning postsecondary institutions. As previously discussed herein, these regulations have been vacated by a federal court.

Financial Responsibility. The Higher Education Act and DOE regulations establish extensive standards of financial responsibility that institutions such as Aspen must satisfy to participate in Title IV programs. These standards generally require that an institution provide the resources necessary to comply with Title IV program requirements and meet all of its financial obligations, including required refunds and any repayments to the DOE for liabilities incurred in programs administered by the DOE.

The DOE evaluates institutions on an annual basis for compliance with specified financial responsibility standards that include a complex formula that uses line items from the institution’s audited financial statements. In addition, the financial responsibility standards require an institution to receive an unqualified opinion from its accountants on its audited financial statements, maintain sufficient cash reserves to satisfy refund requirements, meet all of its financial obligations, and remain current on its debt payments. The formula focuses on three financial ratios: (1) equity ratio (which measures the institution’s capital resources, financial viability, and ability to borrow); (2) primary reserve ratio (which measures the institution’s viability and liquidity); and (3) net income ratio (which measures the institution’s profitability or ability to operate within its means). An institution’s financial ratios must yield a composite score of at least 1.5 for the institution to be deemed financially responsible without the need for further federal oversight. The DOE may also apply such measures of financial responsibility to the operating company and ownership entities of an eligible institution. Our audited financial statements for the four months ended April 30, 2013 and for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012 contain a going concern opinion.

Under DOE regulations, even if an institution meets all of the other financial responsibility requirements, it is not considered to be financially responsible if the relevant financial statement audits contain a going concern opinion. If the DOE were to determine that we do not meet its financial responsibility standards, we may be able to establish financial responsibility on an alternative basis. Alternative bases include, for example:

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posting a letter of credit in an amount equal to at least 50% of the total Title IV program funds received by us during our most recently completed fiscal year;

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posting a letter of credit in an amount equal to at least 10% of such prior year’s Title IV program funds received by us, accepting provisional certification, complying with additional DOE monitoring requirements and agreeing to receive Title IV program funds under an arrangement other than the DOE’s standard advance payment arrangement such as the “reimbursement” system of payment or cash monitoring; or

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complying with additional DOE monitoring requirements and agreeing to receive Title IV program funds under an arrangement other than the DOE’s standard advance payment arrangement such as the “reimbursement” system of payment or cash monitoring.

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Failure to meet the DOE’s “financial responsibility” requirements, either because we do not meet the DOE’s financial responsibility standards or are unable to establish financial responsibility on an alternative basis, would cause us to lose access to Title IV program funding.

Consistent with the Higher Education Act, Aspen’s certification to participate in Title IV programs terminated after closing of the Reverse Merger. The DOE received Aspen's application and extended the provisional certification through September 30, 2013. In the future, the DOE may impose additional or different terms and conditions in any final or provisional program participation agreement that it may issue. Aspen timely filed its application for full certification in the Title IV HEA programs by the June 30, 2013 deadline and is awaiting the DOE’s decision.

Third-Party Servicers. DOE regulations permit an institution to enter into a written contract with a third-party servicer for the administration of any aspect of the institution’s participation in Title IV programs. The third-party servicer must, among other obligations, comply with Title IV requirements and be jointly and severally liable with the institution to the Secretary of Education for any violation by the servicer of any Title IV provision. An institution must report to the DOE new contracts with or any significant modifications to contracts with third-party servicers as well as other matters related to third-party servicers. We contract with a third-party servicer which performs certain activities related to our participation in Title IV programs. If our third-party servicer does not comply with applicable statutes and regulations including the Higher Education Act, we may be liable for its actions, and we could lose our eligibility to participate in Title IV programs.

Title IV Return of Funds. Under the DOE’s return of funds regulations, when a student withdraws, an institution must return unearned funds to the DOE in a timely manner. An institution must first determine the amount of Title IV program funds that a student “earned.” If the student withdraws during the first 60% of any period of enrollment or payment period, the amount of Title IV program funds that the student earned is equal to a pro rata portion of the funds for which the student would otherwise be eligible. If the student withdraws after the 60% threshold, then the student has earned 100% of the Title IV program funds. The institution must return to the appropriate Title IV programs, in a specified order, the lesser of (i) the unearned Title IV program funds and (ii) the institutional charges incurred by the student for the period multiplied by the percentage of unearned Title IV program funds. An institution must return the funds no later than 45 days after the date of the institution’s determination that a student withdrew. If such payments are not timely made, an institution may be subject to adverse action, including being required to submit a letter of credit equal to 25% of the refunds the institution should have made in its most recently completed year. Under DOE regulations, late returns of Title IV program funds for 5% or more of students sampled in the institution’s annual compliance audit constitutes material non-compliance. Aspen’s academic calendar structure is a non-standard term with rolling start dates with defined length of term (16 week term).

The “90/10 Rule.” A requirement of the Higher Education Act commonly referred to as the “90/10 Rule,” applies only to “proprietary institutions of higher education,” which includes Aspen. An institution is subject to loss of eligibility to participate in the Title IV programs if it derives more than 90% of its revenues (calculated on a cash basis and in accordance with a DOE formula) from Title IV programs for two consecutive fiscal years. An institution whose rate exceeds 90% for any single fiscal year will be placed on provisional certification for at least two fiscal years and may be subject to other conditions specified by the Secretary of the DOE.

Student Loan Defaults. Under the Higher Education Act, an education institution may lose its eligibility to participate in some or all of the Title IV programs if defaults on the repayment of Direct Loan Program loans by its students exceed certain levels. For each federal fiscal year, a rate of student defaults (known as a “cohort default rate”) is calculated for each institution with 30 or more borrowers entering repayment in a given federal fiscal year by determining the rate at which borrowers who become subject to their repayment obligation in that federal fiscal year default by the end of the following federal fiscal year. For such institutions, the DOE calculates a single cohort default rate for each federal fiscal year that includes in the cohort all current or former student borrowers at the institution who entered repayment on any Direct Loan Program loans during that year.

If the DOE notifies an institution that its cohort default rates for each of the three most recent federal fiscal years are 25% or greater, the institution’s participation in the Direct Loan Program and the Federal Pell Grant Program ends 30 days after the notification, unless the institution appeals in a timely manner that determination on specified grounds and according to specified procedures. In addition, an institution’s participation in Title IV ends 30 days after notification that its most recent fiscal year cohort default rate is greater than 40%, unless the institution timely appeals that determination on specified grounds and according to specified procedures. An institution whose participation ends under these provisions may not participate in the relevant programs for the remainder of the fiscal year in which the institution receives the notification, as well as for the next two fiscal years.

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If an institution’s cohort default rate equals or exceeds 25% in any single year, the institution may be placed on provisional certification status. Provisional certification does not limit an institution’s access to Title IV program funds; however, an institution with provisional status is subject to closer review by the DOE and may be subject to summary adverse action if it violates Title IV program requirements. If an institution’s default rate exceeds 40%, the institution may lose eligibility to participate in some or all Title IV programs. Since Aspen has only recently begun to participate in Title IV programs and our certification limits the number of Aspen students who may receive Title IV aid, we do not yet have reporting data on our cohort default rates for the three most recent federal fiscal years for which cohort default rates have been officially calculated, namely 2007, 2008 and 2009. The primary reason is that we have not yet had students who have begun to repay their Title IV loans.

HEOA extended by one year the period for measuring the cohort default rate, effective with cohort default rates for federal fiscal year 2009. Currently, institutions that have two-year cohort default rates of 25% or more for each of their three most recent years, or of 40% in any one year, will lose eligibility for Title IV student aid programs; beginning in 2014, institutions that have three-year cohort default rates of 30% or higher for three consecutive years, or of more than 40% in any given year, will lose eligibility for those programs.

Incentive Compensation Rules. As a part of an institution’s program participation agreement with the DOE and in accordance with the Higher Education Act, an institution may not provide any commission, bonus or other incentive payment to any person or entity engaged in any student recruitment, admissions or financial aid awarding activity based directly or indirectly on success in securing enrollments or financial aid. Failure to comply with the incentive payment rule could result in termination of participation in Title IV programs, limitation on participation in Title IV programs, or financial penalties. Aspen believes it is in compliance with the incentive payment rule.

In recent years, other postsecondary educational institutions have been named as defendants to whistleblower lawsuits, known as “qui tam” cases, brought by current or former employees pursuant to the Federal False Claims Act, alleging that their institution’s compensation practices did not comply with the incentive compensation rule. A qui tam case is a civil lawsuit brought by one or more individuals, referred to as a relator, on behalf of the federal government for an alleged submission to the government of a false claim for payment. The relator, often a current or former employee, is entitled to a share of the government’s recovery in the case, including the possibility of treble damages. A qui tam action is always filed under seal and remains under seal until the government decides whether to intervene in the case. If the government intervenes, it takes over primary control of the litigation. If the government declines to intervene in the case, the relator may nonetheless elect to continue to pursue the litigation at his or her own expense on behalf of the government. Any such litigation could be costly and could divert management’s time and attention away from the business, regardless of whether a claim has merit.

The GAO released a report finding that the DOE has inadequately enforced the current ban on incentive payments. In response, the DOE has undertaken to increase its enforcement efforts by, among other approaches, strengthening procedures provided to auditors reviewing institutions for compliance with the incentive payments ban and updating its internal compliance guidance in light of the GAO findings and the recently amended DOE incentive payment rule.

Code of Conduct Related to Student Loans. As part of an institution’s program participation agreement with the DOE, HEOA requires that institutions that participate in Title IV programs adopt a code of conduct pertinent to student loans. For financial aid office or other employees who have responsibility related to education loans, the code must forbid, with limited exceptions, gifts, consulting arrangements with lenders, and advisory board compensation other than reasonable expense reimbursement. The code also must ban revenue-sharing arrangements, “opportunity pools” that lenders offer in exchange for certain promises, and staffing assistance from lenders. The institution must post the code prominently on its website and ensure that its officers, employees, and agents who have financial aid responsibilities are informed annually of the code’s provisions. Aspen has adopted a code of conduct under the HEOA which is posted on its website. In addition to the code of conduct requirements that apply to institutions, HEOA contains provisions that apply to private lenders, prohibiting such lenders from engaging in certain activities as they interact with institutions. Failure to comply with the code of conduct provision could result in termination of our participation in Title IV programs, limitations on participation in Title IV programs, or financial penalties.

Misrepresentation. The Higher Education Act and current regulations authorize the DOE to take action against an institution that participates in Title IV programs for any “substantial misrepresentation” made by that institution regarding the nature of its educational program, its financial charges, or the employability of its graduates. Effective July 1, 2011, DOE regulations expanded the definition of “substantial misrepresentation” to cover additional representatives of the institution and additional substantive areas and expands the parties to whom a substantial misrepresentation cannot be made. The regulations also augment the actions the DOE may take if it determines that an institution has engaged in substantial misrepresentation. Under the final regulations, the DOE may revoke an institution’s program participation agreement, impose limitations on an institution’s participation in Title IV programs, or initiate proceedings to impose a fine or to limit, suspend, or terminate the institution’s participation in Title IV programs.

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Credit Hours. The Higher Education Act and current regulations use the term “credit hour” to define an eligible program and an academic year and to determine enrollment status and the amount of Title IV aid an institution may disburse during a payment period. Recently, both Congress and the DOE have increased their focus on institutions’ policies for awarding credit hours. Recent DOE regulations define the previously undefined term “credit hour” in terms of a certain amount of time in class and outside class, or an equivalent amount of work. The regulations also require accrediting agencies to review the reliability and accuracy of an institution’s credit hour assignments. If an accreditor identifies systematic or significant noncompliance in one or more of an institution’s programs, the accreditor must notify the Secretary of Education. If the DOE determines that an institution is out of compliance with the credit hour definition, the DOE could require the institution to repay the incorrectly awarded amounts of Title IV aid. In addition, if the DOE determines that an institution has significantly overstated the amount of credit hours assigned to a program, the DOE may fine the institution, or limit, suspend, or terminate its participation in the Title IV programs.

Compliance Reviews. We are subject to announced and unannounced compliance reviews and audits by various external agencies, including the DOE, its Office of Inspector General, state licensing agencies, and accrediting agencies. As part of the DOE’s ongoing monitoring of institutions’ administration of Title IV programs, the Higher Education Act and DOE regulations require institutions to submit annually a compliance audit conducted by an independent certified public accountant in accordance with Government Auditing Standards and applicable audit standards of the DOE. These auditing standards differ from those followed in the audit of our financial statements contained herein. In addition, to enable the DOE to make a determination of financial responsibility, institutions must annually submit audited financial statements prepared in accordance with DOE regulations. Furthermore, the DOE regularly conducts program reviews of education institutions that are participating in the Title IV programs, and the Office of Inspector General of the DOE regularly conducts audits and investigations of such institutions. In August 2010, the Secretary of Education announced in a letter to several members of Congress that, in part in response to recent allegations against proprietary institutions of deceptive trade practices and noncompliance with DOE regulations, the DOE planned to strengthen its oversight of Title IV programs through, among other approaches, increasing the number of program reviews by 50%, from 200 conducted in 2010 to up to 300 reviews in 2011. The DOE has apparently not yet reported on the number of reviews conducted in 2012. Pending legislation including the “Students First Act” introduced in the United States Senate on February 28, 2013, would – if passed – increased the number of program reviews for various institutions deemed at-risk of violating DOE requirements.

Potential Effect of Regulatory Violations. If we fail to comply with the regulatory standards governing Title IV programs, the DOE could impose one or more sanctions, including transferring Aspen to the reimbursement or cash monitoring system of payment, seeking to require repayment of certain Title IV program funds, requiring Aspen to post a letter of credit in favor of the DOE as a condition for continued Title IV certification, taking emergency action against us, referring the matter for criminal prosecution or initiating proceedings to impose a fine or to limit, condition, suspend or terminate our participation in Title IV programs.

We also may be subject, from time to time, to complaints and lawsuits relating to regulatory compliance brought not only by our regulatory agencies, but also by other government agencies and third parties, such as present or former students or employees and other members of the public.

Restrictions on Adding Educational Programs. State requirements and accrediting agency standards may, in certain instances, limit our ability to establish additional programs. Many states require approval before institutions can add new programs under specified conditions. The Colorado Commission on Higher Education, and other state educational regulatory agencies that license or authorize us and our programs, may require institutions to notify them in advance of implementing new programs, and upon notification may undertake a review of the institution’s licensure or authorization.

In addition, we were advised by the DOE that because we were provisionally certified due to being a new Title IV program participant, we could not add new degree or non-degree programs for Title IV program purposes, except under limited circumstances and only if the DOE approved such new program, until the DOE reviewed a compliance audit that covered one complete fiscal year of Title IV program participation. That fiscal year ended on December 31, 2010, and we timely submitted our compliance audit and financial statements to the DOE. In addition, in June 2011, Aspen timely applied for recertification to participate in Title IV programs. The DOE extended Aspen's provisional certification until September 30, 2013. Aspen re-applied as of June 30, 2013 to continue its participation in the Title IV HEA programs. Aspen is awaiting action by the DOE.

Recent DOE regulations establish a new process under which an institution must apply for approval to offer a program that, under the Higher Education Act, must prepare students for “gainful employment in a recognized occupation” in order to be eligible for Title IV funds. An institution must notify the DOE at least 90 days before the first day of classes when it intends to add a program that prepares students for gainful employment. The DOE may, as a condition of certification to participate in Title IV programs, require prior approval of programs or otherwise restrict the number of programs an institution may add.

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DETC requires pre-approval of new courses, programs, and degrees that are characterized as a “substantive change.” An institution must obtain written notice approving such change before it may be included in the institution’s grant of accreditation. An institution is further prohibited from advertising or posting on its website information about the course or program before it has received approval. The process for obtaining approval generally requires submission of a report and course materials and may require a follow-up on-site visit by an examining committee.

Gainful Employment. Under the Higher Education Act, proprietary schools are eligible to participate in Title IV programs only in respect of education programs that lead to gainful employment in a recognized occupation. Under the DOE rules, with respect to each gainful employment program, a proprietary institution of higher education must disclose to prospective students with the identities of the occupations that the program prepares students to enter, total program cost, on-time completion rate, job placement rate (if applicable), and median loan debt of students who complete the program. Under the new program requirements, institutions are required to notify the DOE at least 90 days before the commencement of new gainful employment programs which must include information on the demand for the program, a wage analysis, an institutional program review and approval process, and a demonstration of accreditation. While the DOE had issued various additional reporting regulations, requiring institutions to annually submit information to the DOE regarding each enrolled student, including the amount of debt incurred, those reporting regulations were vacated in the June 2011 court decision discussed earlier herein, which was affirmed on appeal; new reporting regulations are expected to issue at some point. Institutions need not disclose or report gainful employment information on programs that are not eligible to participate in Title IV programs.

Expected gainful employment reporting requirements will likely substantially increase our administrative burdens, particularly during the implementation phase. These reporting and the other procedural changes in the new rules could affect student enrollment, persistence and retention in ways that we cannot now predict. For example, if our reported program information compares unfavorably with other reporting education institutions, it could adversely affect demand for our programs.

Although the rules regarding gainful employment metrics provide opportunities to address program deficiencies before the loss of Title IV eligibility, the continuing eligibility of our educational programs for Title IV funding is at risk under pending gainful employment rules due to factors beyond our control, such as changes in the actual or deemed income level of our graduates, changes in student borrowing levels, increases in interest rates, changes in the federal poverty income level relevant for calculating discretionary income, changes in the percentage of our former students who are current in repayment of their student loans, and other factors. In addition, even though deficiencies in the metrics may be correctible on a timely basis, the disclosure requirements to students following a failure to meet the standards may adversely impact enrollment in that program and may adversely impact the reputation of our education institution. The exposure to these external factors may reduce our ability to offer or continue confidently certain types of programs for which there is market demand, thus affecting our ability to maintain or grow our business.

Eligibility and Certification Procedures. Each institution must periodically apply to the DOE for continued certification to participate in Title IV programs. Such recertification is required every six years, but may be required earlier, including when an institution undergoes a change of control. An institution may come under the DOE’s review when it expands its activities in certain ways, such as opening an additional location, adding a new program, or, in certain cases, when it modifies academic credentials that it offers.

The DOE may place an institution on provisional certification status if it finds that the institution does not fully satisfy all of the eligibility and certification standards and in certain other circumstances, such as when it undergoes a change in ownership and control. The DOE may more closely review an institution that is provisionally certified if it applies for approval to open a new location, add an educational program, acquire another school or make any other significant change.

In addition, during the period of provisional certification, the institution must comply with any additional conditions included in its program participation agreement. If the DOE determines that a provisionally certified institution is unable to meet its responsibilities under its program participation agreement, it may seek to revoke the institution’s certification to participate in Title IV programs with fewer due process protections for the institution than if it were fully certified. Students attending provisionally certified institutions, like Aspen, remain eligible to receive Title IV program funds.

