Nearly 1 Million Students of University of Phoenix Owe $21.6 Billion in Loans; School Policies Questioned
The majority of the billion dollar debt came from former students of the university.
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The University of Phoenix reported a combined student loan debt of $21.6 billion from nearly one million students.
In particular, 971,000 former students are still dealing with their loans, which aligns with an analysis that even university alumni are facing a debt crisis despite their place in the workforce at the moment.
Complaints Against Student Debt Forgiveness
At the moment, the Higher Education Inquirer stated that it's unclear if the total debt includes amounts that have already been forgiven since thousands of former students have been attempting to reduce their debt through borrower defense claims, which will allow them to seek debt forgiveness if they were found to be defrauded by their school.
In the recent Sweet v. Cardona settlement, 19,000 University of Phoenix students were granted immediate relief after 73,000 fraud claims were fired by alumni.
Additionally, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) revealed that the school has also received 6,265 consumer complaints filed with the FTC since the new ownership was welcomed by the university. About $191 million worth of settlements were previously done in 2019 after it was reported to be misleading students with job prospects.
Questionable Aid Programs
Perhaps, one part of the ballooning student debt is the way they eluded the Department of Defense Tuition Assistance program that should've provided aid to military service members.
Similar reports from the Higher Education Inquirer suggested that the supposed beneficiaries were targeted by deceptive practices, which were allegedly shielded from potential government interference during the Trump admin for the purpose of accountability.
Now, ownership of the University of Phoenix is also a point of contention. Its owners will attempt to sell it along with a debt burden of $685 million. Rumored buyers are wary about the financial risk involved, hence, no purchases have been proposed as of yet.
