Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
Thank you. (Operator Instructions) Your first question comes from Sara Gubins - Banc of America Securities.
Sara Gubins - Banc of America Securities
First, in terms of the continued retention improvements, which are great to see, how much more do you think there is to go on that front? And could you talk a little bit about what's driving it?
Joe D'Amico
You know, we continually strive for improvements in retention, and I think there is some room for improvement. But I think the rate of improvement, it's difficult to sustain because we've had such great improvement over the last year. And obviously, there are only so many people who are going to graduate, and this is a very tough curriculum. So it's a difficult but high-quality curriculum.
So we'll continue to provide the support that we can to all of our students. I think if you take into consideration the open enrollment at the associate's level, you know that we are doing an awful lot to help our students get through the curriculum.
There was a second part to your question?
Sara Gubins - Merrill Lynch
I was just wondering what's driving the continued retention improvement, and I guess I'm wondering how much of it might be coming from a weaker economy.
Joe D'Amico
You know, there could be some of that from a weaker economy, but we certainly do have in place, as you know, a number of initiatives that we started a few years ago that we continue. We're constantly looking as well what we can do better to enhance retention and persistence.
Sara Gubins - Merrill Lynch
One hot topic is corporate reimbursement trends. Can you give us an update on whether or not you're seeing any changes to corporate reimbursement and also whether or not less of your revenue is actually coming from corporate reimbursement?
Joe D'Amico
With respect to what we're seeing the marketplace, we're not seeing any significant changes downward in corporate programs, at least not in the corporations that we're involved with for the most part. There are a couple of industries, obviously, very affected by this, automotive being one. And as a percent of our revenue, I don't have that information to provide.
Sara Gubins - Merrill Lynch
And then last question. Were there any costs that you would expect to ramp later in the year, meaning areas where you didn't necessarily spend in the first quarter but would plan to ramp up due to investments later in the year?
- To read the full transcript on Seeking Alpha, click here »
