On March 8, 2019, Argosy University, including Argosy University Online Programs, permanently closed. This web page is for Iowa residents who were attending Argosy University Online Programs when the school closed.
Options for Iowans Who Attended Argosy University Online
If you are an Iowan who was in attendance at Argosy University Online (Argosy) when it closed (or within 120 days prior to Argosy’s closure date) and you were unable to complete your program, you have an important decision to make about which of the following courses of action to take:
- Enroll (by transferring academic credits or hours earned at Argosy University) into a comparable program at another school to finish your education.
OR
- Apply for closed school discharge (cancellation) of the federal student loans you obtained for the program you were attending when Argosy closed.
Federal Closed School Loan Discharge
For more information about conditions that may qualify – or disqualify – you from receiving a closed school discharge of your federal student loans, see the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) closed school web pages at:
AND
If you have questions or concerns about closed school loan discharge conditions based on your particular circumstances, you should contact your Federal Student Loan Servicer. If you do not know the identity of your Federal Student Loan Servicer, you can find out by logging into your federal student loan records at My Federal Student Aid. If you have forgotten your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID (username and password), you can retrieve your forgotten FSA ID through this web page.
If your Federal Student Loan Servicer cannot help you with your closed school loan discharge questions, you may contact USDE directly through the FSA Feedback/Complaint web page.
If you wish to pursue a closed school loan discharge, you must request an application from your Federal Student Loan Servicer.
Students who completed a program at Argosy University or withdrew more than 120 days before Argosy closed are not eligible for closed school loan discharge.
Beware of Debt Relief Companies
Be wary of “debt relief,” “loan rescue,” or “loan forgiveness” companies that may unexpectedly contact you by email or phone and offer to help you obtain federal student loan forgiveness. These companies – sooner or later – will charge you fees for applications and services you can obtain from your Federal Student Loan Servicer for free; they may use your confidential FSA ID or electronic signature to execute transactions on your loans you may not know about and may not want; and they may not get you the loan forgiveness they promise.
See Iowa College Aid’s October 2018 article on “loan rescue” companies for more information.
Financial Protections for Iowans
If you were in attendance in an online program when Argosy closed, you will be treated as a withdrawn student effective on Argosy’s closure date. Argosy must partially reduce tuition charges assessed to a withdrawn student who could not complete a course (or term) in keeping with the Iowa State Refund Policy found in the Argosy catalog.
As a condition of offering instruction to Iowa residents, Iowa College Aid required Argosy University to maintain a surety bond payable to the State of Iowa in the maximum amount allowed under Iowa law: $50,000. The purpose of this bond is to provide some limited financial relief to students who attend a school that closes before students can complete their programs. However, Argosy’s insurer canceled the bond on February 8, 2019, and Argosy failed to obtain a replacement bond.
Obtaining Your Argosy University Transcript
Argosy University’s closed school information page provides a Transcript Request Form and instructions for mailing it to Argosy’s parent company, Dream Center Education Holdings.
For as long as the Argosy online student portal Campus Common remains available, you may also request a transcript through the Campus Common under the “My Academics” tab.
If you need more than three official transcripts, you should send an email to Argosy’s parent company, Dream Center Education Holdings, at dcehpriorityservices@dcedh.org. This email should include your name, location attended, full contact information, and the reason for needing additional transcripts.
Funding and Other Resources to Continue Your Education at Another School
Iowa public colleges and universities offer programs at lower, in-state tuition for Iowa residents. The State of Iowa offers scholarships and grants for eligible Iowa students enrolled at Iowa colleges or universities. For example, undergraduate students with financial need who attend eligible Iowa private colleges and universities may qualify for up to the maximum award per year for up to four years of undergraduate study through the Iowa Tuition Grant Program.
Transferring To a New School
Every college has the right to establish its own admission and transfer of credit policies. There is no guarantee that you will meet a new college’s admission requirements, or that a new college will accept the credits earned at Argosy University or any other college you previously attended. If you are considering a transfer to a new school, we suggest that you follow these steps:
- Request your official transcript from Argosy University (and any other college you previously attended) and verify that it has been received by the new college(s).
