Okay I have a confession, I am an occasional viewer of Mad Money. Most of my readers know by now that I do not have television at my house (don’t want it, don’t need it) but whenever I’m at the gym Mad Money seems to always be on T.V. I have to say I’m somewhat fascinated by the self made millionaire, hulking around hunched over in a room that looks like a stock broker’s office mixed with a toy store, with a necktie that’s way too tight and sleeves rolled all the way up to his biceps. It’s a funny image but the guy really has a nose for the market.
That being said last night he had the president of American Public Education, the parent company of American Public University and American Military University. I’ve been keeping tabs on this company since way back in their days be being first granted DETC accreditation and have always been impressed with the amount of and unique types in many cases of the offerings their schools have. Where else can you study Counter Terrorism Measures online? Needless to say I’m a big fan of their work, especially since they did not jack up prices after gaining regional accreditation as many schools have done. They still hover around $250 per hour with books included at the undergrad level and $275 + books for grad programs, pretty darn reasonable.
So why then am I talking about their tuition costs? Simply put, Jim Kramer last night pointed out the very reasonable cost of the school yet their student growth and profit margins are steadily growing. Why? Because more and more students, many in the military have discovered APUS or AMU through word of mouth as being an excellent value, a biggest bang for the buck type of thing. Jim also noted that APUS/AMU have done with private investment dollars and no expense to the government that which public universities seem to have never ceasing problems with, providing quality, accredited education for a very inexpensive rate, without walking around tin cup in hand begging the government or their alumni for money. Jim praised their model and even speculated if the federal government will take note of their success and perhaps use APUS/AMU as models for what successful education will look like in 10 years from now, especially with the governments impending need in the future to cut expenses (they just don’t know it yet). He even speculated that online education in the future may serve as the standard rather than the exception in an effort to cut down cost and get the most value for your (the student and investor's) dollar. What a novel idea...
Too bad I haven't thought of that and said it 100 times before... 
Well I am proud of APUS and AMU for all they’ve accomplished in such a short amount of time and more than a little impressed. Of course American Public Education is a “buy, buy, buy” according to Jim as he believes that these innovative pioneers in distance education have set a new standard. I tend to agree.