http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_PhoenixHistory
1970-1999
This section requires expansion.
The University of Phoenix was founded by John Sperling, who felt that "working adult students were often invisible on traditional campuses and treated as second-class citizens."<7> Started in 1976 the Phoenix metropolitan area,<7> the first class consisted of eight students.<8> In 1980, the school expanded to San Jose, California, and in 1989, the university launched its online program.<9>
2000-present
In 2000, the government fined UOP $6 million for failing to include study-group meetings as instructional hours. In 2002, the Department of Education relaxed requirements covering instructional hours.<10><11><12>
A 2003 federal whistle-blower/false-claims lawsuit filed by two former UOPX admission counselors alleged that the university improperly obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in financial aid by paying its admission counselors solely based on the number of students they enrolled, a violation of the Higher Education Act.<10><11><13><14><15> Six years later, Apollo, UOPX's parent company, agreed to settle the dispute by paying the United States $67.5 million, plus $11 in attorneys' fees, without acknowledging any wrongdoing.<16><17>
In 2004, as a result of the filing of the false-claims lawsuit, the Department of Education performed a program review and alleged that UOPX had violated Higher Education Act provisions that prohibit distributing financial incentives to admission representatives, had pressured its recruiters to enroll students, and had concealed the practices from the Department.<18> UOPX disputed the findings but paid a record $9.8 million fine as part of a settlement where it admitted no wrongdoing and was not required to return any financial aid funds.<19><20><21><22> UOPX's President states that though recruiters are paid a commission based on the number of students enrolled, their compensation is not based solely on that criteria, which makes the practice legal.<23> Also that year, the university paid $3.5 million to settle alleged violation of overtime compensation provision with the Department of Labor.<24><25>
In May 2008, the university announced the formation of the University of Phoenix National Research Center, designed to study which teaching methods work best for nontraditional students.<26> That year, the school was also the top recipient of student financial aid funds, receiving nearly $2.48 billion.<27>
In 2009, the U.S. Department of Education provided a preliminary report to the university that cited untimely return of unearned Title IV funds for more than 10 percent of sampled students. The report also expressed a concern that some students enroll and begin attending classes before completely understanding the implications of enrollment, including their eligibility for student financial aid. As a result, in January 2010, parent company Apollo Group Inc. was required to post a letter of credit for $125 million by January 30 of the same year.<28> Later that year, UOPX agreed to pay $1.89 million to settle allegations by the EEOC of religious discrimination favoring Mormon enrollment counselors.<29> In settling these matters, University of Phoenix did not admit any liability or wrongdoing.
In 2010, UOPX came under government scrutiny after its Phoenix and Philadelphia campuses were found to have been engaging in deceptive enrollment practices and fraudulent solicitation of FAFSA funds.<30><31>
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