Hundreds of DeVry University students will be receiving restitution soon from a settlement reached the New York State Attorney General's Office.
The AG's investigation is just the latest to find DeVry "misled students" about post-graduation employment and salary prospects, using exaggerated ads and unsubstantiated claims. A $2.25 million settlement was reached with DeVry in January.
On average, each of 809 students will receive about $2,800 in restitution. The AG said the Better Business Bureau, which is administering the process, is expected to begin sending out checks to the students later this month.
“DeVry exploited students who were simply trying to further their education,” said AG Eric Schneiderman. “We will not allow hardworking New Yorkers to be ripped off by greedy companies - which is why DeVry is now paying millions in restitution to hundreds of students. My office will not back down from policing unscrupulous for-profit colleges in New York State.”
The investigation found that many of the university's "advertisements centered on a claim that 90 percent of DeVry graduates who are actively seeking employment obtain employment in their field of study within six months of graduation." However, the AG said that figure was "misleading because a substantial number of the graduates included in the 90 percent figure were graduates who were already employed prior to graduating from DeVry. In fact, many of the graduates included in the 90 percent figure were employed before they even enrolled at DeVry."
The AG said DeVry’s employment statistics also "inaccurately classified a significant number of graduates as employed in their field of study, when in reality the graduates were not working in their field."
DeVry graduates eligible to participate in the claims process include graduates who began their program between July 2008 and September 2015. The school's exaggerated claims also were reprimanded earlier this year in a $100 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. In 2016, the Veterans Administration suspended the university from participating in its program identifying colleges for troops.
