Dive Brief:

• Amid already shrinking enrollment, the University of Phoenix announced plans to cut most of its associate degree programs, close additional campuses, and institute academic admissions requirements.
• The changes are expected to bring enrollment to about 150,000 students by 2016, down from 460,000 in 2010 and 206,900 this spring.
• Other changes announced this week include reducing the frequency of start times for new students, dropping a proprietary digital course platform in favor of a commercially available one, and creating new certificate programs.

Dive Insight:

The changes proposed for the University of Phoenix follow Apollo Education Group’s dismal earnings report for the third quarter. The company announced major losses in earnings per share for investors as well as net income in this quarter compared to the same time last year. The University of Phoenix’s troubles are a combination of the regulatory environment as well as public perception of for-profit schools.

All of the changes announced by Apollo for Phoenix are meant to increase the profitability of the enterprise. They were discussed in a call with stock analysts, some of whom are already advising investors to sell or stay away from the once massively profitable company’s stocks.