U of Phoenix agrees to settle FTC case alleging deceptive ad
COLLIN BINKLEY
AP Education Writer
The University of Phoenix and its parent company have agreed to pay $50 million in cash and cancel $141 million in student debt to settle allegations of deceptive advertisement brought by the Federal Trade Commission.
The deal, announced Tuesday, settles a dispute over an ad campaign the for-profit college unrolled in 2012 touting partnerships with companies including Microsoft, Twitter and Adobe. It suggested the school worked with those companies to create job opportunities for students, even though there was no such agreement, investigators found.
The Federal Trade Commission said the settlement is the largest the agency has ever obtained against a for-profit college.
"Students making important decisions about their education need the facts, not