University of Phoenix's Sinking Ship: Who is Chris Lynne?

Who is Chris Lynne, the latest President of the University of Phoenix?  The school has posted a short, glowing biography that provides some information: four years as the CFO of University of Phoenix, former President of HotChalk and former CFO of Northcentral University.  A Wikipedia article was created for him earlier this year but was recently deleted.

People in the edtech industry say they know little about Chris Lynne, at least not publicly. Of three experts who did respond off the record, no one said anything positive. One mentioned problems at HotChalk and another, problems at Northcentral. The third expert claimed to know nothing, despite decades in the business.

Lynne has worked for a number of companies with issues: accounting firm Arthur Andersen (corruption scandal with Enron led to its closing in 2002), Vice-President at Education Management Corporation (predatory enrollment, financial failure) from 2003-2010, CFO at Northcentral University (financial troubles/US Department of Education Heightened Cash Monitoring) from 2010-2014, President at HotChalk (federal violations with Concordia contract), and CFO at the University of Phoenix from 2018-2022. While no one should be found guilty by their associations, this string of questionable employers does not look good.

Information about Chris Lynne from the WayBack machine.

In June 2022, the University of Phoenix made Chris Lynne the interim President of the school, replacing George Burnett. At the helm for less than six months, Burnett resigned amid an inquiry by the US Department of Education about his work at the now defunct Westwood College. Burnett and Lynne worked together several years at Northcentral University, another subprime college. 

Work at the University of Phoenix 

Chris Lynne was Phoenix's CFO beginning in November 2018. Despite almost a billion dollars government funding per year, US Department of Education data show the school's equity for the Arizona segment declined significantly, from $361M in FY 2018 to $187M in FY 2021. No other data after that are available.

In June 2022, Lynne was named the interim President of the University of Phoenix.  Six months later, he was appointed to that position permanently. Little if anything is known about the hiring process that occurred, and who else was considered for the position.

The truth is, without looking at all the books and matching them with expert observations, we have no idea what Chris Lynne has done as the CFO and now President of the University of Phoenix. The numbers we have from the US Department of Education show a school in decline in terms of enrollment and revenues, shored up by closing campuses and reducing instruction costs.  We do not know what the University of Phoenix has done to maintain its infrastructure, including its computer hardware and software. 

If we could take a close look at all the financial records, examine the school's infrastructure, and interview workers, we would know better how Lynne has handled his work at the school and what shape the University of Phoenix is in for the long run as it is sold to the folks in Idaho.

Related articles:

University of Phoenix and the Ash Heap of Higher Ed History

Fraud Claims Against University of Phoenix Continue to Mount

How University of Phoenix Failed. It's a Long Story. But It's Important for the Future of Higher Education. 

New University of Phoenix Head Ran College That Closed After Fraud Suit (David Halperin)

The 17 Questions The Education Dept. Asked A University President Before He Resigned

Fraud Claims Against University of Phoenix Continue to Grow

The Higher Education Inquirer received a FOIA response today from the US Department of Education stating that 73,740 consumer fraud claims have been filed against the University of Phoenix. These claims have been made through the Department of Education's Borrower Defense to Repayment program.

The Sweet v Cardona lawsuit, concluded earlier in 2023, allowed for about 19,000 claims to be settled immediately--in favor of student debtors and against the University of Phoenix. Another 15,000 or so cases are supposed to be expedited as a result of the federal ruling.  

23-02373-F Final Response

We estimate that the potential liability of these immediate claims to be $200M-$600M with another $500M-$1.5B for the remaining cases. The higher estimates are based on the median federal loan debt among borrowers who completed their undergraduate degree ($32,421) and a study by Adam Looney and Constantine Yannelis that indicated University of Phoenix debtors, on average, paid off almost nothing of their principal. The authors also estimated that total student loan debt from more than a million University of Phoenix debtors was $35B. 

The Department of Education has not presented any estimates on the total debt by University of Phoenix students or its costs to the US government.  

Thousands of new cases continue to be filed. From January 2015 through January 1, 2022, there were 32,040 Borrower Defense claims made against the University of Phoenix. An additional 41,700 claims were filed between 2022 and August 2023. 

