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Tuesday, January 30, 2024

ED Completes Pre-Acquisition Review for University of Phoenix Deal. University of Idaho Continues Hiding Details of Transaction Fees, 43 Education "High-Risk" Bonds.

[Editor's note: This article will be updated as we receive more information.]

US Department of Education (ED) sources have told the Higher Education Inquirer that the Pre-Acquisition Review for the Idaho-University of Phoenix deal was completed in November 2023 in response to a request from the University of Phoenix in June of the same year.

The University of Phoenix is currently owned by two powerful investment firms: Apollo Global Management and Vistria Partners. But those companies have been attempting to unload the for-profit college for more than two years. The latest potential owner is the University of Idaho's affiliate organization, Four Three Education--at an initial cost of $685 million.

ED will not require anyone to post a Letter of Credit--despite the fact that Four Three Education currently has no financial assets and will likely have to issue high-risk bonds to acquire the University of Phoenix.

Four Three Education, and the University of Idaho, may be responsible for compensating the Department of Education for successful Borrower Defense to Repayment (fraud) claims made by tens of thousands of consumers. While that could amount to more than a billion dollars, the University of Idaho affiliate expects to spend much less by using aggressive legal means.

Financing for the Phoenix project has been deliberately opaque. The University of Idaho, however, has acknowledged that it may be liable for some future losses, but only up to $10 million annually. And Idaho officials, including University of Idaho President C. Scott Green, seem undeterred by these potential problems.

The Most Recent Court Case

A court case to determine whether the University of Idaho violated open meeting laws was completed last week. Idaho District Judge Jason Scott ruled that the University of Idaho was not in violation for holding three secret meetings followed by a quick vote on May 18, 2023. The University of Idaho claimed that secrecy was essential for the deal to occur.

The State asserted that the Idaho Board of Education did not perform due diligence for the sale, relying on President Green and his word that this was a worthwhile deal for the University of Idaho. In turn, Green admitted he did not ask important questions about competition, for fear that he would be considered naive, and that he outbid the competition.

As Judge Scott remarked, the wisdom of the deal was not on trial. If it had, perhaps the ruling would have been different.

Information about the competition to buy the University of Phoenix continues to be sketchy. The University of Arkansas System rejected a deal from the University of Phoenix in April 2023, weeks before the last closed door meeting. UMass Global was mentioned in the court case, but with no evidence that they were ever a serious suitor.

The Idaho-Phoenix Scheme

The University of Idaho spent a reported seven million dollars on consultants over two months to determine whether the deal would be profitable to the University of Idaho. But little is publicly known about how the funds were spent. Hogan Lovells, President Green's former employer, was one of the organizations involved in consulting the University of Idaho. A local law firm, Hawley Troxell was also involved.

Idaho also created a non-profit organization, Four Three Education, to act as a firewall in the event the school loses money. The current President of the University of Phoenix, Chris Lynne, will remain in place and be a member of the Four Three Education Board.

The University of Idaho claims that the University of Phoenix will make a $150 million annual profit but they have not produced evidence. Information about Phoenix's assets are also limited, but Idaho claims the for-profit college holds $200 million in cash. How liquid (or how restricted) the cash is has not been mentioned.

Funding for the sale will be through an initial debt of $685 million, which includes more than $100 million in transaction fees. When bond interest is included, the deal is likely to cost billions of dollars according to an industry source. In an opinion piece in the Idaho Statesman, Rod Lewis, a former attorney for Micron Technology and former president of the Idaho State Board of Education stated:

Phoenix will issue $685 million in corporate bonds anticipated to be “bb” rated (known as “high risk” or “speculative” bonds). Phoenix’s estimated debt service will be $60 million to $70 million per year. It sounds risky, and it is.

We will know more when the University of Idaho produces the bond contracts and names the bond underwriters.

Poisoning the Public Higher Ed Well

The University of Phoenix relies heavily on obfuscation, intimidation, political lobbying, and lawsuits to reduce expenses related to fraud. Given recent data on consumer complaints about the University of Phoenix, University of Idaho officials say they are prepared for contingencies related to the tens of thousands of Borrower Defense to Repayment claims. But the school or its affiliated organizations could also be liable for claims related to questionable business practices in the present and future.

It's too early to tell whether Idaho will profit from its acquisition. But if the sale is consummated, the University of Phoenix will join a growing list of state-affiliated and non-profit robocolleges, one that includes Purdue University Global (formerly Kaplan University) and University of Arizona Global Campus (formerly Ashford University), two schools that have not lived up to their parent company names.

