Department of Education, DeVry University Reach Settlement

Back in 2008, DeVry University launched a brand marketing campaign — it was called “We Major in Careers” — in an attempt to sell students on the idea that nine out of 10 of the school’s graduates went on to get jobs related to their degrees.

Leaders of the for-profit college went all out and repeated the claim for anyone who would listen.

For instance, in an article titled “What DeVry Does Differently,” then-DeVry president David J. Pauldine claimed that helping graduates find employment in their chosen field of study is what “differentiates DeVry University from the vast and growing landscape of postsecondary institutions.”

“In fact, since 1975, 90 percent of graduates from DeVry’s undergraduate programs who were in the active job market have been employed in their field of study within six months after graduation,” Pauline wrote in the article, which appeared in Diverse in July 2008.

On Thursday, DeVry agreed through a settlement with the U.S. Department of Education to stop making that oft-repeated claim because the school didn’t have the evidence to back it up.

“Together, we’ve put an end to the use of an unsubstantiated claim by this institution, and we will continue our efforts to ferret out similar unlawful practices,” said U.S. Department of Education Chief Enforcement Officer Robert Kaye.

Pauline Abernathy, executive vice president at The Institute for College Access & Success, said the settlement “sends a strong message to all schools that make job placement claims: they need to have data to support them.”