Overview
Our commitment to environmental and social quality begins with a focus on our students and the communities we serve. It is rooted in our mission to create a positive, lasting impact - a mission we work towards daily by empowering learners to reach their potential via accessible education. Each of our universities provides lifelong learning opportunities for our students and alumni.
At APEI, we believe that a culture of service is key to our success. Our efforts extend beyond the realm of education to include our strategy and activities related to corporate responsibility, including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters.
Environmental Efforts
APEI recognizes the importance of leading by example. Our students’ achievements in sustainability are bolstered by our own environmental practices. For this reason, our organization invests in technologies and programs that enable us to reduce our carbon footprint and business waste.
APUS, our largest subsidiary, is a signatory to the American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, pursuant to which we committed to work toward carbon neutrality, inventory our emissions, integrate sustainability into our curriculum, and make related information publicly available.
As an online school, APUS has an inherently lower carbon footprint than traditional brick-and-mortar universities—requiring no physical grounds to maintain and thus eliminating the need for students and instructors to commute.
At the same time, APEI’s nursing schools (RU and HCN) offer flexible programs that require in-person attendance only when necessary. By combining online course offerings with conveniently located campuses, these universities reduce the need for long commutes, thereby further preventing pollution.
We also actively engage with a third-party environmental consultant to measure our greenhouse gas emissions and analyze our environmental impact – striving to minimize our impact.
Social Efforts
In addition to creating positive environmental impacts, we believe that APEI should have a positive impact on the communities in which we live and work.
Our many volunteer and community service projects often emerge organically from the ideas and passions of our students and employees. To help support those efforts, we continue to provide all full-time employees with paid volunteer time off.
Additionally, our learning community supports philanthropic programs that include Wreaths Across America, Susan G. Komen®, Community Health Fairs, Adopt a Highway, Community Service Day, and many more.
APEI also prioritizes creating a safe, supportive, and compliant environment. We offer a range of employee training programs to all full-time and part-time employees, including our adjunct faculty, to help bolster this effort, including training on a broad range of compliance matters.
Similarly, our executive team is trained in anti-corruption strategies, in addition to receiving regular training on ethics. Furthermore, we encourage all employees to use our anonymous Whistleblower Hotline to report any incidents that do not align with these ongoing efforts.
Full-time APEI employees are entitled to our attractive benefits packages, which include professional development, flexible hours, remote work options, tuition reimbursement, and wellness/fitness programs. We are also committed to providing a fair living wage for all full-time staff.
APEI values our employees’ views, concerns, and preferences. We conduct company-wide engagement surveys with the goal of improving the overall employee experience. These survey results are used as a foundation to implement new programs and processes that benefit our employees and their families.
Governance Efforts
Central to our commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility lies a governance framework that ensures transparency, accountability, and integrity. In alignment with our mission to provide affordable, accessible, and career-relevant higher education, we have established several policies to help guide our daily activities.
Our Board of Directors is responsible for overseeing and supporting our commitment to positive environmental and social impact, and our governance practices.
Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee assists the Board of Directors in this oversight, including by overseeing our strategy and activities related to corporate responsibility, including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters. We also continue to leverage a management-led committee that reports to our Chief Executive Officer and supports management’s execution of our ESG efforts and development of our ESG strategy.
In addition, we maintain updated consumer information, fact sheets, news, and other channels of communication to inform our key stakeholders of our latest initiatives.