Apollo Group, Inc. Announces State Approval in Ohio and Missouri 

Phoenix, Arizona, July 31, 2000 -- Apollo Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:APOL) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, the University of Phoenix (University of Phoenix), has received state approval to offer postsecondary education in Ohio and Missouri. University of Phoenix has also received approval from our accrediting body, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, to operate in Ohio, Missouri, and Massachusetts.

We will be opening new campus locations in the following areas: Cleveland, Ohio, St. Louis, Missouri, and Boston, Massachusetts. We anticipate enrolling students at these new campus locations during the first six months of fiscal 2001.

Dr. John G. Sperling, Chairman and CEO commented, “Apollo continues to see a high demand from working adult consumers for its educational programs and services. The approval of these new locations expands University of Phoenix’s reach into a total of 18 states, Puerto Rico, and British Columbia. We continue to be committed to the expansion of our campuses and learning centers and our program offerings to address the increasing market needs for quality, affordable higher education designed for the working adult student.”

Apollo Group, Inc. has been providing higher education programs to working adults for over 25 years. Apollo Group, Inc., operates 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. The consolidated enrollment in its educational programs makes it the largest private institution of higher education in the United States. It offers educational programs and services at 52 campuses and 92 learning centers in 35 states, Puerto Rico, and Vancouver, British Columbia. Combined degree enrollment was 94,255 students as of May 31, 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.