Velarion · Company Intelligence
Compensation Brief
Fiscal year 2025 · Filings through 2026-07-02

American Public Education (APEI)

Fiscal year 2025 executive and director compensation, incentive-plan design, equity activity, and governance — every figure in this brief is traceable to its exact location in the company’s SEC filing — the document, the section, the page, and the table, linked directly.

$5,063,608
Angela Selden total, FY2025
33rd
CEO pay percentile vs peers
145:1
CEO-to-median pay ratio
88.95%
Say-on-pay support, latest vote
Companies that benchmark against APEI
3 companies name APEI as a compensation peer

Each company listed discloses APEI in its own benchmarking peer group, as disclosed in each company's most recent proxy statement within the last two proxy seasons. Two companies are therefore absent by design: one that named APEI in an earlier year and no longer does, and one whose own most recent disclosure is older than the last two seasons.

01

Summary Compensation Table — fiscal year 2025

Named executive officerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension / NQDCAll otherTotal
Angela Selden$838,846$0$3,103,874$0$1,045,315$0$75,573$5,063,608
President and Chief Executive Officer
Richard Sunderland, Jr.493,3510620,7750319,555045,5241,479,205
Former Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Nuno Fernandes510,9620434,5560340,398033,4101,319,325
President, American Public University System
Mark Arnold411,9230331,1000454,222020,4041,217,650
President, Rasmussen University
Thomas Beckett418,8840455,2470273,877032,6131,180,621
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
Edward Codispoti91,73170,000318,0570002,442482,230
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

A dash means the company reported no figure in that column; 0 means it reported zero. Figures are as printed in the filing, without adjustment.

Three-year trend — total compensation per named executive

Named executive officerFY2025 totalFY2024 totalFY2023 totalΔ FY20242025
Angela Selden$5,063,608$2,909,301$4,176,075+2,154,307
Richard Sunderland, Jr.1,479,205
Nuno Fernandes1,319,3251,104,9631,314,877+214,362
Mark Arnold1,217,650
Thomas Beckett1,180,621935,585847,161+245,036
Edward Codispoti482,230

Prior-year totals as disclosed in the corresponding proxy; deltas are computed values with the derivation shown in the register.

02

Equity transactions since the proxy statement was filed

Every insider equity transaction reported on Form 4 after the 2025 proxy statement — acquisitions, dispositions, exercises, and withholdings — and therefore not reflected in any table in that document.

InsiderRoleTransaction dateCodeSharesPriceValueSecuritySource
Nuno FernandesPresident, APUS2026-05-13D4,500$53$240,030CommonForm 4 ↗
Granetta B. BlevinsDirector2026-05-22A2,13500CommonForm 4 ↗
Michael D. BranerDirector2026-05-22A2,13500Common, indirectForm 4 ↗
James KenigsbergInt Chief Inno & Tech Officer2026-05-22D1,2865266,229CommonForm 4 ↗
Richard J. StatutoDirector2026-05-22A2,13500CommonForm 4 ↗
Anna M. FabregaDirector2026-05-22A2,13500CommonForm 4 ↗
Daniel S. PiankoDirector2026-05-22A2,13500CommonForm 4 ↗
Thomas BeckettSVP, General Counsel2026-06-15D2005310,601CommonForm 4 ↗
Thomas BeckettSVP, General Counsel2026-06-15D5,21351267,889CommonForm 4 ↗
Thomas BeckettSVP, General Counsel2026-06-15D2,58752135,669CommonForm 4 ↗
Thomas BeckettSVP, General Counsel2026-06-22D2,00054108,000CommonForm 4 ↗
Daniel S. PiankoDirector2026-07-01A1,1073640,018CommonForm 4 ↗

Transaction codes per Form 4: A acquisition · S open-market sale · F tax withholding · M option exercise · G gift. Value = shares × price as reported. Dividend-equivalent and fractional-share accrual rows (derivative Class A, under $10,000 and under 2,000 shares) are aggregated per date; every row appears in full below.

