DeVry University Student Loan Forgiveness: How It Works

If you went to DeVry University between 2008 and 2015, you may qualify for federal student loan forgiveness. The federal government found that DeVry misled students about job placement rates and graduate earnings. The Department of Education has approved borrower defense claims for thousands of former DeVry students and continues processing more.

Related: For-Profit College Student Loan Forgiveness List

Falsified job placement rates. DeVry advertised that 90% of graduates who actively sought employment obtained jobs in their field of study within six months of graduation. Both the FTC and the Department of Education found this claim deceptive.

DeVry inflated the number in two ways: it counted “old jobs” that mid-career students held before enrolling — almost half the graduates DeVry counted had started their jobs more than a year before graduating, and nearly a quarter had started four or more years before.

DeVry also excluded graduates from the denominator if they searched for jobs without using Career Services or if staff deemed them not to have “worked cooperatively.” When both manipulations are corrected, the actual placement rate drops from 90% to 57.9% on average. The FTC brought an enforcement action in January 2016 and reached a $100 million settlement with DeVry in December 2016.

Inflated graduate earnings. DeVry told prospective students that its graduates earned 15% more than graduates of all other colleges and universities one year after graduation. The FTC found this claim unsubstantiated — DeVry’s own data could not support it.

The Department of Education confirmed the findings. In 2022, the Department of Education conducted its own investigation and reached the same conclusions. The department found that DeVry engaged in “widespread substantial misrepresentations” about graduate employment outcomes between 2008 and 2015. This finding allows individual borrowers to apply for loan discharge through the borrower defense program.

DeVry disputes the findings. DeVry, now owned by Cogswell Education after being sold by Adtalem Global Education in 2021, has called the Department of Education’s findings “unsubstantiated and wrong.” The university filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois challenging the borrower defense process. DeVry argues the department mischaracterized its historical advertising and that the borrower defense framework lacks due process protections. DeVry still operates with over 20,000 students.

Individual borrower defense approvals. The Department of Education is approving borrower defense claims from former DeVry students on a case-by-case basis. Unlike schools such as the Art Institutes or Corinthian Colleges, there has been no blanket group discharge for DeVry. You need to file an individual borrower defense application describing how DeVry’s misrepresentations affected your decision to enroll. Approved borrowers receive 100% loan discharge and a refund of amounts paid on the discharged loans.

Sweet v. McMahon settlement. DeVry is one of 151 schools covered by the Sweet v. McMahon class action settlement. If you filed a borrower defense application before June 22, 2022, your claim falls under the settlement terms, which require the Department of Education to issue decisions by set deadlines. Approved claims under the settlement receive full loan discharge. If you filed between June 23 and November 15, 2022, you are a “post-class” applicant. The Ninth Circuit denied the government’s request to pause post-class deadlines in March 2026, so the department must still process these claims.

FTC settlement refunds. Separately from federal loan forgiveness, the FTC distributed $49.4 million in cash refunds and arranged $50.6 million in private loan and debt relief as part of its 2016 settlement with DeVry. This settlement covered students who enrolled between January 1, 2008 and September 30, 2015, paid at least $5,000 through cash, loans, or military benefits, and completed at least one class credit. The FTC refund program is closed to new applicants. If you received a check that you did not cash, contact the FTC refund administrator at 844-578-2645 to request reissuance — the FTC last resent uncashed checks in May 2024.

McCormick class action settlement. A separate class action lawsuit, McCormick v. Adtalem Global Education, resulted in a $44.95 million settlement fund for students who enrolled in DeVry or Keller Graduate School of Management programs between January 1, 2008, and December 15, 2016. BrownGreer PLC, the settlement administrator, mailed checks in July 2023. If you did not cash your check, contact BrownGreer to request reissuance. This settlement does not affect your eligibility for borrower defense — you can receive both.

