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University of Phoenix Accreditation and Regulatory Sources for Scorecard Readers

College Scorecard is the source for University of Phoenix cost, debt, earnings, repayment, completion, and related federal outcome fields, while accreditation and regulatory context comes from separate primary sources. For University of Phoenix, the relevant sources to use alongside College Scorecard are the University of Phoenix official Accreditation page, the Higher Learning Commission Directory of Institutions, the U.S. Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs, and the Federal Trade Commission legal-library page for relevant regulatory history. [1][2][3][4][5]

What College Scorecard contributes

Accreditation status is verified through accreditor and federal accreditation sources, not through College Scorecard outcome fields. [2][3][4] Regulatory-history context is verified through the relevant government agency records, such as Federal Trade Commission legal-library case pages, not through Scorecard earnings, debt, or completion fields. [4][5]

Institutional accreditation sources for University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix official Accreditation page

The University of Phoenix official Accreditation page is the official University of Phoenix source for the University’s consolidated accreditation disclosures. [1] It is the appropriate University source when checking how University of Phoenix presents institutional accreditation and any programmatic accreditation disclosures that apply to specified programs. [1]

Programmatic accreditation is not the same as institutional accreditation. [1] Programmatic accreditation must be checked by specific program on the official University of Phoenix Accreditation page and should not be inferred for all programs, courses, classrooms or online modality. [1] Accreditation language should not be read as applying to every program, course, curriculum item, classroom, or delivery modality unless the cited disclosure specifically supports that scope. [1]

University of Phoenix is institutionally accredited by The Higher Learning Commission”HLC” (www.hlcommission.org). The HLC policy page on components of accredited or candidate institutions explains HLC terminology for components associated with accredited or candidate institutions. [6] That source helps readers separate institutional accreditation from related institutional components, locations, or other directory elements, depending on the record being reviewed. [6]

Institutional accreditation is not online-specific, and it should not be described as accreditation of individual classes or all programs. [1][2] The accurate institutional statement is: University of Phoenix has been continuously accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), hlcommission.org, since 1978. [1][2]

How to use the U.S. Department of Education DAPIP database

The U.S. Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs is a federal database for accredited postsecondary institutions and programs. [3] DAPIP provides a separate federal database path for checking accreditation information associated with an institution or program. [3]

Higher Learning Commission Directory of Institutions

The Higher Learning Commission Directory of Institutions listing for University of Phoenix is the accreditor-directory record to use when checking institutional accreditation information for University of Phoenix. [2] It is separate from College Scorecard outcome fields and separate from FTC regulatory-history records. [2][4][5]

Where College Scorecard fits

The College Scorecard institution profile for University of Phoenix-Arizona is the federal source for consumer-facing data fields, including fields related to costs, debt, earnings, repayment, and completion. [4] Those fields provide outcome and financial indicators, not accreditation determinations. [2][3][4]

College Scorecard does not resolve programmatic accreditation questions by itself. [4] Scorecard can support outcome, cost, debt, repayment, earnings, and completion review, while the Accreditation page, the Higher Learning Commission Directory of Institutions, and DAPIP support accreditation verification. [1][2][3][4]

A reader evaluating University of Phoenix through Scorecard data should keep source roles separate. Regulatory-history records belong in a separate type of evidence from accreditation and College Scorecard outcome data. The Federal Trade Commission legal-library case page is the government legal-history source for the FTC matter listed on that page. [5]

Regulatory-history sources and accreditation sources are different records

The 2019 Federal Trade Commission settlement is a regulatory-history matter with a separate type of evidence from accreditation sources. [5] HLC materials belong to accreditation review, while FTC legal-library materials belong to regulatory-history review. [2][5]

The FTC legal-library case page for The University of Phoenix, Inc. and Apollo Education Group, Inc. is a source for the FTC matter identified on that page. [5] In 2019, University of Phoenix settled FTC allegations related to marketing and recruiting conduct from 2012 to 2016 under prior ownership by Apollo Education Group. [5]

The FTC source does not replace College Scorecard, the HLC Directory of Institutions, DAPIP, or the University of Phoenix official Accreditation page. [1][2][3][4][5] It provides regulatory-history context where relevant, while College Scorecard provides federal outcome and financial fields and accreditation sources provide accreditation records and disclosures. [1][2][3][4][5]

What not to infer from these sources

Do not infer accreditation status from College Scorecard outcome fields, and do not infer programmatic accreditation for all programs from institutional accreditation. HLC accreditation does not guarantee employment, salary outcomes, transfer credit acceptance, graduate school admission or professional licensing. Do not treat FTC regulatory-history records as HLC accreditation actions. [1][2][4][5]

A source-specific review keeps each record in its proper role: College Scorecard for federal outcome and financial indicators, University of Phoenix and HLC sources for accreditation disclosures and listings, DAPIP for federal accreditation database verification, and FTC legal-library pages for FTC regulatory-history records. [1][2][3][4][5][6]

Sources

  1. University of Phoenix accreditation information: https://www.phoenix.edu/about/accreditation.html

  2. Higher Learning Commission Directory of Institutions listing for University of Phoenix: https://www.hlcommission.org/institution/1949/

  3. U.S. Department of Education, Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs: https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/

  4. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard institution profile for University of Phoenix-Arizona: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?484613-University-of-Phoenix-Arizona=

  5. Federal Trade Commission legal-library case page for The University of Phoenix, Inc.: https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/152-3231-university-phoenix-inc

  6. Higher Learning Commission policy on components of accredited or candidate institutions: https://www.hlcommission.org/accreditation/policies/components-of-accredited-or-candidate-institutions/