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Change in Ownership Resulting in a Change of Control. In addition to school acquisitions, other types of transactions can also cause a change of control. The DOE, most state education agencies, and DETC all have standards pertaining to the change of control of schools, but those standards are not uniform. DOE regulations describe some transactions that constitute a change of control, including the transfer of a controlling interest in the voting stock of an institution or the institution’s parent corporation. DOE regulations provide that a change of control of a publicly-traded corporation occurs in one of two ways: (i) if there is an event that would obligate the corporation to file a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, disclosing a change of control or (ii) if the corporation has a shareholder that owns at least 25% of the total outstanding voting stock of the corporation and is the largest shareholder of the corporation, and that shareholder ceases to own at least 25% of such stock or ceases to be the largest shareholder. A significant purchase or disposition of our voting stock could be determined by the DOE to be a change of control under this standard. Many states include the sale of a controlling interest of common stock in the definition of a change of control requiring approval. A change of control under the definition of one of these agencies would require us to seek approval of the change in ownership and control to maintain our accreditation, state authorization or licensure. The requirements to obtain such approval from the states and DETC vary widely. In some cases, approval of the change of ownership and control cannot be obtained until after the transaction has occurred. In December 2011, we provided details regarding the Reverse Merger to the CDHE. The CDHE indicated that under current regulations, as long as we maintain accreditation by DETC following the Reverse Merger, Aspen will remain in good standing with the CDHE. As described below, DETC approved the change of ownership, with several customary conditions.

DETC recently revised its policy pertinent to changes in legal status, control, ownership, or management. The policy revisions add definitions of the situations under which DETC considers a change in legal status, control, ownership, or management to occur, describe the procedures that an institution must follow to obtain approval, and clarify the options available to DETC. Among other revisions, DETC defines a change of ownership and control as a change in the ability to direct or cause the direction of the actions of an institution, including, for example, the sale of a controlling interest in an institution’s corporate parent. Failure to obtain prior approval of a change of ownership and control will result in withdrawal of accreditation under the new ownership. The policy also requires institutions to undergo a post-change examination within six months of a change of ownership. The revisions clarify that after such examination, DETC will make a final decision whether to continue the institution’s accreditation. In addition, if an institution is acquired by an entity that owns or operates other distance education institutions, the amendments clarify that any such institutions must obtain DETC approval within two years of the change of ownership or accreditation may be withdrawn. The policy revisions define a change of management as the replacement of the senior level executive of the institution, for example the President or Chief Executive Officer. In addition, the revisions clarify that before undertaking such a change, an institution must seek DETC’s prior approval by explaining when the change will occur, the rationale for the change, the executive’s job description, the new executive’s qualifications, and how the change will affect the institution’s ability to comply with all DETC accreditation standards. DETC may take any action it deems appropriate in response to a change of management request. The Reverse Merger was considered a change of control event under DETC’s policy. In February 2012, DETC informed Aspen that it had approved the change of ownership, with several conditions that are consistent with DETC’s change of ownership procedures and requirements. These conditions included: (1) that Aspen agree to undergo an examination visit by a committee; (2) that an updated Self-Evaluation Report be submitted four to six weeks prior to the on-site visit; (3) that Aspen submit a new Teach-Out Resolution form as soon as the Reverse Merger had closed; and (4) that Aspen provide written confirmation to DETC by February 20, 2012 that it agreed to and would comply with the stated conditions. We provided the requested information to DETC. The examination visit occurred in August 2012. Aspen is scheduled for re-accreditation review in November 2013. On September 28, 2012, the DOE approved Aspen's change of control and extended its provisional certification until September 30, 2013.

When a change of ownership resulting in a change of control occurs at a for-profit institution, the DOE applies a different set of financial tests to determine the financial responsibility of the institution in conjunction with its review and approval of the change of ownership. The institution generally is required to submit a same-day audited balance sheet reflecting the financial condition of the institution immediately following the change in ownership. The institution’s same-day balance sheet must demonstrate an acid test ratio of at least 1:1, which is calculated by adding cash and cash equivalents to current accounts receivable and dividing the sum by total current liabilities (and excluding all unsecured or uncollateralized related party receivables). The same-day balance sheet must demonstrate positive tangible net worth. If the institution does not satisfy these requirements, the DOE may condition its approval of the change of ownership on the institution’s agreeing to post a letter of credit, provisional certification, and/or additional monitoring requirements, as described in the above section on Financial Responsibility. The time required for the DOE to act on a post-change in ownership and control application may vary substantially. As a result of the change of ownership, Aspen delivered a $264,665 letter of credit to the DOE in accordance with the standards identified above.

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A change of control also could occur as a result of future transactions in which Aspen is involved. Some corporate reorganizations and some changes in the Board are examples of such transactions. Moreover, the potential adverse effects of a change of control could influence future decisions by us and our shareholders regarding the sale, purchase, transfer, issuance or redemption of our stock. In addition, the regulatory burdens and risks associated with a change of control also could discourage bids for your shares of common stock and could have an adverse effect on the market price of your shares.

Possible Acquisitions. In addition to the planned expansion through Aspen’s new marketing program, we may expand through acquisition of related or synergistic businesses. Our internal growth is subject to monitoring and ultimately approval by the DETC. If the DETC finds that the growth may adversely affect our academic quality, the DETC can request us to slow the growth and potentially withdraw accreditation and require us to re-apply for accreditation. The DOE may also impose growth restrictions on an institution, including in connection with a change in ownership and control. While acquisitions of online universities would be subject to approval by the DETC, approval of businesses which supply services to online universities or which provide educational services and/or products may not be subject to regulatory approval or extensive regulation.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS.

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following Risk Factors before deciding whether to invest in Aspen. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us, or that we currently deem immaterial, may also impair our business operations or our financial condition. If any of the events discussed in the Risk Factors below occur, our business, consolidated financial condition, results of operations or prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In such case, the value and marketability of the common stock could decline.

Risks Relating to Our Business

If we are unable to generate positive cash flows from our operations or we are unable to raise capital, our ability to continue as a going concern is in doubt.

We incurred a net loss of approximately $1.4 million for the four months ended April 30, 2013, $6 million in 2012 and $2.1 million in 2011 (using our then fiscal year of December 31^st). Beginning in September 2012, we closed equity financings totaling gross proceeds of approximately $4.6 million, which has provided working capital necessary because of these losses. Additionally, in July 2013, Michael Mathews, our Chief Executive Officer, loaned us $1 million and we issued him a $1 million Promissory Note due December 31, 2013. 探花视频app believes that it will begin generating positive cash flows from operations by the end of fiscal 2014. We are planning to conduct a future offering in the Fall of 2013 to raise up to $7 million from the sale of equity securities with the goal of meeting part of the NASDAQ’s initial listing standards. These proceeds will be used to meet cash flow deficits and to accelerate the growth of the business. We cannot assure you that this plan will result in the consummation of a successful offering. In the event that we are not successful at generating positive cash flows or we are unable to raise capital, we will be required to reduce our operating expenses which will limit our ability to grow our business. Additionally, our audited consolidated financial statements contain a going concern opinion. This going concern opinion may affect our ability to obtain DOE permanent certification for Title IV purposes.

If we are unable to raise sufficient enough capital, we may have to scale back our operations, reduce our marketing spend and may encounter regulatory restrictions, any of which will adversely affect our results of operations.

Investors are subject to substantial risk if we do not raise enough capital through the contemplated offering described in the Risk Factor above or by other means. Because of the continued volatility and disruption in worldwide capital and credit markets, potential deteriorating conditions in the U.S., ongoing financial issues in Europe, and difficulties which microcap companies have in raising capital, the lack of available credit for companies similar to us and our stock price, we may be hampered in our ability to raise the necessary working capital. As a result, we cannot give you any assurance that we will be successful in raising capital, and even if successful, we cannot give you assurance that it will be on terms favorable to us. If we do not raise the necessary working capital and if we do not generate sufficient revenues, we may not be able to remain operational or we may have to scale back our operations including our marketing spend which will adversely affect our future enrollments. Moreover, we operate in a regulated environment and are required to meet capital requirements set by the DOE and the DETC. If we fail to meet these requirements, we will be unable to offer federal loans to students and may be precluded from continuing in business.

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Because our management team has been in place for two years, it may be difficult to evaluate our future prospects and the risk of success or failure of our business.

Our management team began the process of taking control of Aspen from its then Chairman in May 2011 and embarked upon changes in Aspen’s business model including adopting a new tuition plan effective upon receiving regulatory approval, revamping Aspen’s marketing approach, substantially increasing marketing expenditures, and upgrading Aspen’s technology infrastructure. While the results to date are very encouraging, the limited time period makes it difficult to project whether we will be successful.

Our business may be adversely affected by a further economic slowdown in the U.S. or abroad or by an economic recovery in the U.S.

The U.S. and much of the world economy are experiencing difficult economic circumstances. We believe the economic downturn in the U.S., particularly the continuing high unemployment rate, has contributed to a portion of our recent enrollment growth as an increased number of working students seek to advance their education to improve job security or reemployment prospects. This effect cannot be quantified. However, to the extent that the economic downturn and the associated unemployment have increased demand for our programs, an improving economy and increased employment may eliminate this effect and reduce such demand as fewer potential students seek to advance their education. We do not know whether the gradually reduced unemployment rate will reduce future demand for our services, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Conversely, a worsening of economic and employment conditions could adversely affect the ability or willingness of prospective students to pay our tuition and our former students to repay student loans, which could increase our bad debt expense, impair our ability to offer students loans under Title IV, and require increased time, attention and resources to manage defaults.

If we cannot manage our growth, our results of operations may suffer and could adversely affect our ability to comply with federal regulations.

The growth that we have experienced after our new management began in May 2011, as well as any future growth that we experience, may place a significant strain on our resources and increase demands on our management information and reporting systems and financial management controls. If growth negatively impacts our ability to manage our business, the learning experience for our students could be adversely affected, resulting in a higher rate of student attrition and fewer student referrals. Future growth will also require continued improvement of our internal controls and systems, particularly those related to complying with federal regulations under the Higher Education Act, as administered by the DOE, including as a result of our participation in federal student financial aid programs under Title IV. If we are unable to manage our growth, we may also experience operating inefficiencies that could increase our costs and adversely affect our profitability and results of operations.

Because there is strong competition in the postsecondary education market, especially in the online education market, our cost of acquiring students may increase and our results of operations may be harmed.

Postsecondary education is highly fragmented and competitive. We compete with traditional public and private two-year and four-year brick and mortar colleges as well as other for-profit schools, particularly those that offer online learning programs. Public and private colleges and universities, as well as other for-profit schools, offer programs similar to those we offer. Public institutions receive substantial government subsidies, and public and private institutions have access to government and foundation grants, tax-deductible contributions that create large endowments and other financial resources generally not available to for-profit schools. Accordingly, public and private institutions may have instructional and support resources that are superior to those in the for-profit sector. In addition, some of our competitors, including both traditional colleges and universities and online for-profit schools, have substantially greater name recognition and financial and other resources than we have, which may enable them to compete more effectively for potential students. We also expect to face increased competition as a result of new entrants to the online education market, including established colleges and universities that have not previously offered online education programs. Recently, major brick and mortar universities have advertised their online course offerings.

We may not be able to compete successfully against current or future competitors and may face competitive pressures including price pressures that could adversely affect our business or results of operations and reduce our operating margins. These competitive factors could cause our enrollments, revenues and profitability to decrease significantly.

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In the event that we are unable to update and expand the content of existing programs and develop new programs and specializations on a timely basis and in a cost-effective manner, our results of operations may be harmed.

The updates and expansions of our existing programs and the development of new programs and specializations may not be accepted by existing or prospective students or employers. If we cannot respond to changes in market requirements, our business may be adversely affected. Even if we are able to develop acceptable new programs, we may not be able to introduce these new programs as quickly as students require or as quickly as our competitors introduce competing programs. To offer a new academic program, we may be required to obtain appropriate federal, state and accrediting agency approvals, which may be conditioned or delayed in a manner that could significantly affect our growth plans. In addition, a new academic program that must prepare students for gainful employment must be approved by the DOE for Title IV purposes if the institution is provisionally certified, which we are through September 30, 2013. If we are unable to respond adequately to changes in market requirements due to financial constraints, regulatory limitations or other factors, our ability to attract and retain students could be impaired and our financial results could suffer.

Establishing new academic programs or modifying existing programs may require us to make investments in management and faculty, incur marketing expenses and reallocate other resources. If we are unable to increase the number of students, or offer new programs in a cost-effective manner, or are otherwise unable to manage effectively the operations of newly established academic programs, our results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.

Because our future growth and profitability will depend in large part upon the effectiveness of our marketing and advertising efforts, if those efforts are unsuccessful we may not be profitable in the future.

Our future growth and profitability will depend in large part upon our media performance, including our ability to:

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Create greater awareness of our school and our programs;

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Identify the most effective and efficient level of spending in each market and specific media vehicle;

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Determine the appropriate creative message and media mix for advertising, marketing and promotional expenditures; and

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Effectively manage marketing costs (including creative and media).

Our marketing expenditures may not result in increased revenue or generate sufficient levels of brand name and program awareness. If our media performance is not effective, our future results of operations and financial condition will be adversely affected.

Although our management is spearheading a new marketing and advertising program, it may not be successful.

Mr. Michael Mathews, our Chief Executive Officer, has developed a new marketing campaign designed to substantially increase our student enrollment. While initial results have been as anticipated, there are no assurances that this marketing campaign will continue to be successful. Among the risks are the following:

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Our ability to compete with existing online colleges which have substantially greater financial resources, deeper management and academic resources, and enhanced public reputations;

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the emergence of more successful competitors;

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factors related to our marketing, including the costs of Internet advertising and broad-based branding campaigns;

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limits on our ability to attract and retain effective employees because of the new incentive payment rule;

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performance problems with our online systems;

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our failure to maintain accreditation;

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student dissatisfaction with our services and programs;

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adverse publicity regarding us, our competitors or online or for-profit education generally;

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a decline in the acceptance of online education;

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a decrease in the perceived or actual economic benefits that students derive from our programs;

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potential students may not be able to afford the monthly payments; and

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potential students may not react favorably to our marketing and advertising campaigns, including our new monthly payment plan.

If our new marketing campaign is not favorably received, our revenues may not increase. Moreover, in June 2013, we launched a monthly payment plan designed to encourage students to enroll in courses without borrowing. It is too soon to know if this plan will increase our revenues.

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If student enrollment declines or does not increase in reaction to our new monthly installment payment plan, we may not be successful.

Effective June 1, 2013, we began implementing a new monthly installment tuition payment plan. This plan is designed to increase enrollment and encourage students to reduce or eliminate student loans. We do not know if this plan will be successful. If it is not, we may experience a decline in enrollment or a failure to grow our revenues.

If we incur system disruptions to our online computer networks, it could impact our ability to generate revenue and damage our reputation, limiting our ability to attract and retain students.

In 2011, 2012 and 2013, we spent approximately $1.5 million to update our computer network primarily to permit accelerated student enrollment and enhance our students’ learning experience. We expect to spend $250,000 in capital expenditures over the next 12 months. The performance and reliability of our technology infrastructure is critical to our reputation and ability to attract and retain students. Any system error or failure, or a sudden and significant increase in bandwidth usage, could result in the unavailability of our online classroom, damaging our reputation and could cause a loss in enrollment. Our technology infrastructure could be vulnerable to interruption or malfunction due to events beyond our control, including natural disasters, terrorist activities and telecommunications failures.

Although one of our directors has pledged shares of common stock to secure payment of a receivable, it is possible that the future market price of our common stock will decline in which case we will incur an adverse impact to its future operating results and financial condition.

In March 2012, one of our directors pledged a total of 117,943 shares of personally owned Aspen common stock (now shares of 探花视频app). The shares were pledged (in addition to shares pledged by Aspen's former Chairman and his company) to secure payment of a $772,793 accounts receivable. The Stock Pledge Agreement provides that the shares will be cancelled at the rate of $1.00 per share in the event that we are unable to collect this receivable which is due in 2014. Because of sales of common stock below $1.00 per share, the receivable in total was reduced to $270,478 as of December 31, 2012 and April 30, 2013. If we are unable to collect on this receivable, we will suffer a number of consequences, including a failure to collect a material amount of cash and if our stock price is below $0.35, we will sustain a non cash loss.

If we experience any interruption to our technology infrastructure, it could prevent students from accessing their courses, could have a material adverse effect on our ability to attract and retain students and could require us to incur additional expenses to correct or mitigate the interruption.

Our computer networks may also be vulnerable to unauthorized access, computer hackers, computer viruses and other security problems. A user who circumvents security measures could misappropriate proprietary information, personal information about our students or cause interruptions or malfunctions in operations. As a result, we may be required to expend significant resources to protect against the threat of these security breaches or to alleviate problems caused by these breaches.

Because we rely on third parties to provide services in running our operations, if any of these parties fail to provide the agreed services at an acceptable level, it could limit our ability to provide services and/or cause student dissatisfaction, either of which could adversely affect our business.

We rely on third parties to provide us with services in order for us to efficiently and securely operate our business including our computer network and the courses we offer to students. Any interruption in our ability to obtain the services of these or other third parties or deterioration in their performance could impair the quality of our educational product and overall business. Generally, there are multiple sources for the services we purchase. Our business could be disrupted if we were required to replace any of these third parties, especially if the replacement became necessary on short notice, which could adversely affect our business and results of operations.

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If we or our service providers are unable to update the technology that we rely upon to offer online education, our future growth may be impaired.

We believe that continued growth will require our service providers to increase the capacity and capabilities of their technology infrastructure. Increasing the capacity and capabilities of the technology infrastructure will require these third parties to invest capital, time and resources, and there is no assurance that even with sufficient investment their systems will be scalable to accommodate future growth. Our service providers may also need to invest capital, time and resources to update their technology in response to competitive pressures in the marketplace. If they are unwilling or unable to increase the capacity of their resources or update their resources appropriately and we cannot change over to other service providers efficiently, our ability to handle growth, our ability to attract or retain students, and our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely affected.

Because we rely on third party administration and hosting of open source software for our online classroom, if that third party were to cease to do business or alter its business practices and services, it could have an adverse impact on our ability to operate.

Our online classroom employs the Moodle learning management system which is an open source learning platform and is supported by the open source community. The system is a web-based portal that stores and delivers course content, provides interactive communication between students and faculty, and supplies online evaluation tools. While Moodle is an open source learning platform, we rely on third parties to host and help with the administration of it. We further rely on third parties, the Moodlerooms, Inc. agreement and the open source community as well as our internal staff for ongoing support and customization and integration of the system with the rest of our technology infrastructure. If Moodlerooms or the open source community that supports it were unable or unwilling to continue to provide us with service, we may have difficulty maintaining the software required for our online classroom or updating it for future technological changes. Any failure to maintain our online classroom would have an adverse impact on our operations, damage our reputation and limit our ability to attract and retain students.

