DeVry University facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
DeVry University

Type	Private for-profit university
Established	1931; 94 years ago (1931) (as DeForest Training School)
Founder	Herman A. DeVry
Parent institution	Cogswell Education
President	Thomas L. Monahan III
Provost	Shantanu Bose
Academic staff	57 full-time and 1,132 part-time
Students	27,867
Location	Naperville , Illinois , United States 41°48′00″N 88°07′35″W / 41.800010°N 88.126330°W / 41.800010; -88.126330
Campus	Multiple: 18 states in the U.S. and online

DeVry University is a private university with its main office in Naperville, Illinois. It was started in 1931 by Herman A. DeVry. DeVry is mostly an online school, but it also has campuses in the United States. It is officially recognized by the Higher Learning Commission.

History of DeVry University

How DeVry Started (1931–1970)

DeVry began in 1931 as the De Forest Training School in Chicago, Illinois. The founder, Herman A. DeVry, named the school after his friend Lee de Forest. Herman DeVry had invented a movie projector and made educational films.

The school first taught how to fix projectors and radios. Later, it added other electronic equipment like televisions. After Herman DeVry passed away in 1941, the school was renamed DeVry Technical Institute in 1953. In 1957, it was allowed to give out associate degrees in electronics.

In 1967, Bell & Howell bought DeVry Technical Institute. A year later, they bought the Ohio Institute of Technology. DeVry was then renamed DeVry Institute of Technology. In 1969, it was allowed to give out bachelor's degrees in electronics.

Keller Graduate School of Management (1970–1990)

Dennis Keller and Ronald Taylor were teachers at DeVry in the early 1970s. They learned a lot about how for-profit schools worked. In 1973, they started the Keller Graduate School of Management.

At first, the Keller School offered special certificates. In 1976, it became an evening program for working adults, offering MBAs. In 1977, it became the first for-profit school to be fully recognized by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

DeVry itself received full recognition in 1981. In 1987, the Keller Graduate School of Management bought DeVry from Bell & Howell. The two schools joined together as DeVry Inc. Dennis Keller became the chairman and CEO, and Ronald Taylor became the president.

DeVry Education Group (1990–2018)

DeVry Inc. became a public company in 1991. This meant its shares could be bought and sold by the public. In 1995, its shares started trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Over the years, DeVry bought other schools. In 1996, it bought Becker CPA Review, which helps students prepare for accounting exams. In 2003, DeVry bought Ross University, a medical and veterinary school located in the Caribbean.

In 2005, DeVry entered the nursing field by buying Deaconess College of Nursing. This school was later renamed Chamberlain College of Nursing. DeVry also expanded into Brazil in 2009 by buying several universities there.

By 2010, DeVry University had almost 90 learning locations in 26 states. It had over 68,000 students taking undergraduate classes. In 2013, DeVry Inc. changed its name to DeVry Education Group.

In 2017, DeVry Education Group changed its name again to Adtalem Global Education. In December 2017, Adtalem announced they would transfer DeVry University and Keller Graduate School to Cogswell Education. This transfer was completed in December 2018.

Cogswell Education (2018–present)

Today, DeVry University is owned by Cogswell Education, LLC. The main investor for Cogswell Education is Bradley Palmer.

In 2020, Tom Monahan III became the President and CEO of DeVry. In 2022, the U.S. government helped more than 1,800 former DeVry University students by canceling over $71 million in student loan debt. This happened because the government found that the university had not been clear with students during their enrollment. In 2023, Elise Awwad became the first female President and CEO of DeVry.

DeVry Locations and Campus Changes

DeVry University mostly offers online classes now. Between 2020 and 2022, many DeVry campuses closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. DeVry University still has a presence at one military base in Twentynine Palms, California.

Here is a list of DeVry campuses and learning centers as of 2024:

Campus Closures Over Time

In April 2015, DeVry University announced that 14 campuses across the United States would close by 2016. These closures included locations in Kansas City, Memphis, Houston, and St. Louis. Students at these campuses could get lower tuition if they continued their studies online or at other DeVry locations.

In 2018, DeVry closed eight more campuses. The U.S. Department of Education reported that five more campuses closed between 2019 and 2020. In 2021, sites in Raleigh (NC), Merrillville (IN), Paramus (NJ), and Cleveland (OH) were closed. In 2022, at least 15 additional campuses closed.

Academics at DeVry

DeVry University offers programs for both undergraduate (first degrees) and graduate (advanced degrees) students. You can take these classes on campus or online.

The university has six main areas of study:

• Accounting
• Business
• Healthcare
• Technology
• Liberal Arts
• Media Arts & Technology

DeVry uses a system of six eight-week sessions for its classes. Most programs offer both associate's degrees (two-year programs) and bachelor's degrees (four-year programs). The school also offers various certificate programs in specific areas, like information technology.

DeVry has offered graduate classes online since 1998 and undergraduate classes online since 2001.

Teachers at DeVry

The U.S. Department of Education reports that DeVry-Illinois has 61 full-time teachers and 765 part-time teachers for its 26,384 students.

Official Recognition

DeVry is officially recognized by the Higher Learning Commission. This means the school meets certain quality standards. Some of its engineering technology programs are also recognized campus by campus.

Student Success

For students who started in 2013, about 28% graduated within six years. The average salary for DeVry graduates after attending ranges from $23,000 to $62,000 per year. This depends on what they studied and where they work.

Famous Alumni

Many successful people have graduated from DeVry University:

• Dave Bennett, Class of 1985, a software engineer
• Steve Cartwright, Class of 1977, a video game designer
• David Crane, Class of 1975, founder of Appstar Games
• Adeline Gray, a three-time world champion wrestler
• George Weah, the President of Liberia and a retired soccer player
• Sean Wiley, Class of 1993, a Pennsylvania state senator

Alumni from Keller Graduate School of Management include:

• Catherine Afeku, a Ghanaian politician
• J. D. Mesnard, a politician
• Gabriela Mosquera, a New Jersey politician
• Xavier Serbiá, a financial advisor and former singer from the band Menudo

Past Partnerships

DeVry University has partnered with major sports organizations:

• In 2011, DeVry University became an official education provider for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). This partnership continued through 2020. More than 125 U.S. Olympic athletes were enrolled in DeVry programs.
• In 2014, DeVry University was named the "official education provider" for NFL Pro Legends. This group supports players, coaches, and other professionals from NFL teams.
• DeVry University was also the official education partner for Minor League Baseball. It offered higher education opportunities to players, their families, umpires, and employees until 2017.

See also

In Spanish: Universidad DeVry para niños

• For-profit higher education in the United States
• ITT Technical Institute
• List of colleges and universities in metropolitan Atlanta