Statement

Statement on Petition to United States Supreme Court
Phoenix, Arizona, April 23, 2007 — University of Phoenix, subsidiary of Apollo Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:APOL), is disappointed the United States Supreme Court has denied its request to review a recent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that dramatically expands the scope of the False Claims Act and conflicts with decisions from five other federal appellate courts.

“We regret the Court will not hear this case,” said former United States Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson, who led University of Phoenix’s legal team before the Supreme Court on behalf of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP. “We believe review was warranted in order to bring much-needed clarity to this area of law and to ensure that the False Claims Act is not transformed into a tool for extracting extortionate and unjustified settlements from defendants unable to bear the risk of going to trial.”

In urging the Supreme Court to take the case, University of Phoenix argued that the Ninth Circuit’s expansive interpretation of the False Claims Act, a Civil War-era statute designed to remedy false or fraudulent claims for payment submitted to the federal government, exposes the thousands of companies doing business with the federal government to staggering new liability that Congress never intended to authorize. This opinion was shared by representatives of the education, defense, and healthcare industries, who filed amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs in support of University of Phoenix.

Previously, the case (United States ex rel. Hendow v. University of Phoenix) was twice dismissed by the trial court, ultimately with prejudice, before being reinstated by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in September 2006. The Department of Justice declined to join in pursuing the matter several months after it was originally filed, in March 2003.

University of Phoenix has again asked the trial court to dismiss the case. In its motion to dismiss filed in March, University of Phoenix demonstrates that the claims against it have been extinguished by the government’s recent administrative review of the allegations asserted in the case. That review culminated in a settlement agreement with University of Phoenix that, importantly, provided the government with a remedy barring additional legal action. Notably, University of Phoenix did not admit any liability in the settlement agreement and was not required to modify any of the practices currently challenged in the case.

Complete copies of University of Phoenix’s filings in this matter are available in the Legal Information Center at www.apollogrp.edu.

About Apollo Group, Inc., parent company to University of Phoenix:
Apollo Group, Inc. has been an education provider for more than 30 years, operating the University of Phoenix, the Institute for Professional Development, The College for Financial Planning, Western International University and Insight Schools. The Company offers innovative and distinctive educational programs and services from high school through college level at 262 locations in 39 states, Puerto Rico, Washington DC, Alberta, British Columbia, Netherlands, and Mexico as well as online, throughout the world.

For more information about Apollo Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, call (800) 990-APOL or visit Apollo on the company website at: www.apollogrp.edu.

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