DeVry University DeVry University is a division of DeVry Education Group , for - profit higher education organization that is also the parent organization for Keller Graduate School of Management , Ross University , American University of the Caribbean , Carrington College , Carrington College California , Chamberlain College of Nursing , Becker Professional Review , and DeVry Brasil . The school was founded in 1931 as DeForest Training School , and officially became DeVry University in 2002 . As of 2014 , DeVry had over 60 , 000 students across 90 campuses throughout North America and over the internet . DeVry Education Group is headquartered in Downers Grove , Illinois , and Daniel Hamburger is the company ' s CEO . DeVry University is regionally accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools . History . Early history . DeVry was founded in 1931 as DeForest Training School in Chicago , Illinois . School founder Herman A DeVry , who had previously invented a motion picture projector and produced educational and training films , named the school after his friend Lee de Forest . De Forest Training School originally taught movie projector and radio repair , but later expanded to other electronic equipment such as televisions . The school was renamed to DeVry Technical Institute in 1953 and gained accreditation to confer associate ' s degrees in electronics in 1957 . Bell & Howell completed its acquisition of DeVry Technical Institute in 1967 . A year later , the company acquired the Ohio Institute of Technology and DeVry was renamed DeVry Institute of Technology . DeVry was accredited to confer bachelor ’ s degrees in electronics in 1969 . Keller Graduate School of Management . Dennis Keller and Ronald Taylor met one another in the early 1970s when the two were teachers at DeVry . Keller and Taylor learned the economics of for - profit education while at DeVry and , in 1973 , the two founded the Keller Graduate School of Management with $ 150 , 000 in loans from friends and family . The school was originally conceived as a day school that granted certificates . The Keller School later switched to an evening program focused on working adults and was offering MBAs by 1976 . The school was fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in 1977 , the first for - profit school to be accredited by the body . DeVry first received full accreditation in 1981 . The Keller Graduate School of Management acquired DeVry from Bell & Howell in 1987 . The leveraged buyout was worth $ 147 . 4 million . The two schools were combined as DeVry Inc . with Keller acting as chairman and CEO and Taylor president and COO . DeVry Education Group . DeVry Inc . successfully completed its initial public offering in June 1991 . The university acquired Becker CPA Review , a firm that prepared students for the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination , in 1996 . DeVry acquired Ross University , a medical and veterinary school based in the Caribbean , for $ 310 million in 2003 . The university moved into the nursing field in 2005 with the acquisition of Deaconess College of Nursing , a St . Louis , Missouri - based nursing college that conferred both associate ' s and bachelor ' s degress in nursing . Deaconess College of Nursing was later renamed Chamberlain College of Nursing . DeVry Inc . entered Brazil with its 2009 acquisition of Fanor , Ruy Barbosa and ÁREA1 , which are universities located in Northeast Brazil . In 2012 , the university acquired Faculdade Boa Viagem and Faculdade do Vale do Ipojuca . DeVry acquired a sixth Brazilian university , Faculdade Differencial Integral , in 2013 . DeVry Inc . was renamed DeVry Education Group later that year . Locations . As of 2014 , DeVry University had approximately 90 locations across 25 states in the United States . The university ' s collective size is over 3 million square feet . Academics . DeVry University ' s academic offerings are organized into 5 colleges : The College of Business & Management , which includes Keller Graduate School of Management ; The College of Engineering & Information Sciences ; The College of Health Sciences ; The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences , which includes the School of Education ; and The College of Media Arts & Technology . Each college offers associate ' s , bachelor ' s and master ' s degree programs . DeVry University also offers graduate certificates . DeVry operates on a uniform academic calendar for both undergraduate and graduate degree programs . The university ' s academic calendar consists of six eight - week sessions . Most degree programs are offered at both the associate ' s and bachelor ' s level . In addition , the institution offers various certificate programs in specific subfields such as information technology . The Keller Graduate School of Management offers the following masters degree programs : Courses and programs are also offered online . DeVry has offered graduate classes online since 1998 and undergraduate classes since 2001 . DeVry is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association . Engineering technology programs are accredited on campus - by - campus . Student life . Student body . As of 2012 , DeVry had a total undergraduate enrollment of 59 , 474 , 55 . 