Zovio, formerly Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (BPI), is a publicly held, American
for-profit education
For-profit education (also known as the education services industry or proprietary education) refers to educational institutions operated by private, profit-seeking businesses. For-profit education is common in many parts of the world, making up ...
services company. It was the
online program manager
As part of EdTech, Online Program Managers (OPMs) provide products and services on which educational institutions can run online courses. OPMs, mostly for-profit enterprises, have allowed universities to enter into the online education business an ...
for one online university, the
University of Arizona Global Campus
The University of Arizona Global Campus, formerly Ashford University, is an online university "operated in affiliation with the University of Arizona." In 2020, Ashford University was acquired by the University of Arizona, becoming the Universit ...
(formerly
Ashford University
The University of Arizona Global Campus, formerly Ashford University, is an online university "operated in affiliation with the University of Arizona." In 2020, Ashford University was acquired by the University of Arizona, becoming the Universit ...
), until the contract termination was announced August 1, 2022. In April 2019, the company changed its name to Zovio, moving its headquarters to
Chandler, Arizona
Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...
. In 2020, the company sold Ashford University to the University of Arizona.
Zovio also owns Waypoint Outcomes and
Fullstack Academy
Fullstack Academy is an immersive software engineering coding bootcamp located in New York City. Students of the full-time flagship course learn full stack JavaScript over the course of a 13-week, on-campus program. Fullstack Academy offers beg ...
and trades on NASDAQ under the ticket symbol ZVO.
History
Founding (1999)
Zovio was first incorporated in Delaware in May 1999 under the name TeleUniversity, Inc.
Under the leadership of CEO and President Andrew Clark (and with an investment from private equity firm
Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus LLC is a global private equity firm, headquartered in New York, with offices in the United States, Europe, Brazil, China, Southeast Asia and India. Warburg has been a private equity investor since 1966. The firm currently has over ...
), the company changed its name to Bridgepoint Education, Inc. in February 2004.
Bridgepoint Education (2004–2019)
Bridgepoint Education purchased The Franciscan University of the Prairies in
Clinton, Iowa
Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,469 as of 2020. Clinton, along with DeWitt (also located in Clinton County), was named in honor of the sixth governor of New York, DeWitt Cl ...
in 2005 and changed its name to
Ashford University
The University of Arizona Global Campus, formerly Ashford University, is an online university "operated in affiliation with the University of Arizona." In 2020, Ashford University was acquired by the University of Arizona, becoming the Universit ...
. In September 2007 Bridgepoint purchased the Colorado School of Professional Psychology, and changed that institution's name to
University of the Rockies
University of the Rockies (now the ''University of Arizona Global Campus'') was a private university in Denver, Colorado. It operated from 1998 to 2018 and offered graduate and postgraduate instruction in the social and behavioral sciences both o ...
. In 2008, Bridgepoint Education was named the fastest-growing private education company in the United States, as well as the fastest-growing private company in San Diego by ''
Inc.'' magazine. In April 2009, Bridgepoint Education went public, and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BPI.
Bridgepoint's Ashford University had an estimated economic impact on state of Iowa of $40.9 million in business output, 782 jobs, $12.6 million in employee earnings, and $18.6 million in total value added to the state's GDP.
From 2010 through 2013, Bridgepoint Education was the title sponsor of the
Holiday Bowl
The Holiday Bowl is a post-season NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played in San Diego since 1978. San Diego County Credit Union has been the game's title sponsor since 2017, and the bowl has ...
postseason
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
game in San Diego. In 2013, Bridgepoint Education helped generate over $1 billion in income and 4,505 outside jobs in San Diego.
In 2013, Bridgepoint Education's Ashford University announced an alliance with business publisher
Forbes Media
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
. Under the terms of the alliance, Ashford's College of Business and Professional Studies was renamed the Forbes School of Business at Ashford University.
