Advertising has long been a key part of the University of Phoenix's commercial success: according to AdWeek the school shells out more than $100 million a year--more than General Mills spends to market Cheerios--to lure students to its massive network of for-profit career schools.

The university, which serves more than 400,000 students at some ninety campuses and 150 learning centers worldwide has been a goldmine for its parent company, the Apollo Group, accounting for most of Apollo's $4 billion in revenues. But a spate of recent pricey ads the University has been running in The Washington Post are about damage control.

A recent joint investigation by New York -based ProPublica and American Public Media's "Marketplace" accused the school, which is the single largest recipient of federal education aid, of using high pressure recruitment tactics that leave students in deep debt--which the school denies-- while The Washington Monthly has an article outlining how federal laws and regulatory changes in the past decade have abetted aggressive recruitment and a spike in predatory private lending to students at these schools.

The charges come as the Apollo Group, is setting aside $80.5 million to settle a long running suit by two former admissions officers accusing the school of getting federal student-aid funds under false pretenses. It also comes as the Obama Administration contemplates tightening regulations meant to prevent such recruitment abuses. One University ad featured an open letter to students, alumni, calling the media reports the work of "ideologically driven critics" and asking to share success stories on the University's website.