A defunct for-profit career college system that operated 2007–2015 amid widespread fraud allegations.
Everest College was established in 2007 and consolidated multiple for-profit schools under the Everest brand by 2010, including Bryman College, Ashmead College, and Florida Metropolitan University. The system operated across the United States and Ontario, Canada, with peak enrollment in 2015–2016. However, widespread fraud allegations, poor job placement rates, and regulatory action led to rapid collapse: Ontario shut down 14 campuses on February 19, 2015, and Everest declared bankruptcy the next day. Corinthian Colleges closed all remaining US campuses on April 27, 2015. In February 2015, Educational Credit Management Corporation's subsidiary Zenith Education Group acquired 56 Everest and WyoTech campuses, planning to transition them to nonprofit status and eliminate low-performing programs.
Everest College offered career-focused diploma and certificate programs across business, health care, and technology disciplines. Accreditation varied significantly by location: Everest College Phoenix, Mesa, and online courses through Phoenix held regional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission; all other campuses were nationally accredited. National accreditation limited credit transferability to other institutions. The Phoenix campus faced academic probation in 2009 and a 'Show-Cause' status in 2010 over autonomy concerns, though it remained accredited during this period.
Everest faced extensive legal and regulatory scrutiny. In 2010, the Government Accountability Office cited Everest among 15 for-profit colleges for deceptive recruitment practices. Graduates reported being unable to find employment matching promised career prospects, and diplomas were widely described as worthless. In 2016, California awarded $1.1 billion in restitution to the state for false advertising and predatory practices, with $820 million ordered for student restitution. In 2021, the US Department of Education made former Everest students eligible for automatic student loan debt relief following investigations into widespread fraud and misleading statements about career outcomes.
Approximately 96% of Everest's revenue came from US government funding. Despite this, employment outcomes were poor: in Milwaukee, only 25% of students found jobs and over half dropped out before the campus closed in 2012. Everest College graduates had the highest student loan default rate of any school in California for students entering repayment in 2010 and the fifth highest in Arizona. A 2016 Associated Press investigation found recent graduates unable to secure work sufficient to repay student loans, and reported that Everest continued telemarketing recruitment despite ongoing scrutiny.