Ads on television extolling the virtues of for-profit colleges look appealing to many wanting to further their educations. However, consumers often have trouble with them.
For example, DeVry University claimed that 90 percent of graduates actively seeking employment landed jobs in their field within six months of graduation, said Jennifer Leach, assistant director for the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Consumer and Business Education. And that DeVry bachelor’s degree graduates, on average, had 15 percent higher incomes one year after graduation than the graduates of all other colleges or universities.
The FTC investigated these claims and filed a lawsuit in January alleging that DeVry stretched the truth and misled prospective students. The outcome – DeVry agreed Thursday to a $100 million settlement of the FTC’s charges.
The settlement provides relief for affected students. It also prohibits DeVry from misrepresenting the likelihood of graduates to get a job as a result of their degree and the salary that graduates have received or can be expected to receive.
What will happen to the $100 million?
Nearly half of the $100 million, $49.4 million, will be distributed to qualifying students who were harmed by the ads, said Leach. The other $50.6 million goes to student debt forgiveness. The debt being forgiven includes the full balance owed – $30.35 million – on all unpaid private student loans that DeVry issued to undergraduates between September 2008 and September 2015, and $20.25 million in student debts owed to DeVry for items such as tuition, books, and lab fees.
What should you do if you were affected?
Watch for information from the FTC on your eligibility for a refund or for a notification from DeVry explaining your debt forgiveness, she said. DeVry will inform the credit bureaus and debt collection agencies of your debt forgiveness and will notify you within 30 days after the court enters the order.
DeVry also will release transcripts and diplomas that were withheld from students due to outstanding debt and will cooperate with future requests for those documents. And DeVry will set up a toll-free number to help students whose credit reports don’t show the right information about their debt forgiveness.
For information about FTC’s DeVry redress program, visit FTC.gov/DeVry and sign up here to get updates by email.