Because the personal information that we or our vendors collect may be vulnerable to breach, theft or loss, any of these factors could adversely affect our reputation and operations.

Possession and use of personal information in our operations subjects us to risks and costs that could harm our business. Aspen uses a third party to collect and retain large amounts of personal information regarding our students and their families, including social security numbers, tax return information, personal and family financial data and credit card numbers. We also collect and maintain personal information of our employees in the ordinary course of our business. Some of this personal information is held and managed by certain of our vendors. Errors in the storage, use or transmission of personal information could result in a breach of student or employee privacy. Possession and use of personal information in our operations also subjects us to legislative and regulatory burdens that could require notification of data breaches, restrict our use of personal information, and cause us to lose our certification to participate in the Title IV programs. We cannot guarantee that there will not be a breach, loss or theft of personal information that we store or our third parties store. A breach, theft or loss of personal information regarding our students and their families or our employees that is held by us or our vendors could have a material adverse effect on our reputation and results of operations and result in liability under state and federal privacy statutes and legal or administrative actions by state attorneys general, private litigants, and federal regulators any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Because the CAN-SPAM Act imposes certain obligations on the senders of commercial emails, it could adversely impact our ability to market Aspen’s educational services, and otherwise increase the costs of our business.

The Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003, or CAN-SPAM Act, establishes requirements for commercial email and specifies penalties for commercial email that violates the CAN-SPAM Act. In addition, the CAN-SPAM Act gives consumers the right to require third parties to stop sending them commercial email.

The CAN-SPAM Act covers email sent for the primary purpose of advertising or promoting a commercial product, service, or Internet website. The Federal Trade Commission, a federal consumer protection agency, is primarily responsible for enforcing the CAN-SPAM Act, and the Department of Justice, other federal agencies, State Attorneys General, and Internet service providers also have authority to enforce certain of its provisions.

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The CAN-SPAM Act’s main provisions include:

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Prohibiting false or misleading email header information;

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Prohibiting the use of deceptive subject lines;

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Ensuring that recipients may, for at least 30 days after an email is sent, opt out of receiving future commercial email messages from the sender;

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Requiring that commercial email be identified as a solicitation or advertisement unless the recipient affirmatively permitted the message; and

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Requiring that the sender include a valid postal address in the email message.

The CAN-SPAM Act also prohibits unlawful acquisition of email addresses, such as through directory harvesting and transmission of commercial emails by unauthorized means, such as through relaying messages with the intent to deceive recipients as to the origin of such messages.

Violations of the CAN-SPAM Act’s provisions can result in criminal and civil penalties, including statutory penalties that can be based in part upon the number of emails sent, with enhanced penalties for commercial email companies who harvest email addresses, use dictionary attack patterns to generate email addresses, and/or relay emails through a network without permission.

The CAN-SPAM Act acknowledges that the Internet offers unique opportunities for the development and growth of frictionless commerce, and the CAN-SPAM Act was passed, in part, to enhance the likelihood that wanted commercial email messages would be received.

The CAN-SPAM Act preempts, or blocks, most state restrictions specific to email, except for rules against falsity or deception in commercial email, fraud and computer crime. The scope of these exceptions, however, is not settled, and some states have adopted email regulations that, if upheld, could impose liabilities and compliance burdens in addition to those imposed by the CAN-SPAM Act.

Moreover, some foreign countries, including the countries of the European Union, have regulated the distribution of commercial email and the online collection and disclosure of personal information. Foreign governments may attempt to apply their laws extraterritorially or through treaties or other arrangements with U.S. governmental entities.

Because we use email marketing, our requirement to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act could adversely affect Aspen's marketing activities and increase its costs.

If we lose the services of key personnel, it could adversely affect our business.

Our future success depends, in part, on our ability to attract and retain key personnel. Our future also depends on the continued services of Mr. Michael Mathews, our Chief Executive Officer, who is critical to the management of our business and operations and the development of our strategic direction and would also be difficult to replace. We have a $3 million key man life insurance policy on Mr. Mathews. The loss of the services of Mr. Mathews and other key individuals and the process to replace these individuals would involve significant time and expense and may significantly delay or prevent the achievement of our business objectives.

If we are unable to attract and retain our faculty, administrators, management and skilled personnel, we may not be able to support our growth strategy.

To execute our growth strategy, we must attract and retain highly qualified faculty, administrators, management and skilled personnel. Competition for hiring these individuals is intense, especially with regard to faculty in specialized areas. If we fail to attract new skilled personnel or faculty or fail to retain and motivate our existing faculty, administrators, management and skilled personnel, our business and growth prospects could be severely harmed. The DOE’s revised incentive payment rule, which took effect July 1, 2011, may affect the manner in which we attract, retain, and motivate new and existing employees.

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If we are unable to protect our intellectual property, our business could be harmed.

In the ordinary course of our business, we develop intellectual property of many kinds that is or will be the subject of copyright, trademark, service mark, trade secret or other protections. This intellectual property includes but is not limited to courseware materials, business know-how and internal processes and procedures developed to respond to the requirements of operating and various education regulatory agencies. We rely on a combination of copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade secrets, domain names, agreements and registrations to protect our intellectual property. We rely on service mark and trademark protection in the U.S. to protect our rights to the mark "ASPEN UNIVERSITY" as well as distinctive logos and other marks associated with our services. We rely on agreements under which we obtain rights to use course content developed by faculty members and other third party content experts. We cannot assure you that the measures that we take will be adequate or that we have secured, or will be able to secure, appropriate protections for all of our proprietary rights in the U.S. or select foreign jurisdictions, or that third parties will not infringe upon or violate our proprietary rights. Despite our efforts to protect these rights, unauthorized third parties may attempt to duplicate or copy the proprietary aspects of our curricula, online resource material and other content, and offer competing programs to ours.

In particular, third parties may attempt to develop competing programs or duplicate or copy aspects of our curriculum, online resource material, quality management and other proprietary content. Any such attempt, if successful, could adversely affect our business. Protecting these types of intellectual property rights can be difficult, particularly as it relates to the development by our competitors of competing courses and programs.

We may encounter disputes from time to time over rights and obligations concerning intellectual property, and we may not prevail in these disputes. Third parties may raise a claim against us alleging an infringement or violation of the intellectual property of that third party.

If we are subject to intellectual property infringement claims, it could cause us to incur significant expenses and pay substantial damages.

Third parties may claim that we are infringing or violating their intellectual property rights. Any such claims could cause us to incur significant expenses and, if successfully asserted against us, could require that we pay substantial damages and prevent us from using our intellectual property that may be fundamental to our business. Even if we were to prevail, any litigation regarding the intellectual property could be costly and time-consuming and divert the attention of our management and key personnel from our business operations.

If we incur liability for the unauthorized duplication or distribution of class materials posted online during our class discussions, it may affect our future operating results and financial condition.

In some instances, our faculty members or our students may post various articles or other third party content on class discussion boards. We may incur liability for the unauthorized duplication or distribution of this material posted online for class discussions. Third parties may raise claims against us for the unauthorized duplication of this material. Any such claims could subject us to costly litigation and impose a significant strain on our financial resources and management personnel regardless of whether the claims have merit. As a result we may be required to alter the content of our courses or pay monetary damages.

Because we are an exclusively online provider of education, we are entirely dependent on continued growth and acceptance of exclusively online education and, if the recognition by students and employers of the value of online education does not continue to grow, our ability to grow our business could be adversely impacted.

We believe that continued growth in online education will be largely dependent on additional students and employers recognizing the value of degrees and courses from online institutions. If students and employers are not convinced that online schools are an acceptable alternative to traditional schools or that an online education provides value, or if growth in the market penetration of exclusively online education slows, growth in the industry and our business could be adversely affected. Because our business model is based on online education, if the acceptance of online education does not grow, our ability to continue to grow our business and our financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

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As Internet commerce develops, federal and state governments may draft and propose new laws to regulate Internet commerce, which may negatively affect our business.

The increasing popularity and use of the Internet and other online services have led and may lead to the adoption of new laws and regulatory practices in the U.S. and to new interpretations of existing laws and regulations. These new laws and interpretations may relate to issues such as online privacy, copyrights, trademarks and service marks, sales taxes, fair business practices and the requirement that online education institutions qualify to do business as foreign corporations or be licensed in one or more jurisdictions where they have no physical location or other presence. New laws, regulations or interpretations related to doing business over the Internet could increase our costs and materially and adversely affect our enrollments, revenues and results of operations.

If there is new tax treatment of companies engaged in Internet commerce, this may adversely affect the commercial use of our marketing services and our financial results.

Due to the growing budgetary problems facing state and local governments, it is possible that governments might attempt to tax our activities. New or revised tax regulations may subject us to additional sales, income and other taxes. We cannot predict the effect of current attempts to impose taxes on commerce over the Internet. New or revised taxes and, in particular, sales or use taxes, would likely increase the cost of doing business online which could have an adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Risks Related to the Regulation of Our Industry

If we fail to comply with the extensive regulatory requirements for our business, we could face penalties and significant restrictions on our operations, including loss of access to Title IV loans.

We are subject to extensive regulation by (1) the federal government through the DOE and under the Higher Education Act, (2) state regulatory bodies and (3) accrediting agencies recognized by the DOE, including the DETC, a “national accrediting agency” recognized by the DOE. The U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs regulate our participation in the military’s tuition assistance program and the VA’s veterans’ education benefits program, respectively. The regulations, standards and policies of these agencies cover the vast majority of our operations, including our educational programs, facilities, instructional and administrative staff, administrative procedures, marketing, recruiting, financial operations and financial condition. These regulatory requirements can also affect our ability to add new or expand existing educational programs and to change our corporate structure and ownership.

Institutions of higher education that grant degrees, diplomas, or certificates must be authorized by an appropriate state education agency or agencies. In addition, in certain states as a condition of continued authorization to grant degrees and in order to participate in various federal programs, including tuition assistance programs of the United States Armed Forces, a school must be accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. Accreditation is a non-governmental process through which an institution submits to qualitative review by an organization of peer institutions, based on the standards of the accrediting agency and the stated aims and purposes of the institution. The Higher Education Act requires accrediting agencies recognized by the DOE to review and monitor many aspects of an institution's operations and to take appropriate action when the institution fails to comply with the accrediting agency's standards.

Our operations are also subject to regulation due to our participation in Title IV programs. Title IV programs, which are administered by the DOE, include loans made directly to students by the DOE. Title IV programs also include several grant programs for students with economic need as determined in accordance with the Higher Education Act and DOE regulations. To participate in Title IV programs, a school must receive and maintain authorization by the appropriate state education agencies, be accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education, and be certified as an eligible institution by the DOE. Our growth strategy is partly dependent on enrolling more students who are attracted to us because of our continued participation in the Title IV programs.

The regulations, standards, and policies of the DOE, state education agencies, and our accrediting agencies change frequently. Recent and impending changes in, or new interpretations of, applicable laws, regulations, standards, or policies, or our noncompliance with any applicable laws, regulations, standards, or policies, could have a material adverse effect on our accreditation, authorization to operate in various states, activities, receipt of funds under tuition assistance programs of the United States Armed Forces, our ability to participate in Title IV programs, receipt of veterans education benefits funds, or costs of doing business. Findings of noncompliance with these regulations, standards and policies also could result in our being required to pay monetary damages, or being subjected to fines, penalties, injunctions, limitations on our operations, termination of our ability to grant degrees, revocation of our accreditation, restrictions on our access to Title IV program funds or other censure that could have a material adverse effect on our business.

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If we do not maintain authorization in Colorado, our operations would be curtailed, and we may not grant degrees.

Aspen is headquartered in Colorado and is authorized by the Colorado Commission on Higher Education to grant degrees, diplomas or certificates. If we were to lose our authorization from the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, we would be unable to provide educational services in Colorado and we would lose our eligibility to participate in the Title IV programs.

Our failure to comply with regulations of various states could have a material adverse effect on our enrollments, revenues, and results of operations.

Various states impose regulatory requirements on education institutions operating within their boundaries. Several states assert jurisdiction over online education institutions that have no physical location or other presence in the state but offer education services to students who reside in the state or advertise to or recruit prospective students in the state. State regulatory requirements for online education are inconsistent among states and not well developed in many jurisdictions. As such, these requirements change frequently and, in some instances, are not clear or are left to the discretion of state regulators.

State laws typically establish standards for instruction, qualifications of faculty, administrative procedures, marketing, recruiting, financial operations, and other operational matters. To the extent that we have obtained, or obtain in the future, additional authorizations or licensure, changes in state laws and regulations and the interpretation of those laws and regulations by the applicable regulators may limit our ability to offer education programs and award degrees. Some states may also prescribe financial regulations that are different from those of the DOE. If we fail to comply with state licensing or authorization requirements, we may be subject to the loss of state licensure or authorization. If we fail to comply with state requirements to obtain licensure or authorization, we may be the subject of injunctive actions or penalties. Loss of licensure or authorization or the failure to obtain required licensures or authorizations could prohibit us from recruiting or enrolling students in particular states, reduce significantly our enrollments and revenues and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. We enroll students in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. We have sought and received confirmation that our operations do not require state licensure or authorization, or we have been notified that we are exempt from licensure or authorization requirements, in three states. We, through our legal counsel, are researching the licensure requirements and exemption possibilities in the remaining 47 states. It is anticipated that Aspen will be in compliance with all state licensure requirements by June 2014. Because we enroll students in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, we may have to seek licensure or authorization in additional states in the future.

Under DOE regulations, if an institution offers postsecondary education through distance education to students in a state in which the institution is not physically located or in which it is otherwise subject to state jurisdiction as determined by that state, the institution must have met any state requirements for it to be legally offering postsecondary distance education in that state. A federal court has vacated such requirement, and an appellate court affirmed that ruling on June 5, 2012, though further guidance is expected. Should the requirement be upheld or otherwise enforced, however, and if we fail to obtain required state authorization to provide postsecondary distance education in a specific state, we could lose our ability to award Title IV aid to students within that state.

The DOE’s new requirement could lead some states to adopt new laws and regulatory practices affecting the delivery of distance education to students located in those states. In the event we are found not to be in compliance with a state’s new or existing requirements for offering distance education within that state, the state could seek to restrict one or more of our business activities within its boundaries, we may not be able to recruit students from that state, and we may have to cease providing service to students in that state. In addition, under the DOE’s regulation regarding state authorization and distance education, if and when the regulation is enforced or re-promulgated, we could lose eligibility to offer Title IV aid to students located in that state.

If we fail to maintain our institutional accreditation, we would lose our ability to participate in the tuition assistance programs of the U.S. Armed Forces and also to participate in Title IV programs.

Aspen is accredited by the DETC, which is a national accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary of Education for Title IV purposes. Accreditation by an accrediting agency that is recognized by the Secretary of Education is required for an institution to become and remain eligible to participate in Title IV programs as well as in the tuition assistance programs of the United States Armed Forces. DETC may impose restrictions on our accreditation or may terminate our accreditation. To remain accredited we must continuously meet certain criteria and standards relating to, among other things, performance, governance, institutional integrity, educational quality, faculty, administrative capability, resources and financial stability. Failure to meet any of these criteria or standards could result in the loss of accreditation at the discretion of the accrediting agency. The loss of accreditation would, among other things, render our students and us ineligible to participate in the tuition assistance programs of the U.S. Armed Forces or Title IV programs and have a material adverse effect on our enrollments, revenues and results of operations.

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Because we have only recently begun to participate in Title IV programs, our failure to comply with the complex regulations associated with Title IV programs would have a significant adverse effect on our operations and prospects for growth.

We have only recently begun to participate in Title IV programs. Compliance with the requirements of the Higher Education Act and Title IV programs is highly complex and imposes significant additional regulatory requirements on our operations, which require additional staff, contractual arrangements, systems and regulatory costs. We have a limited demonstrated history of compliance with these additional regulatory requirements. If we fail to comply with any of these additional regulatory requirements, the DOE could, among other things, impose monetary penalties, place limitations on our operations, and/or condition or terminate our eligibility to receive Title IV program funds, which would limit our potential for growth and adversely affect our enrollment, revenues and results of operations.

Because we are only provisionally certified by the DOE, we must reestablish our eligibility and certification to participate in the Title IV programs, and there are no assurances that DOE will recertify us to participate in the Title IV programs.

An institution generally must seek recertification from the DOE at least every six years and possibly more frequently depending on various factors. In certain circumstances, the DOE provisionally certifies an institution to participate in Title IV programs, such as when it is an initial participant in Title IV programs or has undergone a change in ownership and control. On September 28, 2012, the DOE notified us that following our application for change of control, it extended our provisional certification until September 30, 2013. Pending this approval, we delivered a $264,665 letter of credit to the DOE. Furthermore, DOE may impose additional or different terms and conditions in any final program participation agreement that it may issue, including growth restrictions or limitation on the number of students who may receive Title IV aid. The DOE could also decline to finally certify Aspen, otherwise limit its participation in the Title IV programs, or continue provisional certification.

If the DOE does not ultimately approve our permanent certification to participate in Title IV programs, our students would no longer be able to receive Title IV program funds, which would have a material adverse effect on our enrollments, revenues and results of operations. In addition, regulatory restraints related to the addition of new programs could impair our ability to attract and retain students and could negatively affect our financial results.

Because the DOE may conduct compliance reviews of us, we may be subject to adverse review and future litigation which could affect our ability to offer Title IV student loans.

Because we operate in a highly regulated industry, we are subject to compliance reviews and claims of non-compliance and lawsuits by government agencies, regulatory agencies, and third parties, including claims brought by third parties on behalf of the federal government. If the results of compliance reviews or other proceedings are unfavorable to us, or if we are unable to defend successfully against lawsuits or claims, we may be required to pay monetary damages or be subject to fines, limitations, loss of Title IV funding, injunctions or other penalties, including the requirement to make refunds. Even if we adequately address issues raised by an agency review or successfully defend a lawsuit or claim, we may have to divert significant financial and management resources from our ongoing business operations to address issues raised by those reviews or to defend against those lawsuits or claims. Claims and lawsuits brought against us may damage our reputation, even if such claims and lawsuits are without merit.

If our competitors are subject to further regulatory claims and adverse publicity, it may affect our industry and reduce our future enrollment.

We are one of a number of for-profit institutions serving the postsecondary education market. In recent years, regulatory investigations and civil litigation have been commenced against several companies that own for-profit educational institutions. These investigations and lawsuits have alleged, among other things, deceptive trade practices and non-compliance with DOE regulations. These allegations have attracted adverse media coverage and have been the subject of federal and state legislative hearings. Although the media, regulatory and legislative focus has been primarily on the allegations made against specific companies, broader allegations against the overall for-profit school sector may negatively affect public perceptions of other for-profit educational institutions, including Aspen. In addition, in recent years, reports on student lending practices of various lending institutions and schools, including for-profit schools, and investigations by a number of state attorneys general, Congress and governmental agencies have led to adverse media coverage of postsecondary education. Adverse media coverage regarding other companies in the for-profit school sector or regarding us directly could damage our reputation, could result in lower enrollments, revenues and operating profit, and could have a negative impact on our stock price. Such allegations could also result in increased scrutiny and regulation by the DOE, Congress, accrediting bodies, state legislatures or other governmental authorities with respect to all for-profit institutions, including us.