03

Grants of plan-based awards — fiscal year 2025

ExecutiveAwardGrant dateThresholdTargetGrantedMaximumGrant-date fair value
Richard Sunderland, Jr.RSU2025-01-3014,131$310,034
Angela SeldenRSU2025-01-3070,6551,550,171
Edward CodispotiRSU2025-10-208,477318,057
Thomas BeckettPSU2025-02-042,59110,36320,726227,882
Nuno FernandesPSU2025-02-042,4739,89219,784217,525
Angela SeldenPSU2025-02-0417,66470,655141,3101,553,703
Nuno FernandesRSU2025-01-309,892217,030
Thomas BeckettRSU2025-01-3010,363227,364
Richard Sunderland, Jr.PSU2025-02-043,53314,13128,262310,741
Mark ArnoldRSU2025-01-307,537165,362
Mark ArnoldPSU2025-02-041,8847,53715,074165,739
03b

Vehicle mix — grant-date fair value by award type

Named executive officerTime-vested (RSU)Performance-vested (PSU)Options / SARs% performance-vested
Richard Sunderland, Jr.$310,034$310,741$050.1%
Angela Selden1,550,1711,553,703050.1%
Edward Codispoti318,057000.0%
Thomas Beckett227,364227,882050.1%
Nuno Fernandes217,030217,525050.1%
Mark Arnold165,362165,739050.1%

% performance-vested = PSU grant-date fair value ÷ (RSU + PSU + Options), a computed value with the derivation shown in the register.

04

Outstanding equity awards at fiscal year-end 2025

ExecutiveAwardShares unvestedExercise priceMarket value unvested
Mark ArnoldRSU18,029$681,496
Thomas BeckettRSU56,5292,136,796
Richard Sunderland, Jr.RSU89,3963,379,169
Nuno FernandesRSU61,6602,330,748
Angela SeldenRSU334,80712,655,705
Edward CodispotiRSU8,477320,431
05

Incentive-plan design — the Compensation Discussion & Analysis

We generally seek to target compensation within a competitive range of the market median and only deliver greater compensation when warranted by actual superior performance. Conversely, we seek to deliver lower compensation when performance results do not meet our threshold expectations.

CEO STI target (% of salary)95%
CEO LTI target (% of salary)
Independent consultantWillis Towers Watson (WTW)
Clawback policyTrue
Anti-hedgingTrue
Anti-pledgingTrue
06

Say-on-pay — recent advisory votes

Meeting yearMeeting dateForAgainstAbstainSupportOutcome
20262026-05-2213,019,893188,7831,428,99388.95%Passed
20252025-05-2312,943,411719,989194,88493.4%Passed
20242024-05-1711,339,447933,32052,32192%Passed
20232023-05-1910,787,9791,229,7131,155,73381.89%Passed
20222022-05-2016,672,313160,33460,69598.69%Passed
20212021-05-2113,418,7702,437,25932,90684.45%Passed

Rows are labeled by annual-meeting year, with the meeting date beside each; the vote held in a given year acts on the prior fiscal year's compensation.

Say-on-pay — history, company's computation

Meeting yearMeeting dateApproval — company's computation
20262026-05-2288.95%a
20252025-05-2393.4%b
20242024-05-1792%c

a. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Broker non-votes are not taken into account in determining the outcome of these proposals, and abstentions will have the effect of a vote against each of these proposals.”.

b. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Broker non-votes are not taken into account in determining the outcome of these proposals, and abstentions will have the effect of a vote against each of these proposals.”.

c. Approved under the standard stated in the filing — “Broker non-votes are not taken into account in determining the outcome of these proposals, and abstentions will have the effect of a vote against each of these proposals.”.

Approval percentages are the company's own reported computations under its own stated standard, not recomputed by Velarion. Where a company does not state a standard, none is assumed.

