The University of Phoenix sets to cancel $141 million in student loans.
The University of Phoenix ad campaign
The Federal Trade Commission found out that the University of Phoenix, a for-profit college, used a false ad-campaign in 2012 to bring up their number of enrollees.
The University of Phoenix came out guilty for falsely incorporating famous companies in multiple ad campaigns from 2012 to 2014. The for-profit college mentioned companies like Adobe, Microsoft, and Twitter, offering job partnership opportunities for their students. Investigators discovered no such agreement existed between the university and the mentioned companies.
According to Andrew Smith, the director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection:
The students are making important decisions regarding their education; they do not deserve fantasy job opportunities that do not exist.
Let’s Get To Work!
The 2012 ad campaign by the University of Phoenix was labelled “Let’s Get To Work!“. The ad strategy showed ties between the university and popular companies as job destinations for its graduates. It was a very successful ad campaign that led to an increase in student enrollees from 2012 going onwards.
Apollo Education Group owns the university. The Arizona-based company owns 55 campuses in different states and has thousands of students under its online-based education programs. The company also is the nation’s largest beneficiary of GI bill tuition scholarships from military veterans.
A win-win settlement
Under the agreement between the FTC and Apollo Education Group, all existing student debts for students enrolled from 2012 till 2016 are forfeited, and an additional $50 million payment will be used on consumers misled by the ads.
The settlement will forfeit around $141 million worth of student’s debts. Notice letters will be sent to borrowers clearing up their debts from the university loan program.
Many education advocacy groups applaud the move of the Apollo Education Group.
Mistakes are inevitable. It takes courage to admit it and face the consequences of making amends.
Featured image by DailyMail
