Keller Graduate School of Management: Lawsuits,
Settlements & Borrower Defense Claims

If you attended Keller Graduate School of Management and still have federal student loan debt, there is an important legal history you should know.

Keller is the graduate school of DeVry University, a relationship DeVry confirms on its own website. Over the years, DeVry and Keller have been connected to litigation, government investigations, settlements, and Borrower Defense activity involving representations about employment outcomes and graduate earnings.

For former Keller students who believe those kinds of representations influenced their decision to enroll or borrow, this public record may be worth examining.

Check your Borrower Defense eligibility now.

The Legal History Keller Borrowers Should Know

• Keller was directly included in a major class action settlement. In McCormick v. Adtalem Global Education Inc., the settlement covered qualifying people who paid for a DeVry University or Keller Graduate School of Management program between January 1, 2008 and December 15, 2016 and alleged reliance on advertising concerning graduate employment and income outcomes. The settlement fund was approximately 44.95 million dollars. DeVry denied that its advertising was fraudulent or misleading and settled without an admission of liability.
• The  FTC reached a 100 million dollar settlement with DeVry. The Federal Trade Commission sued DeVry and its parent company over allegedly deceptive advertising concerning employment success and graduate income. The 2016 settlement provided approximately 49.4 million dollars in cash relief and 50.6 million dollars in debt relief. Because Keller is DeVry University's graduate school, this enforcement history can provide institutional context, although a Keller borrower should connect any evidence to the specific representations he or she actually received.
• The  U.S. Department of Education made Borrower Defense findings involving DeVry. In 2022, the Department announced approximately 71.7 million dollars in full Borrower Defense discharges for about 1,800 former DeVry students after determining that DeVry made widespread substantial misrepresentations concerning job placement rates. The Department's published Borrower Defense executive summary states that its review concerned representations made from 2008 through 2015 and concluded that, after accounting for practices the Department found misleading, the advertised placement rate fell from 90 percent to below 58 percent. DeVry disputes the Department's findings and has challenged its Borrower Defense actions in federal court.
• State regulators also investigated DeVry. The New York Attorney General reached a settlement providing 2.25 million dollars in restitution plus 500,000 dollars in penalties, fees, and costs over allegations involving employment and salary representations. Massachusetts separately obtained 455,000 dollars in refunds after alleging deceptive job-placement marketing in certain DeVry online programs. These actions primarily involved specified DeVry populations and should be used as corroborating institutional history rather than treated automatically as proof of an individual Keller claim.

Keller Is Specifically Listed in Sweet v. Cardona Exhibit C

This point deserves special attention.

Keller Graduate School of Management is expressly named in Exhibit C of the Sweet v. Cardona settlement under DeVry / Adtalem. The official U.S. Department of Education Exhibit C document lists DeVry University and Keller Graduate School of Management separately.

Under the settlement, borrowers who met the settlement's specific class requirements and had applications associated with Exhibit C schools received special treatment under the settlement terms.

However, being on Exhibit C does not automatically mean every Keller graduate filing a new Borrower Defense application today receives loan cancellation. Sweet settlement relief depended on factors including when the Borrower Defense application was filed. For a new applicant, Keller's inclusion is valuable historical context, but the borrower still needs to explain his or her own experience, reliance, federal loans, and resulting harm.

Were You Told Something That Did Not Match Reality?

Think back to what Keller or DeVry representatives told you before you enrolled.

Were you influenced by representations concerning job placement, career advancement, graduate earnings, the value of a Keller degree, career services, employer opportunities, or your expected return on the debt you were taking on?

If your experience resembles the conduct described in the litigation or government findings above, those records may help corroborate your personal Borrower Defense narrative. Public enforcement evidence is strongest when it is connected directly to what you were told, when you heard it, why you relied on it, and how you were financially harmed.

You can also review our existing DeVry University lawsuits and loan forgiveness research for additional background.

Ready to Review Your Keller Loans?

If Keller Graduate School of Management left you with federal student loan debt after promises that did not materialize, you do not have to guess whether your experience may support a claim.

Check your Borrower Defense eligibility and see whether your Keller experience may support an application.

Prefer to prepare the application yourself? Follow our Borrower Defense Do It Yourself DIY Guide.

Want to compare Keller with other institutions? Explore other schools with published misconduct research or search our complete list of schools and universities.

Your school has a documented legal history. The next question is whether that history matches what happened to you. 

Start your eligibility review today

Related Articles