Motto | Educating those who serve |
---|---|
Type | For profit |
Established | 1991 |
President | Dr. Karan Powell |
Academic staff
|
1,750+ |
Students | 98,400 |
Undergraduates | 83% |
Postgraduates | 17% |
Location | Charles Town, West Virginia, United States of America |
Campus | Online |
Colors | Blue and White |
Mascot | AMU Golden Eagles; APU Volunteers |
Website | www.apus.edu |
American Public University System (APUS) is a for-profit, online learning institution that is composed of American Military University (AMU) and American Public University (APU). APUS is wholly owned by American Public Education, Inc., a publicly traded private-sector corporation (NASDAQ: APEI). APUS maintains corporate and academic offices in Charles Town, West Virginia and administrative offices in Manassas, Virginia. APUS offers associate, bachelor's and master's degrees, in addition to dual degrees, certificate programs and learning tracks.
Despite its name, APUS is not a public institution and is not a part of the US government or the US military.
Approximately 56% of APUS’s students reported that they served in the military on active duty at initial enrollment. About 55,000 military service members get tuition assistance (TA) for APUS schools. Another 16,702 use their GI Bill benefits for the schools.
The university was founded in 1991 by Major James P. Etter (USMC, retired) as American Military University. Operations began in January 1993 with the enrollment of 18 graduate students. Initially, the main goal of the university was to meet the unique educational needs of military personnel needing courses in specialized areas, such as counterterrorism and military intelligence, that were not included in typical university course offerings. In the early years, instruction was done through conventional correspondence.
In June 1995 AMU became nationally accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). In January of the following year, the school introduced its first undergraduate programs. In 1998 AMU made the transition from correspondence-based learning to online learning.
In 2002 AMU expanded to become American Public University System and established American Public University, intended primarily for civilians interested in public service programs. In 2006 APUS was granted regional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. In 2012 American Public University System resigned its DETC accreditation. The university is listed as tied for 58th place in U.S. News & World Report ranking of online bachelor's degree Programs.