DeVry is sending out spam!

I just got a spam from DeVry. I wonder if this is going to start happening more. I would not be surprised if more and more profit schools begin to lower themselves to the point of spamming for new students.

 

I've had the same experience and the same thoughts.

 

I've been receiving spam from DeVry for many years. I suspect DeVry is paying a third-party to send out these unsolicited emails because the information given to unsubscribe is from some unknown company. Its not surprising that the world of for-profits is going in this direction, where anything and everything goes as long as new students are enrolled; students who take out massive student loans that are handed over to the schools. Very sad and shameful that a school like DeVry is resorting to these types of internet marketing practices.

 

I wonder if UoP is next.

 

The publicly-traded for-profit education companies, including DeVry, had a terrible month in August, in terms of stock prices. It was probably one of the worst months on record for education stocks.

DeVry was trading at $60-65 per share throughout July, but dropped to only about $40 in August. The company lost about one-third of its market value in a matter of 2-3 weeks (which represents hundreds of millions of dollars). At this moment, they are at $40.57.

This is not meant to single out DeVry, because other education stocks fell to comparable or greater extents. The point is that for-profit education companies may be under even higher pressure than usual to find paying customers.

Many stock analysts suspect that the era of rapid growth in for-profit education is over. From now on, the industry is likely to grow more slowly, with the largest enrollment changes coming through mergers and acquisitions. This is normal for any new industry; an initial period of rapid growth and expansion is typically followed by a period of slower growth and consolidation.

 

Your report is pretty dire so I can understand their motivation to spam. Unfortunately, sending out email spam puts them on the same level, in my opinion, as the people who sell prescription drugs from China and the various, unmentionable in polite company, body enhancements that are advertised by spam. This is not a prestigious form of advertising and smells of desperation.

We can only hope that the stock analysts are correct and there will still be growth in the future.

 

I think if tuition is lowered, enrollment will increase. This is why enrollment at schools like AMU is going up, and I think the trend will continue. I've always questioned: is it not possible for a for-profit school to lower their tuition, especially for classes that are offered online? If I ran an expensive for-profit school in this economy, I would reduce tuition charges, and then market my programs, especially, doctoral programs based on lower cost. I'm just waiting to see how AMU/APU will shake up the for-profit online school industry once they start offering doctorate degrees that folks want at reduced cost.

In my opinion, declining enrollments at schools like DeVry (including others such as Argosy, UoP, Capella, Walden, JIU, etc) are due to the inability for students to afford high tuition rates, not because the education that they offer is bad, in my opinion. For example, I would enroll in Keller's (DeVry KGSM) Master of Network & Communications Management (Wireless Communications specialism) right now if tuition were lower than $36k (currently charged), but the reality is that the degree is overly expensive. I suspect many who are considering returning to school are thinking along these lines too. Again, my point is that expensive for-profit schools are hurting themselves; cheap for-profits are not seeing decreased enrollment.

 

You mean growth for schools like AMU/APU (low-cost and more focus on quality, compared to focus on making money only)? the other day, someone mentioned that enrollment at the school is skyrocketting (which may explain why they are hiring).

 

I love this. Thanks.

 

Ironically, DeVry pays for a service called "SpamShark" to keep spam emails off of their own network.

 

It is VERY annoying and makes me think the school (and it's graduates) are of lower quality. This is a disservice to the students and alumni as already said.

So...let's help them out a bit. Everyone go to the devry site and open an online chat. When you have a representative on the line (you can also call their 800 number and do this), sell them something. Your car, junk in your garage, whatever. Maybe when they get annoyed enough, or their costs increase as a result of millions of people doing this (or thousands), maybe they will understand how annoyed we are with spam and how it costs us in bandwidth, storage costs, and wasted time.

So far they wont buy my car, or the mystery box in my garage, or my brother's dog, or the laundry machine lint....maybe eventually I'll get them to buy something.

 

I'm getting it atleast twice a week now. Strayer University is also sending me spam. I guess receiving them doesn't pose significant issues since all the spam emails all go to my spam folder, which I "delete all" every weekend. It cheapens their image, regardless.

 

In late 60s, my wife and I were the 'personal assistants' to Peter G. Peterson, then president of Bell & Howell; later US Secretary of Commerce and long-time head of the Council on Foreign Relations. One of our jobs was to sift through the assets of Bell & Howell to find things that might help the company enter the then-hot area of education. One of their assets was an odd little vocational training school that the company had bought from the DeVry Brothers, which actually offered an Associate's degree in engineering technology, accredited by ABET (but no one else). We thought there was great potential there for more degree programs, even (heaven forfend) a Bachelor's. We wrote a proposal/business plan, but Peterson and the Board said no thanks; that the future of corporate involvement in education lay in the area of early childhood education. After all, they pointed out, CBS had just spent a bundle to buy Creative Playthings. Poor Bell & Howell. They coulda been a contender.

 

Wow, fascinating story. What a poor choice they made. Thanks for that.

 

For someone who hates spam from Devry, you sure have an interesting name.