On May 17,  2023, the University of Idaho abruptly announced its plan to acquire the University of Phoenix, sending shockwaves through the state’s education and political circles.

At $685 million, it could be the largest and most polarizing transaction in Idaho higher education history. The U of I insists the deal will be a moneymaker. But Phoenix, a for-profit online giant with an enrollment of 85,000 students, is saddled with a checkered history and a tarnished reputation.

Idaho Education News’ Kevin Richert has closely followed this story for months, breaking news and fighting for the public’s right to know. Here are highlights of his coverage:

UPDATED: Supreme Court sides with Labrador on Phoenix lawsuit

The ruling throws yet another wrench into the University of Idaho’s $685 million bid to acquire the University of Phoenix.

12/05/2024

Analysis: The U of I-Phoenix talks, and where things stand

It’s been 139 days since the proposed University of Idaho-University of Phoenix megadeal was last in the public eye. All of that will probably change in January, when the Legislature returns.

11/14/2024

What we learned from the U of I’s bills — and what it cost us to find out

For the second time this year, Idaho Education News spent its own money to see how the University of Idaho is spending public money.

07/24/2024

In depth: U of I’s Phoenix-related bills reach $14.2 million, and counting

The University of Idaho has run up $3.9 million in Phoenix-related costs so far this year — as legislative opposition to the purchase has galvanized.

07/24/2024

Phoenix says it is ‘committed’ to Idaho, and negotiating with lawmakers

“This extension provides time for important collaboration with important stakeholders and leaders in Idaho, including the Idaho Legislature," the University of Phoenix said in a statement to Idaho Education News Tuesday.

07/03/2024

‘We hope to keep them interested:’ U of I gets more time to negotiate a Phoenix deal

The extension could give a skeptical Legislature the last word on the controversial purchase.

06/28/2024

New revelations, new wrinkles in Supreme Court hearing on Phoenix sale

The state's highest court took up the year-old open meetings case Thursday, but issued no ruling. Here's what we learned and what we heard.

06/13/2024

Analysis: Win or lose, Labrador’s lawsuit has already jeopardized the Phoenix sale

It's been almost a year since Idaho's attorney general filed a lawsuit over the proposed University of Phoenix acquisition. The slow-walking case is one big reason the $685 million purchase totters on shaky ground.

06/06/2024

‘Phoenix or bust:’ As a plan to rework the purchase flamed out, frustrations flared

Idaho Education News reviewed hundreds of pages of internal emails, for a behind-the-scenes look at the Statehouse debate over the proposed University of Phoenix megadeal.

05/30/2024

UPDATED: With U of I deal in limbo, Phoenix seeks to talk to other buyers

According to State Board of Education emails, Phoenix’s owners want to negotiate with other would-be buyers — and the University of Idaho could receive “breakup fees” if its offer doesn’t come to fruition.

05/28/2024

Green: U of I has ‘a couple different paths’ on Phoenix

“There is a desire to continue to move this along,” the University of Idaho president told State Board of Education members Wednesday morning. “We’re trying to figure out what that’s going to look like."

04/17/2024

Analysis: If the Phoenix deal died Wednesday, it didn’t die suddenly

The University of Idaho says it is still considering its options to pursue the University of Phoenix purchase. But the U of I's options appear to be limited.

03/28/2024

Judge awards $240,000 to State Board in Phoenix lawsuit

The order marks the latest step in a lengthy, and ongoing, lawsuit challenging the University of Idaho's $685 million bid to buy the University of Phoenix.

03/27/2024

U of I picks a new partner to finance Phoenix deal

The University of Idaho hasn’t begun issuing University of Phoenix bonds — but it is already turning to a Plan B, or a Plan C.

03/15/2024

A path forward? Lawmakers could seek to restructure Phoenix purchase

A pair of new legal opinions could give lawmakers some added leverage, as they look to inject themselves into the Phoenix debate.

