Exhibit 99.1

NATIONAL AMERICAN UNIVERSITY HOLDINGS, INC. REPORTS FISCAL 2013 THIRD QUARTER

AND NINE MONTHS RESULTS

Company to host conference call on April 4, 2013, at 11:00 a.m. EDT

Financial and Operational Highlights

Rapid City, South Dakota, April 3, 2013 — National American University Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: NAUH), which through its wholly owned subsidiary operates National American University (“NAU”), a regionally accredited, proprietary, multi-campus institution of higher learning, today reported unaudited financial results for its FY 2013 third quarter and nine months ended February 28, 2013.

Ronald L. Shape, Ed.D., Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented, “We were pleased to report stable growth on our top and bottom lines during the fiscal 2013 third quarter as we continue to realize greater economies of scale resulting from transitioning our focus from geographic expansion to enrollment growth at the campus locations we opened over the past few years. In spite of the challenging environment facing our industry, NAU’s enrollment during the winter 2012-2013 quarter increased 4.8% to 11,489 students, which was in line with our expectations. During the fiscal 2013 third quarter, we continued to realize greater efficiencies with improved margins driven by our educational services and SG&A line items as we made progress in growing enrollments at our existing campus locations. This led to margin expansion throughout the Company. We anticipate this trend will continue, however, at a more moderate rate as we are in the process of increasing our admissions advisor count, and we have launched the first course at the doctorate level. The increase in admissions advisors will result in additional salary expense as well as marketing expense as we continue to train and educate our existing admissions staff and hire additional advisors to better serve our growing student population.”

Operating Review

NAU currently leases 37 physical properties in the states of Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota and Texas. Several sites operate as hybrid learning centers in strategic geographic locations. These centers utilize small physical facilities through which the university provides face-to-face support services as students participate in select, traditional classroom courses while completing their remaining coursework online.

Of NAU’s 37 locations, the following sites are pending regulatory approvals:

Completion of Sale of Rapid City Property

The Company today announced that it has closed on the sale of the property located in downtown Rapid City, South Dakota, through a contract for deed. The property was sold for $4 million at a 5% interest rate with a three-year balloon payment. The Company expects to record the sale by removing the asset from its books and recording a $4.0 million note receivable and a $1.67 million deferred gain that will be recognized once the cash for the note receivable is received. The Company will continue to occupy a portion of the facility for its veterinarian tech program through a 10-year lease that becomes effective June 1, 2013.

4.8% Enrollment Increase

Total NAU student enrollment for the winter term of 2013 increased 4.8% to 11,489 students, up from 10,968 during the prior winter term. Students enrolled in 99,694 credit hours compared to 96,745 credit hours during the prior winter term. The current average age of NAU’s students continues to be in the mid-30s, with those seeking undergraduate degrees remaining the highest portion of NAU’s student population.

The following is a summary of student enrollment at February 28, 2013, and February 29, 2012, by degree level and by instructional delivery method:

Financial Review

The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, operates in two business segments: the academic segment, which consists of NAU’s undergraduate and graduate education programs and contributes the primary portion of the Company’s revenue; and ownership in multiple apartments and condominium complexes from which it derives sales and rental income. The real estate operations generated approximately 0.9% of revenues for the quarter ended February 28, 2013.

Fiscal 2013 Third Quarter Financial Results

Educational services expense specifically relates to the academic segment, and includes salaries and benefits of faculty and academic administrators, costs of educational supplies, facility costs, faculty reference and support material and related academic costs.

Fiscal 2013 Nine Months Financial Results

Balance Sheet Highlights

Quarterly Dividend

The Board of Directors declared a cash dividend in the amount of $0.04 per share on all shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding and of record as of the close of business on March 29, 2013, which will be paid on or about April 12, 2013.

Conference Call Information

Management will discuss these results in a conference call (with accompanying presentation) on April 4, 2013, at 11:00 a.m. EDT.