Enrollment dates. The Department of Education’s misconduct finding covers DeVry’s use of the 90% claim from at least January 2008 through December 2015. The FTC settlement used a narrower window of January 1, 2008 through September 30, 2015 for refund eligibility. If you enrolled outside these windows, you can still file a borrower defense claim, but you need to describe specific misrepresentations you personally experienced rather than relying on the department’s institutional finding. Online students. DeVry’s 90% claim appeared in television, radio, internet, and print advertisements, and in direct mailings and enrollment materials. The Department of Education noted that DeVry operated an online program attended by students in all fifty states. Online students exposed to the same misleading advertising can file borrower defense claims on the same basis as campus students. Keller Graduate School students. DeVry’s parent company co-owned Keller Graduate School of Management. The Department of Education’s misconduct finding does not yet explicitly cover Keller, but the department has indicated it may expand the finding to include Keller’s advertising. Keller students can still file individual borrower defense claims describing misrepresentations they experienced. The McCormick class action settlement explicitly included Keller students. Loan type. Federal Direct Loans qualify for borrower defense discharge. If you have older FFEL loans from DeVry, you need to consolidate them into a Direct Consolidation Loan before filing your application. Private student loans are not eligible for borrower defense but may have been covered by the FTC settlement. What if you already paid off your loans? You can still file a borrower defense application even if you already paid off your DeVry loans. If approved, the Department of Education can refund amounts you previously paid on the discharged loans. However, without an outstanding balance, there is no loan to place in forbearance during the review. The FTC settlement refund window has closed for new claims. If you were part of the McCormick class action and did not cash your check, contact BrownGreer PLC, the settlement administrator.

DeVry forgiveness is not automatic. You need to file an individual borrower defense application through StudentAid.gov.

When completing the application, focus on the job placement misrepresentation. The strongest applications describe how DeVry’s 90% employment statistic influenced your decision to enroll and how your experience after graduation did not match DeVry’s claims. If you chose DeVry specifically because of its employment claims — over other schools you were considering — say that. If your degree did not lead to the career outcomes DeVry promised, describe what actually happened.

If you have old marketing materials, enrollment agreements, emails from DeVry recruiters, or screenshots of DeVry’s website from that era, include them as supporting evidence. The DOE’s own findings document the specific misrepresentations, so your application does not need to prove that DeVry lied. You need to show that you were exposed to the misrepresentations and that they influenced your enrollment decision.

After you file, the department places your federal loans in forbearance while it reviews your claim. You do not have to make payments during the review, but interest continues to accrue. Processing times have been long — many borrowers have waited two to three years for a decision, though claims tied to the Sweet v. McMahon settlement have court-ordered deadlines.

For a full walkthrough of the application process, see our Borrower Defense to Repayment guide.

March 2026. The Ninth Circuit denied the Department of Education’s request to pause processing deadlines for post-class Sweet v. McMahon applicants. This means the department must continue processing claims from borrowers who filed between June 23 and November 15, 2022. Separately, the department resumed sending borrower defense claim notices to institutions for applications filed after November 16, 2022.

January 2025. The Department of Education approved borrower defense claims for approximately 4,100 former DeVry students. This was the largest single batch of DeVry approvals to date. DeVry issued a public statement calling the approvals “unsubstantiated” and reiterated its legal challenge in the Northern District of Illinois.

February 2022. The Department of Education approved $71.7 million in borrower defense discharges for approximately 1,800 former DeVry students. This was the first major round of DeVry-specific approvals, part of a broader $415 million action covering multiple for-profit schools. The department also announced it would seek to recoup discharge costs from DeVry.

December 2016. DeVry settled with the FTC for $100 million, resolving claims that the university used deceptive advertising about job placement rates and graduate earnings.

January 2016. The FTC filed its enforcement action against DeVry, alleging that the university’s 90% job placement claim and 15% higher earnings claim were deceptive.

Related:

• Borrower Defense to Repayment

• For-Profit College Student Loan Forgiveness List

• Sweet v. McMahon Settlement Update