Higher Education Inquirer : harvard

2U (TWOU), the online program manager for a number of elite and brand name schools has been suspended from the NASDAQ today for regulatory non-compliance.

A number of law firms have also announced potential shareholder lawsuits as 2U attempts to reorganize.Their contention is that shareholders were misled by key executives of 2U.

If these legal contentions are true, the Securities and Exchange Commission has the power to fine and ban executives and former executives from taking part as senior executives with other publicly traded companies. There is a precedent for this. In 2018, the former CEO and CFO of ITT Tech (ESI), Kevin Modany and Daniel Fitzpatrick, accepted penalties.

Potential Relief from Fraud for Elite Online Degrees and Certificates

2U has operated as an online program manager for about 70 clients, mostly highly regarded universities, including Harvard University, Yale University, MIT, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Georgia Tech, University of California, Berkeley, Pepperdine University, Rice University, University of North Carolina, and University of Texas. 2U made false claims about the relationship it had with corporate employers, leading consumers to believe that these brand name credentials would be a ticket to better work.

Students who used federal student loans for 2U's online graduate programs for the University of Southern California and the University of North Carolina may be eligible for debt forgiveness if they can prove that they were defrauded. We recommend contacting the Project on Predatory Student Lending for a potential remedy.

For those who were misled about elite certificates, we recommend contacting the Federal Trade Commission and your state attorney general. However, both options will not result in easy answers.

HurricaneTWOU.com: Digital Protest Exposes Syracuse, USC, Pepperdine, and University of North Carolina in 2U edX Edugrift (2024)

2U-edX crash exposes the latest wave of edugrift (2023)

2U Virus Expands College Meltdown to Elite Universities (2019)

Buyer Beware: Servicemembers, Veterans, and Families Need to Be On Guard with College and Career Choices (2021)

College Meltdown 2.1 (2022)

EdTech Meltdown (2023)

Erica Gallagher Speaks Out About 2U's Shady Practices at Department of Education Virtual Listening Meeting (2023)

2U declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy today and the company is now valued at less than $5M. That's a small shadow of the $5.4B perceived value it had in mid-2018.

As a company that will be owned and operated by vulture capitalists (VCs), 2U (TWOU) and its subsidiary edX will fall below the radar. But that won't stop the company from ensnaring more students for overpriced "elite" and "brand name" degrees and certificates--as it tries to survive. In fact, it might make it easier. The visible economic market and its media won't care anymore.

According to Higher Education Dive, backers of the latest scheme include three vulture capital firms: Mudrick Capital Management (Madison Avenue in NYC), Greenvale Capital (London) and Bayside Capital (Miami/London).

Somehow, these VC firms will try to extract value from the bankruptcy deal. But how they do that is a mystery. C-suite executives have already gotten some of their bonuses, leaving little else for workers. Reducing labor costs (firing people) will be essential. Not paying their bills is another. Continuing to deceive consumers would be difficult to change. Even after the deal, 2U will still be laden with more than $400M in debt.

Since 2019, we have tried to expose 2U and its business practices, as well as the role of elite university partners in enabling the sale of advanced degrees and edtech certificates that led to few good jobs and lots of consumer debt. When they acquired edX from Harvard and MIT for $800M, we doubled down.

The Higher Education Inquirer has been the only outlet to name the elite schools that were complicit in this scheme that took money away from consumers just trying to get ahead. Not just USC, but Harvard and MIT, and Yale, and Cal Berkeley, and the University of North Carolina, and Syracuse, and Pepperdine, and many others. Check out the links below to learn more about how this higher ed scheme developed and collapsed. And how this is just the latest wave of edugrift.

Higher Education Inquirer

Wednesday, August 7, 2024

2U Suspended from NASDAQ. Help for USC and UNC Student Loan Debtors.

Thursday, July 25, 2024

2U Declares Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Will Anyone Else Name All The Elite Universities That Were Complicit?