03/12/2024

Analysis: As the session winds down (we hope), lawmakers wrestle big questions about Phoenix

The Statehouse Phoenix debate is rapidly unfolding, in the hurried final few weeks of the session and the outcome could represent one of the biggest decisions of the 2024 session.

03/07/2024

Supreme Court throws a wrench into U of I’s timetable

The court will hear oral arguments in June, as it takes up Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s challenge to the University of Idaho's proposed purchase. That means a nonbinding, but looming, May 31 deadline will likely go by the boards.

03/04/2024

Statehouse roundup, 2.28.24: Green defends Phoenix purchase in tense committee hearing

INSIDE: House committee advances bill to create regional appointments to the State Board of Education.

02/28/2024

U of I funnels $7.3 million of Phoenix consulting to Green’s former employer

The University of Idaho has run up more than $10 million of consulting costs — and counting. If the University of Phoenix purchase falls through, the U of I might be forced to eat the costs.

02/27/2024

Phoenix fallout? Moody’s places U of I’s bond rating under review

The University of Idaho now has an A1 bond rating. The proposed $685 million University of Phoenix purchase jeopardizes that high rating, analysts said last week.

02/19/2024

Analysis: A Legislature scorned demands to be heard on the Phoenix purchase

It's going to be a Statehouse showdown. And one the University of Idaho and the State Board of Education could have seen coming.

02/15/2024

U of I accreditors complete review of Phoenix purchase

Accreditors did not weigh in on the merits — or the financial implications — of the $685 million purchase. The U of I says the completed review brings the deal "one step closer" to the finish line.

02/14/2024

Employee survey indicates support for Phoenix purchase

But months after the proposed $685 million University of Phoenix purchase went public, many U of I employees still said they had no opinions about the purchase, or were unsure about it.

02/08/2024

Judge rejects Labrador’s open meetings lawsuit against State Board

Tuesday's ruling clears one major obstacle blocking the University of Idaho’s proposed $685 million University of Phoenix purchase. U of I officials hope to close the complex and controversial deal early this year.

01/31/2024

Analysis: Trial spotlights transparency — but not the Phoenix purchase

A robust public debate over government transparency is healthy and useful. It’s too bad Idahoans have never been afforded the same opportunity to debate the proposed University of Phoenix purchase.

01/29/2024

Green says the U of I outbid multiple suitors for the University of Phoenix

On the witness stand Wednesday, University President C. Scott Green talked at greater detail than ever before about the pursuit of Phoenix. A civil suit could stymie the $685 million deal; the trial continues Thursday.

01/24/2024

EXCLUSIVE: ‘The dollar store of higher education:’ Skeptics say the Phoenix purchase would cheapen the U of I brand

Emails are the closest the public got to a public hearing on the University of Idaho's proposal. EdNews spoke to six people who spoke up against the $685 million megadeal in May — hours before the State Board signed on.

12/20/2023

EXCLUSIVE: Two days in May: Inside the frenzied rush to approve — and oppose — the Phoenix purchase

Idaho Education News reviewed emails to and from State Board of Education members, obtained through a public records request. The unearthed emails provide a narrative of the 24 hours leading up to the State Board’s approval of the University of Idaho's purchase of the University of Phoenix. 

12/20/2023

U of I demands $2,400 to review — and perhaps release — Phoenix public records

The bill centers on Idaho Education News' request for records mentioning "Project Neptune," a code name for the University of Phoenix. And it comes as Boise State University's approach to public records is also under fresh scrutiny.

12/05/2023

The $685 million University of Phoenix purchase: A study guide

Are you confused about the University of Idaho's complex and controversial bid to buy the University of Phoenix? Or just straight-up exhausted by all the developments? Catch up here.

11/27/2023

See you in court: Open meetings lawsuit will head to trial

The lawsuit will continue to loom over the University of Idaho's proposed University of Phoenix purchase — possibly for several more months. The deal faces a May 31 deadline.

11/13/2023

Court documents provide a detailed look inside the State Board’s closed-door Phoenix meetings

Most of the deliberations about the $685 million University of Idaho purchase took place behind closed doors. Now, depositions and public records allow us to pull back the curtain.