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Due to new regulations or congressional action or reduction in funding for Title IV programs, our future enrollment may be reduced and costs of compliance increased.

The Higher Education Act comes up for reauthorization by Congress approximately every five to six years. When Congress does not act on complete reauthorization, there are typically amendments and extensions of authorization. Additionally, Congress reviews and determines appropriations for Title IV programs on an annual basis through the budget and appropriations process. There is no assurance that Congress will not in the future enact changes that decrease Title IV program funds available to students, including students who attend our institution. Any action by Congress that significantly reduces funding for Title IV programs or the ability of our school or students to participate in these programs would require us to arrange for other sources of financial aid and would materially decrease our enrollment. Such a decrease in enrollment would have a material adverse effect on our revenues and results of operations. Congressional action may also require us to modify our practices in ways that could result in increased administrative and regulatory costs and decreased profit margin.

We are not in position to predict with certainty whether any legislation will be passed by Congress or signed into law in the future. The reallocation of funding among Title IV programs, material changes in the requirements for participation in such programs, or the substitution of materially different Title IV programs could reduce the ability of students to finance their education at our institution and adversely affect our revenues and results of operations.

If our efforts to comply with DOE regulations are inconsistent with how the DOE interprets those provisions, either due to insufficient time to implement the necessary changes, uncertainty about the meaning of the rules, or otherwise, we may be found to be in noncompliance with such provisions and the DOE could impose monetary penalties, place limitations on our operations, and/or condition or terminate our eligibility to receive Title IV program funds. We cannot predict with certainty the effect the new and impending regulatory provisions will have on our business.

Investigations by state attorneys general, Congress and governmental agencies regarding relationships between loan providers and educational institutions and their financial aid officers may result in increased regulatory burdens and costs.

In the past few years, the student lending practices of postsecondary educational institutions, financial aid officers and student loan providers were subject to several investigations being conducted by state attorneys general, Congress and governmental agencies. These investigations concern, among other things, possible deceptive practices in the marketing of private student loans and loans provided by lenders pursuant to Title IV programs. Higher Education Opportunity Act, or HEOA, contains new requirements pertinent to relationships between lenders and institutions. In particular, HEOA requires institutions to have a code of conduct, with certain specified provisions, pertinent to interactions with lenders of student loans, prohibits certain activities by lenders and guaranty agencies with respect to institutions, and establishes substantive and disclosure requirements for lists of recommended or suggested lenders of private student loans. In addition, HEOA imposes substantive and disclosure obligations on institutions that make available a list of recommended lenders for potential borrowers. State legislators have also passed or may be considering legislation related to relationships between lenders and institutions. Because of the evolving nature of these legislative efforts and various inquiries and developments, we can neither know nor predict with certainty their outcome, or the potential remedial actions that might result from these or other potential inquiries. Governmental action may impose increased administrative and regulatory costs and decreased profit margins.

Because we are subject to sanctions if we fail to calculate correctly and return timely Title IV program funds for students who stop participating before completing their educational program, our future operating results may be adversely affected.

A school participating in Title IV programs must correctly calculate the amount of unearned Title IV program funds that have been disbursed to students who withdraw from their educational programs before completion and must return those unearned funds in a timely manner, generally within 45 days after the date the school determines that the student has withdrawn. Under recently effective DOE regulations, institutions that use the last day of attendance at an academically-related activity must determine the relevant date based on accurate institutional records (not a student’s certificate of attendance). For online classes, “academic attendance” means engaging in an academically-related activity, such as participating in class through an online discussion or initiating contact with a faculty member to ask a question; simply logging into an online class does not constitute “academic attendance” for purposes of the return of funds requirements. Because we only recently began to participate in Title IV programs, we have limited experience complying with these Title IV regulations. Under DOE regulations, late return of Title IV program funds for 5% or more of students sampled in connection with the institution's annual compliance audit constitutes material non-compliance. If unearned funds are not properly calculated and timely returned, we may have to repay Title IV funds, post a letter of credit in favor of the DOE or otherwise be sanctioned by the DOE, which could increase our cost of regulatory compliance and adversely affect our results of operations. This may have an impact on our systems, our future operations and cash flows.

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Because our consolidated financial statements are not unqualified, Aspen may lose its eligibility to participate in Title IV programs or be required to post a letter of credit in order to maintain eligibility to participate in Title IV programs.

To participate in Title IV programs, an eligible institution must satisfy specific measures of financial responsibility prescribed by the DOE, or post a letter of credit in favor of the DOE and possibly accept other conditions, such as additional reporting requirements or regulatory oversight, on its participation in Title IV programs. Our financial statements are qualified on our ability to continue as a going concern, which means the DOE may determine that we are not financially responsible under DOE regulations. The DOE may also apply its measures of financial responsibility to the operating company and ownership entities of an eligible institution and, if such measures are not satisfied by the operating company or ownership entities, require the institution to meet the alternative standards described under “Regulation” on page 11 herein. Any of these alternative standards would increase our costs of regulatory compliance. If we were unable to meet these alternative standards, we would lose our eligibility to participate in Title IV programs. If we fail to demonstrate financial responsibility and thus lose our eligibility to participate in Title IV programs, our students would lose access to Title IV program funds for use in our institution, which would limit our potential for growth and adversely affect our enrollment, revenues and results of operations.

If we fail to demonstrate “administrative capability,” we may lose eligibility to participate in Title IV programs.

DOE regulations specify extensive criteria an institution must satisfy to establish that it has the requisite “administrative capability” to participate in Title IV programs. If an institution fails to satisfy any of these criteria or comply with any other DOE regulations, the DOE may require the repayment of Title IV funds, transfer the institution from the "advance" system of payment of Title IV funds to cash monitoring status or to the "reimbursement" system of payment, place the institution on provisional certification status, or commence a proceeding to impose a fine or to limit, suspend or terminate the participation of the institution in Title IV programs. If we are found not to have satisfied the DOE's "administrative capability" requirements we could be limited in our access to, or lose, Title IV program funding, which would limit our potential for growth and adversely affect our enrollment, revenues and results of operations.

Because we rely on a third party to administer our participation in Title IV programs, its failure to comply with applicable regulations could cause us to lose our eligibility to participate in Title IV programs.

We have been eligible to participate in Title IV programs for a relatively short time, and we have not developed the internal capacity to handle without third-party assistance the complex administration of participation in Title IV programs. A third party assists us with administration of our participation in Title IV programs, and if it does not comply with applicable regulations, we may be liable for its actions and we could lose our eligibility to participate in Title IV programs. In addition, if it is no longer able to provide the services to us, we may not be able to replace it in a timely or cost-efficient manner, or at all, and we could lose our ability to comply with the requirements of Title IV programs, which would limit our potential for growth and adversely affect our enrollment, revenues and results of operation.

If we pay impermissible commissions, bonuses or other incentive payments to individuals involved in recruiting, admissions or financial aid activities, we will be subject to sanctions.

A school participating in Title IV programs may not provide any commission, bonus or other incentive payment based, directly or indirectly, on success in enrolling students or securing financial aid to any person involved in student recruiting or admission activities or in making decisions regarding the awarding of Title IV program funds. If we pay a bonus, commission, or other incentive payment in violation of applicable DOE rules, we could be subject to sanctions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Effective July 1, 2011, the DOE abolished 12 safe harbors that described permissible arrangements under the incentive payment regulation. Abolition of the safe harbors and other aspects of the new regulation may create uncertainty about what constitutes impermissible incentive payments. The modified incentive payment rule and related uncertainty as to how it will be interpreted also may influence our approach, or limit our alternatives, with respect to employment policies and practices and consequently may affect negatively our ability to recruit and retain employees, and as a result our business could be materially and adversely affected.

In addition, the General Accounting Office, or the GAO, has issued a report critical of the DOE’s enforcement of the incentive payment rule, and the DOE has undertaken to increase its enforcement efforts. If the DOE determines that an institution violated the incentive payment rule, it may require the institution to modify its payment arrangements to the DOE’s satisfaction. The DOE may also fine the institution or initiate action to limit, suspend, or terminate the institution’s participation in the Title IV programs. The DOE may also seek to recover Title IV funds disbursed in connection with the prohibited incentive payments. In addition, third parties may file “qui tam” or “whistleblower” suits on behalf of the DOE alleging violation of the incentive payment provision. Such suits may prompt DOE investigations. Particularly in light of the uncertainty surrounding the new incentive payment rule, the existence of, the costs of responding to, and the outcome of, qui tam or whistleblower suits or DOE investigations could have a material adverse effect on our reputation causing our enrollments to decline and could cause us to incur costs that are material to our business, among other things. As a result, our business could be materially and adversely affected.

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If our student loan default rates are too high, we may lose eligibility to participate in Title IV programs.

DOE regulations provide that an institution’s participation in Title IV programs ends when historical default rates reach a certain level in a single year or for a number of years. Because of our limited experience enrolling students who are participating in these programs, we have no historical default rates. Relatively few students are expected to enter the repayment phase in the near term, which could result in defaults by a few students having a relatively large impact on our default rate. If Aspen loses its eligibility to participate in Title IV programs because of high student loan default rates, our students would no longer be eligible to use Title IV program funds in our institution, which would significantly reduce our enrollments and revenues and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Increased scrutiny of accrediting agencies by the Secretary of Education and the U.S. Congress may result in increased scrutiny of institutions, we may lose our ability to participate in Title IV programs.

Increased regulatory scrutiny of accrediting agencies and their accreditation of universities is likely to continue. While Aspen is accredited by the DETC, a DOE-recognized accrediting body, if the DOE were to limit, suspend, or terminate the DETC’s recognition, we could lose our ability to participate in the Title IV programs. While the DOE has provisionally certified Aspen through September 30, 2013, there are no assurances that we will remain certified following that date. If we were unable to rely on DETC accreditation in such circumstances, among other things, our students and our institution would be ineligible to participate in the Title IV programs, and such consequence would have a material adverse effect on enrollments, revenues and results of operations. In addition, increased scrutiny of accrediting agencies by the Secretary of Education in connection with the DOE’s recognition process may result in increased scrutiny of institutions by accrediting agencies.

Furthermore, because the for-profit education sector is growing at such a rapid pace, it is possible that accrediting bodies will respond to that growth by adopting additional criteria, standards and policies that are intended to monitor, regulate or limit the growth of for-profit institutions like us. Actions by, or relating to, an accredited institution, including any change in the legal status, form of control, or ownership/management of the institution, any significant changes in the institution’s financial position, or any significant growth or decline in enrollment and/or programs, could open up an accredited institution to additional reviews by the DETC.

If Aspen fails to meet standards regarding “gainful employment,” it may result in the loss of eligibility to participate in Title IV programs.

The DOE’s regulations on gainful employment programs became effective July 1, 2012. Should a program fail the gainful employment metrics three times within a four year period, the DOE would terminate the program’s eligibility for federal student aid (i.e., students in the program would immediately lose eligibility to participate in Title IV programs), and the institution would not be able to reestablish the program’s eligibility for at least three years, though the program could continue to operate without Title IV funding. The earliest a program could lose eligibility under the gainful employment rule will be 2015, based on its 2012, 2013, and 2014 performance under the metrics. Because the DOE’s gainful employment rules will be implemented over several years and are based at least in part on data that is unavailable to us, it is not possible at this time to determine with any degree of certainty whether these new regulations will cause any of our programs to become ineligible to participate in the Title IV programs. However, under this new regulation, the continuing eligibility of our educational programs for Title IV funding is at risk due to factors beyond our control, such as changes in the actual or deemed income level of our graduates, changes in student borrowing levels, increases in interest rates, changes in the federal poverty income level relevant for calculating discretionary income, changes in the percentage of our former students who are current in repayment of their student loans, and other factors. In addition, even though deficiencies in the metrics may be correctible on a timely basis, the disclosure requirements to students following a failure to meet the standards may adversely impact enrollment in that program and may adversely impact the reputation of our educational institutions.

If we fail to obtain required DOE approval for new programs that prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation, it could materially and adversely affect our business.

Under the DOE regulations, an institution must notify the DOE at least 90 days before the first day of class when it intends to add a program that prepares students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation. The institution may proceed to offer the program, unless the DOE advises the institution that the DOE must approve the program for Title IV purposes. In addition, if the institution does not provide timely notice to the DOE regarding the additional program, the institution must obtain approval of the program for Title IV purposes. If the DOE denies approval, the institution may not award Title IV funds in connection with the program. Were the DOE to deny approval to one or more of our new programs, our business could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, compliance with these new procedures could cause delay in our ability to offer new programs and put our business at a competitive disadvantage. Compliance could also adversely affect our ability to timely offer programs of interest to our students and potential students and adversely affect our ability to increase our revenues. As a result, our business could be materially and adversely affected.

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If we fail to comply with the DOE’s substantial misrepresentation rules, it could result in sanctions against us.

The DOE may take action against an institution in the event of substantial misrepresentation by the institution concerning the nature of its educational programs, its financial charges or the employability of its graduates. Under new regulations, the DOE has expanded the activities that constitute a substantial misrepresentation. Under the DOE regulations, an institution engages in substantial misrepresentation when the institution itself, one of its representatives, or an organization or person with which the institution has an agreement to provide educational programs, marketing, advertising, or admissions services, makes a substantial misrepresentation directly or indirectly to a student, prospective student or any member of the public, or to an accrediting agency, a state agency, or to the Secretary of Education. The final regulations define misrepresentation as any false, erroneous or misleading statement, and they define a misleading statement as any statement that has the likelihood or tendency to deceive or confuse. The final regulations define substantial misrepresentation as any misrepresentation on which the person to whom it was made could reasonably be expected to rely, or has reasonably relied, to the person’s detriment. If the DOE determines that an institution has engaged in substantial misrepresentation, the DOE may revoke an institution’s program participation agreement, impose limitations on an institution’s participation in the Title IV programs, deny participation applications made on behalf of the institution, or initiate a proceeding against the institution to fine the institution or to limit, suspend or termination the institution’s participation in the Title IV programs. We expect that there could be an increase in our industry of administrative actions and litigation claiming substantial misrepresentation, which at a minimum would increase legal costs associated with defending such actions, and as a result our business could be materially and adversely affected.

If we fail to comply with the DOE’s credit hour requirements, it could result in sanctions against us.

The DOE has defined “credit” hour for Title IV purposes. The credit hour is used for Title IV purposes to define an eligible program and an academic year and to determine enrollment status and the amount of Title IV aid that an institution may disburse in a payment period. The final regulations define credit hour as an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates certain specified time in class and out of class and an equivalent amount of work for other academic activities. The final regulations also require institutional accreditors to review an institution’s policies, procedures, and administration of policies and procedures for assignment of credit hours. An accreditor must take appropriate actions to address an institution’s credit hour deficiencies and to notify the DOE if it finds systemic noncompliance or significant noncompliance in one or more programs. The DOE has indicated that if it finds an institution to be out of compliance with the credit hour definition for Title IV purposes, it may require the institution to repay the amount of Title IV awarded under the incorrect assignment of credit hours and, if it finds significant overstatement of credit hours, it may fine the institution or limit, suspend, or terminate its participation in Title IV programs, as a result of which our business could be materially and adversely affected.

The U.S. Congress recently conducted an examination of the for-profit postsecondary education sector that could result in legislation or additional DOE rulemaking that may limit or condition Title IV program participation of proprietary schools in a manner that may materially and adversely affect our business.

In recent years, the U.S. Congress has increased its focus on for-profit education institutions, including with respect to their participation in the Title IV programs, and has held hearings regarding such matters. In addition, the GAO released a series of reports following undercover investigations critical of for-profit institutions. We cannot predict the extent to which, or whether, these hearings and reports will result in legislation, further rulemaking affecting our participation in Title IV programs, or more vigorous enforcement of Title IV requirements. To the extent that any laws or regulations are adopted that limit or condition Title IV program participation of proprietary schools or the amount of federal student financial aid for which proprietary school students are eligible, our business could be materially and adversely affected.

Other Risks

Because our common stock is subject to the “penny stock” rules, brokers cannot generally solicit the purchase of our common stock which adversely affects its liquidity and market price.

The SEC has adopted regulations which generally define “penny stock” to be an equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to specific exemptions. The market price of our common stock on the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board, or the Bulletin Board, will be substantially less than $5.00 per share and therefore we are considered a “penny stock” according to SEC rules. This designation requires any broker-dealer selling these securities to disclose certain information concerning the transaction, obtain a written agreement from the purchaser and determine that the purchaser is reasonably suitable to purchase the securities. These rules limit the ability of broker-dealers to solicit purchases of our common stock and therefore reduce the liquidity of the public market for our shares.

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Moreover, as a result of apparent regulatory pressure from the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a growing number of broker-dealers decline to permit investors to purchase and sell or otherwise make it difficult to sell shares of penny stocks like Aspen. This may have a depressive effect upon our common stock price.

Because of their share ownership, our management may be able to exert control over us to the detriment of minority shareholders.

Our executive officers and directors own approximately 15% of our outstanding common stock. These shareholders, if they act together, may be able to control our management and affairs and all matters requiring shareholder approval, including significant corporate transactions. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying or preventing our change in control and might affect the market price of our common stock. For more information see Item 12 “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.”

If our common stock becomes subject to a “chill” imposed by the Depository Trust Company, or DTC, your ability to sell your shares may be limited.

The DTC acts as a depository or nominee for street name shares that investors deposit with their brokers. Until the fourth quarter of 2012, our stock was not eligible to be electronically transferred among DTC participants (broker-dealers) and required delivery of paper certificates as a result of a “chill” imposed by DTC. As a result of becoming “DTC-Eligible”, our common stock is no longer subject to a chill. However, DTC in the last several years has increasingly imposed a chill or freeze on the deposit, withdrawal and transfer of common stock of issuers whose common stock trades on the Bulletin Board. Depending on the type of restriction, a chill or freeze can prevent shareholders from buying or selling shares and prevent companies from raising money. A chill or freeze may remain imposed on a security for a few days or an extended period of time (in at least one instance a number of years). While we have no reason to believe a chill or freeze will be imposed against our common stock again in the future, if it were your ability to sell your shares would be limited. In such event, your investment will be adversely affected.

Due to factors beyond our control, our stock price may be volatile.

