University of Phoenix offers students a variety of ways to finance their educational costs. Available finance plans allow students to select payment options that meet their individual needs.
All students who have officially dropped from classes within the scheduled refund deadline, will be eligible for a refund or tuition credit based on the refund schedule.
All refunds of cash, check, and payment plan payments are issued through the Maricopa Student Refund Program (see MSRP link menu option on left side of page). No refunds of cash are available. Refunds of credit card payments will be made only to the credit card on which the original payment was processed.
- Note: Refunds of check and ACH (eCheck) payments will only be made 30 days after posting of the applicable payment. Earlier processing is possible upon presentation of evidence that the check has cleared the bank. Such evidence may include the canceled check or a bank statement. Please do not bypass the refund process by placing a stop payment on a check made payable to Phoenix College. This could result in additional fees and delays in future services. Are you curious about knowing the University Of Phoenix Tuition Refund Policy, university of phoenix class action lawsuit 2021, university of phoenix financial aid issues and others then you are at the right place because this article got you covered and hope you get want you want from it.
Refund Policy for Tuition and Fee Payments
Payments for tuition and fees that are eligible for a refund will be refunded as follows:
Credit Card Payment
- Payments will be refunded to the credit card in which the charge originated.
Check and ACH (eCheck) Payments
- Payments are subject to a 30-business day processing period and will be refunded via the Maricopa Student Refund Program.
Cash Payment
- Payments will be refunded via the Maricopa Student Refund Program.
Payment Plan Payment
- Payment plan payments made by credit card will be reissued to the same credit card. Payment plan payments made by ACH will be refunded via the Maricopa Student Refund Program.
Financial Aid Disbursements
- All Financial Aid disbursements/refunds are processed via the Maricopa Student Refund Program.
university of phoenix financial aid issues
The University has no official financial aid refund policy, but a set of events in 2019 resulted in an option that allows students who qualified for financial aid to receive a loan refund or discharge.
University of phoenix financial aid issues may arise as a result of:
- Grants
- Scholarships
- Work-study programs
- Loans
University of Phoenix is a for-profit college owned by Apollo Global Management, previously publicly-traded on the U.S. stock market. The company’s stock suffered after numerous government investigations revealed that the school had violated its MOU with the Department of Defense and aggressively targeted servicemembers, and that its executives had made numerous stock trades on allegedly artificially-inflated stock prices as a result of those actions, thus defrauding investors as well. In 2017, Apollo was taken off the stock market and became a privately-held company.
Government and Private Actions
- In 2020, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs issued a warning of its intent to suspend new GI Bill enrollments due to deceptive advertising, sales, and enrollment practices unless corrective action was taken.
- In 2019, the FTC settled for $191 million against the University of Phoenix for deceptive and unfair practices in marketing, advertising, and sales, including against servicemembers and veterans.
- In 2019, a False Claims Act lawsuit by a former University of Phoenix employee settled for undisclosed sums. The former employee attested that the school fraudulently inflates its graduation and job placement statistics to meet the “90/10 rule,” that employees are trained to falsify loan applications of students that lack a high school diploma, and that the school engages in other misconduct.
- In 2019, a securities fraud class action settled against Apollo for $7.4 million. The lawsuit alleged that Apollo made false and misleading statements to stock purchasers about the amount of revenue it made from aggressively recruiting servicemembers, and then traded on artificially-inflated stock prices. Those defrauded included the Government of Guam Retirement Fund.
- In 2016, a former University of Phoenix student sued the U.S. Department of Education to have her student loans discharged because the University of Phoenix falsely certified that she had graduated from high school even though she told the university that she had not. The government was forced to forgive approximately $40,000 in federal student loans on her behalf.
- In 2015, the U.S. Department of Defense put the University of Phoenix on probationary status and cut it off from Tuition Assistance for violating DoD’s Memorandum of Understanding. The probation was lifted in 2016.
- In 2015, the California Attorney General issued an investigation and subpoena of the University of Phoenix relating to members and former members of the U.S. military and California National Guard, including marketing, recruiting, billing, financial aid, accommodations and other services for military personnel and use of U.S. military logos in marketing.
