Warren, Durbin, Senators Warn the Departments of Education, Defense, and Veterans Affairs About University of Phoenix's Predatory Practices

Press Release

"Phoenix is an unscrupulous and predatory for-profit college that has long preyed on veterans, low-income students, and students of color. A recent report found that Phoenix has launched a national advertising campaign that has run misleading advertisements suggesting Phoenix is a public university. These advertisements, including messages on its admissions website, tout statements such as "No out of state tuition' and "Some state universities charge higher tuition to out-of-state students -- but not University of Phoenix.' Prospective students easily could interpret these misleading statements to mean that Phoenix is an affordable public university, when in reality it is neither. Furthermore, Phoenix's dismal graduation rate of 14 percent at its main and largest campus is an obvious sign that this predatory college leaves students with significant student debt and no degree to show for it.

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Phoenix's deceptive misrepresentations unfortunately are not new. In 2019, Phoenix reached a $191 million settlement with the FTC for running deceptive advertisements that gave the false impression that Phoenix partnered with major employers like the American Red Cross, AT&T, Microsoft, Twitter, and Yahoo. This was the largest financial settlement ever reached between the FTC and a for-profit college."

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