07

CEO pay ratio

Ratio (CEO : median employee)145 : 1
CEO total compensation$5,063,608
Median employee compensation$34,846
08

Director compensation — fiscal year 2025

DirectorCash feesStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveAll otherTotal
Daniel S. PiankoIndependent · Board Chair · Nominating/Governance$186,538$109,971$0$1$296,510
Granetta B. BlevinsIndependent · Audit (Chair) · Nominating/Governance (Chair)101,576109,97100211,547
Richard J. StatutoIndependent · Nominating/Governance · Management Development & Compensation92,272109,97100202,243
James KenigsbergIndependent · Nominating/Governance (Chair) · Management Development & Compensation · Departed during FY90,714109,97100200,685
Anna M. FabregaIndependent · Management Development & Compensation (Chair) · Audit87,286109,97100197,257
Michael D. BranerIndependent · Audit · Management Development & Compensation80,000109,97100189,971
William G. RobinsonIndependent · Management Development & Compensation (Chair) · Nominating/Governance · Departed during FY62,11000062,110
Eric C. AndersenIndependent · Audit · Departed during FY052,4130052,413
Angela K. SeldenEmployee director00000
09

Board fee structure and ownership guideline

Annual cash retainer$80,000
Annual equity retainer$109,971
Per board meeting fee
Committee chair fees (audit / comp / nom-gov)15,000
Stock ownership guideline
09b

Total cost of the board

ComponentFY2025
Cash retainers and fees$700,496
Equity awards (grant-date value)$712,239
All other compensation$1
Total cost of the board$1,412,736

Computed as the sum of the director compensation table rows above; inputs and formula shown in the register.

10

Disclosed peer group — fiscal year 2025

The compensation peer group as the company disclosed it in its own proxy — the reference set behind the percentile above.

10a

Peer reciprocity

Of the companies American Public Education names as compensation peers, which name it back in their own disclosed peer groups. A peer set the market reciprocates reads differently from one selected in a single direction.

Reciprocity shown where the peer's own current proxy has been read — each mark is cited in the register to that peer's filing. A dash means the peer's current proxy was read and names no reciprocal group including American Public Education.

10b

Chief executive pay against the peer group

Most recent fiscal-year chief executive compensation at each disclosed peer, taken from that company's own proxy statement.

RankCompanyFYChief executiveSalaryStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentiveTotal
1Stride, Inc.2025James Rhyu$1,000,000$16,860,903$0$3,619,426$21,496,095
2Covista Inc.2025Stephen Beard1,000,00013,999,52901,905,62517,244,988
3Strategic Education, Inc.2025Karl McDonnell1,018,0093,250,00001,393,5585,672,067
4Universal Technical Institute, Inc.2025Jerome Grant723,0773,506,0700874,9235,149,264
5American Public Education2025Angela Selden838,8463,103,87401,045,3155,063,608
6Lincoln Educational Services Corporation2025Scott Shaw650,0002,200,00001,134,6883,999,717
7Grand Canyon Education, Inc.2025Brian Mueller321,0001,211,6680481,5002,020,867
Perdoceo Education Corporationnot in coverage universe
Laureate Education, Inc.not in coverage universe

Each peer's compensation is from its most recently filed proxy; fiscal years differ by company. Each peer's figures come from its own filings; the subject company is highlighted. Peers whose chief executive compensation is outside our coverage universe are stated as such, never left blank.

10c

Incentive design against the same peers

CompanyAnnual incentive payoutLong-term vehicle mixPSU measures include TSRCompensation consultant
American Public Education128.7%RSU 50 · PSU 50NoWillis Towers Watson (WTW)
Covista Inc.not disclosedPSU 60 · RSU 40NoMeridian (July 2024 - February 2025) and Aon Human Capital Solutions (March 2025 - end of FY25)
Grand Canyon Education, Inc.150%RSU 100not disclosedMercer
Laureate Education, Inc.not disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Lincoln Educational Services Corporationnot disclosedRSU 50 · PSU 50NoGrant Thornton Advisors LLC
Perdoceo Education Corporationnot disclosednot disclosednot disclosednot disclosed
Strategic Education, Inc.108.8%RSU 100not disclosedEquilar, Inc.
Stride, Inc.181%PSU 60 · RSU 40NoCompensia
Universal Technical Institute, Inc.121%RSU 50 · PSU 50NoPearl Meyer

Read from each company's Compensation Discussion and Analysis: annual incentive payout as a percentage of target, the disclosed long-term vehicle mix, whether performance-share measures include a total shareholder return component, and the retained compensation consultant. “Not disclosed” appears only where the company's filing does not state the item.