Any of the following factors could affect the market price of our common stock:

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Our failure to generate increasing material revenues;

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Our failure to become profitable;

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Our failure to raise working capital;

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Our public disclosure of the terms of any financing which we consummate in the future;

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Disclosure of the results of our installment tuition plan;

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Actual or anticipated variations in our quarterly results of operations;

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Announcements by us or our competitors of significant contracts, new services, acquisitions, commercial relationships, joint ventures or capital commitments;

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The loss of Title IV funding or other regulatory actions;

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Our failure to meet financial analysts’ performance expectations;

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Changes in earnings estimates and recommendations by financial analysts;

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The sale of large numbers of shares of common stock which we have registered;

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Short selling activities; or

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Changes in market valuations of similar companies.

In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted. A securities class action suit against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s time and attention, which would otherwise be used to benefit our business.

Because we may issue preferred stock without the approval of our shareholders and have other anti-takeover defenses, it may be more difficult for a third party to acquire us and could depress our stock price.

Our Board may issue, without a vote of our shareholders, one or more additional series of preferred stock that have more than one vote per share. This could permit our Board to issue preferred stock to investors who support us and our management and give effective control of our business to our management. Additionally, issuance of preferred stock could block an acquisition resulting in both a drop in our stock price and a decline in interest of our common stock. This could make it more difficult for shareholders to sell their common stock. This could also cause the market price of our common stock shares to drop significantly, even if our business is performing well.

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Because we expect to raise capital in the fall of 2013, an investment in 探花视频app may be diluted in the future as a result of the issuance of additional securities.

We plan to raise additional capital to meet our working capital needs in the fall of 2013. In this offering, we expect to issue additional shares of common stock or securities convertible, exchangeable or exercisable into common stock, which could result in substantial dilution to investors. Investors should anticipate being substantially diluted based upon the current condition of the capital and credit markets and their impact on small companies.

Because we may not be able to attract the attention of major brokerage firms, it could have a material impact upon the price of our common stock.

It is not likely that securities analysts of major brokerage firms will provide research coverage for our common stock since the firm itself cannot recommend the purchase of our common stock under the penny stock rules referenced in an earlier risk factor. The absence of such coverage limits the likelihood that an active market will develop for our common stock. It may also make it more difficult for us to attract new investors at times when we acquire additional capital.

Since we intend to retain any earnings for development of our business for the foreseeable future, you will likely not receive any dividends for the foreseeable future.

We have not and do not intend to pay any dividends in the foreseeable future, as we intend to retain any earnings for development and expansion of our business operations. As a result, you will not receive any dividends on your investment for an indefinite period of time.

If we do not successfully defend the pending litigation brought by our former chairman and large shareholder, we may incur material damages.

In February 2013, our former Chairman and a company he controls sued us, certain senior management members and our directors in state court in New York seeking damages arising from losses and other matters incurred in the operation of Aspen’s business since May 2011, our filings with the SEC and the DOE where we stated that he and his company borrowed $2.2 million without board authority and our failure to use our best efforts to purchase certain shares of common stock from him following the April Agreement. See Item 13 “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.” While we have been advised by our counsel that the lawsuit is baseless, we cannot assure you that we will be successful. Defending the litigation will be expensive and divert our management from Aspen’s business. If we are unsuccessful, the damages we pay may be material. See Item 3 “Legal Proceedings” below for a further description of the litigation.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS.

None.

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.

Our corporate headquarters are located in a facility in Denver, Colorado, consisting of approximately 3,900 square feet of office space under a lease that expires in September 2015. This facility accommodates our academic operations. Our executive offices are in New York City where we lease approximately 2,000 square feet under a month-to-month sublease. We operate a call center in Scottsdale, Arizona where we lease approximately 2,600 square feet under a three-year term. We believe that our existing facilities are suitable and adequate and that we have sufficient capacity to meet our current anticipated needs.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

On February 11, 2013, the former chairman of Aspen, Mr. Patrick Spada and a corporation he controls, filed suit against 探花视频app, Aspen, our Board of Directors, our Chief Executive Officer, our former Chief Financial Officer (and current Executive Vice President, Corporate Development) and an unrelated party in the New York Supreme Court located in Manhattan. The Defendant group filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, identifying multiple reasons the case had no merit. In response to the motion, the Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint which dropped the unrelated party as a Defendant, dropped certain claims against certain directors, made changes to the allegations and manufactured additional meritless claims.

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The Amended Complaint has two general types of claims: (i) derivative claims where the Plaintiffs allege breaches of fiduciary duty, waste and shareholder dilution which, if proven, would entitle 探花视频app, and not the Plaintiffs, to recover money from the Defendants; and (ii) individual claims for defamation, breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract which, if proven, would entitle the Plaintiffs to recover. As was previously disclosed, 探花视频app does not believe any of the claims, even as amended, have merit.

The gravamen of the derivative claims are that the officers and directors (i) breached their fiduciary duty by (a) including allegedly false statements that Mr. Spada owed approximately $2.2 million to 探花视频app in various of 探花视频app’s SEC and DOE filings, (b) imprudently managing 探花视频app’s assets by spending too much money on certain marketing and promotional efforts, (c) using 探花视频app’s funds for expenses which were not intended to benefit 探花视频app, and (ii) unfairly diluted 探花视频app shareholders and Aspen University as a result of certain capital raising efforts by 探花视频app. The gravamen of the individual claims are that (a) Mr. Spada was “defamed” by 探花视频app’s inclusion in its SEC and DOE filings of the disclosure that Mr. Spada borrowed approximately $2.2 million without board approval, and (b) 探花视频app breached three separate agreements with Mr. Spada and his company, one of which involved 探花视频app agreeing to purchase certain shares of 探花视频app stock under certain conditions (which were never met), one consulting agreement, and one agreement which gave the Plaintiffs certain registration rights. As with the derivative claims, 探花视频app believes that none of these claims have any merit in either fact or law.

探花视频app and the other Defendants firmly believe that the suit, as amended, continues to be baseless and was filed primarily because 探花视频app refused to purchase additional shares of the Plaintiffs’ common stock of 探花视频app on unacceptable terms.

The Plaintiffs’ allegations that false or defamatory statements were included in 探花视频app’s filings are based on the following disclosures in multiple SEC and DOE filings: “…Aspen discovered in November 2011 that HEMG had borrowed $2,195,084 from it from 2005 to 2012 without Board of Directors authority. Aspen has been unable to reach any agreement with Mr. Spada concerning repayment and is considering its options.” In the same filings, 探花视频app disclosed that “There is no agreement with the former chairman that this sum is due and in fact he has denied liability and even claimed that Aspen owes him money.” Aside from these disclosures being factually accurate, 探花视频app believes they cannot, as a matter of law, form the basis of a defamation or breach of fiduciary duty claim.

The Plaintiffs’ allegations concerning imprudent management of company funds are categorically false. Furthermore, the management of 探花视频app’s affairs and how its funds are expended are protected from a disgruntled shareholder’s opinion by the business judgment rule and the provision in 探花视频app’s charter eliminating liability of directors for such claims. The claim that travel expenses and work was performed by 探花视频app on behalf of another corporation for which 探花视频app’s Chief Executive Officer then served as Chairman of the Board is also categorically false, but even if true, like the remaining breach of fiduciary claims, the ultimate beneficiary is 探花视频app and not the Plaintiffs.

The claim for unfair dilution is similarly baseless. A company is free to enter into any good faith transaction which may result in the dilution of shareholders’ shares. The mere fact that the Plaintiff’s ownership was diluted does not constitute bad faith and is not sufficient to sustain a claim for equity dilution. In addition, other requirements for a dilution claim are not alleged in the amended complaint, nor could they be because no such claim exists.

The breach of contract claims consist of three distinct claims: first, that Aspen University breached a two-year Consulting Agreement in September 2011 with Mr. Spada by terminating the agreement without cause. However, the agreement was terminated based on the fact that it was induced by fraud after Aspen University found the bank records reflecting that the former Chairman’s $2.2 million loan was made without board approval.

The second contract claim arises from the April Agreement (See Item 13 “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence” below). Under the April Agreement, an individual Defendant who has never been an officer or director of 探花视频app agreed to purchase from Spada’s corporation 400,000 shares of 探花视频app’s common stock at $0.50 per share. The original complaint acknowledged that this purchase occurred and, after reviewing 探花视频app’s motion to dismiss, the Plaintiffs dropped this claim against the individual. In the April Agreement, 探花视频app also agreed (i) that it would purchase an additional 600,000 shares from Mr. Spada’s company at $0.50 per share within 90 days from the date of the April Agreement, and (ii) that 探花视频app would use its best efforts to locate a purchaser to buy another 1,400,000 shares at $0.50 per share from Mr. Spada’s company, and once that purchaser was located, to buy the shares and resell them to the new investor. 探花视频app did, in fact, purchase the first 600,000 shares and Mr. Spada’s company was paid the proceeds. 探花视频app did use its best efforts to locate investors for the final 1,400,000 shares; however given the fact that 探花视频app during that same timeframe was selling its own common stock at $0.35 per share with additional warrants, it was not able to find any buyers who would pay $0.50 per share without warrants. 探花视频app’s obligation to locate a new purchaser expired under the terms of the April Agreement after 180 days, which have long passed.

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The third branch of the contract claims is newly asserted in the amended complaint, and alleges that the Plaintiffs’ shares should have been registered for resale pursuant to a registration rights agreement which post-dates and does not apply to any shares held by the Plaintiffs. Quite simply, the Plaintiffs are not parties to, or beneficiaries of, the registration rights agreement they sue upon since they did not buy shares, and this branch of the claim is without merit.

探花视频app filed a new motion to dismiss on the above-described grounds, in addition to several other grounds, and to aggressively defend what 探花视频app considers a baseless suit.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES.

Not applicable.

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PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.

Our stock trades on the Bulletin Board, under the symbol “ASPU.” Since March 31, 2011, 探花视频app’s common stock has been quoted on the Bulletin Board. The last reported sale price of Aspen’s common stock as reported by the Bulletin Board on July 26, 2013 was $0.32. As of that date, we had approximately 250 record holders. The following table provides the high and low bid price information for our common stock for the periods our stock was quoted on the Bulletin Board. For the period our stock was quoted on the Bulletin Board, the prices reflect inter-dealer prices, without retail mark-up, mark-down or commission and does not necessarily represent actual transactions. Our common stock does not trade on a regular basis.

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Dividend Policy

We have not paid cash dividends on our common stock and do not plan to pay such dividends in the foreseeable future. Our Board will determine our future dividend policy on the basis of many factors, including results of operations, capital requirements, and general business conditions.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

In addition to those unregistered securities previously disclosed in filings with the SEC, we have sold securities which are not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Act.

Equity Compensation Plan Information.

See page 56 for a discussion of 探花视频app’s equity compensation plan.

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA.

Not applicable.

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

This discussion should be read in conjunction with the other sections contained herein, including the risk factors and the consolidated financial statements and the related exhibits contained herein. The various sections of this discussion contain a number of forward-looking statements, all of which are based on our current expectations and could be affected by the uncertainties and risk factors described throughout this report as well as other matters over which we have no control. Our actual results may differ materially. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

Company Overview

Founded in 1987, Aspen’s mission is to become an institution of choice for adult learners by offering cost-effective, comprehensive, and relevant online education. One of the key differences between Aspen and other publicly-traded, exclusively online, for-profit universities is that a majority of our full-time degree-seeking students are enrolled in a graduate degree program (master or doctorate degree program). According to publicly available information, Aspen enrolls a larger percentage of its full-time degree-seeking students in graduate degree programs than its publicly-traded competitors. As of April 30, 2013, 1,875 students were enrolled as full-time degree seeking students with 1,625 of those students or 87% in a master or doctoral graduate degree program. In addition, a further 951 students are engaged in part time programs, such as continuing education courses and certificate level programs. Therefore, Aspen’s student body totaled 2,826 as of April 30, 2013.

Among online, for-profit universities, Aspen ranks among the leaders relative to the closely analyzed industry metrics such as high student graduation rates, high student course completion rates and high student satisfaction rates. During 2012, Aspen had a student graduation rate of 58%, a student course completion rate of 90% and a student satisfaction rate of 95% (calculated in accordance with DETC guidelines which is the average completion and satisfaction rate of students in our top 10 most popular courses).

Student Population

Aspen’s degree-seeking student body increased by 12% during the four month period ending April 30, 2013, or the 2013 Transition Period, from 2,024 to 2,266 students. Among Aspen’s degree seeking programs, the Master of Nursing program grew 41% during the 2013 Transition Period from 265 students to 373 students. When compared to the number of students in the Master of Nursing program at April 30, 2012 to April 30, 2013, the program grew from 110 students to 373 or 239%. As of April 30, 2013, Aspen’s School of Nursing now represents 20% of the full-time, degree-seeking student body.

In April 2013, Aspen terminated its relationship with CLS 123, LLC, or CLS, which referred Verizon certificate and military students, a step allowing Aspen to focus its efforts on its core business of building a predominantly graduate student body. Under the terminated partnership agreement, there is a 120-day exit period ending on August 3, 2013. For 2013, Aspen management expects the total student body growth rate to lag that of the full-time degree-seeking student population as new certificate and Military students referred by CLS to wind down over the 120-day period. CLS results are reported as Discontinued Operations.

Results of Operations

For the Four Months Ended April 30, 2013 Compared with the Four Months Ended April 30, 2012

Revenue

Revenue from continuing operations for the 2013 Transition Period increased to $1,229,096 from $745,656 for the four months ended April 30, 2012, or the 2012 Transition Period, an increase of 65%. The increase is primarily attributable to the growth in Aspen student enrollments and the increase in average tuition rates from approximately $500 to $700 for the comparable periods. Of particular note, revenues from Aspen’s Nursing degree program increased to $287,902 during the 2013 Transition Period from $107,640 during the 2012 Transition Period, an increase of 167%.

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Our 2013 Transition Period and 2012 Transition Period revenues were impacted by the 2011 (and previous years) pre-payment tuition plan, or the Legacy Tuition Plan, which was discontinued on July 15, 2011. The Legacy Tuition Plan had students pre-paying tuition for a degree program’s first four courses ($675/course) and a steeply discounted tuition rate for the program’s eight course balance ($112.50/course). Specifically, the Legacy Tuition Plan produced immediate cash flow, but unsustainably low gross profit margins over the length of the degree program. As of April 30, 2013, 709 of our full-time degree-seeking students were still enrolled under the Legacy Tuition Plan. However the contribution from Legacy Tuition Plan students to overall Aspen revenue and profits diminished steadily over the course of the past 12 months as the population of full-time degree-seeking students paying regular tuition rates increased to 68% of the population and the population of Legacy Tuition Plan students fell to 32%. Accordingly, much as 2012 was affected negatively by the lingering impact of the Legacy Tuition Plan, future revenue should demonstrate a dramatically diminished effect from the Legacy Tuition Plan and a much greater contribution from the growing number of regular rate students. In fact, 探花视频app expects Legacy Tuition Plan students’ contribution to financial results to be immaterial for the full year 2014, and on a quarterly basis to be immaterial no later than the second quarter of 2014.

Cost of Revenues (exclusive of depreciation and amortization)

The Company’s cost of revenues consist of instructional costs and services and marketing and promotional costs which were previously reported separately.

Instructional Costs and Services

Instructional costs and services for the 2013 Transition Period rose to $345,727 from $266,682 for the 2012 Transition Period, an increase of $79,045 or 30%. The increase is primarily attributable to higher faculty cost due to the increase in overall student course completions. As student enrollment levels increase, instructional costs and services should rise proportionately. However, as Aspen increases its full-time degree-seeking student enrollments, the higher gross margins associated with such students should lead to the growth rate in instructional costs and services to significantly lag that of overall revenues growth.

Marketing and Promotional

Marketing and promotional costs for the 2013 Transition Period was $404,203 compared to $598,728 for the 2012 Transition Period, a decrease of $194,525 or 32%. These expenses are primarily attributable to marketing efficiency – specifically Aspen’s cost per exclusive lead has decreased by 33% year-over-year for the Transition Period, from an average cost per exclusive lead of $78.27 for the 2012 Transition Period to $58.66 for the 2013 Transition Period. Moreover, Aspen’s vertically-integrated strategy of proprietary lead generation marketing has effectively allowed the Company to drop the marketing spend by 32% year-over-year, while achieving 63% more new full-time, degree-seeking enrollments year-over-year. If Aspen accelerates its growth, it is highly likely that these expenditures will increase in 2013 over 2012 levels as enrollment continues to grow. Factors that may mitigate the expected increase include the economies realized in cost per lead as well as the yield realized in terms of higher enrollments per unit of marketing and promotional spending and potential organic growth opportunities.

Costs and Expenses

General and Administrative

General and administrative costs for the 2013 Transition Period were $1,670,812 compared to $2,123,685 during the 2012 Transition Period, a decrease of $452,873 or 21%. The decrease is comprised of two major components – payroll costs and professional fees. Payroll costs decreased by approximately $225,000 and professional fees decreased by approximately $276,000 primarily related to legal and accounting fees. Included in the 2012 amounts were professional fees associated with the reverse merger regulatory filings with the DOE and the DETC, post-reverse merger regulatory filings with the DOE, the filing of the Super 8-K and activities for Aspen’s capital raising activities. Professional fees declined during the 2013 Transition Period, particularly as a result of a reduction of these one-time costs and 探花视频app’s auditors agreeing to a flat-fee arrangement. Stock based compensation included in general and administration expense increased by $72,457 or 89% as a result of the implementation of, and stock option grants under, the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan.

Overall general and administrative costs are expected to experience moderate growth in fiscal 2013 from 2012 as the cost associated with state regulatory compliance and DOE reporting requirements on topics such as gainful employment standards will increase in 2013.

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Receivable Collateral Valuation Reserve

A non-cash valuation reserve of $502,315 was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2012 to reflect the drop in the collateral supporting the related accounts receivable. No additional reserve was required during the 2013 Transition Period.

Depreciation and Amortization

Depreciation and amortization costs for the 2013 Transition Period rose to $159,269 from $121,812 for the 2012 Transition Period, an increase of 31%. The increase is primarily attributable to higher levels of capitalized technology costs as Aspen continues the infrastructure build-out initiated in 2011.

Other Income (Expense)

Other income for the 2013 Transition Period increased to $59,860 from $3,618 in the 2012 Transition Period, an increase of $56,242. The increase is primarily attributable to a tax credit received in Canada related to our technology infrastructure build out.

Income Taxes

Income taxes expense (benefit) for the 2013 and 2012 Transition Periods was $0 as 探花视频app experienced operating losses in both periods. As management made a full valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets stemming from these losses, there was no tax benefit recorded in the statement of operations in both periods.

Net Loss

Net loss allocable to common stockholders for the 2013 Transition Period was ($1,402,982) as compared to ($2,213,119) for the 2012 Transition Period, a decrease of $810,138 or approximately 58%. The decrease is primarily attributable to the absence of the one-time costs in general and administrative cost and the gross profit improvements discussed above.

