The Antelope Valley Times

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DeVry University accused of fraud

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DeVry University's Palmdale branch.
DeVry University’s Palmdale branch.

LOS ANGELES  – The operator of a for-profit college chain is being sued for allegedly lying about its students’ job prospects and earning potential.

The Federal Trade Commission contends DeVry University — which has branches in Palmdale, Anaheim, San Diego and elsewhere — deceived consumers by claiming that 90 percent of its students seeking employment were hired in their field within six months of graduation.

“Educational institutions like DeVry owe prospective students the truth about their graduates’ success finding employment in their field of study and the income they can earn,” FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said in a statement Wednesday announcing the suit, which was filed in federal court in Los Angeles. [View the complaint here.]

DeVry said it would “vigorously” contest the FTC’s allegations in court.

“The FTC’s complaint — filed 40 years after DeVry University began publishing accurate graduate employment statistics — is without a valid legal basis,” DeVry said in a statement. “There is no national standard for calculating employment statistics among higher-education institutions, and the measures and standards used by DeVry University to support its statistics are appropriate.”

According to the lawsuit, “Through the use of English and Spanish-language advertisements and other marketing materials, and during sales pitches with prospective students, (DeVry has) made deceptive representations about the benefits of obtaining a degree.”

The complaint alleges DeVry counted many graduates as working “in their field” when they were not, including a business administration graduate working as a server at the Cheesecake Factory restaurant; graduates who majored in technical management working as unpaid volunteer positions at medical centers; and a business administration graduate with a health care management specialization working as a car salesman.

The complaint further alleges that DeVry counted as placed in jobs graduates who were working in the same positions they held prior to enrolling at DeVry.

In a related action, the U.S. Department of Education gave notice to DeVry to stop certain advertising regarding student employment outcomes.

DeVry responded that it would request a hearing to contest the department’s notice.

Another for-profit college chain, Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges Inc., closed and filed for bankruptcy last year amid allegations it falsified job-placement data in its marketing materials and altered grades and attendance figures.

After Corinthian’s collapse, the Department of Education said it was crafting new regulations to help students seek debt relief and better hold colleges accountable for wrongdoing.

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31 comments for "DeVry University accused of fraud"

  1. I’ve worked in the ” Higher Education ” For-profit sector for 10 years, in the Career Services Department, I have held positions from Career Services Adivsor to Director of the department.

    What people fail to realize is that when you enroll into these schools, you sign documents stating , that we can use your previous employment to count against our numbers, and I spend my days calling employers scheduling job interviews , writing resume , cover letters , etc.. And the grads don’t show up to interviews , do not return phone calls, almost impossible to get in contact with. I see people continuously blame to school, but lets me honest the caliber of people who enroll in these school are not the greatest , most being single mothers getting government assistance and is not willing to get employment after completion because it will effect the assistance, a lot EX Convicts who can not obtain employment due to criminal background , drug addicts, homeless , low income families with limited resources , like no transportation etc… And NO WORK EXPERIENCE !! you can not get a job paying more 20,000 year with entry level work experience.

    These factors impact how successful the career services department is with assisting the graduated obtain employment, and so the career services departments , which are under strict regulations and have huge goals to meet , number wise, to be creative with certain graduates. But like a said there are other benefactors that play a role..

    I know people are quick to say they do not believe in the vocational education, but truthfully speaking 4 year universities , unemployment rates are through the roof, so bad that the department of education will now require them to report student employment rates yearly as well.

    Trade schools prepare you to work in field related to a certain trade, equipping you with not just the education but the skill set as well. Non-profit -traditional 4 year universities really do not provide either.. The provide with a degree, and direction, no skill set and no way of really knowing what to do upon completion of school.

    The grass is not always greener

  2. I was told by someone who teaches there to beware and complete my education elsewhere. That was all I needed to hear. Glad I heeded the advice.

  3. most people that i know go to Devry, Embry Riddle and University of Phoenix, to get VA money and most of them already have a job all they want is a piece of paper saying that you have a BS degree to get promoted.

  4. This is why I am not big on those QUICKY SCHOOLS!!!! Because the claims are to good to be true and your stuck paying that loan before you get your gig .DU is literally in my back yard here in Palmdale,ca. I go by the school every day .I feel there has to be a sit down with the schools ,Industry and HR to fill the needs or jobs of perspective employers. So when you finish the course you got a least a foot in the door.Jobs like in life have no guarantees so don’t give up just get smart.Like the saying go’s “theirs a sucker born every minute”….

  5. DeVry isn’t all bad. It is an accredited technical school and often a good choice for persons already working in their industry of choice and allows them to add some paper to the work experience they already have. Don’t bash what you don’t know. Not everybody has mommy and daddy sending them to UCLA for 4 years and spotting them a BMW to drive around.

  6. Did we all forget we have Antelope Valley College, the one longstanding real college in the valley? I went there, and did very well in Electronics for 40 years until I retired. Employers are less interested in people that attend the short-cut schools vs a prospect that toughed it out full time. I had credits that would have transferred over to CSUN but liked the job I got and just stuck with it.

