But it also would come at a cost, said Barmak Nassirian, vice president for higher education policy at Veterans Education Success, an advocacy group. That may be pushing the firm that owns University of Phoenix to hand off the institution to someone else.Īcquiring the for-profit would give the University of Arkansas System access to the sophisticated infrastructure it has built over the years. “This is just a nasty, difficult business that is likely to get even more difficult as a for profit,” said Phil Hill, partner at ed tech consultancy MindWires. The Biden administration has pledged to crack down on for-profits and has tightened a slew of policies and regulations governing the sector - and more changes are looming. Moreover, the University of Phoenix will likely face more scrutiny down the road. According to federal data, its eight-year graduation rate hovers between 27% and 51%. While the university has touted recent gains in the share of first-time, full-time students enrolled in bachelor’s programs who return the next year, it’s seen graduation rates decline for certain groups of students. “UOPX has redoubled its commitment to innovation in delivering career-relevant education to working adults and nontraditional students.” “University of Phoenix is not the same university today that it was 10 years ago,” Andrea Smiley, the institution’s vice president for public relations, said in an email. That’s included plans to shutter all of but one of its physical campuses, in Phoenix. In recent years, University of Phoenix has been attempting to rebuild its reputation and streamline operations, according to higher education experts. It accused the university of enticing students to enroll through misleading ads promising them job opportunities with high-profile companies such as Twitter and Microsoft. In one of the biggest cases, the University of Phoenix agreed to pay $191 million in 2019 to settle a complaint made by the Federal Trade Commission. Some higher education experts are skeptical of the potential acquisition, raising doubts about whether system officials could reform a university that’s frequently been accused of deceiving students, using aggressive recruiting tactics, and violating federal and state law. “To see them potentially not just sell the university part of the business - but the entire enterprise - I think is quite a summary for the fortunes of for-profit higher ed.” “University of Phoenix is the poster child for the for-profit higher education industry,” said Michael Horn, author of “Choosing College” and other books about education. Today, the college enrolls fewer than 100,000 students. The University of Phoenix once dominated the online college market, with enrollment peaking at more than 470,000 students. These events have vastly reduced the institution’s profile. The University of Phoenix has also faced numerous charges that it misled students. The potential deal illuminates how much the for-profit sector has changed over the past decade as it’s dealt with a regulatory crackdown, sudden closures of several high-profile colleges and increasing competition from nonprofit colleges. Neither the university nor the system said how much the potential acquisition would cost, but an anonymous source told the Arkansas Times, which first reported the news, that one estimate was between $500 million and $700 million. “As the state’s leader in postsecondary education, we feel an obligation to consider any opportunity that has the potential to both improve educational attainment and secure new resources to support our campuses, divisions and units,” Hinkel said in an email.Ī University of Phoenix spokesperson also confirmed the discussions. The discussions follow the system’s move in 2021 to purchase Grantham University, then a for-profit, to build out its online operations. Hinkel said the system has been exploring ways to expand its online footprint and further its mission of providing an affordable education.
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