11

Source register

Each figure's location is given both for the eye (section · page · table · row · column) and for a script (table/row/column index and exact character span in the filed document). Any figure can be independently confirmed against the source.

#SupportsDocumentFiledAccessionLocation in document
1Section 01, Angela SeldenDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 52. As printed: 5,063,608. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c22 · span 1130438–1130448
2Section 01, Richard Sunderland, Jr.DEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 52. As printed: 1,479,205. Filing ↗machine: t141 · r13 · c22 · span 1177083–1177093
3Section 01, Nuno FernandesDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 52. As printed: 1,319,325. Filing ↗machine: r6 · c22 · span 1147651–1147661
4Section 01, Mark ArnoldDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 52. As printed: 1,217,650. Filing ↗machine: r9 · c22 · span 1159840–1159850
5Section 01, Thomas BeckettDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 52. As printed: 1,180,621. Filing ↗machine: r10 · c22 · span 1164713–1164723
6Section 01, Edward CodispotiDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “Summary Compensation Table” · page 52. As printed: 482,230. Filing ↗machine: r5 · c22 · span 1142770–1142777
7Section 03, Richard Sunderland, Jr. RSUDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “2025 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t150 · r16 · c31 · span 1294527–1294534
8Section 03, Angela Selden RSUDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “2025 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t131 · r3 · c13 · span 1013603–1013609
9Section 03, Edward Codispoti RSUDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “2025 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t150 · r6 · c28 · span 1239623–1239628
10Section 03, Thomas Beckett PSUDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “2025 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t131 · r6 · c13 · span 1023211–1023217
11Section 03, Nuno Fernandes PSUDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “2025 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t131 · r4 · c13 · span 1016808–1016813
12Section 03, Angela Selden PSUDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “2025 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t131 · r3 · c13 · span 1013603–1013609
13Section 03, Nuno Fernandes RSUDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “2025 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t131 · r4 · c13 · span 1016808–1016813
14Section 03, Thomas Beckett RSUDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “2025 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t131 · r6 · c13 · span 1023211–1023217
15Section 03, Richard Sunderland, Jr. PSUDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “2025 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t146 · r6 · c4 · span 1199360–1199367
16Section 03, Mark Arnold RSUDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “2025 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t131 · r5 · c13 · span 1020008–1020013
17Section 03, Mark Arnold PSUDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “2025 Grants of Plan-Based Awards” · grants of plan-based awards table. Filing ↗machine: t131 · r5 · c13 · span 1020008–1020013
18Section 07, pay ratioDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “CEO Pay Ratio”. As printed: 145 : 1. Filing ↗machine: span 1711173–1711181
19Section 08, Daniel S. PiankoDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 296,510. Filing ↗machine: t69 · r7 · c10 · span 582824–582832
20Section 08, Granetta B. BlevinsDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 211,547. Filing ↗machine: t69 · r3 · c10 · span 574601–574608
21Section 08, Richard J. StatutoDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 202,243. Filing ↗machine: t69 · r9 · c10 · span 586950–586958
22Section 08, James KenigsbergDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 200,685. Filing ↗machine: t69 · r6 · c10 · span 580940–580948
23Section 08, Anna M. FabregaDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 197,257. Filing ↗machine: t69 · r5 · c10 · span 578730–578738
24Section 08, Michael D. BranerDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 189,971. Filing ↗machine: t69 · r4 · c10 · span 576805–576813
25Section 08, William G. RobinsonDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 62,110. Filing ↗machine: t69 · r8 · c4 · span 583933–583939
26Section 08, Eric C. AndersenDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 52,413. Filing ↗machine: t69 · r2 · c7 · span 572080–572086
27Section 08, Angela K. SeldenDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996Section “Director Compensation”. As printed: 0. Filing ↗
28Section 02, Nuno Fernandes 2026-05-13Form 42026-05-150001123292-26-000672Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
29Section 02, Granetta B. Blevins 2026-05-22Form 42026-05-260001123292-26-000738Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
30Section 02, Michael D. Braner 2026-05-22Form 42026-05-270000921895-26-001485Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