Discontinued Operations

As of March 31, 2013, 探花视频app discontinued business activities related to its agreement with CLS. See Note 1 of the consolidated financial statements contained herein. The following table details the results of the discontinued operations for the 2013 Transition Period and 2012 Transition Period:

Non-GAAP – Financial Measures

The following discussion and analysis includes both financial measures in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or GAAP, as well as non-GAAP financial measures. Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company’s performance, financial position or cash flows that either excludes or includes amounts that are not normally included or excluded in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed as supplemental to, and should not be considered as alternatives to net income, operating income, and cash flow from operating activities, liquidity or any other financial measures. They may not be indicative of the historical operating results of 探花视频app nor are they intended to be predictive of potential future results. Investors should not consider non-GAAP financial measures in isolation or as substitutes for performance measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.

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Our management uses and relies on Adjusted EBITDA and Gross Profit (exclusive of depreciation and amortization), non-GAAP financial measures. We believe that both management and shareholders benefit from referring to the following non-GAAP financial measures in planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods. Our management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in evaluating its financial and operational decision making and as a means to evaluate period-to-period comparison. Our management recognizes that the non-GAAP financial measures have inherent limitations because of the described excluded items.

探花视频app defines Adjusted EBITDA as earnings (or loss) from continuing operations before preferred dividends, interest expense, income taxes, collateral valuation adjustment, bad debt expense, depreciation and amortization, and amortization of stock-based compensation. 探花视频app excludes the charges from collateral valuation adjustment, bad debt expense and stock based compensation because they are non-cash in nature. The preferred dividends were derived from Aspen. Upon the closing of the Reverse Merger in 2012, Aspen preferred stock was exchanged for 探花视频app common stock and dividends will not accrue in the future. Adjusted EBITDA is an important measure of our operating performance because it allows management, investors and analysts to evaluate and assess our core operating results from period-to-period after removing the impact of items of a non-operational nature that affect comparability.

探花视频app defines Gross Profit (exclusive of depreciation and amortization), a non-GAAP financial measure, as revenues less cost of revenues (instructional costs and services and marketing and promotional costs) excluding the amortization of courseware and software.

We have included a reconciliation of our non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP. We believe that providing the non-GAAP financial measures, together with the reconciliation to GAAP, helps investors make comparisons between 探花视频app and other companies. In making any comparisons to other companies, investors need to be aware that companies use different non-GAAP measures to evaluate their financial performance. Investors should pay close attention to the specific definition being used and to the reconciliation between such measure and the corresponding GAAP measure provided by each company under applicable SEC rules.

The following table presents a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to Net loss allocable to common shareholders, a GAAP financial measure:

In the 2013 Transition Period, 探花视频app narrowed the Adjusted EBITDA loss by 55% as a result of the growth in tuition revenues as well as the reduction in operating expenses previously noted.

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The following table presents a reconciliation of Gross Profit (exclusive of depreciation and amortization), a non-GAAP financial measure, to gross profit calculated in accordance with GAAP:

For the 2013 Transition Period, the Gross Profit (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) was $479,166 or 39% vs. a gross loss of $119,759 or (16)% for the comparable period in the prior year, an increase of $598,925 or a margin increase of 55%. The increase in Gross Profit (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) and gross margin percentage is primarily the result of the growth in tuition revenues and the increase in average tuition rates, coupled with the efficiencies realized in lower cost per exclusive leads and higher enrollments noted above.

By the end of fiscal year 2014, 探花视频app expects its gross margin percentage (exclusive of depreciation and amortization) to increase to at least 60%, resulting from the majority of the Legacy Tuition Plan students graduating.

For the Year Ended December 31, 2012 Compared with Year Ended December 31, 2011

Revenue

Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2012 increased to $2,684,931 from $2,346,238 for the year ended December 31, 2011, an increase of 14%. The increase is primarily attributable to the growth in revenues from Aspen’s Nursing degree programs which increased to $409,938 from $124,113, a gain of 230%.

Our 2012 and 2011 revenues were impacted by the 2010 (and previous years) pre-payment tuition plan, or the Legacy Tuition Plan, which was discontinued on July 15, 2011. The Legacy Tuition Plan had students paying full-rate tuition for a degree program’s first four courses ($675/course) and a steeply discounted tuition rate for the program’s eight course balance ($112.50/course). Specifically, the Plan produced immediate cash flow, but unsustainably low gross profit margins over the length of the degree program. As of December 31, 2012, 44% of our full-time degree-seeking students are still enrolled under the Legacy Tuition Plan. However the contribution from Legacy Tuition Plan students to overall Aspen revenue and profits diminished steadily over the course of 2012 as the population of full-time degree-seeking students paying regular tuition rates increased by 188% and the population of Legacy Tuition Plan students fell by 36%. Accordingly, much as 2012 was affected negatively by the lingering impact of the Legacy Tuition Plan, 2013 calendar year revenue should demonstrate a dramatically diminished effect from the Legacy Tuition Plan and a much greater contribution from the growing number of regular rate students.

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Cost of Revenues

The Company’s cost of revenues consist of instructional costs and services and marketing and promotional costs which were previously reported separately.

Instructional Costs and Services

Instructional costs and services for the year ended December 31, 2012 rose to $899,909 from $525,907 for the year ended December 31, 2011, an increase of 71%. The increase is primarily attributable to higher charges associated with non-capitalizable courseware costs and payments to faculty due to the increase in class completions. As student enrollment levels increase, instructional costs and services should rise commensurately. However, as Aspen increases its full-time degree-seeking student enrollments, the higher gross margins associated with such students should lead to the growth rate in instructional costs and services to lag that of overall revenues.

Gross Profit (exclusive of depreciation or amortization) of Aspen operations, for the year ended December 31, 2012 declined to $1,785,022 from $1,820,331 for the year ended December 31, 2011, a decrease of 2%. The timing impact of the Legacy Tuition Plan was experienced in the second half of 2012 as Aspen’s gross profit from full-time degree-seeking students fell at a year/year rate of 15% versus a 1% decline during the first half of 2012. This is because the second half of 2011 was affected by a large number of Legacy Tuition Plan students completing their initial four courses which contributed gross profits in contrast to later periods with a lower number of initial four courses taken by Legacy Tuition Plan students. After the initial four courses, Gross Profit (exclusive of depreciation or amortization) from the Legacy Tuition Plan is immaterial. Gross profit growth is expected in 2013 as new full-time degree-seeking student enrollments increase and Legacy Tuition Plan students represent a shrinking portion of the total full-time degree-seeking student population.

Marketing and Promotional

Marketing and promotional costs for the year ended December 31, 2012 increased to $1,442,128 from $515,362 for the year ended December 31, 2011, an increase of 180%. The increase is primarily attributable to expenses related to the launch and operation of Aspen's new marketing and student enrollment program. With Aspen’s strategy of proprietary lead generation driving higher marketing and promotional spending levels, it is highly likely that these expenditures will continue to increase calendar year in 2013 over 2012 levels.

Costs and Expenses

General and Administrative

General and administrative costs for the year ended December 31, 2012 increased to $5,235,282 from $3,593,956 for the year ended December 31, 2011, an increase of 46%. The most significant factor is the higher employment level as Aspen increased staffing to support its growth objectives. To that end, payroll costs for the period rose to $2,716,302 from the prior year period’s $1,596,711, an increase of 70%. Separately, professional fees for the period rose to $920,086 from $583,416, an increase of 58%. Within professional fees, accounting fees for the period rose to $509,711 from $58,707, a 768% increase, while legal fees for the period declined to $395,375 from $523,233, a 24% decrease. Activities supported by the increased level of professional fees were reverse merger regulatory filings with the DOE and the DETC, post-reverse merger regulatory filings with the DOE, the filing of the Super 8-K and Form 10-Qs with the SEC, along with our capital raising and other transactional activities. Relative to the professional fees incurred a total of $702,093 is non-recurring (accounting, $340,778; legal, $361,315). We expect professional fees to decline in 2013, particularly as 探花视频app’s auditors agreed to a flat-fee arrangement. Apart from payroll costs and professional fees, bad debt expense for the period rose to $132,952 as management took steps to ensure the conservative presentation of our consolidated financial statements. Separately, general and administrative costs in 2012 included non-cash stock-based compensation expense of $347,657 as a result of the implementation of, and stock option grants under, the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan. Based on grants made to date, non-cash stock-based compensation expense should be approximately $374,000 in calendar year 2013. We expect to recognize an additional $607,000 of non-cash stock-based compensation through December 31, 2016. Excluding payroll, professional fees, bad debt expense and non-cash stock-based compensation expense, general and administrative costs for the year ended December 31, 2012 declined to $1,118,285 from $1,413,829, a decrease of 21%.

Overall general and administrative costs are expected to experience moderate growth in calendar year 2013 from 2012 as the cost associated with state regulatory compliance and DOE reporting requirements on topics such as gainful employment standards will increase in calendar year 2013. It is not feasible to quantify these future costs.

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Receivable Collateral Valuation Reserve

Due to a change in the estimated value of the collateral supporting the Account Receivable, secured – related party from $1.00/share to $0.35/share based on the financing by 探花视频app that closed September 28, 2012, a non-cash valuation reserve expense of $502,315 was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Depreciation and Amortization

Depreciation and amortization costs for the year ended December 31, 2012 rose to $397,923 from $264,082 for the year ended December 31, 2011, an increase of 51%. The increase is primarily attributable to higher levels of capitalized technology costs as Aspen continues the infrastructure build-out initiated in 2011.

Other Income (Expense)

Other income (expense) for the year ended December 31, 2012 declined to an expense of ($354,418) from an expense of ($40,070), a decrease of $314,348. The decrease is primarily attributable to interest expense related to the issuance of $2,006,000 in convertible notes payable during the period along with the amortization of debt issue costs. On the closing of the financing on September 28, 2012, the convertible notes were converted into common shares at a per share price of $0.3325.

Income Taxes

Income taxes expense (benefit) for the year ended December 31, 2012 and the year ended December 31, 2011 were $0 as 探花视频app experienced operating losses in both periods. As management made a full valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets stemming from these losses, there was no tax benefit recorded in the statement of operations in both periods.

Net Loss

Net loss allocable to common shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2012 widened to ($6,048,113) from ($2,222,899) for the year ended December 31, 2011, an increase of 172%. The increase is primarily attributable to depressed returns as Aspen transitions through the impact of the Legacy Tuition Plan, incurs the budgeted employee, infrastructure and marketing costs associated with Aspen's new programs to sustain future growth and experienced the non-recurring impact of 探花视频app's costs related to becoming a public-traded entity.

Discontinued Operations

As of March 31, 2013, 探花视频app discontinued business activities related to its agreement with CLS. See Note 1 of the consolidated financial statements contained herein. The following table details the results of the discontinued operations for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011:

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Capital Resources and Liquidity

A summary of our cash flows is as follows:

Net Cash Used in Operating Activities

Net cash used in operating activities during the 2013 Transition Period totaled ($918,914) and resulted primarily from a net loss of ($1,402,982) offset by non-cash items of $350,331, of which the $159,269 in Depreciation and Amortization and $154,062 in Stock based compensation were the most significant, and a net change in operating assets and liabilities of $918,941, of which the $288,117, increase in accounts receivable was the most significant.

Net cash used in operating activities during the 2012 Transition Period totaled ($1,132,264) and resulted primarily from a net loss of ($2,250,498) offset by non-cash items of $236,372 and a net change in operating assets and liabilities of $957,361.

Net cash used in operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2012 totaled ($4,522,710) and resulted primarily from a net loss from continuing operations of ($6,147,044) offset by non-cash items of $1,796,910 and a net change in operating assets and liabilities of ($172,576). Net cash used in operating activities include non-recurring expenses of $702,093 which are comprised of professional fees related to activities discussed previously (see General & Administrative Expense above).

Net cash used in operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2011 totaled ($1,679,330) and resulted primarily from a net loss from continuing operations of ($2,593,139) offset by non-cash items of $307,282 and a net change in operating assets and liabilities of $606,527, of which the $264,082 in Depreciation and Amortization, the increase in accounts receivable of $468,424 and the $390,628 increase in accounts payable were the most significant.

Net Cash Used in Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities during the 2013 Transition Period totaled ($166,395) and resulted primarily from capitalized technology expenditures.

Net cash used in investing activities during the 2012 Transition Period totaled ($59,511), resulting primarily from capitalized technology expenditures of ($200,933), offset by officer loan repayments received of $150,000.

Net cash used in investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2012 totaled ($619,801) and resulted primarily from capitalized technology and courseware expenditures of ($505,146) and a net increase of restricted cash of ($264,992), offset by officer loan repayments received of $150,000.

Net cash used in investing activities during the year ended December 31, 2011 totaled ($1,261,777) and resulted primarily from capitalized technology and courseware expenditures of ($1,114,977), and an advance to an officer of ($388,210) offset by repayments of $238,210.

Net Cash Provided By Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities during the 2013 Transition Period totaled $1,041,540 which resulted primarily from the issuance of common shares and warrants.

Net cash provided by financing activities during the 2012 Transition Period totaled $938,765 and resulted primarily from proceeds from the issuance of convertible notes.

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Net cash provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2012 totaled $4,901,548 which resulted primarily from proceeds from the net issuance of debt and equity securities and warrants of $5,370,021 offset by issuance costs of ($266,473) and the repurchase of treasury shares of ($202,000).

Net cash provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2011 totaled $2,830,630 which resulted primarily from proceeds from the issuance of securities of $3,724,985, offset by disbursements to purchase treasury shares of ($761,200) and the payments for shareholder rescissions of ($165,000).

Liquidity and Capital Resource Considerations

Historically, our primary source of liquidity is cash receipts from tuition and the issuances of debt and equity securities. The primary uses of cash are payroll related expenses, professional expenses and instructional and marketing expenses.

From September 2012 through April 2013, we raised gross proceeds of approximately $4.6 million through the sale of 13,249,503 shares of common stock and 6,624,751 five-year warrants exercisable at $0.50 per share. On July 1, 2013, Mr. Michael Mathews, our Chief Executive Officer, loaned 探花视频app $1 million and was issued a $1 million Promissory Note due December 31, 2013. The Promissory Note bears 10% interest per annum, payable monthly in arrears. Mr. Mathews also holds two $300,000 convertible notes which are due on August 31, 2014, one of which is convertible at $0.35 per share and the other at $1.00 per share. See Item 13 “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence” below. Additionally, $200,000 in notes convertible at $1.00 per share come due in February of 2014.

As of July 30, 2013, 探花视频app had borrowed approximately $245,000 under its line of credit and had approximately $1.22 million in available cash. 探花视频app is planning to conduct a future offering in Fall of 2013 to raise up to $7 million from the sale of equity securities with the goal of meeting part of the NASDAQ’s initial listing standards. These proceeds will be used to meet cash flow deficits and to accelerate the growth of the business. If our future contemplated offering is not successful and we are unable to raise capital by other means, we believe that, with our current available cash along with anticipated revenues, we will need to reduce operating expenses. See “Risk Factors.”

Depending on our cash position, we may spend $250,000 in capital expenditures over the next 12 months. These capital expenditures will be allocated across growth initiatives including expansion of Aspen’s call center activities subject to academic courseware development and further improvements in Aspen’s technology infrastructure. Depending on management’s efforts to realize efficiencies in technology development, our capital expenditures may be less than anticipated.

Our cash balances are kept liquid to support our growing infrastructure needs. The majority of our cash is concentrated in large financial institutions.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

In response to financial reporting release FR-60, Cautionary Advice Regarding Disclosure About Critical Accounting Policies, from the SEC, we have selected our more subjective accounting estimation processes for purposes of explaining the methodology used in calculating the estimate, in addition to the inherent uncertainties pertaining to the estimate and the possible effects on the our financial condition. The accounting estimates are discussed below and involve certain assumptions that, if incorrect, could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations and financial condition.

Revenue Recognition and Deferred Revenue

Revenue consisting primarily of tuition and fees derived from courses taught by Aspen online as well as from related educational resources that Aspen 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. Aspen 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 Aspen’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, Aspen recognizes as revenue the tuition that was not refunded. Since Aspen 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 Aspen’s accounting policies revenue is not recognized with respect to amounts that could potentially be refunded. Aspen’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. Aspen 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 revenue may be recognized as sales occur or services are performed.

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Revenue Recognition and Deferred Revenue – Discontinued Operations

Aspen entered into certain revenue sharing arrangements with consultants whereby the consultants developed course content primarily for technology related courses, recommend, but not select, faculty, lease equipment on behalf of Aspen for instructional purposes for the on-site laboratory portion of distance learning courses and make introductions to corporate and government sponsoring organizations who provide students for the courses. Aspen has evaluated ASC 605-45 "Principal Agent Considerations" and determined that there are more indicators than not that Aspen is the primary obligor in the arrangements since Aspen 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 revenue 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 revenue is now included in income from discontinued operations for all periods presented.

Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Receivable

All students are required to select both a primary and secondary payment option with respect to amounts due to Aspen for tuition, fees and other expenses. The most common payment option for Aspen’s students is personal funds or payment made on their behalf by an employer. In instances where a student selects financial aid as the primary payment option, he or she often selects personal cash as the secondary option. If a student who has selected financial aid as his or her primary payment option withdraws prior to the end of a course but after the date that Aspen’s institutional refund period has expired, the student will have incurred the obligation to pay the full cost of the course. If the withdrawal occurs before the date at which the student has earned 100% of his or her financial aid, Aspen will have to return all or a portion of the Title IV funds to the DOE and the student will owe Aspen all amounts incurred that are in excess of the amount of financial aid that the student earned and that Aspen is entitled to retain. In this case, Aspen must collect the receivable using the student’s second payment option.

For accounts receivable from students, Aspen records an allowance for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the inability, failure or refusal of its students to make required payments, which includes the recovery of financial aid funds advanced to a student for amounts in excess of the student’s cost of tuition and related fees. Aspen determines the adequacy of its allowance for doubtful accounts using a general reserve method based on an analysis of its historical bad debt experience, current economic trends, and the aging of the accounts receivable and student status. Aspen applies reserves to its receivables based upon an estimate of the risk presented by the age of the receivables and student status. Aspen writes off accounts receivable balances at the time the balances are deemed uncollectible. Aspen continues to reflect accounts receivable with an offsetting allowance as long as management believes there is a reasonable possibility of collection.

For accounts receivable from primary payors other than students, Aspen estimates its allowance for doubtful accounts by evaluating specific accounts where information indicates the customers may have an inability to meet financial obligations, such as bankruptcy proceedings and receivable amounts outstanding for an extended period beyond contractual terms. In these cases, Aspen uses assumptions and judgment, based on the best available facts and circumstances, to record a specific allowance for those customers against amounts due to reduce the receivable to the amount expected to be collected. These specific allowances are re-evaluated and adjusted as additional information is received. The amounts calculated are analyzed to determine the total amount of the allowance. Aspen may also record a general allowance as necessary.