Idaho Sale

University of Phoenix's current owners are Apollo Global Management and Vistria Group, who have been trying to unload the online robocollege for years. The University of Idaho has been the most recent target, but the sale is far from being consummated.  The entire deal is expected to cost $685M. Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador has filed a lawsuit to stop or at least slow down the acquisition. And members of the Idaho Legislature continue to have questions.

In order to shield itself from liability the University of Idaho created a non-profit organization called 43 Education. But the state university may be responsible if the non-profit fails to make enough money to repay the bondholders of the new non-profit. 

The liability of these Borrower Defense claims to the current or future owners of the University of Phoenix seems possible in light of a recent statement by Department of Education Undersecretary James Kvaal. Kvaal said the University of Arizona Global Campus may be liable for the misdeeds of Ashford University (UAGC's former name). The University of Arizona purchased Ashford in 2020 for one dollar. 

Related articles:

Feds Cancel Loans for 2,300 Students Scammed by Ashford U. So Why Does the School Still Get Tax Dollars? (David Halperin)

University of Phoenix and the Ash Heap of Higher Ed History

Borrower Defense Claims Surpass 750,000. Consumers Empowered. Subprime Colleges and Programs Threatened.

The Growth of "RoboColleges" and "Robostudents"

More Transparency About the Student Debt Portfolio Is Needed: Student Debt By Institution

 

Student Loan Repayments Have Restarted (New Jersey Citizen Action)

Earlier this summer the Supreme Court had denied President Biden the option to cancel $10K - $20K of federal student loan debt. As a result, the COVID-19 student loan payment pause ended on August 31, 2023. Student loan interest will have resumed starting 9/1/23 and payments will be due starting in October. 

Fortunately, the White House just released the SAVE plan, an affordable plan to lower monthly payment for millions of borrowers.

Borrowers should go to StudentAid.gov/save to learn more and get started on their application. Read more about the SAVE plan in this fact sheet.

Borrowers will start receiving bills in September and payments will be due in October 2023. Please feel free to share the Borrower Checklist and/or the summary below:

o Set up your account on StudentAid.gov

o Review loan forgiveness options—if you have FFEL program loans, consolidate.

o Update your contact information with your student loan servicer (Loan Servicer Contact Information)

o Enroll in SAVE plan (verbal enrollment available for 6 months)

o Enroll in auto-pay


Here are additional links for borrowers:For borrowers who were in repayment before and are going to resume payments
For borrowers who haven’t made a payment before
For information about the new income-driven repayment plan
Register & save the date for the U.S. Department of Education's Repayment 101: Get Help with Your Federal Student Loans Webinar

Don't delay, get ahead of your student loan repayment!


Beverly Brown Ruggia, Financial Justice Program Director, New Jersey Citizen Action

Student Loans and a Brutal Lifetime of Debt (Dahn Shaulis and Glen McGhee)

The US Department of Education is holding more than 900,000 student loans that are at least 30 years old. Tens of thousands of these loans originated almost a half-century ago. And it's likely that most of the total balances are the result of interest charges that have accumulated over the decades--from people who can't ever pay back their loans.

 

Source: US Department of Education  

Will these student loans finally be forgiven under the latest Biden forgiveness plan?  Or will the US continue to honor (and bail out) the rich while punishing generations of the working class for their mistakes?  

The information in this article is part of a larger effort to examine quality of life, disability, and premature death among student loan debtors. Our most recent Freedom of Information requests to the US Department of Education attempt to gather more information.

23-02758-F  

The Higher Education Inquirer is asking for the age and cause of death of the last 100 student loan debtors whose debt was relieved because of death.  The age and cause of death should be listed on the death certificates sent to the US Department of Education for student loan relief.   (Date Range for Record Search: From 09/09/2022 To 09/09/2023)

23-02747-F  

The Higher Education Inquirer is requesting the number of loans and the dollar amount of loans that have been discharged each year for the last ten years due to (1) death and (2) disability.  If available, we would also like an estimate of the number of debtors affected in that decade.   (Date Range for Record Search: From 09/08/2013 To 09/08/2023)

From Glen McGhee:

A study published in the Journal of American College Health[2] reveals that student loans are associated with negative health outcomes among college students, including delaying medical care. The study found that those with student loans are more likely to delay medical, dental, and mental health care[1]. 