- In 2015, a whistleblower lawsuit was filed by two former military liaisons for the University of Phoenix, alleging they were asked to make “substantial misrepresentations” to veterans to recruit them to attend the school.
- In 2014, the U.S. Department of Education Inspector General issued a subpoena for information regarding the University of Phoenix’s “marketing, recruitment, enrollment, financial aid processing, fraud prevention, student retention, personnel training, attendance, academic grading and other matters.”
- In 2014, a whistleblower lawsuit was filed in Ohio against the University of Phoenix for violating the False Claims Act by falsely certifying it was in compliance with various Higher Education Act regulations.
- In 2012, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued an enforcement inquiry regarding insider trading by Apollo.
- In 2011, the Delaware Attorney General launched an investigation of unfair and deceptive trade practices by the University of Phoenix.
- In 2011, the Massachusetts Attorney General launched an investigation of unfair or deceptive methods of recruitment and financing of education by the University of Phoenix.
- In 2010, the Florida Attorney General launched an investigation of unfair and deceptive trade practices by the University of Phoenix.
- In 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the University of Phoenix under the False Claims Act, resulting in a $78.5 million settlement ($67.5 million to the federal government and $11 million in legal fees to two former admissions officials). The suit alleged that the company illegally paid its recruiters based on how many students they signed up.
Student Outcomes
- According to the Department of Education’s College Scorecard data (referenced February 5, 2021),
- Only 29% of full-time, first-time undergraduates return to the University of Phoenix after their first year at the school.
- Only 28% of students graduate within eight years of entering the University of Phoenix (counting full-time, part-time, and transfer students). Another 61% of students withdraw with eight years, and 10% transfer elsewhere.
- After graduation, University of Phoenix students have a median total debt of $7,125 to $50,915. 44% of students with federal loans are either not making progress, defaulted, or delinquent in their repayment after two years.
- Veterans have reported taking out enormous debts on top of their GI Bill with no benefit to them. For example, one veteran exhausted his entire GI Bill and took out $80,000 in student loans in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in business administration. He is currently unemployed.
Other Concerns
- As of February 2020, Veterans Education Success has received 450 complaints from University of Phoenix students:
- 29% complained that University of Phoenix credits did not transfer after being promised they would.
- 28% complained about the lack of job opportunities after being promised by University of Phoenix recruiters they would have opportunities, and many times after being promised specific jobs such as “Registered Nurse” or “Licensed Social Worker.”
- Nearly 28% complained about financial issues, especially the tuition being higher than they were promised.
- Almost 22% complained about the quality of education.
- 15% complained about recruiting practices.
- 10% complained about student loans they did not expect.
University Of Phoenix Tuition Refund Policy
University of Phoenix pays one of the largest school settlements in history. University of Phoenix students to receive $50M in tuition refunds as part of 2019 FTC settlement.
Per the student refunds, the FTC is mailing 146,804 checks and issuing 677 PayPal payments to students who:
• First enrolled in a master’s, bachelor’s or associate degree programs at the online school between Oct. 15, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2016;
• Paid more than $5,000 with cash, grants, federal and private student loans, or military benefits;
• Did not receive debt cancellation as part of the larger settlement; and
• Did not opt out of the online school providing the student’s contact information to the FTC.
University Of Phoenix Tuition Refund Policy includes the following:
CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED
Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover. Students must be an authorized signer.
REFUND POLICY
All fees including application fees, assessment fees, student services fees, and book and materials fees are non-refundable. Pro-rated tuition refunds are granted to students who have completed 60% or less of the course and payment has been received in full.
Refund example for a five-week course:
Attended 1 week: Refunded 4 weeks of attendance – Charged 1 week of attendance
Attended 2 weeks: Refunded 3 weeks of attendance – Charged 2 weeks of attendance
Attended 3 weeks: Refunded 2 weeks of attendance – Charged 3 weeks of attendance
Attended 4 weeks: No refund due – Charged for entire course.