Wednesday, July 12, 2023

University of Phoenix and the Ash Heap of Higher Ed History (Updated September 14, 2023)

[Editor's Note: The Higher Education Inquirer will continue to update this story as more information comes in.]

The University of Phoenix (or at least its name) may soon enter the ash heap of US higher education history--and rise again as a state-run robocollege. But it shouldn't--at least not yet. Once hailed as the leader in affordable adult education for workers entering middle management, it is a shell of its former self--in an economy less certain for workers and consumers.

With the school's wreckage are approximately one million people buried alive in an estimated $14B-$35B in student loan debt.

Pattern of Fraud

As of January 2023, more than 69,000 of these student loan debtors have filed Borrower Defense to Repayment fraud claims with the US Department of Education against the University of Phoenix (UoPX). Many more could file claims when they become aware of their rights to debt relief. In the partial FOIA response below, the US Department of Education reported that 69,180 Borrower Defense claims had been made against the school.

In a recent federal case, Sweet v Cardona, most if not all of the 19,860 "denied" cases were overturned in favor of the student loan debtors. We estimate the smaller number of fraud claims alone to amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Through a FOIA request, we also discovered 6,265 consumer complaints in the FTC database. In 2019, the FTC and the University of Phoenix settled a claim for $191M for deceptive employment claims. Based on the consumer complaints, we have no reason to believe that Phoenix has changed its behavior as a bad actor.

On May 3, 2023, six US Senators (Warren, Brown, Blumenthal, Durbin, Merkley, Hassan) called for the US Department of Education, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Department of Defense to investigate the University of Phoenix for launching a new program suggesting that it was a public university. The letter stated that the school "has long preyed on veterans, low-income students, and students of color."

Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

University of Phoenix's owners could potentially be liable for refunding the US government for the fraud. But as a state-related organization, it may be more politically difficult to claw back funds, no matter how predatory the school is.

Purdue University Global and University of Arizona Global set a precedence in state-related organizations acquiring subprime schools (Kaplan University and Ashford University) and rebranding them as something better. Whether they are better for consumers is questionable. Phoenix will have to cut costs, largely by reducing labor. Using Indian labor (like Purdue Global) and AI could be profitable strategies. It's likely that this deal, even if profitable, will add fuel to the growing skepticism of higher education in the US.

University of Phoenix's Finances

Apollo Global Management and Vistria Group currently own University of Phoenix but have been trying (unsuccessfully) to unload the subprime college for more than two years. Little is publicly known about the school's finances. What is known is that UoPX gets about $800M every year from the federal government, through federal student loans, Pell Grants, GI Bill funds, and DOD Tuition Assistance.

Despite this government funding, US Department of Education data show the school's equity value for the Arizona segment declined significantly, from $361M in FY 2018 to $187M in FY 2021.

$347M of the University of Phoenix's $518M in assets are intangible assets. Intangible assets typically include intellectual property and brand reputation. The school has $348M in liabilities.

The University of Phoenix has been reducing expenses by cutting instructional costs, from $70M in FY 2020 to $60M in FY 2021. UoPX spends about 8 percent of its revenues on instruction.

Marketing and advertising expenses are not available, but Phoenix has been visible on the Discovery Channel's Shark Week, CBS' Big Brother, and other television events. ISpot.tv reports that University of Phoenix spends millions of dollars each year on television ads. On one ad alone, the ad spend from February 2023 to July 2023 was an estimated $3.5M.

Attempts to Sell UoPX

There have been two known potential buyers for the University of Phoenix: the University of Arkansas System and the University of Idaho. In both cases, the owners required the potential buyers to keep the deal secret until the sale was imminent.

Fear of the impending higher education enrollment cliff appears to be an important pitch to potential buyers.

Arkansas, the first target, was in the process of making the deal, and it might have gone through if nit for the voice of one whistleblower and one outstanding investigative reporter, Debra Hale Shelton of the Arkansas Times.

In the case of Idaho, news of the potential deal was publicly noted just one day before the preliminary agreement was made with the Idaho Board of Education. Two other secret meetings were held before that.

A number of journalists including Kevin Richert (Idaho EdNews), Laura Guido (The Idaho Press), Troy Oppie (Boise State Public Radio), and Noble Brigham (Idaho Statesman) have exposed some of the problems and potential problems with the deal. In June, Idaho legislators began questioning the acquisition.

More recently, the opinion editor at the Idaho Statesman argued that the deal may actually be worthwhile.

