- Documents obtained exclusively by USA TODAY show The University of Phoenix’s president resigned quietly following an Education Department inquiry.
- George Burnett had been appointed the head of the online college in February.
- The Education Department had asked about his time managing a closed college with a history of fraud.
The head of one of the largest for-profit universities in the country suddenly resigned months after taking the post.
George Burnett was appointed the president of the University of Phoenix in February, and at the time the university spoke highly of his “deep understanding of our purpose of helping working adults acquire a higher education.”
But new documents obtained exclusively by USA TODAY show that Burnett’s departure came after an inquiry by the Department of Education.
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Specifically, the department had questioned Burnett’s time overseeing Westwood College, a for-profit college based in Westminster, Colorado with run-ins with federal and state regulators over deceptive advertising among other concerns. Some of those cases helped lead to the federal government canceling $130 million in student loan debt tied to the deception of Westwood College students.
The Department’s requests included questions about how long Burnett worked at the college and its parent company, Alta Colleges, Inc., but also his role in the school’s advertisements, recruitment strategies and job placement reports. Burnett was also the CEO of Alta Colleges.
The department also said it found credible evidence that admissions officers at Westwood were trained to use “emotional triggers” when talking to potential students and that they were “trained, directed, or encouraged to not take ‘No’ for an answer from the prospective student.”
“Did you participate in or attend Westwood’s training sessions for its admissions representatives?” read one of the 17 questions sent to Burnett.
Andrea Smiley, a spokeswoman for the university, confirmed that Burnett had departed and that Chris Lynne, the university’s chief financial officer, will serve as interim president. Smiley also confirmed the Education Department’s inquiry.
“Because Mr. Burnett believes this request could take some time to address, and not wanting to distract from the university’s mission of providing career-relevant higher education to working adults,” Smiley said. “He has stepped down as president and board member of the university, effective June 1, 2022.”
When asked about the inquiry, Education Department spokeswoman Fabiola Rodriguez said the department had a “duty to enforce its regulations and as part of that work we sent a letter asking a series of questions related to Mr. Burnett’s tenure while at Westwood Colleges.”
USA TODAY was not immediately able to reach Burnett for comment.
The University of Phoenix is one the nation’s largest for-profit providers of online college education. It currently has about 75,000 students, and it received about $930 million in federal money meant for student financial aid in fiscal year 2020-21. At its peak, the university had about 470,000 students in 2010.
The news comes as the Education Department ramps up its oversight of colleges that take federal money and deceive students. Just this week, the agency and the Office of the Vice President announced the federal government would cancel nearly $5.8 billion in student loan debt for students who had attended the now closed Corinthian Colleges, a for-profit university with a long history of fraud.
“While our actions today will relieve Corinthian Colleges’ victims of their burdens, the Department of Education is actively ramping up oversight to better protect today’s students from tactics and make sure that for-profit institutions – and the corporations that own them – never again get away with such abuse,” said Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.
The University…
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