  7. Why would anybody in the valley go to DeVry to UAV when Antelope Valley College offers legit courses and degrees for a tiny fraction of the price? Serious question — somebody please explain. I attended AVC for a couple years and it prepared me tremendously for the expectations and experiences I would face at a four year public university (go CSUN).

    Why a for-profit trade school over a public community college that offers a clear path to a four year?

    • If you have 2+ years to burn and don’t mind fighting the wait list/pell grant hunters then AVC is great. If you want to graduate and get an entry level position faster (under a year) there are strong for-profit options out there.

  8. These places are a sham and a scam, preying on uninformed people to get tens of thousands of dollars in student loans for a worthless diploma (if they graduate). Stick to AVCC then transfer to a real college.

  9. The teachers at DeVry actually call themselves “Professor” without the matching credentials to be one…lmao.
    Yeah… I said it.. AND used my real name.

    • Actually, many or most of the persons teaching classes at DeVry also teach at other colleges, so they must have some credentials.

  12. You don’t need to get a degree to get a job anymore. Don’t let people rip you off – these schools are a scam. You just have to apply and hope for the best. My mom always taught us, “If you throw enough %$#@ on the wall, something is bound to stick”. My mom has always taught me that these schools are a scam. I am sorry to all of you who got caught up in these loans – It is my HOPE that you will find a great job.

    • Good comment Mary. Some jobs have tuition reimbursement or other programs that will help an employee with higher education.

  13. I went to Devry Palmdale and graduated. $60,000 in loans and talked to 5 or 6 different people who were the career services representative at one time. Each time I had to contact a new person the process started all over again intil they had 2 different people runing it and you could only see them once a month if they happen to make it into town. Still no job and I’m doing my own thing in my feild.

  14. My husband, a DeVry graduate, was “helped” during his schooling for Computer Programming. The Career Counselor encouraged him with a list of places hiring at the time…
    I couldn’t believe it!
    *Subway *Sub Marina *Little Caesars
    WERE ON THAT LIST!!
    Really?

  15. I get a little tired of hearing about the “stigma” of DeVry and a few other similar schools. As if attending DeVry somehow makes you dumber or makes a DeVry grad some kind of liability to employers. Not everybody can attend MIT or Yale. I know plenty of sharp, successful people that attended DeVry and have done quite well in their careers- many even better well off than other people who went to tradition state schools. DeVry is a technical trade school, nothing more.

  16. Mixed bag. Was hired before I graduated. Never graduated. Influenced by the fact I was attending the school, I received around 20 or so high paying job offers. I made $86k last year. Like others have said, school is only a tool to help u find a job. You are the product you are selling. You have to get out there and hustle to get a job. I’m confident, maybe too much so, aggressive, ambitious, and I have goals. Also a vet. Devry also has a bad rep to employers who went to brick and mortar state college. The for-profit stigma.

    In summary, Devry can help, but u need to make it work. I transferred to a state school. Devry is too expensive and I don’t want the stigma. I also think the education in somethings are better elsewhere.

  17. Finally!!! I went to Devry University for 7 months and I owe 7,000 in school loans. They told me that my financial aid from foster care would cover all expenses no out of pocket expenses and now they are bugging me about paying off the 7,000.

    • I went to school for 5 months and owe over 12,000 I left because the school was not helping me at all in my field

      • The same thing happen to me they gave me a loan for having good grades in high school but when I couldn’t afford the classes they took my loan away and left me for 3,000 to pay out of pockets I was only there for a month

  18. I have a degree from BTC and never was hired in my field either. I graduated with a 3.9% GPA as well from them to boot. So much for higher education.

  19. I went to DeVry Long Beach. I have been working in my field of study ever since in a variety of well paying jobs. Shoot, I was hired before I graduated. Ran up a little more in student loans than I would have liked to, but it got me a job. It’s what you make of it and who you are and how well you interview. You can also go to USC, but if your are a complete dumbazz, USC won’t help you either. I’m not sure I’d attend DeVry in 2016 though.

  20. i’m a graduate DeVry university in long beach and I had to do some sort of work for free in order for me to get experience, it was really hard to find employment after I graduated and also took me a year to find a job in my major which I never did. i’m working in a different field now.

  21. About time. I was given the same pitch only to find out that employers actually are hesitant to hires graduates from DeVry not thinking their curriculum is sufficient. Also they promised me I would be able to attend school for my entire four years with no expense out of pocket and student loans to take care of it. Two and a half years in they had a tuition hike and demanded out of pocket expenses from me and I had no other option but accept they withdraw me from their school, left with 25,000 in student loans and nothing to show for it.

  22. The next fraudulent school they need to go after is University of Antelpoe Valley. UAV brags about the students getting jobs at Walmart and McDonald’s. Students have criminal justice degrees that have cost them a lifetime of loans and they are working a job for $10/hr that they could have got with no degree. UAV biggest rip off this side of the Mississippi.