Dive Brief:

• The University of Phoenix is laying off 470 employees, eliminating 8% of its workforce in a downsizing that responds to the fewer students it plans to enroll as it focuses on streamlining workflows and making greater use of technology.
• KTVK reports University of Phoenix President Timothy Slottow sent a letter to leaders in the company this week, urging open lines of communication as the for-profit transforms into a “more-trusted, more focused, higher-retaining and less-complex university.”
• The five-year transition plan the University of Phoenix announced last June called for broad restructuring, and Slottow said it is being constantly reviewed and improved to ensure high-quality programs are being offered at affordable prices and the university itself is on a sustainable path.

Dive Insight:

For-profit colleges and universities have faced intense scrutiny from the federal government throughout the Obama administration, and state attorneys general have followed suit with their own investigations of recruitment practices and marketing claims. Mandatory arbitration clauses in enrollment documents have also been attacked as limiting students’ recourse in situations where they feel they were wronged. Government agencies and the U.S. Department of Education have clamped down on shady recruitment practices and over-counting job placement rates, and a rulemaking panel just last month considered new rules about arbitration clauses.

Brookstone College in North Carolina announced it would shut down because of the gainful employment rule the Education Department finally got the green light to implement last year. And a number of other for-profit colleges have announced campus closures due to falling enrollment and increased regulation.