Particulars about the finances are sketchy at best and misleading at worst. The University of Phoenix is said to include $200M in cash in the deal, but they have not said how much of that sum is required by law as "restricted cash"--money the school needs if the Department of Education needs to claw back funds. Phoenix also claims to be highly profitable, but without showing any evidence.

What is known about the deal is that the University of Idaho will have to borrow $685M and put its (bond) credit rating at risk. The school has not identified important information how the bonds would be sold (underwriters, bond raters, date to maturity, interest rate).

The University of Idaho has created an FAQ to answer questions about the sale, but HEI has identified a number of misleading statements about University of Phoenix's present finances (failure to report the school's equity), potential liability (cost of tens of thousands of Borrower Defense claims), and leadership (lack of background information about Chris Lynne, the President of the University of Phoenix). These deficiencies have been reported to the University of Idaho and to the Representative Horman.

On June 20, Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador filed a lawsuit to halt, or at least slow down the deal.

The University of Idaho submitted a Pre-Acquisition Review from the US Department of Education, and it may take up to three months before the application is completed.

As of September 2023, the deal is far from done. Since this article was first published there have been a number of developments:

On September 11, US Senators Elizabeth Warren, Dick Durbin, and Richard Blumenthal called on University of Idaho President Green to abandon the sale. The Senators also asked Green if he had a plan to pay for the Borrower Defense claims, noting that University of Arizona may be on the hook for thousands of claims against Ashford University (aka University of Arizona Global campus).

In November, the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee of the Idaho Legislature is expected to discuss the issue again.

*The Higher Education Inquirer has made a FOIA request for more up-to-date numbers from the US Department of Education. We have also filed FOIA requests with the FTC.

Thursday, September 21, 2023

University of Phoenix's Sinking Ship: Who is Chris Lynne?

Who is Chris Lynne, the latest President of the University of Phoenix? The school has posted a short, glowing biography that provides some information: four years as the CFO of University of Phoenix, former President of HotChalk and former CFO of Northcentral University. A Wikipedia article was created for him earlier this year but was recently deleted.

People in the edtech industry say they know little about Chris Lynne, at least not publicly. Of three experts who did respond off the record, no one said anything positive. One mentioned problems at HotChalk and another, problems at Northcentral. The third expert claimed to know nothing, despite decades in the business.

Lynne has worked for a number of companies with issues: accounting firm Arthur Andersen (corruption scandal with Enron led to its closing in 2002), Vice-President at Education Management Corporation (predatory enrollment, financial failure) from 2003-2010, CFO at Northcentral University (financial troubles/US Department of Education Heightened Cash Monitoring) from 2010-2014, President at HotChalk (federal violations with Concordia contract), and CFO at the University of Phoenix from 2018-2022. While no one should be found guilty by their associations, this string of questionable employers does not look good.

Information about Chris Lynne from the WayBack machine.

In June 2022, the University of Phoenix made Chris Lynne the interim President of the school, replacing George Burnett. At the helm for less than six months, Burnett resigned amid an inquiry by the US Department of Education about his work at the now defunct Westwood College. Burnett and Lynne worked together several years at Northcentral University, another subprime college.

Work at the University of Phoenix

Chris Lynne was Phoenix's CFO beginning in November 2018. Despite almost a billion dollars government funding per year, US Department of Education data show the school's equity for the Arizona segment declined significantly, from $361M in FY 2018 to $187M in FY 2021. No other data after that are available.

In June 2022, Lynne was named the interim President of the University of Phoenix. Six months later, he was appointed to that position permanently. Little if anything is known about the hiring process that occurred, and who else was considered for the position.

The truth is, without looking at all the books and matching them with expert observations, we have no idea what Chris Lynne has done as the CFO and now President of the University of Phoenix. The numbers we have from the US Department of Education show a school in decline in terms of enrollment and revenues, shored up by closing campuses and reducing instruction costs. We do not know what the University of Phoenix has done to maintain its infrastructure, including its computer hardware and software.

If we could take a close look at all the financial records, examine the school's infrastructure, and interview workers, we would know better how Lynne has handled his work at the school and what shape the University of Phoenix is in for the long run as it is sold to the folks in Idaho.

University of Phoenix and the Ash Heap of Higher Ed History

Fraud Claims Against University of Phoenix Continue to Mount

How University of Phoenix Failed. It's a Long Story. But It's Important for the Future of Higher Education.

New University of Phoenix Head Ran College That Closed After Fraud Suit (David Halperin)

The 17 Questions The Education Dept. Asked A University President Before He Resigned