Direct write-offs are taken in the period when Aspen has exhausted its efforts to collect overdue and unpaid receivables or otherwise evaluate other circumstances that indicate that Aspen should abandon such efforts.

Related Party Transactions

On July 1, 2013, Mr. Michael Mathews, our Chief Executive Officer, loaned 探花视频app $1 million and was issued a $1 million Promissory Note due December 31, 2013. The Promissory Note bears 10% interest per annum, payable monthly in arrears.

At April 30, 2013, we included as a long term asset an account receivable of $270,478 net of an allowance of $502,315 from Aspen’s former Chairman. Although it is secured by stock pledges, there is a risk that we may not collect all or any of this sum.

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In March 2012, we issued a $300,000 convertible note to Mr. Michael Mathews, our Chief Executive Officer, in consideration for a $300,000 loan. The note was originally due March 31, 2013, but was amended to extend the due date to August 31, 2014. The note bears interest at 0.19% per annum and is convertible at $1.00 per share. In August 2012, we issued a $300,000 convertible note to Mr. Mathews in consideration for an additional $300,000 loan. The note was originally a demand note, but was amended to extend the due date to August 31, 2014. The note bears interest at 5% per annum and is convertible at $0.35 per share.

See Note 15 to our April 30, 2013 consolidated financial statements included herein for additional description of related party transactions that had a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.

New Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 2 to our April 30, 2013 consolidated financial statements included herein for discussion of recent accounting pronouncements.

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK.

Not applicable.

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.

The requirements of this Item can be found beginning on page F-1.

ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE.

Not applicable.

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management carried out an evaluation, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Based on their evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this report.

Management’s Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act). Our management, under the supervision and with the participation of our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of the end of the period covered by this report. In making this assessment, our management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsor Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework. Based on that evaluation, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective based on that criteria.

Our internal control over financial reporting is a process designed under the supervision of our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with GAAP. Internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

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Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect our internal control over financial reporting.

ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION.

None.

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PART III

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Except for Sanford Rich, who was appointed a director effective with the closing of the Reverse Merger and Mr. Matte who was recently appointed to replace David Garrity as our Chief Financial Officer, each person listed in the table had identical positions with Aspen.

Michael Mathews has served as Aspen’s Chief Executive Officer and a director since May 2011. He served as Chief Executive Officer of interclick, inc. (Nasdaq: ICLK) from August 28, 2007 until January 31, 2011. From June 2007 until it was acquired by Yahoo, Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) in December 2011, Mr. Mathews also served as a director of interclick. From May 15, 2008 until June 30, 2008, Mr. Mathews served as the interim Chief Financial Officer of interclick. From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Mathews served as the senior vice-president of marketing and publisher services for World Avenue U.S.A., LLC, an Internet promotional marketing company. From March 2011 until October 2012, Mr. Mathews served as the Chairman and a consultant (and from December 1, 2011 through March 19, 2012 as Executive Chairman) for Wizard World, Inc. (Other OTC: WIZD). Mr. Mathews was selected to serve as a director due to his track record of success in managing early stage and growing businesses, his extensive knowledge of the Internet marketing industry and his knowledge of running and serving on the boards of public companies.

Gerald Williams has served as Aspen’s President since March 2011. Dr. Williams functions as Aspen’s chief academic officer and has responsibility for all educational matters. Since January 15, 2012, Dr. Williams has also served as the Dean of our School of Technology. Prior to January 1, 2012, Dr. Williams was a consultant beginning in March 2011 under a Consulting Agreement. From 2005 until 2010, Mr. Williams was an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri – Kansas City.

Michael Matte has served as our Chief Financial Officer since May 16, 2013. From October 2007 until March 31, 2013, Mr. Matte served as the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice-President of MeetMe, Inc. (NYSE MKT: MEET). From July 2006 through October 2007, Mr. Matte served as a director of MeetMe. Mr. Matte served as Chief Financial Officer of Cyberguard Corporation from February 2001 to April 2006. Prior to joining Cyberguard Corporation, Mr. Matte began his professional career at Price Waterhouse, where he worked from 1981 to 1992. His last position was as a senior Audit Manager. From January 2004 until April 2012, Mr. Matte served as a director of Iris International, Inc. and from March 2008 until October 2009, Mr. Matte served as a director of GelTech Solutions, Inc. Mr. Matte is a Certified Public Accountant.

Angela Siegel has served as Aspen’s Executive Vice President of Marketing since January 1, 2012. Ms. Siegel has responsibility for the online lead generation and the Office of Enrollment. From July 2010 until December 2011, Ms. Siegel was the Director of Compliance and Enrollment Analytics at Ward Media, Inc., or Ward, a lead generation marketing agency. From January 2010 until July 2010, Ms. Siegel was the Chief Marketing Officer at the Jack Welch Management Institute at Chancellor University. From October 2008 until January 2010, Ms. Siegel was the Director of Enrollment Marketing at Ward. From July 2004 until October 2008, Ms. Siegel was the Online Marketing Manager at Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (NASDAQ: LOPE), a regionally accredited provider of post-secondary education including online as well as traditional ground programs.

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David Garrity has served as our Executive Vice President, Corporate Development since May 14, 2013. From June 2011 until May 14, 2013, he served as our Chief Financial Officer. He served as Chief Financial Officer of interclick from June 30, 2008 until August 14, 2009 and as a member of interclick’s board of directors from June 9, 2008 until June 5, 2009. Through GVA Research LLC, a company he controls, Mr. Garrity provides consulting services to organizations such as the World Bank Group and offers expert commentary on technology sector developments to CNBC, Bloomberg TV and other media networks. Mr. Garrity holds Series 7, 24, 63, 79, 86 & 87 securities licenses and is affiliated with Whitemarsh Capital Advisors, LLC, a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA, member firm. From 2006 to 2008, Mr. Garrity served as Managing Director and Director of Research for Dinosaur Securities, LLC.  In 2006, Mr. Garrity was fined $10,000 and suspended for 45 days from associating with a FINRA member firm for certain inadvertent violations of FINRA's rules unrelated to fraud or any customer complaints. Mr. Garrity consented to the sanctions without admitting or denying FINRA's findings. Since 1993, Mr. Garrity has been a Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder.

Michael D’Anton has served as a director of Aspen for approximately six years. Since 1988, Dr. D’Anton has been an ENT physician and surgeon at ENT Allergy Associates. Dr. D’Anton was selected as a director for his experience in growing and running a successful surgery center and his knowledge of Aspen from serving as a director prior to the Reverse Merger.

C. James Jensen has served as a director of Aspen since May 2011. Since 1983, Mr. Jensen has been the managing partner of Mara Gateway Associates, L.P., a privately owned real estate investment company he co-founded. Since 2006, Mr. Jensen has been the co-managing partner of Stronghurst, LLC, which provides advisory and financial services to emerging growth companies. Since April 2011, Mr. Jensen has served as a director of Sugarmade, Inc. (OTC BB: SGMD). From April 2006 until March 2008, Mr. Jensen served as a director of Health Benefits Direct Corp. (OTC BB: HBDT). Mr. Jensen was selected a director as a designee of Mr. Mathews in connection with the EGC Merger due to his previous service on a public company board and his experience with entrepreneurial companies.

David Pasi has served as a director of Aspen since May 2011. Since December 2010, Mr. Pasi has been a registered investment advisor under Delta Financial Group. From August 2008 until August 2010, Mr. Pasi was a risk manager at Credit Suisse. From January 2004 until June 2008, Mr. Pasi was the risk manager at Citigroup, Inc. Mr. Pasi was selected as a designee of Mr. Spada in connection with the EGC Merger. Because of his finance background, Mr. Pasi was selected as a director.

Sanford Rich has served as a director since March 13, 2012. Since November 2012, Mr. Rich has served as the Chief of Negotiations and Restructuring for the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. From October 2011 to September 2012, Mr. Rich served as Chief Executive Officer of In The Car LLC. Mr. Rich served as a director of interclick from August 28, 2007 until June 5, 2009 and on its Audit Committee from August 2007 to June 2009. Since January 2008, Mr. Rich has served as Managing Director of Whitemarsh Capital Advisors, a broker-dealer. From May 2008 to February 2009, Mr. Rich was a Managing Director with Matrix USA LLC, a broker-dealer. Since April 2006, Mr. Rich has served as a director and Audit Committee Chairman for InsPro Technologies (OTC BB: ITCC). Mr. Rich was selected as a director for his 32 years of experience in the financial sector and because he is independent and has experience serving on the audit committees of public companies.

John Scheibelhoffer has served as a director of Aspen for approximately six years. Since 1996, Dr. Scheibelhoffer has been a physician and surgeon employed by ENT Allergy Associates. Dr. Scheibelhoffer was selected to serve as a director for his experience in running a successful surgery center and his knowledge of Aspen from serving as a director member prior to the EGC Merger.

Paul Schneier has served as a director of Aspen for approximately five years. Since April 2007, Mr. Schneier has been a Division President at PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM), a homebuilding company. Prior to that, Mr. Schneier was a Division President at Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (NYSE: BZEH), a homebuilding company. Mr. Schneier was selected to serve as a director because of his management background.

Brad Powers served as our Chief Marketing Officer until March 1, 2013. Mr. Powers now provides marketing services as a consultant. David Garrity served as our Chief Financial Officer until May 14, 2013. Mr. Garrity now serves as our Executive Vice President, Corporate Development.

Except for Dr. D’Anton and Mr. Pasi, who are brother-in-laws, there are no family relationships among our directors and/or executive officers.

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Board Committees and Charters

The Board and its committees meet throughout the year and act by written consent from time to time as appropriate. The Board delegates various responsibilities and authority to its Board committees. Committees regularly report on their activities and actions to the Board. The Board currently has, and appoints the members of the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee. The following table identifies the independent and non-independent current Board and committee members:

Director Independence

We currently have seven directors serving on our Board. We are not a listed issuer and, as such, are not subject to any director independence standards. Using the definition of independence set forth in the rules of the NASDAQ, all of our directors except Mr. Mathews are independent.

Board Committees and Charters

The members of the Audit Committee are Sanford Rich, Chairman, David Pasi and C. James Jensen. Our Board has determined that each of the members are independent in accordance with the independence standards for audit committees under the NASDAQ listing rules. The Board has also determined that Mr. Rich is an “Audit Committee Financial Expert.” The Audit Committee has a written charter approved by the Board.

The members of the Compensation Committee are Mr. Jensen, Chairman, Paul Schneier and John Scheibelhoffer, MD.

Our Board is expected to appoint a Nominating Committee, and to adopt charters relative to the Compensation Committee and the Nominating Committee, in the future. We intend to appoint such persons to the Nominating Committee of the Board as are expected to be required to meet the corporate governance requirements imposed by a national securities exchange, although we are not required to comply with such requirements until we elect to seek listing on a national securities exchange, and we are under no obligation to do so.

Code of Ethics

Our Board has adopted a Code of Ethics that applies to all of our employees, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Although not required, the Code of Ethics also applies to our directors. The Code of Ethics provides written standards that we believe are reasonably designed to deter wrongdoing and promote honest and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of actual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships, full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure and compliance with laws, rules and regulations, including insider trading, corporate opportunities and whistle-blowing or the prompt reporting of illegal or unethical behavior. We will provide a copy, without charge, to anyone that requests one in writing to 探花视频app, Inc. 224 West 30th Street, Suite 604, New York, New York 10001, Attention: Corporate Secretary.

Shareholder Communications

Although we do not have a formal policy regarding communications with the Board, shareholders may communicate with the Board by writing to us at 探花视频app, Inc., 224 West 30th Street, Suite 604, New York, New York 10001, Attention: Corporate Secretary. Shareholders who would like their submission directed to a member of the Board may so specify, and the communication will be forwarded, as appropriate.

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Board Structure

We have chosen to combine the Chief Executive Officer and Board Chairman positions. We believe that this Board leadership structure is the most appropriate for Aspen. Because we are a small company, it is more efficient to have the leadership of the Board in the same hands as the Chief Executive Officer. The challenges faced by us at this stage – obtaining financing and implementing our business and marketing plan – are most efficiently dealt with by one person who is familiar with both the operational aspects as well as the strategic aspects of our business.

Board Assessment of Risk

Our risk management function is overseen by our Board. Our management keeps its Board apprised of material risks and provides its directors access to all information necessary for them to understand and evaluate how these risks interrelate, how they affect us, and how management addresses those risks. Mr. Michael Mathews, as our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, works closely together with the Board once material risks are identified on how to best address such risks. If the identified risk poses an actual or potential conflict with management, our independent directors may conduct the assessment. Presently, the primary risks affecting us are our ability to grow our business with our current cash balance, increase our enrollment and class starts and manage our expected growth consistent with regulatory oversight.

Risk Assessment Regarding Compensation Policies and Practices as they Relate to Risk Management

Our compensation program for employees does not create incentives for excessive risk taking by our employees or involve risks that are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on us. Our compensation has the following risk-limiting characteristics:

●

Our base pay programs consist of competitive salary rates that represent a reasonable portion of total compensation and provide a reliable level of income on a regular basis, which decreases incentive on the part of our executives to take unnecessary or imprudent risks;

●

A portion of executive incentive compensation opportunity is tied to long-term incentive compensation that emphasizes sustained performance over time. This reduces any incentive to take risks that might increase short-term compensation at the expense of longer term company results.

●

Awards are not tied to formulas that could focus executives on specific short-term outcomes;

●

Equity awards may be recovered by us should a restatement of earnings occur upon which incentive compensation awards were based, or in the event of other wrongdoing by the recipient; and

●

Equity awards, generally, have multi-year vesting which aligns the long-term interests of our executives with those of our shareholders and, again, discourages the taking of short-term risk at the expense of long-term performance.

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance.

Not applicable.

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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION.

The following information is related to the compensation paid, distributed or accrued by us to our Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) and the two other most highly compensated executive officers serving as of April 30, 2013, whose total compensation exceeded $100,000. We refer to these persons as the “Named Executive Officers.”

Summary Compensation Table

———————

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Named Executive Officer Employment Agreements

The following describes the Named Executive Employment Agreements as of April 30, 2013 which have been amended as described below.

Michael Mathews. Effective on July 5, 2011, Aspen entered into a four-year Employment Agreement with Michael Mathews to serve as its Chief Executive Officer. The Employment Agreement provided that Mr. Mathews was to receive a base salary of $250,000 per year, which will be increased by at least 10% annually. In addition to a base salary, Mr. Mathews was eligible to receive an annual performance bonus based upon the achievement of pre-established performance milestones of which at least half would be paid in cash and the remaining in common stock. If performance milestones were met, Mr. Mathews’ bonus would have been 100% of his base salary for the year the milestone were met. If Mr. Mathews and a majority of the Board are unable to mutually agree on performance milestones, Mr. Mathews was to receive a guaranteed bonus for that fiscal year of no less than 15% of his base salary. In 2012, no performance milestones were set, and Mr. Mathews waived his right to a guaranteed annual performance bonus. Additionally, in March 2012, Mr. Mathews was granted a total of 800,000 five-year options to purchase shares of 探花视频app common stock exercisable at $1.00 per share vesting over a three-year period (with the first vesting period being one year from the grant date). In December 2012, the options were re-priced to $0.35 per share.

See below for a description of Mr. Mathews’ new Employment Agreement.

David Garrity. Effective on June 9, 2011, Aspen entered into a four-year Employment Agreement with David Garrity to serve as its Chief Financial Officer. In accordance with the Employment Agreement, from June 9, 2011 through July 4, 2011, Mr. Garrity was paid a fee in lieu of salary at a rate of $10,000 per month pursuant to a separate Consulting Agreement with Mr. Garrity. From July 4 until September 30, 2011, Aspen paid Mr. Garrity $10,000 per month (a rate of $125,000 per annum). Under his Employment Agreement, from October 1, 2011, Mr. Garrity was to be paid at the rate of $250,000 per year, which was to be increased by at least 10% annually. In addition to a base salary, Mr. Garrity was eligible to receive an annual performance bonus based upon the achievement of pre-established performance milestones of which at least half would be paid in cash and the remaining in Aspen common stock. If performance milestones were met, Mr. Garrity’s bonus would have been 100% of his base salary for the year the milestone was met. If Mr. Garrity and a majority of the Board were unable to mutually agree on performance milestones, Mr. Garrity would have received a guaranteed bonus for that fiscal year of no less than 15% of his base salary. In 2012, no performance milestones were set, and Mr. Garrity waived his right to a guaranteed annual performance bonus. Additionally, in March 2012, Mr. Garrity was granted 200,000 five-year options to purchase shares of 探花视频app common stock exercisable at $1.00 per share vesting over a three-year period. In December 2012, the options were re-priced to $0.35 per share.

Gerald Williams. Effective January 1, 2012, Aspen entered into a five-year Employment Agreement with Dr. Gerald Williams to serve as its President. In accordance with the Employment Agreement, Dr. Williams was to be paid a base salary of $150,000 per year. In addition to base salary, Dr. Williams was eligible to receive an annual performance bonus in an amount equal to 50% of his then-current base salary, based upon the achievement of pre-established performance milestones mutually agreed upon by him and the Chief Executive Officer. One-half of the annual bonus was to be paid in cash and the remaining was to be paid in common stock. In 2012, no performance milestones were set and Dr. Williams waived his right to an annual performance bonus. Additionally, in March 2012, Dr. Williams was granted 200,000 five-year options to purchase shares of 探花视频app common stock at $1.00 per share vesting over a three-year period. In December 2012, the options were re-priced to $0.35 per share.

Amendments to Pre-2013 Named Executive Officer Employment Agreements

On December 31, 2011, Messrs. Michael Mathews, our Chief Executive Officer, entered into an amendment to his Employment Agreements waiving 50% of his salary that would have otherwise accrued ($62,500). Additionally, effective January 1, 2012, Mr. Mathews agreed to defer 50% of his base salary until such time as Mr. Mathews or our Board determine that we have sufficient cash flow to pay the previously agreed upon amount. As of August 31, 2012, Mr. Mathews and our Board agreed to continue deferring his salary until December 31, 2012. Separately, Mr. David Garrity, our then Chief Financial Officer, effective April 1, 2012 deferred 40% of his base salary. At the same date, Mr. Michael Mathews deferred 60% of his base salary. In consideration for deferring their salaries, Messrs. Mathews and Garrity were granted 288,911 and 136,008 fully-vested five-year stock options, respectively, exercisable at $0.35 per share to settle deferred salaries.

As of August 31, 2012, Messrs. Michael Mathews David Garrity, and Gerald Williams agreed to reduce their base salaries to $100,000 per year for the remainder of 2012. In consideration for reducing their salaries, Messrs. Mathews, and Garrity were each granted 166,666 five-year stock options and Dr. Williams was granted 47,620 five-year stock options. These stock options are exercisable at $0.35 per share and vested in four equal installments at the end of each month of 2012, beginning on September 30, 2012.