5 % of which were male . 56 % of DeVry students pursue bachelor ' s degrees . 76 % of DeVry students are 25 years old or older and 46 % of students are minorities . Student groups . Student activities , clubs , organizations and events are organized by individual DeVry campuses . Opportunities for students include professional organizations and honors societies . Former military personnel can join the DeVry Military Resource Club , which is designed to assist military veterans transition to civilian life and succeed academically . The DeVry Military Resource Club is a member of Student Veterans of America . Alumni . Notable DeVry University alumni include : Notable Keller Graduate School of Management alumni include : Partnerships . In 2011 , DeVry University partnered with the United States Olympic Committee to become an official education provider for the United States ' Olympic teams . The partnership runs through the 2016 Olympic season . 15 athletes on the United States ' 2014 Olympic teams were DeVry University students . In April 2014 , DeVry University was named the " official education provider " for NFL Pro Legends . Controversies . Legal difficulties . In 1995 , DeVry was suspended from Ontario ' s student loan program after a large number of its students misreported their income . DeVry was reinstated after paying fines of C $ 1 . 7 million and putting up a bond of C $ 2 million . In 1996 , students of DeVry ' s Toronto campus filed a class - action suit claiming poor educational quality and job preparation ; the suit was dismissed on technical grounds . In November 2000 , Afshin Zarinebaf , Ali Mousavi and another graduate of one of DeVry University ' s Chicago - area campuses filed a class - action lawsuit accusing DeVry of widespread deception , unlawful business practices and false advertising and alleging that students were not being prepared for high - tech jobs . The lawsuit contributed to a 20 % slide in the company ' s stock . The class was not certified and the case was resolved for less than $ 25 , 000 in June 2006 . In 2001 , DeVry became the first for - profit school to obtain permission from the Alberta government to grant degrees , on recommendation by the Private Colleges Accreditation Board . This decision was opposed by the Alberta New Democratic Party ( sitting in opposition ) , the Canadian Federation of Students , and the Canadian Association of University Teachers . The NDP claimed conflict of interest as an executive at DeVry . served as both the president of DeVry ' s Calgary campus and as a member of the Premier of Alberta ' s special advisory council on postsecondary education . In January 2002 , Royal Gardner , a graduate of one of DeVry University ' s Los Angeles - area campuses , filed a class - action complaint against DeVry Inc . and DeVry University , Inc . on behalf of students in the post - baccalaureate degree program in Information Technology . The suit alleged that the nature of the program was misrepresented by the advertising . The lawsuit was dismissed and refiled . During the first quarter of 2004 , a new complaint was filed in the same court by Gavino Teanio with the same general allegations . This action was stayed pending the outcome of the Gardner lawsuit . The lawsuits were being settled in late 2006 . In April 2007 , the State of New York settled with three schools that were participating in questionable student - loan practices . DeVry , Career Education Corporation , and Washington University in St . Louis were involved with the settlement . DeVry agreed to refund $ 88 , 122 back to students . In 2008 , DeVry was accused of filing false claims and statements about recruitment pay and performance to the government . In January 2013 , a lawsuit was filed by a former manager at DeVry which alleged that the college bribed students for positive performance reviews and worked around federal regulations on for - profit colleges . In April 2013 , the attorney generals of Illinois and Massachusetts issued subpoenas to DeVry to investigate for violations of federal law and filing false information about loans , grants , and guarantees . In July 2014 , DeVry stated that the New York state attorney general ' s office was investigating if the company ' s marketing violated laws against false advertising . Dropout rate . Senator Tom Harkin ' s report on the for - profit college industry revealed that DeVry ' s tuition for an associates degree is 10 times higher than at community colleges ; it has a dropout rate of 50 percent ( 60 percent for online students ) within a median of 3 1 / 2 months ; spending per student of less than $ 3 , 000 per year on education , about a quarter of what is spent by the University of Illinois ; a CEO salary of $ 6 . 3 million , 46 times more than the president of the University of Illinois ; and evidence of deceptive recruiting of students . Two state attorneys general , Illinois and Massachusetts , are investigating DeVry .