On January 27, 2016 the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against DeVry University alleging the for-profit school deceived prospective students by exaggerating post-graduation job prospects. This constitutes a violation of the FTC Act and the complaint asks the court to provide redress to consumers and prohibit DeVry from further violations. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education (DE) has taken separate action to require DeVry to stop deceptive advertising claims regarding its graduates' employment success and to implement procedures to insure the truthfulness of post-graduation employment claims. These enforcement actions may open the doors for DeVry graduates to request student loan debt relief. The DE has been actively evaluating claims filed by thousands of students who allege they were defrauded by for-profit schools in the same way that DeVry now stands accused. Recent claims have been against Corinthian College - Heald College, Everest University and WyoTech, with the latter two receiving findings by the DE that they misrepresented job placement rates. Additionally, about 1,300 Heald College students in California had $27.8 million in claims approved. In these California cases, the DE has worked closely with the state's Attorney General's office and has established a position that these "borrower defense claims" must be based on proof that the school violated state laws. Regarding the FTC filing against DeVry University, the Under Secretary of Education, Ted Mitchell said, "As required by the law and expected by the public, institutions need to be accurate in their marketing and recruiting to prospective students. And we confirm this truthfulness of advertisements through the backup information schools provide upon request. The Department and the FTC's related announcements today are the result of much collaboration and cooperation. We are grateful to our partners at the FTC for their hard work and dedication on this matter." DeVry graduates, struggling under DE Student Loan debts, should continue to follow this story as it progresses through the courts. If you have questions, feel free to call the San Diego Student Loan Lawyer at (619) 295-3322.
