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DeVry U closing two Tampa locations

 
Published April 24, 2015

TAMPA — DeVry University, a for-profit college facing declining enrollment nationally, is closing its two Tampa locations by the end of the year as part of a company-wide consolidation as it focuses on its most lucrative markets.

A DeVry spokesperson confirmed Friday the for-profit college would close its Tampa Bay Campus at 5540 W Executive Drive, in the West Shore business district, and its Tampa East Center at 6700 Lakeview Center Drive near the intersection of Interstate 4 and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

The closure will affect 427 students and 18 staff members, according to DeVry, which has offered classes at one of the two locations since 1998.

Students can either transfer to another DeVry location or transition to online study, said spokeswoman Melanie Wright. She said DeVry will maintain four Florida locations in Orlando, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale and Miramar, near Miami. Students will receive a 20 percent tuition discount for the remainder of their degree program for taking either option, the school said.

Wright said 30 percent of DeVry's Tampa students already take their classes exclusively online while 70 percent take some mix of online and campus classes.

Staff members at the two Tampa locations will either be offered other jobs with the college or will transition "to the next step in their career journey outside DeVry University," Wright said.

DeVry, which operates more than 75 locations around the nation, has reported a 15 percent national enrollment decline in the first quarter of 2015. The school is closing 14 other locations in 11 U.S. cities by the end of the year. The Tampa closures are the only ones in Florida.

The school said it will conduct individual planning sessions for those students affected by a closure.

For-profit colleges have faced increased federal scrutiny in recent years as student debt and defaults have climbed amid claims that many students do not graduate.

Contact William R. Levesque at levesque@tampabay.com.