Dive Brief:

• The parent company of the University of Phoenix is one step closer to being sold for more than $1 billion to a private investment group, following the U.S. Department of Education's conditional approval of a buyout. 
• ED officials say that the new ownership group must cap enrollment, publicly disclose active complaints against the school, and pay more than $380 million to cover potential closure costs, ABC News reports. 
• The transaction must also receive clearance from the Higher Learning Commission. 

Dive Insight:

Seemingly, the University of Phoenix was the next for-profit to fall in the federal government's effort to clear the sector of schools misrepresenting training and degree pursuit to unsuspecting students. But with this sale, and the predicted era of deregulation coming with the Trump administration, it appears that for-profit education may surge as a commodity to build and sell to another high bidder. 

Phoenix maintains a heavy presence in the marketplace with prominent advertising and branding throughout the country. If the federal government is allowing the school time to resolve cracks in its recruiting and postgraduate outcomes, it is a sign to the sector that for-profit education can remain as a viable business for entrepreneurs, and that non-profits should have similar opportunities to resolve similar issues.