CHANGING FINANCIAL OPTIONS
A student may change finance plan while attending University of Phoenix provided that the student is in compliance with the current finance plan. In order to change plans, the student must contact their Financial Advisor and complete new financial paperwork. All changes must be approved by University of Phoenix prior to changing plans.
LATE FEES
A late fee of $30.00 will be assessed 24 hours after the due date of an open charge. Declined credit cards will also result in a $30.00 fee. All returned checks will be assessed an additional $25.00 processing fee. To avoid late fees be sure all payments are made on time.
Note: Refer to the official University of Phoenix Catalog for a complete listing of Policies and Procedures and tuition rates.
university of phoenix class action lawsuit 2021
In late 2019, the University of Phoenix was hit with a record-breaking lawsuit settlement of $191 million by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. At the time the largest settlement obtained from a lawsuit against a for-profit university, it resolved claims made by the FTC that the university had engaged in deceptive advertising strategies and made false claims about post-graduation job opportunities for students.
UOP Class Action Lawsuit
In multiple states such as Arizona, Arkansan, and California, the UOP faced many lawsuits regarding the case. Since 2014 the university tries to fight back claimed violated rules in many phases. The court sued UOP for:
- Interference with Contractual Relations of students
- Unjust enrichment
- Conversion
- Breach of:
- Implied Covenant of Good Faith
- Contract
- And Fair Dealing
Allegations against the UoP
There are specific claims against the university, which are completely unethical and unacceptable. For instance, students argue that the University of Phoenix hired trained enrollment counselors. Another scandalous allegation about the university came from former employees who were whistleblowers of federal funds’ waste.
The Department of Education states on its website that under particular circumstances, DOE is ready to forgive or cancel student loans. Those circumstances may include the closure of the university or fraudulent actions that might be used by the university etc. Respectively, in the first case, you would apply for student loan forgiveness programs. On the other hand, for acquiring the University of Phoenix loan discharge, students need to prove that the school did those fraudulent acts against them.
In cases when the school is falsely certified, there is a chance for loan discharge. However, the concern by students shows that DOE is not so active about loan discharge. In fact, some of those students think that the eligibility criteria and the harshness of the whole process are a plan that can push back a student from getting his/her loan discharged. Let’s first analyze the closed school discharge option. Then, we can go through BDAR claims that can help you to get debt relief through the University of Phoenix Loan Discharge Program.
how long does it take to get refund from university of phoenix
According to University of Phoenix website, refunds are processed within TEN business days and refunds are issued by University of Phoenix Corporate Accounting. It may take up to 6 weeks to receive your refund check. Knowing how long does it take to get refund from university of phoenix depends on when it was sent to when its been delivered.
Typically, funds will disburse to your student account within three business days of the scheduled release date. Delays can happen, however, if eligibility issues arise. The Financial Services department will work to resolve any delays as quickly as possible.
The FTC is sending a total of almost $50 million to nearly 147,500 students of the University of Phoenix. The money comes from the University’s 2019 settlement with the FTC, when the FTC charged the school with using deceptive ads to attract students. According to the FTC, the ads gave the false impression that the University worked with companies like AT&T, Yahoo!, and Microsoft to create job opportunities for students and to shape its programs for the jobs. (Just to be clear: the FTC says they didn’t.)
These payments are going to students who did not already get their debt cancelled by the University of Phoenix as part of the settlement. These students also meet these requirements:
- They first enrolled in an associate’s, bachelor’s, or master’s degree program at the University of Phoenix between October 15, 2012 and December 31, 2016;
- They paid more than $5,000 to the University (using cash, student loans, military benefits, or a combination);
- They did not object when the University of Phoenix sent them a notice asking if it could give their information to the FTC.
The average payment is $337. Most students will get a check in the mail. It’ll come from the FTC’s refund administrator, Rust Consulting. The checks will expire after 90 days, on June 22, 2021. But about 700 students will get payment through PayPal. The FTC will send an email to people who will get PayPal payments before PayPal sends the payment. Those payments will be available for 30 days, until April 22, 2021.