University Of Phoenix Enrollment Plunges 42%

University of Phoenix enrollment dropped 42 percent in the last three months of 2010 and is expected to plummet further.

Officials at the university's parent company, the Apollo Group, told the Arizona Republic that they expect enrollment to decrease an additional 40 percent in the first quarter of this year.

"This is a volatile time with many questions about the (education) sector and its growth prospect and our position within the sector," Apollo Group co-chief executive officer Gregory Cappelli told the Republic. "But we continue to believe that we are making the right decisions now to position the company for higher quality and more long-term growth."

The university and other for-profit colleges have recently faced increasing government and media scrutiny, due in large part to high student loan default rates, nefarious recruiting practices and low graduation rates.

The average for-profit college graduation rate is 22 percent.

Despite the enrollment dip, Apollo Group shares increased 10 percent Tuesday.

Comments

[snesich]

12:40 PM on 02/02/2011

"University" of Phoenix Enrollment Plunges 42%.

Is this true?

Good.

[Niet]

12:36 AM on 01/27/2011

They have some of the most horrendous high pressure sales tactics of any organization I've every encountered. I inquired there briefly once and they would not leave me alone literally for years after that. They sent me non-stop enrollment material and called incessantly as if I already owed them money or something. I will never, never do business with an organization who approaches me in that manner.

[MyFatCat]

08:22 PM on 01/23/2011

If for-profit universities were actually universities, they wouldn't be concerned with their growth first, but with their students first. That so many of their students are in financial trouble says a great deal about University of Phoenix's marketing practices.

[sf omega man]

03:25 AM on 01/21/2011

modern-day loan sharks.

[Osakhomen]

02:20 PM on 01/14/2011

Great! Those type of universities need to die out! People should enroll in non-profit academic colleges or technical schools.

[Rodney Bowling]

12:57 AM on 01/14/2011

Rodney Bowling - Wow, I had no idea that University of Phoenix graduation rate was so low. Rodney Bowling

[DrSnuggles]

03:28 PM on 01/13/2011

Shame it wasn't 100%, colleges such as Phoenix degrade the quality and value of American education as a whole.

[SirLaxer]

01:49 PM on 01/13/2011

I'm sorry, I refuse to believe that any good comes out of being educated from one of thee website-based "colleges."

[REDSTATEREFUGEE]

10:47 AM on 01/13/2011

42% enrollment loss? Finally, Americans are beginning to wake up to the great fraud that has cost for profit students enormous debt and American taxpayers unbelievable amounts of wasted tax dollars in support of grants and loans.

[DL3]

08:51 AM on 01/13/2011

U of P has long been participating in shaddy business practices. Any school that has
500,000 enrolled students you would think would have to. NOT all for profit education is bad. Many of these schools are very compliant to the regulations and standards set by their
governing bodies and offer excellent accredited degree programs. The new regulations that
were set on for profit education are based on a lot of skewed reports. One main reason for
these regulations is Gainful Employment. In the times we are in right now it would not
surprise me to see Non For Profit schools having the same numbers when it comes to
gainful employment.

[203]

03:27 AM on 01/20/2011

not all gang members are bad - is this your rationale to sustain useless in the labor market sales of BS "education?"

[murphthesurf3]

07:03 AM on 01/13/2011

Even slow learners do learn: No surprise here

When you admit woefully unprepared students and place them in independent, largely on-line learning environments that require high skill levels, intense self discipline and extraordinary motivation a 22 Percent Graduation Rate comes as no surprise.

When you accompany this with high pressure sales techniques and a lack of university support systems, a real peer cohort and supervisory faculty, you get great debt and poor performance.

[LightShadow62]

11:37 PM on 01/12/2011

So people are finally beginning to learn.

[Just a passerby]

09:55 PM on 01/12/2011

But they have the $$ for all those glitzy ads on prime-time TV . . .

[rmarie]

09:03 PM on 01/12/2011

Good, they need to be the first to go once the higher education bubble finally bursts.

[mandalay007]

08:42 PM on 01/12/2011

this is a minimal education joint, and it would be better if it went away and stopped ripping off tax money in form of "loans" and, also, giving some poor souls an idea they are getting a decent education from which they will get decent jobs. LONG overdue--