DeVry Lawsuit to Refund $100 Million in Student Debt and Loans
The lawsuit against DeVry University has reached a settlement. Under the agreement, DeVry University has agreed to make a $100 million settlement. The DeVery lawsuit was brought by the FTC and said they misled new students with ads that promoted high employment success rates and income levels upon graduation.
Get Your Money Back
The DeVry lawsuit settlement will pay back tens of thousands of students harmed by DeVry’s conduct. Join our newsletter – submit your information for updates on how to make a claim.
Under the settlement made by the FTC, DeVry will pay $49.4 million to students who were harmed by the ads. DeVry will also allow $50.6 million in debt relief. The debt can include the full balance owed —$30.35 million — on private loans. So any unpaid student loans that students got from DeVry between September 2008 and September 2015 can be eligible for forgiveness. $20.25 million may be available for refund in student debts for items such as tuition, books and lab fees.
The FTC stated, “When people are making important decisions about their education and their future, they should not be misled by deceptive employment and earnings claims.” Further, the spokeswoman at the FTC said, “The FTC has secured compensation for the many students who were harmed, and I am pleased that DeVry is changing its practices.”
DeVry’s Misleading Advertising
DeVry University is accused of misleading its students when they advertised about how easy it was to get a job after graduation. In reality, most students have very little chance of getting a job. But the students paid a lot of money for the degree that is mostly useless. We are helping students get their money back. Join us if you want to make a claim in the DeVry settlement. Fill out the form on this page or call 424-245-5505.
In January 2016, the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against DeVry University, saying that DeVry’s advertisements lied to consumers about the likelihood that students would find jobs after getting education in their field. The ads also said students would earn more money than other students who graduated with degrees from other colleges or universities, which was also not true. The FTC Chairwoman said, “Millions of Americans look to higher education for training that will lead to meaningful employment and good pay. Educational institutions like DeVry owe prospective students the truth about their graduates’ success finding employment in their field of study and the income they can earn.”
What DeVry Did Wrong
In an investigation by the FTC, the specific ads that said 90% of DeVry graduates who were seeking employment got jobs in their degree area within six months of graduation were found untrue. The FTC also says that another ad by DeVry said its student who graduated earned 15% higher incomes a year after graduation compared to the graduates of all other colleges or universities. This, too, was untrue.
These statements were in DeVry’s advertising campaigns on television, radio, the internet, newpapers, magazines and other places. The DeVry false advertising campaigns began in 2008 and continued through 2013.
The other problem that the DeVry lawsuit exposed was the way they counted the graduates who were working. They said they were working in the area of their degree when the students actually were not. They seem to show that DeVry was not honest in the way they counted the students who were working. For example, DeVry counted a graduate who was working in their field of study as someone who got a degree in business administration and a specialization in health services, but was really working as a waiter at a restaurant. Another example involved a student with a degree in business administration with a health care management specialization but who worked as a car salesman.
Another major complaint is that DeVry’s calculations included students who were working in jobs they had before starting at DeVry, as compared to those they got after graduating.
According to the lawsuit, the FTC investigated and compared income information that DeVry got from its graduates with publicly available income information and it showed that DeVry University graduates did not earn more than graduates from all other schools combined a year after graduating.
DeVry mislead people about their job prospects, and former students and current students should get their money back.
Make Your Claim in the DeVry Lawsuit
If you would like to join the class action, please contact us immediately by filling out the form on this page or calling us at 424-245-5505.
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