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Our Board approved the option grants in the two above paragraphs on October 23, 2012. The Board also granted Dr. Williams a $45,000 bonus on October 23, 2012. On September 4, 2012, our Board granted Mr. Mathews up to 2,900,000 five-year options exercisable at $0.35 per share and vesting in equal annual increments over four years with the first vesting date being September 4, 2013.

On February 28, 2013, the Board granted Dr. Williams 50,000 five-year options exercisable at $0.35 per share and vesting in three equal annual increments over three years with the first vesting date being February 28, 2014.  On March 26, 2013, the Board granted Mr. Garrity 100,000 five-year options exercisable at $0.35 per share and vesting in three equal annual increments over three years with the first vesting date being March 26, 2014.  

On April 6, 2013, Mr. Garrity and Dr. Williams were granted 125,000 five-year options and 35,714 five-year options, respectively, in lieu of cash salary as described in footnotes to the Summary Compensation Table above.

2013 Named Executive Officer Employment Agreements

Effective May 16, 2013, 探花视频app and Michael Mathews entered into a new three-year Employment Agreement. In accordance with the Employment Agreement, Mr. Mathews will receive a base salary of $250,000 per year; however, his base salary will be $100,000 per year until the Compensation Committee determines that 探花视频app’s cash position permits an increase to $250,000 a year. In contrast to his old Employment Agreement described above, the new Employment Agreement does not include any guaranteed annual bonuses.

In addition to his base salary, Mr. Mathews is eligible to earn an annual performance bonus equal to 25%, 50% or 100% of his then base salary (the “Target Bonus”) based upon the achievement of performance milestones established by the Compensation Committee at the beginning of each fiscal year. The earning of the Target Bonus is subject to 探花视频app having at least $2,000,000 in available cash after deducting both target bonuses for that fiscal year (the “Cash Threshold”). If 探花视频app is unable to pay the target bonuses as a result of not meeting the Cash Threshold, Mr. Mathews shall be entitled to receive the Target Bonus in 探花视频app’s common stock if 探花视频app had positive Adjusted Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization (“Adjusted EBITDA Threshold”) during the applicable fiscal year. If 探花视频app is unable to pay the Target Bonus as a result of not meeting the Cash Threshold or the Adjusted EBITDA Threshold, no Target Bonus will be earned for that fiscal year. Further, if no target performance goals are established within three months of the beginning of a fiscal year, no Target Bonus can be earned for that fiscal year.

On July 29, 2013, 探花视频app and Dr. Williams entered in a new three-year Employment Agreement. In accordance with the Employment Agreement, Dr. Williams receives a base salary of $150,000 per year. In addition to his base salary, Dr. Williams is eligible to earn an annual performance bonus equal to 25% or 50% of his then base salary based upon the achievement of performance milestones established by the Compensation Committee at the beginning of each fiscal year. The earning of the target bonus is substantially similar to the Target Bonus criteria for Messrs. Mathews described in the paragraph above.

On May 14, 2013, in connection with his appointment as Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, 探花视频app issued Mr. David Garrity 200,000 five year stock options, exercisable at $0.35 per share and vesting in two equal annual increments with the first vesting date being June 16, 2014, subject to Mr. Garrity providing services as an employee or as a consultant under a consulting agreement on each applicable vesting date.

On June 1, 2013, 探花视频app entered into an Addendum to Employment Agreement with David Garrity, reducing his salary to $100,000 per year and amending the severance terms so that Mr. Garrity is guaranteed at least $125,000 unless he terminates his employment, becomes disabled or dies, in which case 探花视频app shall not owe any severance.  Should 探花视频app terminate the Employment Agreement after Mr. Garrity has received $125,000, 探花视频app shall pay Mr. Garrity $50,000.

Termination Provisions

Our Named Executive Officers are entitled to severance payments. All of the termination provisions are intended to comply with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”) and the Regulations thereunder. In the event of death, total disability, dismissal without cause or resignation for Good Reason, they will receive six months base salary and immediate vesting of unvested equity. Immediately upon a change of control event, they will receive 18 months base salary and immediate vesting of unvested equity. Change of control is defined in their Employment Agreements as Change of Control is defined under 409A of the Code. Generally, Good Reason is defined as a material diminution in the executives’ authority, duties or responsibilities due to no fault of his own (unless he has agreed to such diminution); or (ii) any other action or inaction that constitutes a material breach by 探花视频app under the Employment Agreement; or (iii) a relocation of his principal place of employment to a location which is not pre-approved by him. Additionally, 探花视频app and David Garrity, our former Chief Financial Officer, executed an addendum to his Employment Agreement which provides Mr. Garrity with severance rights up to $50,000 under certain circumstances.

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Michael Matte Employment Agreement

Effective May 16, 2013, 探花视频app entered into a three-year Employment Agreement with Michael Matte to serve as its Chief Financial Officer. In accordance with the Employment Agreement, from May 16, 2013 until December 31, 2013, Mr. Matte will be paid a base salary at a rate of $100,000 per year and thereafter will be paid $250,000 per year. In recognition of his reduced salary during the beginning of the term, Mr. Matte was granted 791,211 seven-year stock options (exercisable at $0.35 per share), which vest in seven equal monthly installments on the last calendar day of each month with the first vesting date being June 30, 2013, subject to continued employment on each applicable vesting date. Additionally, Mr. Matte was granted 500,000 seven-year stock options (exercisable at $0.35 per share), which vest in three equal increments on April 30, 2014, 2015 and 2016, subject to continued employment on each applicable vesting date.

Outstanding Equity Awards as of April 30, 2013

Listed below is information with respect to unexercised options for each Named Executive Officer as of April 30, 2013.

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Equity Compensation Plan Information

Immediately following the closing of the Reverse Merger, our Board adopted the 2012 Equity Incentive Plan, or the Plan, which provided for 2,500,000 shares to be granted under the Plan. As of September 28, 2012, our Board increased the Plan to 5,600,000 shares and on January 16, 2013, the Board further increased the Plan to 8,000,000 shares. In May 2013, our Board increased the Plan to 9,300,000 shares.

The exercise price of options or stock appreciation rights granted under the Plan shall not be less than the fair market value of the underlying common stock at the time of grant. In the case of incentive stock options, the exercise price may not be less than 110% of the fair market value in the case of 10% shareholders. Options and stock appreciation rights granted under the Plan shall expire no later than 10 years after the date of grant. The total number of shares with respect to which options or stock awards may be granted under the Plan the purchase price per share, if applicable, shall be adjusted for any increase or decrease in the number of issued shares resulting from a recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation, exchange of shares, stock dividend, stock split, reverse stock split, or other subdivision or consolidation of shares.

Our Board may from time to time may alter, amend, suspend, or discontinue the Plan with respect to any shares as to which awards of stock rights have not been granted. However no rights granted with respect to any awards under the Plan before the amendment or alteration shall be impaired by any such amendment, except with the written consent of the grantee.

Under the terms of the Plan, our Board may also grant awards which will be subject to vesting under certain conditions. The vesting may be time-based or based upon meeting performance standards, or both. Recipients of restricted stock awards will realize ordinary income at the time of vesting equal to the fair market value of the shares. We will realize a corresponding compensation deduction. Upon the exercise of stock options or stock appreciation rights, the holder will have a basis in the shares acquired equal to any amount paid on exercise plus the amount of any ordinary income recognized by the holder. Upon sale of the shares, the holder will have a capital gain or loss equal to the sale proceeds minus his or her basis in the shares.

The Plan and our standard Stock Option Agreement provide for “clawback” provisions, which enable our Board to cancel options and recover past profits if the person is dismissed for cause or commits certain acts which harm us.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The following chart reflects the number of securities granted and the weighted average exercise price for our compensation plans as of April 30, 2013.

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Director Compensation

We do not pay cash compensation to our directors for service on our Board and our employees do not receive compensation for serving as members of our Board. Directors are reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in attending meetings and carrying out duties as board and committee members. Under the Plan, our non-employee directors receive grants of stock options as compensation for their services on our Board, as described above. Because we do not pay compensation to employee directors, Mr. Michael Mathews was not compensated for his service as a director and is omitted from the following table.

Director Compensation

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ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS.

The following table sets forth the number of shares of 探花视频app’s common stock beneficially owned as of July 26, 2013 by (i) those persons known by 探花视频app to be owners of more than 5% of its common stock, (ii) each director (iii) the Named Executive Officers (as disclosed in the Summary Compensation Table), and (iv) 探花视频app’s executive officers and directors as a group. Unless otherwise specified in the notes to this table, the address for each person is: c/o 探花视频app, Inc. 224 West 30th Street, Suite 604, New York, New York 10001.

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* Less than 1%.

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ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE.

During 2010-2011, Aspen entered into numerous transactions with its then Chairman, Mr. Patrick Spada, and HEMG, a corporation he controlled. These transactions also occurred prior to 2010. In connection with the audit of Aspen’s financial statements for 2010-2011, Aspen discovered in November 2011 that HEMG had borrowed $2,195,084 from it from 2005 to 2010 without Board authority. In connection with this loan, three of Aspen’s directors pledged 2,209,960 shares of common stock to secure payment of this loan receivable. The directors are Mr. Michael Mathews, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Drs. Michael D’Anton and John Scheibelhoffer. On August 16, 2012, following a series of discussions with the Staff of the SEC, 探花视频app determined that they should have expensed these amounts rather than report them as a secured receivable. In connection with this consolidated financial statement restatement, the disinterested directors concluded that it would be fundamentally unfair to retain the pledged shares due because the directors in pledging shares understood that the only risk they were taking involved either an unsuccessful suit to collect the receivable or the inability to collect any judgment. Accordingly, the Board concluded that the Pledge Agreement was null and void and directed that the shares be returned to each of the three directors. The three interested directors abstained on the matter.

Previously on September 16, 2011, Aspen, HEMG, and Mr. Spada entered into a series of agreements. In essence, Mr. Spada gave up substantial control he retained including the power to determine when, if ever, Aspen would go public; in exchange he received substantial benefits from Aspen which are described below.

In 2008, HEMG purchased video courses and program rights from Aspen for $1,055,000. The balance due Aspen on September 16, 2011 was $772,793. Under one agreement, HEMG pledged 772,793 shares of Aspen Series C Preferred Stock, or Series C, which converted to 654,850 shares of 探花视频app’s common stock upon the closing of the Reverse Merger to secure payment of this $772,793. Due to the approximate 0.847 conversion ratio of the Series C into common stock, the shares of Series C pledged by HEMG were not enough to fully secure the $772,793. In order to avoid a portion of this loan from being partially written-off, on March 8, 2012, Mr. Mathews pledged an additional 117,943 shares as collateral for the repayment of the this obligation. Aspen’s Board never authorized entry into the 2008 agreement. As a result, Aspen’s Board accelerated the due date and declared it immediately due and payable. In connection with the April Agreement (described on page 60), Aspen agreed to extend the due date to September 30, 2014 and waived any default which had previously arisen.

On September 16, 2011, Aspen exchanged general releases with Mr. Spada/HEMG, and Mr. Spada entered into a modified non-compete agreement where he was permitted to compete with Aspen except with respect to three corporate customers for whom Aspen had an existing commercial relationship. He also agreed to a two-year confidentiality provision and agreed not to solicit employees for nine months after expiration of the Consulting Agreement. Finally, Aspen entered into an Indemnification Agreement with HEMG on September 16, 2011 agreeing to indemnify it from liability for its actions to the fullest extent permitted by law. The Indemnification Agreement is similar to the form we provide to our directors and executive officers which is a standard form of corporate indemnification agreement. Aspen’s Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation contains a provision which precludes indemnification of expenses from any litigation between Aspen and any officer or director.

Upon discovering the unauthorized borrowings described above, Aspen gave notice of termination of the Consulting Agreement. The undisclosed loan from Dr. Michael D’Anton described below would have also served as cause to terminate the Consulting Agreement.

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Additionally, in connection with the HEMG Agreement, Aspen repaid a loan owed to Mr. Steve Karl, a former employee of Aspen, by Mr. Spada of approximately $16,000. Aspen also agreed to pay Mr. Karl severance of $75,000 (six months base pay). Additionally, Aspen agreed to pay Mr. Karl’s wife and previously the bookkeeper of Aspen $32,500 (six months base pay) and paid a former bookkeeping consultant $6,000. When Aspen gave notice of termination of the Consulting Agreement to Mr. Spada, it also gave notice to the Karls that it was terminating its severance obligations (approximately $71,000), given the fact that these employees were responsible for keeping Aspen’s books and records during the timeframes of the unauthorized borrowings. The Karls responded that they do not agree with Aspen terminating their severance payments. They have not filed suit against Aspen.

The 4,425,522 shares of 探花视频app’s common stock which HEMG holds that are not pledged to Aspen are subject to a Lock-Up/Leak-Out Agreement which provides that (until March 13, 2014) HEMG and Spada, collectively, are, in any given week, allowed to sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of up to 5% of the total trading volume for 探花视频app’s common stock for the prior 10 trading days not including any days in the week of sale. The current directors of 探花视频app also signed Lock-Up/Leak-Out Agreements at the same terms as the HEMG Lock-Up/Leak-Out Agreement. Early in 2013, 探花视频app was given notice by a creditor that the creditor has a lien for over $1 million owed by HEMG and Spada, which requires that any proceeds of future sales must be used to first satisfy the lien.

Although Mr. Spada is believed to have devoted his full-time services to Aspen, there is no evidence he ever received any salary. For 2010 and 2011, Aspen paid $655,191 of personal expenses on behalf of Mr. Spada. Aspen issued to Mr. Spada and HEMG two 1099s in relation to 2011 for $119,800 and $320,935, respectively. No 1099s were issued to HEMG or Mr. Spada prior to 2011, and the difference was added to the loan receivable. In 2012, 探花视频app issued Mr. Spada an amended 1099 for 2011 which included the full amount of the borrowed funds.

On September 16, 2011, Mr. Spada sold 3,769,150 shares of Aspen Series C (equivalent to 3,193,906 shares of common stock of 探花视频app) for $1,000,000 or approximately $0.265 per share (or the equivalent of $0.313 per share of 探花视频app’s common stock). Mr. Mathews was one of the purchasers; other purchasers included Mr. David Garrity, Aspen’s then Chief Financial Officer, and Michael D’Anton, MD, Mr. C. James Jensen and John Scheibelhoffer MD who are directors. On September 21, 2011, Aspen lent $238,210 to Mr. Mathews to allow him to acquire Series C from HEMG. The loan was for a nine month period with 3% per annum interest and was guaranteed by Mr. Mathews’ wife and secured by a pledge of 40,000 shares of interclick, inc. common stock owned by Mr. Mathews. Mr. Mathews repaid the loan in December 2011. In December 2011, Aspen lent Mr. Brad Powers, our former Chief Marketing Officer, $150,000 in exchange for a promissory note bearing 3% per annum interest due September 14, 2012. As collateral, the note was secured by 500,000 shares of Aspen’s common stock. The loan was repaid in February 2012.

On August 14, 2012, Mr. Mathews loaned 探花视频app $300,000 in exchange for a convertible demand note bearing interest at 5% per annum. The note is convertible at $0.35 per share, and the due date was extended until August 31, 2014. In March 2012, Mr. Mathews loaned Aspen $300,000 in exchange for a convertible note bearing interest at 0.19% per annum. The note is convertible at $1.00 per share, and the due date has been extended to August 31, 2014.

During 2009, Aspen received a loan of $50,000 from the brother of Mr. Spada, the former Chairman. During 2011 and 2010, the loans were non-interest bearing demand loans. In February 2012, the lender agreed to convert the loan into a two-year convertible note payable convertible at $1.00 per share.

Since May 2011, directors and an executive officer purchased securities in Aspen and 探花视频app’s private placement offerings of which the largest investment was $150,000. The investments were on the same terms as other investors.

On April 10, 2012, HEMG, Spada, 探花视频app and one other person entered into an Agreement, which we refer to as the April Agreement, under which HEMG sold 400,000 shares of common stock of 探花视频app for $200,000 to individuals who were not executive officers or directors of 探花视频app. In connection with the April Agreement, 探花视频app guaranteed that it would purchase 600,000 shares at $0.50 per share within 90 days of the April Agreement and agreed to use its best efforts to purchase an additional 1,400,000 shares of common stock at $0.50 per shares within 180 days from the date of the April Agreement. A group of predominately existing shareholders purchased 336,000 shares of common stock at $0.50 per share and 探花视频app purchased 264,000 shares at $0.50 per share. 探花视频app purchased the shares after the 90 day period had expired; Spada cashed the check without reserving his rights or protesting the late payment. We have been advised by counsel that this means that the agreement (described below) of HEMG and Spada not to sue us is binding.

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No additional shares were purchased at that time because 探花视频app could not sell its own common stock at a price that high. In December 2012, 探花视频app purchased 200,000 of HEMG's shares for $0.35 per share. Provided that HEMG and Mr. Spada meet their obligations under the April Agreement, 探花视频app agreed to allow HEMG and Mr. Spada to privately sell up to 500,000 shares privately which are subject to the lock-up agreement described above provided that the purchaser agreed to be bound by the terms of the lock-up. Additionally, under the April Agreement, HEMG and Mr. Spada agreed not to commence any lawsuit, or cooperate in any lawsuit against us, except in an action, claim or lawsuit which is brought against HEMG or Mr. Spada by us in which case HEMG and Mr. Spada may assert any counterclaim or cross-claim against Aspen. See page 32 for a description of a lawsuit brought by Mr. Spada and HEMG against 探花视频app. Additionally, Aspen agreed to extend the due date on the $772,793 receivable to September 30, 2014.

A number of years ago Dr. Michael D’Anton lent Aspen $25,000 of which $22,000 was owed at September 30, 2012. The loan was not disclosed on Aspen’s balance sheet at the time of the EGC merger. In November 2012, Dr. D’Anton cancelled Aspen’s obligation in exchange for 62,857 five-year vested options exercisable at $0.35 per share.

On July 1, 2013, Mr. Mathews loaned 探花视频app $1 million and was issued a $1 million Promissory Note due December 31, 2013. The Promissory Note bears 10% interest per annum, payable monthly in arrears.

Mr. Mathews’ son is employed by 探花视频app as its marketing manager and is paid a salary of $40,000 per year.

See page 50 for a discussion of director independence.

ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES.

Our Audit Committee reviews and approves audit and permissible non-audit services performed by our independent registered public accounting firm, as well as the fees charged for such services. In its review of non-audit service and its appointment of Salberg & Company, P.A., or Salberg, as our independent registered public accounting firm, the Audit Committee considered whether the provision of such services is compatible with maintaining independence. Our Audit Committee determined that the rendering of non-audit services by Salberg, if any, is compatible with maintaining the independence of Salberg. All of the services provided and fees charged by Salberg for the four months ended April 30, 2013 and for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 were approved by the Audit Committee.

The following table shows the fees paid to Salberg for the four month period ended April 30, 2013, and the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011.