 

Another study published in Health Soc Care Community[4] found that borrowers behind or in collections on student loans are forgoing healthcare after self-reporting general physical ill-health. The study's objective examines whether falling behind on student loans may compound ill-health by deterring people from seeking healthcare. The results of this study confirm that student loans are associated with poor health. 

 

A survey conducted by ELVTR[5] found that 54% of respondents say their mental health struggles are directly related to their student loan debt. Additionally, over 80% of participants say student loan debt has delayed a major life event for them. 

 

Another survey conducted by CNBC + Acorns Invest In You[6] found that more than 60% of borrowers say student loan debt has negatively affected their mental health.

Citations:
[1] https://theconversation.com/college-students-with-loans-more-likely-to-report-bad-health-and-skip-medicine-and-care-study-finds-209810
[2] https://www.psypost.org/2023/07/study-links-student-loans-to-negative-health-outcomes-and-delayed-medical-care-among-college-students-166116
[3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36595565/
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9542623/
[5] https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/21/americans-mental-health-continue-to-struggle-amid-student-loan-debt.html
[6] https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/29/student-loan-debt-hurts-the-mental-health-of-most-borrowers.html

Student Debt Relief Tool (Debt Collective)

Yesterday, we launched a new tool that files an appeal to the Department of Education to cancel each borrower’s student debt. All of the debt. Automatically. With the flick of a pen. 

This type of tool has never existed before—until we created it and launched it yesterday. In the first 24 hours, more than 5,000 borrowers completed the tool. 

 

If you haven’t filled out the tool yet, do it now so we can keep up our momentum. If you haven’t shared with a buddy or three, please pass it on. We want to reach our goal of twenty thousand applications submitted by Labor Day! 

Fill out the Dispute Tool

Department of Education Fails (Again) to Modify Enrollment Projections (Dahn Shaulis and Glen McGhee)

For more than a decade, the US Department of Education (ED) has forecasted higher education enrollment numbers, projecting 10 years in advance. In 2013, the National Center for Education Statistics projected total enrollment to reach nearly 24 million students (23,834,000) a decade later.  But by 2021, the real numbers would already be five million fewer (18,659,851). 

 

We can only guess what happened to enrollment numbers between 2021 and today, but it's doubtful they have increased.  The National Student Clearinghouse has reported lower numbers between 2021 and 2022, but they use different methods and do not engage in forecasting. 

In 2013, few could have predicted such a significant enrollment decline. The lag in getting up-to-date numbers from ED made it even more difficult to envision. We relied on more up-to-date numbers, though less complete, from the National Student Clearinghouse to understand what was happening. 

In 2014, with limited data, futurist Bryan Alexander asked Inside Higher Education readers Has Higher Education Peaked?  In fact, undergraduate higher education had peaked and began its steady decline in 2011.  Little was said from the higher education establishment for years. The slow but consistent downward trend, though, became more obvious with each year as the numbers came in.  

By 2017, Nathan Grawe predicted a 2026 enrollment cliff, a by-product of reduced birth rates in the 2008-2009 Great Recession.  This revelation made more people conscious of already declining enrollment numbers that started falling six years earlier. But the Department of Education did little to change their predictive formula. For several years, growing enrollment in online courses and graduate degrees kept total enrollment declines from appearing more dramatic.

In January 2018 we contacted the US Department of Education about these failures. According to William Hussar, the agency had already begun work on developing an alternative methodology for producing college projections, but that this would take years to implement. In the meantime, the numbers continued to drop, and polls showed fewer people having confidence in higher education.  Student loan debt may have been of little interest to most Americans, but it did sour tens of millions of debtors and their families. We suggested that behavioral economists might be needed to provide an alternative formula.

Today, the US Department of Education, despite some revisions in their most recent modeling, continues to forecast higher education enrollment gains--up to 2031-- despite mounting evidence it will decrease significantly (i.e. the "enrollment cliff"). We cannot expect online education, grad school participation, or even a faltering economy to prop up higher ed enrollment. Faith in higher education is waning-and for good reason. Despite propaganda from the higher ed industry, it's become a riskier bet for a growing number of the working class and middle class.

Related links:

US Department of Education Fails to Recognize College Meltdown

US Department of Education Projects Increasing Higher Ed Enrollment From 2024-2030. Really? (Dahn Shaulis and Glen McGhee)

Enrollment cliff? What enrollment cliff? 

Projections of Education Statistics to 2028 (US Department of Education)