On December 22, 2015, an agreement was made that Clinton Catalyst, LLC would buy the Ashford University campus properties for $1.6 million, according to the ''
Clinton Herald
The ''Clinton Herald'' is a six-day (Monday through Saturday) daily newspaper published in Clinton, Iowa, and covering Clinton and Jackson counties in Iowa, and Carroll and Whiteside counties in Illinois.
Overview
It is owned by Community Newsp ...
''. For the subsequent 12 months, Ashford University planned to lease the campus from Clinton Catalyst to make sure that the spring semester classes could continue, according to the ''Clinton Herald'' report. In March 2017, Secretary of Education
Betsy DeVos
Elisabeth Dee DeVos ( ; ' Prince; born January 8, 1958) is an American politician, philanthropist, and former government official who served as the 11th United States secretary of education from 2017 to 2021. DeVos is known for her support for ...
appointed
Robert Eitel
The Eitel Brothers refers to a family of four brothers, Emil, Karl, Robert and Max Eitel, originating from Stuttgart in Germany who, from 1894, were hoteliers and restaurateurs in Chicago, USA. They were well known for the luxury hotel Bismarck Hot ...
, a vice president at Bridgepoint, as an advisor. At the end of 2018, its last full year of operation under the Bridgepoint name, Bridgepoint enrollment stood at 38,153.
On March 12, 2019, Bridgepoint Education reported to the
Securities and Exchange Commission
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...
(SEC) that it had made unreliable statements about its earnings and losses. The company estimated an operating loss of $13.6–14.0 million loss for the quarter ending in December 2018.
The same day, Bridgepoint announced the acquisition of the coding boot camp Fullstack Academy for approximately US$20 million.
Charitable organizations and programs Bridgepoint partnered with included After-School All-Stars, Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego, Computers 2 SD Kids, the Homefront Heroes Scholarship Program, the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, Junior Achievement, Make-A-Wish Foundation, A Salute to Teachers, the San Diego Office of Education, the Teacher Appreciation Scholarship Program, United Way of San Diego, and Warrior Foundation-Freedom Station. The Bridgepoint Heroes program brought Bridgepoint employees together for large-scale volunteer efforts. Past Bridgepoint Heroes initiatives included cleaning Chollas Lake Park, cleaning Balboa Park, cleaning the San Diego River Garden, revitalizing the Mary Fay Pendleton School on Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, and restoring Ruffin Canyon.
Zovio (2019–present)
In April 2019, Bridgepoint changed its name to Zovio and moved its stock listing to the NASDAQ, where it trades under the ticker symbol ZVO. On April 4, 2019, Zovio acquired on-demand tutoring provider TutorMe. In August 2020, the company announced that it would sell Ashford University to the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
.
The company reported an annual loss of $61 million for 2020.
In 2021, co-founder and CEO Andrew Clark left Zovio and two new Board members were appointed,
John Silvanus Wilson, Jr.
John Silvanus Wilson, Jr. is an American academic administrator who served as the 11th president of Morehouse College from 2013 to 2017. Before returning to lead his alma mater in 2013, Wilson served in the United States Department of Education, a ...
, former Morehouse College President, and
Ron Huberman, former superintendent of Chicago's public schools. Zovio continued to lose more money as enrollment at the newly branded University of Arizona Global Campus declined. Zovio agreed to pay the Massachusetts Attorney General $295,120 and to stop collecting written off balances owed to Ashford University by students both enrolled in Ashford and Massachusetts residents from 2011 to 2014.
In November 2021, the California Attorney General case filed in 2017 against Ashford University began its trial phase. California Judge Eddie C. Sturgeon found for the plaintiffs on March 3, 2022, his 49 page opinion citing evidence that Zovio deceived students about their ability to become teachers, nurses, social workers, drug and alcohol counselors using their degrees; and misled students about how much financial aid they would receive; misrepresented federal financial aid rules, understated costs of attendance, the time needed to complete degree requirements, their ability to transfer credits, and evidence of deception within the admissions department, and Zovio's tolerance for repeat compliance offenders. Zovio was fined $22,375,282.
