DeVry, FTC in $100M Settlement of Advertising Suit

DeVry Education Group and DeVry University agreed to settle a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit regarding the for-profit institution's use of employment statistics in advertising.

The company will pay $49.4 million to the FTC and forgive $30.4 million in institutional loans that were issued before Sept. 30, 2015. The for-profit will also forgive $20.2 million in outstanding DeVry accounts receivable balances for former students. DeVry also agreed to have specific data to support any future advertising related to graduate outcomes and educational benefits.

In a statement from the company, DeVry denied all allegations of wrongdoing. "Student services and access to federal student loans are not impacted by the settlement, and at no time has the academic quality of a DeVry University education been questioned. DeVry Group is pleased this matter is reaching resolution, particularly as its institutions implement recently announced student commitments and as we continue our focus on investments that directly support our students' success," the statement said.

In October, DeVry reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Education over a charge of unsubstantiated job placement claims in recruitment and advertising materials. The issue related to a DeVry claim that since 1975, 90 percent of its graduates were employed in their field of study within six months of graduation. The FTC lawsuit was related to the same claim and another DeVry assertion that its graduates had 15 percent higher incomes one year after graduation on average than did the graduates of all other colleges or universities.