Apollo Group, Inc. Announces the Completion of the Department of Education Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Audit

Phoenix, Arizona, March 28, 2000 -- Apollo Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:APOL) announced that it has reached an agreement with the Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Programs. The agreement reached with the Department acknowledges no admission that there were any issues of non-compliance or errors by the University of Phoenix (University of Phoenix).

Todd Nelson, President, commented, "We are pleased that our dedication to regulatory compliance procedures and close work with the Department has resulted in the successful conclusion to this audit. Although we disagree with the audit findings concerning issues of interpretation and control over the University’s educational processes, the agreement reached requires no change in our teaching learning model, thereby allowing us to focus all of our efforts on providing adult education programs of unparalleled quality in the marketplace."

To bring this audit to closure and settle all outstanding issues prior to the final OIG report, which will be issued on or before March 31, 2000, University of Phoenix agreed to make a slight modification to its student study group attendance log. This modification will have no negative impact either on the University of Phoenix or its students. Reluctantly, we have agreed to pay the Department of Education $6,000,000, although we believe there is no basis either in statute or regulation for this assessment. Given our past experience in dealing with the Department of Education, it is better for University of Phoenix to resolve this issue now than go through the additional expense, management distraction, and uncertainty of a lengthy appeal process. Having resolved all outstanding issues, we look forward to continuing a positive relationship with the Department.

Apollo Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries the University of Phoenix, Inc., the Institute for Professional Development, the College for Financial Planning Institutes Corporation, Western International University, Inc. and Apollo Learning Group, Inc., is a leading provider of higher education programs for working adults based on the number of working adults enrolled in its programs. The consolidated enrollment in our educational programs would make us the largest private institution of higher education in the United States. We currently offer our educational programs and services at 52 campuses and 89 learning centers in 35 states, Puerto Rico and Vancouver, British Columbia. Our combined degree enrollment was 94,046 students at February 29, 2000.

For more information about Apollo Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, call 1-800-990-APOL.

This press release includes statements, which may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This information may involve risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements.