Recruiting students in the global higher education marketplace is a tough business. Clearly, however, some universities are seen as overstepping the bounds of what is acceptable practice and for that have been the subject of criticism by regulatory authorities.
Today the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that Arizona’s federal jury had fined the Apollo Group, the parent company of The University of Phoenix, for withholding this report criticizing the Group’s aggressive recruiting practices. The jury ruled that by withholding the report, the Apollo group were misleading the shareholders, and ordered them to pay $280 million.
Ouch!
Susan Robertson
GlobalHigherEd 
Hi,
I can attest to this practice. Unfortunately, they do not fully disclose the program requirements in any of the recruiting material or contracts that I signed. Only to find out about specific requirements AFTER the fact — by then, one is receiving a bill for the entire class.
I have a year old dispute with Apollo/UOP regarding this matter. They have sent me to collections but have yet to respond to me or my attorney. It is my personal mission to ensure that consumers know the facts about UOP beforehand so they do not get SCREWED!
Good luck and hats off to the Arizona federal jury!
I have been very disappointed with UOP. They are not what they say and that would be considered false advertising.
They have sent me to collections because of their mistake. I do admit owing UOP but the problem was their mistake and financial aid should have taken care of it. I have asked for assistance and they told me I can not get a personal education loan. They should be willing to help since I owe them. But now, I am at the point that I am tired of making an effort. Does anyone know a good attorney?
I started the MBA program about 2 months ago (06/09). I was not correctly informed of the FAFSA requirements. I was pushed into signing up. My first class was a joke. I was told that University of Phoenix had the same accreditation that Harvard School of Business had. That was false information. I was also threatened with financial sanctions when I was trying to withdraw from the program. For 2 Weeks they tried to keep me in. It has been a nightmare.