University of Phoenix to phase out campuses around the country
Sep 27, 2017, 4:30 AM | Updated: 3:15 pm
(Screenshot)
(Screenshot)
PHOENIX — The troubled University of Phoenix system will phase out over a dozen campuses around the nation, according to a news report. No campuses or learning centers in metro Phoenix were said to be on the list.
The Phoenix New Times detailed the plans online Monday. Employees at the Phoenix-based for-profit university were told late last week that at least 20 campuses would be phased out, including the Tucson site.
Students already taking courses would not be affected and will be allowed to complete their studies.
Other locations closing included Albuquerque, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. Students were told on school websites that they could take online classes.
A university official told Inside Higher Ed on Tuesday that there were no plans for immediate closures.
It’s the second time in five years that the university has eliminated job and sites. Five years ago, parent company Apollo Education Group closed 100 locations and wiped out 800 positions.
Apollo has struggled financially for the past few years as enrollment declined from a high of about 460,000 and the federal government investigated the school for unfair business practices.
In February, the chain laid off 170 full-time faculty members and the company finalized a $1 billion sale to private investors.
An annual report from the school said its bachelor’s degree graduation rate was 44 percent in 2015.
Students at the school had a loan default rate of 12.8 percent.
The school was founded in 1976. The main campus in Arizona is in Tempe, along with two learning centers in west and northwest Phoenix.
An original version of this story implied the campuses would close immediately. The story has been updated to reflect they would be phased out along with differently sourced graduation and default rates.