The dial-in numbers are:

(877) 407-9078 (U.S.)

(201) 493-6745 (International)

Accompanying Slide Presentation and Webcast

The Company will also have an accompanying slide presentation available in PDF format at the “Investor Relations” section of the NAU website at http://www.national.edu/InvestorRelations. The presentation will be made available 30 minutes prior to the conference call. In addition, the call will be simultaneously webcast over the Internet via the “Investor Relations” section of the NAU website or by clicking on the conference call link: http://national.equisolvewebcast.com.

About National American University Holdings, Inc.

National American University Holdings, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, operates National American University (“NAU”), a regionally accredited, proprietary, multi-campus institution of higher learning offering associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degree programs in technical and professional disciplines. Accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, NAU has been providing technical and professional career education since 1941. NAU opened its first campus in Rapid City, South Dakota, and has since grown to multiple locations throughout the central United States. In 1998, NAU began offering online courses. Today, NAU offers degree programs in traditional, online, and hybrid formats, which provide students increased flexibility to take courses at times and places convenient to their busy lifestyles.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding the Company’s business. Statements made in this release, other than those concerning historical financial information, may be considered forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release and are based on current beliefs and expectations and involve a number of assumptions. These forward-looking statements include outlooks or expectations for earnings, revenues, expenses or other future financial or business performance, strategies or expectations, or the impact of legal or regulatory matters on business, results of operations or financial condition. Specifically, forward-looking statements may include statements relating to the future financial performance of the Company; the ability to continue to receive Title IV funds; the growth of the market for the Company’s services; expansion plans and opportunities; consolidation in the market for the Company’s services generally; and other statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “seek,” “target” or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements. Other factors that could cause the Company’s results to differ materially from those contained in its forward-looking statements are included under, among others, the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed on August 3, 2012, and in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update the information contained in this release.

Contact Information:

National American University Holdings, Inc.

Dr. Ronald Shape

605-721-5220

rshape@national.edu

NATIONAL AMERICAN UNIVERSITY HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

FOR THE THREE MONTHS AND NINE MONTHS ENDED FEBRUARY 28, 2013 AND FEBRUARY 29, 2012

(In thousands except per share data)

NATIONAL AMERICAN UNIVERSITY HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET

AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2013 AND CONDENSED

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET AS OF MAY 31, 2012

(In thousands except share data)

The following table provides a reconciliation of net income attributable to the Company to EBITDA:

EBITDA consists of income attributable to the Company, less income from non-controlling interest, plus loss from non-controlling interest, minus interest income, plus interest expense (which is not related to any debt but to the accounting required for the capital lease), plus income taxes, plus depreciation and amortization. The Company uses EBITDA as a measure of operating performance. However, EBITDA is not a recognized measurement under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, and when analyzing its operating performance, investors should use EBITDA in addition to, and not as an alternative for, income as determined in accordance with GAAP. Because not all companies use identical calculations, the Company’s presentation of EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies and is therefore limited as a comparative measure. Furthermore, as an analytical tool, EBITDA has additional limitations, including that (a) it is not intended to be a measure of free cash flow, as it does not consider certain cash requirements such as tax payments; (b) it does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, its working capital needs; and (c) although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized often will have to be replaced in the future, and EBITDA does not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements, or future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual commitments. To compensate for these limitations, the Company evaluates its profitability by considering the economic effect of the excluded expense items independently as well as in connection with its analysis of cash flows from operations and through the use of other financial measures.

The Company believes EBITDA is useful to an investor in evaluating its operating performance because it is widely used to measure a company’s operating performance without regard to certain non-cash expenses (such as depreciation and amortization) and expenses that are not reflective of its core operating results over time. The Company believes EBITDA presents a meaningful measure of corporate performance exclusive of its capital structure, the method by which assets were acquired and non-cash charges, and provides us with additional useful information to measure its performance on a consistent basis, particularly with respect to changes in performance from period to period.