11/03/2023

State Board’s legal bills in open records case exceed $81,000 — so far

Idaho Education News received the invoices Wednesday, after filing a public records request.

10/18/2023

Feds write off $37 million in Phoenix student loans. Will U of I end up on the hook?

The U of I downplayed Wednesday's U.S. Department of Education announcement. But university officials have already said the U of I could be on the hook for $7 million a year, or more, stemming from loan writeoffs.

09/21/2023

Analysis: The U of I’s Phoenix purchase is a federal case — and a complicated one

Supporters say the University of Phoenix purchase would thrust University of Idaho into a national education spotlight. But the deal would also entangle the U of I in some gnarly federal education issues.

09/14/2023

The University of Phoenix Interview

University of Phoenix officials sit down for an extended interview about their school's past — and its future.

08/29/2023

‘We want this deal to happen:’ Phoenix officials tout sale, downplay risk to U of I

“You’re gonna see a very different University of Phoenix than you read about,” university President Chris Lynne said in an Idaho Education News podcast interview.

08/29/2023

State Board launches all-out defense against attorney general’s lawsuit

The four court motions represent the State Board of Education's most concerted push against Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s lawsuit.

08/23/2023

New details, and a fast rewrite: the U of I updates its Phoenix messaging

In one case, the University of Idaho rewrote its page of "frequently asked questions," days after an Idaho Education News story refuted the university’s facts.

08/02/2023

Document pokes a hole in U of I’s Phoenix timeline

The University of Idaho has said it began looking at a University of Phoenix purchase in March, when the for-profit online giant “approached” U of I officials. But that timetable is inaccurate and incomplete.

07/27/2023

Analysis: What we know about the Phoenix sweepstakes, despite the U of I’s silence

The University of Idaho wasn’t the only bidder for the University of Phoenix, a for-profit online giant. That is clear. The rest of the story is more complicated.

07/27/2023

NewU vs. NewU: The anatomy of a U of I branding dispute

The University of Idaho dropped the brand after a lawyer for Washington, D.C.-based NewU University began demanding money.

07/13/2023

Analysis: Labrador-State Board legal fight transcends closed meetings

The lawsuit is a juicy political showdown between Attorney General Raúl Labrador and the State Board of Education — and by extension, Gov. Brad Little. Here's why this case matters.

07/12/2023

Labrador lawsuit challenges closed-door, U of I-Phoenix purchase discussions

"The people of Idaho deserve to know about a transaction of this magnitude before it happens, not to have it presented to them as a fait accompli," the attorney general's office said in a lawsuit, filed Tuesday.

06/23/2023

Lawmakers grill Green on U of I-Phoenix purchase

Legislative budget-writers raised serious questions about the U of I's closed-door negotiations with the University of Phoenix — and the potential financial risks from the $685 million megadeal.

06/16/2023

The details of the U of I-University of Phoenix deal — and C. Scott Green’s case for the move

How will the U of I-Phoenix megadeal work? And why does President C. Scott Green believe it's time to make a deal? Listen here.

06/01/2023

President Green: U of Phoenix purchase is vital to U of I’s long-term viability

If the U of I doesn’t expand, it will be left to compete in a shrinking market, for a limited number of college-bound 18- to 22-year-olds. “Frankly, in my opinion, not all institutions in this country will survive,” Green said in an Idaho Education News podcast interview.

06/01/2023

Analysis: A high-stakes, high-risk deal that will make or break a legacy

The University of Idaho stands to gain or lose millions from the proposed University of Phoenix purchase. For better or worse, President C. Scott Green’s tenure at his alma mater will be measured against this balance sheet.

05/25/2023

State Board greenlights U of I’s $550 million University of Phoenix purchase

U of I officials say the acquisition promises a cash infusion of $10 million or more a year. Meanwhile, the U of I would guarantee up to $10 million a year to backstop bond payments on the purchase.

05/18/2023