Feds claim false advertising by DeVry University
DeVry University ran deceptive ads claiming 90 percent of graduates who actively looked found work in their fields within six months of getting their diplomas, federal regulators said Wednesday.
The Federal Trade Commission complaint filed in federal court in California also pointed to a contention by DeVry that its graduates had 15 percent higher incomes one year after graduation on average than the graduates of all other colleges or universities as deceptive.
The agency's suit alleges that DeVry counted numerous graduates as working "in their field" when they were not, including a 2012 graduate who was working as a server in a restaurant after majoring in business administration with a specialization in health services management. Other 2012 graduates with majors in technical management with a human resources specialization were working in jobs including as a rural mail carrier and a driver delivering rain gutters for a construction firm, the FTC said.
"Approximately 30,000 to 50,000 students may have been impacted," FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez told a news conference. The FTC's suit seeks monetary relief for those who were affected, she added.
DeVry vowed to challenge the FTC's complaint, saying in a statement that it contained "anecdotal examples that exaggerate the allegations but do not prove them." The company said it tried to cooperate with the FTC during its 24-month inquiry, but "a fully satisfactory resolution could not be reached."
FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen voted for filing the complaint, but she issued a separate statement expressing concern about the "effect that any remedy in this case may have on the company's ability to continue to offer valuable educational programs to students."
In conjunction with the FTC, the U.S. Department of Education also took action against DeVry for its marketing practices, saying that it asked DeVry to stop making certain claims about its postgraduate outcomes and that it has to substantiate those claims or risk losing federal student loan money.
Downers Grove, Illinois-based DeVry has more than 55 campuses across the country, offering online or on-campus degree programs in business, technology and health care technology.