Apollo Education Group

Apollo Education Group, Inc. was an American corporation based in the South Phoenix area of Phoenix, Arizona, with an additional office in Chicago, Illinois. The company provided educational services to students and worked with schools across the country.

It was privately owned by a group of investors. These investors included The Vistria Group, LLC and funds connected to Apollo Global Management, LLC. The company played an important role in helping many students get access to quality education.

History

Apollo Education Group, Inc. was started in 1973 by John Sperling and John D. Murphy.

From 1994 to 2016, Apollo Group was a publicly traded company. In 2008, it joined with Carlyle Group to form Apollo Global for international purchases and bought schools in Mexico and Chile. By October 2011, the company was worth $5.36 billion.

Later, the company's earnings began to drop. By 2013, revenues had fallen, and fewer students were enrolling. In 2015, one of the founders felt the company had moved away from its original focus.

In May 2016, the company's owners agreed to sell it for $1.14 billion to a group of private investors. The company stopped being publicly traded in February 2017. Over the next few years, the number of people working to support the company in government matters decreased. In March 2022, a large company named Pearson turned down a takeover offer from Apollo Global Management.

Anthony W. Miller is the current chairman of Apollo Education Group.

Schools and subsidiaries

University of Phoenix

Main article: University of Phoenix

The University of Phoenix was owned by the Apollo Education Group. It was one of the largest schools in North America, with about 40 locations. The school offered many different kinds of degrees, from shorter programs to advanced ones, for people who had finished high school or had a similar qualification. Students could also earn credits through work experience or training.

Apollo Global (later known as Vanta Education)

Apollo Group created Apollo Global to handle schools and businesses in other countries. One of its first moves was to buy a school in Chile and another in Canada.

Apollo Global was a partnership between Apollo Group and the Carlyle Group, with both putting in money to start the company. Later, it changed its name to Vanta Education and now owns several schools.

BPP Holdings

Main articles: BPP Holdings and BPP University

BPP Holdings is a school company in the United Kingdom. It has different parts, including BPP University, which has several schools for different subjects. Apollo Global bought BPP Holdings in 2009.

Universidad Latinoamericana, Mexico (sold in 2019)

Main article: Universidad Latinoamericana

The Universidad Latinoamericana in Mexico was bought by Apollo Group in 2007 but sold in 2019.

Faculdade Educacional da Lapa (FAEL)

Open Colleges, Australia

Main article: Open Colleges

Open Colleges in Australia was bought by Apollo Group in 2013.

Bridge School of Management

Milpark Education

Main article: Milpark Education

In 2011, Apollo Group agreed to buy a company called Carnegie Learning and also get some technology from a university.

Aptimus Marketing

In 2007, Apollo Group bought Aptimus for $48 million. Aptimus helped market Apollo Group's schools, including the University of Phoenix.

Orange Lutheran Online

Main article: Lutheran High School of Orange County

The Lutheran High School of Orange County allowed Apollo Group to use its name for online courses.

Sold or closed operations

Meritus University (closed 2011)

Main article: Meritus University

Apollo Group owned Meritus University in Canada. On January 24, 2011, the university announced it would close because not enough students were enrolling. The last classes were held on March 14, 2011.

Insight Schools (sold 2011)

Insight Schools is an online high school for grades 9 to 12. Apollo Group bought Insight Schools in 2007 and sold it to Kaplan, Inc. in 2011.

The Iron Yard (closed 2017)

In June 2011, Apollo Education Group bought a big part of TIY Academy, LLC ("The Iron Yard"). The Iron Yard offered programs to teach people computer skills. It closed all its campuses in 2017 and stopped working in early 2018.

College of Financial Planning (sold 2017)

Apollo bought the College of Financial Planning in 1997 and sold it to Kaplan in December 2017.

Carnegie Learning (sold 2018)

Main article: Carnegie Learning

Carnegie Learning makes learning materials for math for middle school, high school, and college students. They combine books and computer programs to help students learn. The company is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was started by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University together with experienced math teachers.

Western International University (closed, 2019)

Western International University offered online and classroom courses for adults. It started in 1978 and was located in Tempe, Arizona. The university began closing in March 2017, giving students two years to finish their studies or move to another school. It fully closed in February 2019.

Political affiliations

Some important people in the United States have worked with Apollo Education. Margaret Spellings, who used to be the secretary of the Department of Education, was once on the board of directors for Apollo Group. In 2013, Jane Oates, who previously worked for Senator Ted Kennedy and the Department of Labor, joined Apollo Group as vice president for external relations.

Lawsuits and financial reporting

See also: University of Phoenix § Lawsuits and investigations

In 2004, Apollo Education Group paid about $10 million in fines to the U.S. Department of Education. This happened after an investigation found problems with how they signed up new students. In 2008, Apollo was found to have mislead investors about important reports, which led to a big legal case.

In 2015, the Federal Trade Commission started looking into Apollo for possible unfair business practices. The company had to share many documents about how they advertised, charged for classes, and recruited students, including those in the military.