| NEWS | University of Hard Knocks Students still hold the bag, even after the University of Arizona bailed out school in tuition fraud debacle. BY ELIAS WEISS K im Lee always imagined a golden tassel bobbing to and fro from a black graduation cap as she crossed an audito- rium stage to collect her crim- inal justice degree, surrounded by family and friends. As graduation from Ashford University approached in 2020, a bountiful new chapter of life was opening for the 34-year- old mother of two, she thought. She was wrong. The new chapter became hell for the battered but resilient U.S. Armed Forces veteran. She was duped by her own alma mater and too disgusted to even attend a virtual graduation ceremony in October 2020. After all, the university was holding her diploma for ransom, she felt. For Lee, it was nothing new. “They were constantly harassing me,” she said. The for-profit university in San Diego, overseen by a company in metro Phoenix, has been the subject of legal scrutiny since Lee was a teenager. The institution lost its final lawsuit last month as Ashford University. It’s now a part of the University of Arizona’s new Global Campus, which is based near East Chandler Boulevard and South Arizona Avenue. California Attorney General Rob Bonta lodged charges of fraud against the univer- sity managed by Chandler-based education services company Zovio, Inc., in 2017. Ashford denied the fraud charges and called the case a political hit job. “The company emphatically denies the allegations that it ever deliberately misled its students, falsely advertised its programs, or in any way was not fully accu- rate in its statements to investors,” Zovio said in a document filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The trial didn’t conclude until late March. “[Students] deserve more than empty promises and mounting debt, yet that is all that Ashford University had to offer them,” Bonta said. “I’m committed to fighting for The University of Arizona bought Ashford University in 2020 and moved its headquarters from San Diego to Chandler. the students defrauded by this predatory for-profit college and its parent company.” San Diego County Superior Court Judge Eddie C. Sturgeon ruled last month that Ashford University and Zovio were culpable for “giving students false informa- tion about career outcomes, pace of degree programs, and transfer credits, in order to entice them to enroll at Ashford,” according to the decision. The defendants were ordered to pay back more than $22 million to students all over the country like Lee, an Idaho native who lives in Indian Land, South Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. While Bonta litigated his case against the school, the University of Arizona swooped in and acquired Ashford University in 2020 for just $1. Zovio, in its deal with UAGC, was to pay the school $225 million over 15 years, including $37.5 million as an upfront payment. It also gave the Valley-based company the reins to most day-to-day university operations like recruiting, IT, and academic support services. In December 2020, Ashford University became the University of Arizona Global Campus. “In addition to Zovio’s investment, UAGC has dedicated resources of its own to ensure Zovio’s increased compliance efforts are not only in place, but are effective,” spokesperson Linda Robertson promised. Now, Arizona taxpayers are footing the bill to keep the school alive. “It is essentially the same school,” Lee said. With Zovio at the helm, things aren’t getting much better for students at the University of Arizona Global Campus. It is affiliated with the University of Arizona but operates independently under its own board of directors and president. Despite the rebrand, “Zovio continues to provide the same misleading enrollment and marketing services to the University of Arizona Global Campus as it previously provided to Ashford,” Bonta said in a statement. But Judge Sturgeon said Zovio has “dedi- cated significant time and efforts in creating a compliance program to detect and prevent fake and misleading statements.” The university agrees. “It’s a new day at Zovio with new lead- ership and the No. 1 priority for both Zovio and UAGC is doing right by our students,” Robertson said. Online college and military-affiliated students go together like peanut butter and jelly. The stress and unpredictability of service life, coupled with family obliga- tions and schedule limitations, makes going to school online an attractive option for service members interested in balancing an academic or trade degree with a stint in the military. Fastily / Wikipedia Commons That rings especially true for Lee, a disabled U.S. Air Force veteran battling post-traumatic stress disorder. “Going to school was my only option,” she said. That’s why Lee decided to enroll at Ashford University. Injured in the line of duty and struggling with her mental health, she felt it was time to hang up the battle gear and start a career in law enforcement administration. Veterans rely on bravery and decisive- ness in combat, but displays of vulnera- bility are often frowned upon. Back in peacetime civilian life, veterans can be consumed with vulnerability, according to the Pew Research Center, however. “Veterans are targeted by predatory schools,” said Jennifer Esparza, the legal affairs director for Washington, D.C.-based bipartisan nonprofit Veterans Education Success, which referred more than 100 whistleblowers to Bonta for the recent trial. Esparza was also a student at Ashford University from 2010 to 2013. “My experience as a student really tracks with a lot of the complaints that we received,” she said. Poor quality of education, misinforma- tion about financial opportunities, and intimidation tactics added to the strain of a hands-off approach to education for Esparza and more than 100 other students who filed complaints with the veteran education advocacy group. “These colleges target minorities and low-income people,” Esparza said. >> p 14 13 phoenixnewtimes.com | CONTENTS | FEEDBACK | OPINION | NEWS | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | PHOENIX NEW TIMES APRIL 7TH– APRIL 13TH, 2022
