Ellen, You’re Better Than a University of Phoenix Shill!
We’re big fans of Ellen DeGeneres and her fights for progressive values, which is why we can’t believe she’s partnering with The University of Phoenix—one of the most notorious of the predatory “for-profit” colleges. On Monday she announced her partnership with the University of Phoenix on her show and on her social media platforms.
Ellen is a trusted voice and it’s important that she not promote a company that has such a terrible track record for students. The University of Phoenix generates more student debt than any other school in America, making it a leading driver of the $1.3 trillion student debt crisis. Join us in telling Ellen to drop her partnership with the University of Phoenix immediately.
Ellen, we’re emailing you to ask that you please drop your partnership with The University of Phoenix immediately.
Figures from ForProfitU.org report that only 13% of those who enrolled in the for-profit University of Phoenix had received their bachelor’s degree as of 2012. Phoenix’s parent company Apollo Group received over $800 million in federal Pell Grants in 2013—the most of any college in the country. Meanwhile, The University of Phoenix has been the subject of numerous federal investigations, as well as by Attorneys General in a number of states around the country, for its practices and the quality of education enrollees receive.
Lastly, the National Center for Education Statistics reported Phoenix gets $12,000 per student in tuition but spends $1,600 on actual instruction.
Ellen, the student loan debt crisis is threatening the American Dream for tens of millions of student loan borrowers. The University of Phoenix deserves, not your seal of approval, but condemnation and derision. If you don’t believe us, talk to people we know who have paid for Phoenix about their experience and the quality of instruction they received.