31Section 02, James Kenigsberg 2026-05-22Form 42026-05-260001123292-26-000741Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
32Section 02, Richard J. Statuto 2026-05-22Form 42026-05-260001123292-26-000740Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
33Section 02, Anna M. Fabrega 2026-05-22Form 42026-05-260001123292-26-000739Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
34Section 02, Daniel S. Pianko 2026-05-22Form 42026-05-260001123292-26-000737Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
35Section 02, Thomas Beckett 2026-06-15Form 42026-06-170001123292-26-000880Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
36Section 02, Thomas Beckett 2026-06-15Form 42026-06-170001123292-26-000880Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
37Section 02, Thomas Beckett 2026-06-15Form 42026-06-170001123292-26-000880Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
38Section 02, Thomas Beckett 2026-06-22Form 42026-06-230001123292-26-000931Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
39Section 02, Daniel S. Pianko 2026-07-01Form 42026-07-020001123292-26-000948Insider equity transaction reported since the proxy statement. Filing ↗
40Section 06, 2026 voteForm 8-K2026-05-260001104659-26-066248Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 88.95% (votes for as printed: 13,019,893). Filing ↗
41Section 06, 2025 voteForm 8-K2025-05-270001104659-25-052957Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 93.4% (votes for as printed: 12,943,411). Filing ↗
42Section 06, 2024 voteForm 8-K2024-05-200001104659-24-063388Item 5.07 · say-on-pay result. As reported: 92% (votes for as printed: 11,339,447). Filing ↗
43Section 01 trend, Δ column (computed)ComputedcomputedΔ = current-FY total − prior-FY total per named officer.machine: formula: Δ = FY(n) − FY(n−1)
44Section 03b vehicle mix (computed)ComputedcomputedRSU / PSU / Options grant-date fair values summed per officer from the grants table; % performance-vested = PSU ÷ (RSU+PSU+Options).machine: formula: sums + PSU ratio
45Section 09b board cost (computed)ComputedcomputedCash 700,496 + equity 712,239 + all other 1 = 1,412,736, summed across the director compensation table rows.machine: formula: Σ = 1,412,736
46Stride, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-10-240001140361-25-039264CEO total compensation as printed in Stride, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 21,496,095. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c22 · span 1185718–1185729
47Covista Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2025-10-020001104659-25-096070CEO total compensation as printed in Covista Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 17,244,988. Filing ↗machine: t220 · r5 · c16 · span 1815856–1815866
48Strategic Education, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-110001104659-26-026380CEO total compensation as printed in Strategic Education, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,672,067. Filing ↗machine: span 569797–569806
49Universal Technical Institute, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-01-200001140361-26-001690CEO total compensation as printed in Universal Technical Institute, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 5,149,264. Filing ↗machine: t194 · r2 · c19 · span 904453–904462
50American Public Education (subject), Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-090001140361-26-013996CEO total compensation as printed in American Public Education's own proxy. As printed: 5,063,608. Filing ↗machine: r2 · c22 · span 1130438–1130448
51Lincoln Educational Services Corporation, Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-03-260001140361-26-011290CEO total compensation as printed in Lincoln Educational Services Corporation's own proxy. As printed: 3,999,717. Filing ↗machine: t95 · r2 · c19 · span 616298–616307
52Grand Canyon Education, Inc., Section 10b CEO totalDEF 14A2026-04-230001104659-26-047719CEO total compensation as printed in Grand Canyon Education, Inc.'s own proxy. As printed: 2,020,867. Filing ↗machine: t154 · r3 · c17 · span 873029–873038
53Section 10a, Strategic Education, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001104659-26-026380Strategic Education, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include American Public Education. Filing ↗
54Section 10a, Lincoln Educational Services Corporation reciprocityDEF 14A0001140361-26-011290Lincoln Educational Services Corporation names American Public Education in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗
55Section 10a, Universal Technical Institute, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001140361-26-001690Universal Technical Institute, Inc. names American Public Education in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗
56Section 10a, Covista Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001104659-25-096070Covista Inc. names American Public Education in its own disclosed peer group (read from its most recent proxy). Filing ↗
57Section 10a, Stride, Inc. reciprocityDEF 14A0001140361-25-039264Stride, Inc.'s most recent proxy was read; its disclosed peer group does not include American Public Education. Filing ↗