Leadership
On December 1, 2021, Zovio announced Randy Hendricks as their new CEO.
Philanthropy
Zovio directs its philanthropic efforts toward three aims: education, youth, and the military. In the past 16 years, the company has donated $11 million through workplace giving campaigns.
Lawsuits, investigations, and controversies
Bridgepoint Education faced and settled several lawsuits, including state-level lawsuits and federal investigations. It has been investigated in New York, North Carolina, California, and Massachusetts. A U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General probe is ongoing. On December 3, 2014, a lawsuit was filed in Arizona federal court charging that Bridgepoint Education was violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by robocalling sales prospects.
In 2008, the
U.S. Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...
's Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit services division performed a compliance audit of Ashford University for the period March 10, 2005, through June 30, 2009. The OIG audit reached the following conclusions:
The stock of Bridgepoint Education fell the most in almost five months when the misuse of federal student aid was first publicly disclosed in 2009.
When the official results were released in 2011,
Senator Tom Harkin
Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for Iowa' ...
said this audit "reveals the same troubling pattern of
for-profit colleges
Proprietary colleges are for-profit colleges and universities. They are operated by their owners or investors, rather than a not-for-profit institution, religious organization, or government. Because they are not funded by tax money, their long ...
' taking advantage of students and taxpayers." The Department of Education has not yet responded to the findings.
2011 Senate hearings
On March 10, 2011, Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) chaired a hearing of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee that examined a "case study" of Bridgepoint Education, Inc., which has experienced near-exponential profit growth in the last few years despite low graduation rates.
[
] Bridgepoint owns two universities that it purchased when both were near bankruptcy, Ashford University in Iowa and the University of the Rockies in Colorado.
When it purchased Ashford University in 2005, Bridgepoint grew from less than 300 students to more than 78,000 students at its peak, 99% of which were online.
Senator Harkin took issue with the fact that despite such growth, student success was lacking. According to information provided by Senator Harkin, 63% of students enrolled at Ashford University during the 2008–2009 school year withdrew before completion of their programs. Senator Harkin noted that Bridgepoint recorded $216 million in profits in 2010—of which 86.5% of its revenues came from federal funds. In reference to these figures, Senator Harkin was on record as saying, "In the world of for-profit higher education, spectacular business success is possible despite an equally spectacular record of student failure. Bridgepoint is a private company, but it is almost entirely dependent upon public funds ... I think this is a scam, an absolute scam."
Kathleen Tighe, Inspector General with the U.S. Department of Education, testified at the hearing that in an audit of Ashford, she discovered the university was improperly distributing federal financial aid to students. "Seventy-five percent of the improper disbursements to students in our sample were made to students who never became eligible," Tighe said.
For the 2006–2007 award year during which the audit was performed, it is estimated Bridgepoint had not returned $1.1 million in improperly obtained student aid to the federal government.
Tighe said on a recent report she had seen that Bridgepoint was "sitting on" $130 million in total credit balances.
Bridgepoint chose not to send executives to the HELP committee hearing while engaged in negotiations with Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA).
[
] Rather, Bridgepoint published a summary of responses called "Bridgepoint Education Transparency.
Additional lawsuits
In 2014, Bridgepoint Education settled a lawsuit with the State of Iowa for $7.25 million, denying any "wrongdoing but agreed to not use any 'unconscionable or coercive tactics' to encourage students to enroll."
On December 3, 2014, a lawsuit was filed in Arizona federal court charging that the company was violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act by robocalling sales prospects.
In 2016, a former senior vice president at Ashford University alleged that Bridgepoint falsified its financial reports by inaccurately projecting the student retention rate.
In 2016, the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. CFPB's jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities firms, payday lenders, mortg ...
took action against the company for "deceiving students into taking out private student loans that cost more than advertised".
Bridgepoint paid a penalty of $8 million to the CFPB and forgave and refunded loans to students totaling $23.5 million.
