University of Phoenix Settlement

The FTC is sending Zelle payments to eligible people who paid University of Phoenix.

According to the FTC, the University of Phoenix relied on deceptive advertising to attract students, falsely claiming to work with employers such as Microsoft, Twitter, Adobe, and Yahoo to create job opportunities for University of Phoenix students and tailoring its curriculum for the job needs of such companies.

The FTC first sent payments in March 2021, then additional payments in July 2023 and September 2025, which resulted in more than $49 million in refunds. Now, the FTC is sending Zelle payments to people who didn’t cash their check or accept their PayPal payment.

If you get a Zelle payment, the payment will be deposited directly into your bank account with a note about the settlement. The FTC never asks you to pay money to get a refund.

You can find answers to common questions about refund payments on our FAQ page. If you have any other questions, please call the refund administrator at 1-877-310-0487.

Department of Education Approves Loan Forgiveness for University of Phoenix Students

The U.S. Department of Education recently announced that it will approve federal student loan forgiveness for people who attended the University of Phoenix, were deceived by the school’s job placement claims, and submitted a valid application for borrower defense. The Department of Education is continuing to process new and existing applications and expects to approve additional claims. All borrowers with approved claims will receive full loan forgiveness.

If you previously submitted a borrower defense claim for University of Phoenix

The Department of Education will notify you if your claim was approved. You can check the status of your application on the borrower defense page under “Manage My Applications.” Even if you already received a payment from the University of Phoenix settlement fund, it should not affect your pending application for loan forgiveness.