A California court last week fined Zovio, the former parent company of a large for-profit college, $22.4 million in civil penalties for misleading students, including about the cost and career outcomes of the institution’s programs.
The case centered on actions Zovio took when it owned Ashford University, an online college that enrolled more than 80,000 students at its peak. In late 2020, the company sold the institution to the University of Arizona, which rebranded it as University of Arizona Global Campus and enlisted Zovio to provide marketing, recruitment and other services to the college.
