Adtalem Global Education
Covista (formerly Adtalem) runs accredited nursing, medical, and vet schools including Walden and Chamberlain.
On the record
Checkpoint: Final ED-2025-OPE-0151 gainful employment/Title IV rule plus resolution of Walden's doctoral nursing HLC investigation
The call
Growth and margins are climbing every quarter while a federal rulemaking and an open nursing-program investigation sit unresolved over the company's fastest-growing segment.
Adtalem runs schools that train nurses, therapists, and other healthcare workers, then helps them get licensed. The company is protected from rivals and AI because the U.S. Department of Education has strict rules about who can offer these programs and award credentials, and those rules are hard to game or automate. But the same government that protects Adtalem is now investigating one of its biggest schools (Walden University) and writing new rules that could block for-profit education companies like this one from getting the federal funding their students rely on. The outcome depends almost entirely on what Washington decides, not on what the company does.
Why
01
AI pressure: None apparent. Clinical licensure and accreditation requirements mean AI tutors can't grant the credential that gets someone a nursing license. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.
02
Bigger players: US Department of Education. Rulemaking on gainful employment and Title IV (Docket ED-2025-OPE-0151) could cut off federal loan dollars to online graduate programs like Walden's. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.
03
What protects it. Accreditation and Title IV eligibility that took years to build and that rivals can't just copy or bypass.
What would change this call
HLC/DoE resolves Walden doctoral nursing program investigation, open since Nov 2023. Shows whether Walden's fastest-growing segment keeps its accreditation intact.
Final rule issued for Docket ED-2025-OPE-0151 on gainful employment/Title IV, expected H2 2026. Shows whether online graduate programs keep current Title IV funding access.
Q3 FY2026 earnings report enrollment and margin trends for the Walden segment. Shows whether growth continues or regulatory pressure has begun slowing enrollment.
Final rule issued for Docket ED-2025-OPE-0151 on gainful employment/Title IV, expected H2 2026. Shows whether online graduate programs keep current Title IV funding access.
Q3 FY2026 earnings report enrollment and margin trends for the Walden segment. Shows whether growth continues or regulatory pressure has begun slowing enrollment.
Key numbers
- FY2025 revenue $1,788.3M, up 12.9%
- Q2 FY2026 enrollment ~97,010, tenth straight growth quarter
- Walden segment revenue +17.6% in Q1 FY26
Named risks
- Dept. of Education rulemaking (ED-2025-OPE-0151) could restrict Title IV access for online graduate programs.
- Unresolved Dept. of Education/HLC investigation into Walden's doctoral nursing program since Nov 2023.
- Short-seller and investor-fraud litigation overhang from Safkhet Capital's Jan 2024 report.
- Brand-transition and investor-recognition risk from Covista rebrand and ticker change.
- History of sector peers (Corinthian, ITT) collapsing under gainful-employment/regulatory pressure.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Canyon Education | contesting | Cited as stable execution-focused peer in online higher ed, benefiting from 2U's 2024 bankruptcy |
| 2U | gaining on | 2U in decline post-2024 Chapter 11 bankruptcy, ceding online program management ground |
| St. George's University | contesting | Competes with Ross University and AUC for Caribbean med school clinical placement slots |
| US Department of Education | losing to | Open Walden investigation since Nov 2023 and active Title IV rulemaking docket ED-2025-OPE-0151, Aug 2025 |
| Strategic Education | contesting | Named peer in for-profit online higher-ed competitive set |
Questions people ask
- Did Adtalem Global Education change its name?
- Yes. Effective February 5, 2026, Adtalem Global Education formally renamed itself Covista Inc., and its NYSE ticker moved from ATGE to CVSA on February 24, 2026, per the company's own announcement.
- Is Adtalem (now Covista) profitable?
- Yes. FY2025 net income was $237.1M, up 73.3% year over year, on revenue of $1,788.3M (up 12.9%), with adjusted EBITDA margin of 25.7%, as reported by the company for the year ended June 30, 2025.
- Could AI replace Adtalem's healthcare education programs?
- Unlikely soon. AI cannot grant Title IV eligibility, state licensure approval, or accreditation, nor supply clinical placement hours. Covista instead uses AI as a curriculum add-on via Google Cloud (announced October 15, 2025) and Hippocratic AI (spring 2025).
- What is Adtalem/Covista's biggest competitor?
- Peers cited include Grand Canyon Education, Strategic Education, Perdoceo Education, and Laureate Education, with Ross University and AUC competing with St. George's University for Caribbean medical clinical placement slots, per third-party competitive analyses.
- Is it safe to enroll in or work for Walden University given the Dept. of Education investigation?
- There is unresolved regulatory risk. A Dept. of Education/HLC investigation into Walden's doctoral nursing program has been open since November 2023 with status unconfirmed as of 2026, even as Walden remains the fastest-growing segment, with Q1 FY26 revenue up 17.6%.
- How many students does Covista (formerly Adtalem) serve?
- As of its February 5, 2026 rebrand announcement, the company said it serves over 97,000 students and 385,000 alumni across five institutions: Chamberlain, Walden, AUC, Ross Medicine, and Ross Vet.
Timeline
- 2026-02-24NYSE ticker changes from ATGE to CVSA, completing Covista rebrand
- 2026-02-05Adtalem Global Education formally renamed to Covista Inc.
- 2026-01-28Q2 FY2026 results: revenue $503.4M, adjusted EBITDA margin 30.8%, tenth straight enrollment growth quarter
- 2025-10-30Q1 FY2026 results: revenue $462.3M, ninth consecutive quarter of enrollment growth
- 2025-10-15Announced AI credentials partnership with Google Cloud for 91,000+ students
- 2025-08-28Filed comment letter in Dept. of Education Title IV rulemaking docket ED-2025-OPE-0151
- 2025-08-07Reported FY2025 results: revenue $1,788.3M, net income $237.1M, up 73.3%
- 2025-07-15Hippocratic AI nursing certification curriculum launched with Chamberlain/Walden
- 2024-01-29Safkhet Capital short-seller report triggers ~19% one-day stock drop
- 2023-11-01Dept. of Education/HLC investigation into Walden's doctoral nursing program disclosed
Revision history
22 July 2026
First assessed. Protection under test. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Adtalem Global Education Becomes Covista (2026-02-05)
- Adtalem Reports Record Earnings: Revenue Up 13%, EPS Soars 33% in FY2025 (2025-08-07)
- Adtalem Global Education First Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Results (2025-10-30)
- Adtalem Global Education Inc (ATGE) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Highlights (2026-01-28)
- Adtalem Q1 FY26 presentation (2025-10-30)
- Adtalem Global Education Becomes Covista (2026-02-05)
- Adtalem Global Education (ATGE) Current & Historical Employee Count (2025-08-07)
- gurufocus.com (2026-07-22)
- Adtalem Global Education Inc. (ATGE) stock price, news, quote and history (2025-12-25)
- Adtalem Global Education and Google Cloud Partner to Launch New AI Credentials Program (2025-10-15)
- Hippocratic AI and Adtalem collaborate to launch AI and healthcare training curriculum (2025-07-15)
- wikipedia.org (Covista entry)