UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

Federal Trade Commission 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20580

Office of Commissioner 

Rebecca Kelly Slaughter 

1

CONCURRING STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER REBECCA KELLY SLAUGHTER

In the Matter of the University of Phoenix, Inc.

Commission File No. 1523231

December 10, 2019

Today the Commission announced that it is filing a federal court complaint and proposed 

stipulated order against the University of Phoenix, Inc. and its parent company, Apollo

Education Group, Inc. (“University of Phoenix”). After a comprehensive investigation, the FTC

lays out in its complaint how the University of Phoenix launched a major deceptive ad campaign 

that dangled the prospect of available jobs through purported corporate partnerships. These 

partnerships did not exist. When consumers make the decision to devote their already limited 

time and income into pursuing their educational goals, many do so with the hope of finally 

landing a better job. The deceptive claims set out in the Commission’s complaint are particularly 

galling to me because they sold false hope—robbing consumers of their time and money for the 

prospect of a job that did not exist.

The proposed order requires the University of Phoenix to pay 50 million dollars back to deceived 

consumers and relieves many affected consumers of the debt they directly owe to the University 

of Phoenix.

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I commend the FTC staff for their tireless efforts to achieve this excellent result for 

consumers. 

We know, though, that many consumers are still victims of or vulnerable to the abuses 

perpetrated by unscrupulous for-profit schools. I join my colleague, Commissioner Chopra, in 

calling on the FTC to continue to be vigilant in this critical area and share his view that the FTC 

should do all it can within its authority to protect consumers in this area.

Our vigilance is particularly important at this moment as we watch what appears to be a 

complete abdication by the Department of Education, which has oversight of for-profit 

institutions and controls their access to federal financial aid. Since the beginning of the current 

administration, the Department has, among other retrenchments, unwound a team whose focus 

 

1 This settlement will not affect a borrower’s federal loan obligations. Those who have been 

deceived should consider exercising their legal right to apply for discharges, as discussed in 

detail in Commissioner Chopra’s statement.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Federal Trade Commission

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20580

Office of Commissioner

Rebecca Kelly Slaughter

2

had been investigating fraud and abuse in the for-profit arena2; abandoned or stalled major 

investigations into large for-profit schools3; and repealed rules that would have required many 

for-profit schools to demonstrate that their graduates could find gainful employment in order to 

maintain access to federal financial aid.4

The FTC cannot be the sole bulwark5to protect consumers whom bad actors increasingly 

victimize for profit only to be abandoned by the very government agency best able to help. I join 

the call for this administration to stop what appears to be its systematic betrayal of consumers 

pursuing that most fundamental of American ideals—that all should have a chance to secure a

better future through education. 

 

2 See Danielle Ivory et al., Education Department Unwinds Unit Investigating Fraud at ForProfits, N.Y. Times (May 13, 2018) https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/13/business/educationdepartment-for-profit-colleges.html.

3 See Diana Hembree, Investigations Into For-Profit College Abuses Dismantled Under Betsy 

DeVos, Forbes (May 14, 2018) 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/dianahembree/2018/05/14/education-department-dismantles-teamthat-investigated-for-profit-college-abuses/.

4 See Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, Trump Administration Formally Rescinds Rule Governing 

Career Training Programs, Wash. Post (June 28, 2019) 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/06/28/trump-administration-formally-rescindsrule-governing-career-training-programs/.

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I would be remiss not to acknowledge and applaud the excellent work to defend student-loan 

consumers by nonprofit advocates, see, e.g., National Student Legal Defense Network, 

https://www.defendstudents.org; Student Borrower Protection Center, 

https://protectborrowers.org/, and scholars, see, e.g., David Whitman & Arne Duncan, Brookings 

Institution, Betsy DeVos and Her Cone of Silence on For-Profit Colleges (Oct. 17, 2018), 

https://www.brookings.edu/research/betsy-devos-for-profit-colleges-education-america/; Yan 

Cao, The Century Foundation, How DeVos Is about to Make Life Harder for Victims of School 

Closures (July 23, 2019), https://tcf.org/content/report/devos-make-life-harder-victims-schoolclosures/. This list is by no means exhaustive, but non-governmental organizations and advocates 

such as these are essential partners in the effort to protect vulnerable consumers, and they are 

actively working to mitigate the direst consequences of the Education Department’s abdication.