The University of Phoenix said it remains “committed” to its partnership with the University of Idaho.
On Friday, the state Board of Education gave the University of Illinois and Phoenix more time to pursue a buyout and find a plan that the Legislature can support. But the board gave Phoenix a series of options. The for-profit online university and its owner can talk to other buyers. Or it can consider going public by setting an initial bid.
But Phoenix said in a statement to Idaho Education News on Tuesday that these options are just that: options.
“We want to emphasize that we are committed to working with the University of Idaho and state leaders to complete the affiliation with the University of Idaho,” the university’s statement read in part.
The extension approved by the state board would likely keep the U of I-Phoenix affiliation open through June — that is, if Phoenix remains in the market.
As part of the extension, the University of Illinois received an immediate payment of $5 million and Phoenix was given the authority to negotiate with other bidders.
But Phoenix said Tuesday it wants to focus on finalizing a deal in Idaho.
“This extension provides time for critical collaboration with key stakeholders and leaders across the Idaho Legislature to reach agreement on a partnership that will serve both Idaho’s students and citizens,” Phoenix said in a statement.
In 2024, Congress blocked the $685 million Phoenix acquisition. After the House passed a resolution urging the state committee to reconsider its support for the Phoenix acquisition, the Senate rejected a late-session compromise designed to revive the deal.
At last week's state board meeting, University of Illinois President C. Scott Green said supporters had “never had time” to answer all the questions raised during the 2024 session.
“We are requesting this extension to allow us to complete the conversations we began with legislators during the last session and to have the ability to work toward a legislative solution that would allow us to close a deal,” he said.
Finding a solution in the next session may not be easy, as opponents have raised a variety of concerns during the 2024 session. They have raised constitutional questions about the relationship between the state board, the University of Illinois and all the governing bodies created to oversee Phoenix. They have questioned whether the deal would shift responsibility for Phoenix’s debt to Idaho and jeopardize the state’s credit rating.
One leading legislative skeptic said Monday that such questions still remain.
“I’m always willing to sit down and listen,” said Rep. Wendy Homan, R-Idaho Falls, co-chair of the budget-writing joint finance committee. “I don’t know what the path is right now.”
Homan also asked about other aspects of the extension, including whether Phoenix would be willing to pay $5 million to offset the cost of U of I’s due diligence and consulting fees that accrued while it was exploring a possible buyout. “I would like to hear more about the specifics of that deal.”
EdNews reached out to Phoenix officials for clarification on the payments. The university did not comment directly in a statement Tuesday.
But that $5 million could be the first of two payments to the University of Illinois. Phoenix has promised to pay an additional $5 million if the University of Illinois is not sold and the June deadline passes. Phoenix has promised to pay an additional $15 million if it deals with another buyer or pursues an IPO.
In addition to new questions about the 2024 session and its extension, politics could make some discussions tense.
In the spring Republican primary, Greene took the unusual step of donating more than $7,000 to 11 lawmakers and candidates, including Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder (R-Boise), sponsor of a U of I-backed Senate bill supporting the Phoenix purchase. Winder lost. Seven of the 11 candidates Greene supported lost in their primaries.
And in a recent interview — after the primary and before the state board voted on extending the deal — Greene's powerful House opponent said she had frustrated her own cause.
“Given what President Greene has done with her donations, I don’t think we’ll get there next year,” said House Statehood Committee Chairman Brent Crane (R-S.C.), who co-sponsored a House resolution to block the Phoenix purchase. “It was just bad advice.”
Rep. Britt Raybould, R-Rexburg, was one of the Green Party-backed candidates who won the May primary. She declined to comment on the extension, saying she had not yet read the agreement in detail.
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