In November 2017, the
California Attorney General
The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section ...
brought a lawsuit against Ashford University and its parent company Bridgepoint for engaging in "unlawful marketing, sales and debt collection practices".
California Judge Eddie C. Sturgeon found for the plaintiffs on March 3, 2022, his 49 page opinion citing evidence that Zovio deceived students about their ability to become teachers, nurses, social workers, drug and alcohol counselors using their degrees; and misled students about how much financial aid they would receive; misrepresented federal financial aid rules, understated costs of attendance, the time needed to complete degree requirements, their ability to transfer credits, and evidence of deception within the admissions department, and Zovio's tolerance for repeat compliance offenders. Zovio was fined $22,375,282.
Closure of Ashford University campus
The December 2015, agreement with Clinton Catalyst, LLC by Bridgepoint Education to sell the
Ashford University
The University of Arizona Global Campus, formerly Ashford University, is an online university "operated in affiliation with the University of Arizona." In 2020, Ashford University was acquired by the University of Arizona, becoming the Universit ...
campus properties, in
Clinton, Iowa
Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,469 as of 2020. Clinton, along with DeWitt (also located in Clinton County), was named in honor of the sixth governor of New York, DeWitt Cl ...
, generated controversy in the higher education community. Critics questioned Bridgepoint's original commitment to the on-ground college, especially since it no longer needed a physical presence in the Midwest to keep its accreditation, and they accused Bridgepoint of having broken promises to maintain the campus. Bridgepoint officials had stated that they were committed to retaining the Clinton campus, and had tripled its Iowa enrollment from 2005 to 2011 through investments in facilities (about $40 million), scholarships, and other financial aid of about $10 million a year (subsidized with revenues from online students), as well as expansion of academic and athletics programs. Bridgepoint stated the company could not continue to subsidize the campus operation.
GI Bill controversies
Since becoming an online-only university in 2016, Ashford University's
GI Bill
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...
eligibility has been through numerous changes, challenges, and controversies. Because initial approval for GI Bill enrollment is granted by the home state of the educational institution in question, when Ashford closed its Iowa campus in 2016, it was in danger of losing its GI Bill approval in the summer of 2017, and sought approval from the state of California, where Bridgepoint is based, but did not receive it.
Ashford University then leased an office in Phoenix,
and gained GI Bill approval from Arizona in September 2017, but in November 2017 the
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...
(VA) ruled that the Phoenix office did not qualify as a "main campus", since Bridgepoint is headquartered in California, and therefore the jurisdiction for approval would fall to California, not Arizona.
On November 15, 2017, Bridgepoint suspended enrolling GI Bill students for Ashford University after a controversial exposé on the school appeared in the ''
Chronicle of Higher Education
''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to rea ...
''.
On November 17, 2017,
Warburg Pincus
Warburg Pincus LLC is a global private equity firm, headquartered in New York, with offices in the United States, Europe, Brazil, China, Southeast Asia and India. Warburg has been a private equity investor since 1966. The firm currently has over ...
, Bridgeport Education's major underwriter, announced its complete divestment from Bridgepoint. In late November 2017, the California Attorney General brought a lawsuit against Ashford University and Bridgepoint for engaging in unlawful marketing, sales, and debt collection practices.
In January 2018, the VA allowed Ashford to continue to receive GI Bill funding pending completion of the university's attempt to get approval from the much stricter state of California; California denied approval for the third time in December 2018.
Reports by journalists, watchdogs, whistleblowers, and politicians alleged that Ashford University engages in misleading and predatory practices to enroll GI Bill students, particularly during the Trump administration and the Betsy DeVos-led education department deregulations.
In February 2020, the VA superseded California's oversight and granted Ashford University approval to use GI Bill funding.
The veterans' advocacy group Veterans Education Success strongly objected to the granting of GI Bill funding to Ashford, saying that the university "engage
in deceptive advertising
ndrecruiting".
References
External links
Official site
{{Authority control
Companies based in San Diego
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Distance education institutions based in the United States
Education companies of the United States
Companies listed on the Nasdaq