Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on June 3, 2025
MOSCOW, ID – The University of Phoenix and the University of Idaho have pulled the plug on a multimillion-dollar purchase plan.
The parties have “jointly agreed to end discussions,” Phoenix said Tuesday morning. The news was not unexpected. But it abruptly ends a controversial two-year courtship between Idaho’s land-grant institution and a for-profit online giant with a national enrollment of more than 80,000. The proposed $685 million purchase left education and business leaders stunned, and left skeptical lawmakers feeling blindsided.
The State Board of Education is expected to meet Thursday to discuss the Phoenix deal. The meeting could be largely a formality. The State Board had set a June 10 deadline for Phoenix and the U of I to come to an agreement — and it is now clear next week’s deadline will come and go without a deal.
“While we have decided not to move forward, we remain appreciative of (U of I) President Scott Green, the leadership of the University of Idaho, and the many elected officials in Idaho who supported this process,” University of Phoenix President Chris Lynne said in a news release Tuesday morning.
The State Board first gave the Phoenix purchase the green light in May 2023 — after a series of closed-door discussions. Those closed meetings remain at the center of a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Raúl Labrador; a court hearing is scheduled for June 23.
But after the State Board gave the deal its initial blessing, Labrador and many legislators questioned the clandestine process — and the merits of the multimillion deal. After a series of tense committee hearings and floor debates, legislators blocked the purchase in the spring of 2024.
The State Board then regrouped. In late June 2024, the State Board gave the U of I and Phoenix nearly a 12-month extension, allowing the parties more time to try to rework a deal and win over skeptical lawmakers.
But in April, the 2025 legislative session adjourned, with no discussion of a U of I-Phoenix partnership. That lack of legislative activity — coupled by reports that Phoenix might instead go on sale through an initial public offering — suggested that the U of I’s purchase plan was already on shaky ground.
From the beginning, U of I officials said the Phoenix acquisition would revolutionize education for adult learners in rural Idaho — and provide revenue from a profitable online university.
But the U of I still could collect millions from Phoenix — from a series of “breakup fees” worked into the State Board’s extension.
The U of I received $5 million last June, to cover some of the costs on researching a potential Phoenix purchase. The U of I could receive an additional $5 million if Phoenix stands pat, or an additional $15 million if Phoenix sells to another party or pursues an IPO.
It’s not immediately clear how much the U of I could recoup from Phoenix.
But in January, Green told legislators that the Phoenix breakup fees would more than cover the university’s due diligence costs — which exceed at least $14.2 million, based on previous EdNews reporting.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