- Apply for admission and receive official acceptance at the new college(s) in which you are interested.
- Receive an official transcript evaluation from the registrar at your new college(s). Do not rely on unofficial transcript evaluations that some colleges offer while they are recruiting you.
- Receive and evaluate the financial aid award package from the new college(s).
Regarding any new school you may consider, please keep in mind the following:
- Programs offered by other schools may have some similarities to Argosy’s program curriculum but may not be the same;
- It may be necessary to repeat coursework at a new school that is the same or similar to coursework you completed at Argosy, or you may be required to take additional coursework to complete a new school’s degree requirements; and
- It is possible that you may not be able to finish a new school’s program within the same timeframe in which you were scheduled to complete your Argosy program.
If you are conducting national research to determine what schools may offer an online program that is similar to the program in which you were enrolled at Argosy University, you should know that some out-of-state schools are not authorized to offer programs to Iowa residents and some out-of-state schools do not have financial protections required by Iowa law for Iowa resident students. Out-of-state colleges and universities that are specifically authorized to offer distance education programs to Iowa residents are listed on Iowa College Aid’s website.
Note: Iowa resident Argosy students have received emails from persons representing Argosy informing them of a transfer opportunity to South University. South University is not, at this time, authorized to enroll Iowa residents in distance education programs.
The State of Iowa participates in an interstate distance education reciprocity agreement that permits a significant number of other out-of-state colleges and universities to offer programs to Iowans. These schools are listed on the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) website. If you have questions about whether an out-of-state school is authorized to offer programs to Iowa residents, contact Iowa College Aid. See below for Iowa College Aid Contact Information.
Iowa College Aid is researching programs that are similar to online programs Argosy offered to Iowans and expects to have more information posted to this web page soon.
Learn more about best practices for transfer students.
Impact of Transferring to a New School on Federal Student Aid
The U.S. Department of Education places a yearly limit on the amount of Federal Stafford Loan and Federal Pell Grant funds that are available to a student. If you transfer to a new school within a school year, the amount of federal student aid available to you at your new school may be limited by the amount you have already received at Argosy. The financial aid professionals at your new school can help you determine how your transfer may affect your federal student aid eligibility.
Federal Pell Grant "Reset" for Undergraduate Students: The USDE may reset (i.e. restore) periods of Pell Grant eligibility to students who were unable to complete an undergraduate program because their school closed. The USDE will notify students whose Pell Grant eligibility changes as the result of a closed school adjustment to the student’s Pell Grant funding.
Current Term Federal Student Loan Cancellation Only for Argosy Students: Recently, the USDE received complaints that Argosy had not paid federal student loan funds the school received for some students. Argosy students who did not receive all of their federal student loan funds during the most recent Argosy enrollment period will not receive that money from Argosy or the USDE. However, the USDE has begun the process of identifying Argosy University students who should have received a federal direct student loan disbursement for the current Argosy term and will cancel those disbursements to partially reduce the student’s loan repayment obligation. USDE will cancel current term disbursement amounts automatically; there is no need for you to apply for the cancellation.
USDE will process this partial, current term loan disbursement cancellation for eligible students regardless of whether you apply for full closed school loan discharge. For more information, see the USDE’s web page.
If you have questions about the current term federal student loan cancellation; the Federal Pell Grant “reset”; whether these benefits apply to you; or you are having difficulty enrolling at another school because of limits on your annual Pell or Stafford loan eligibility:
- Call USDE at 844-651-0077 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. Eastern time, or
- Submit your question or concern to the USDE’s Feedback/Complaint web page.
Iowa College Aid Contact Information
Toll-free telephone: 877-272-4456, option 4
Email: info@iowacollegeaid.gov
Online Student Complaint Form: iowacollegeaid.gov/StudentDisputeResolutionForm