The Phoenix-based Apollo Group, Inc. has named Allyson Pooley as vice-president of investor relations. Apollo Group, Inc. is a provider of higher education programs through its subsidiaries, The University of Phoenix, Inc., as well as other online educational institutions.

Pooley is a 15-year veteran of the financial-services and investor-relations fields. She has worked with Apollo since 2006, serving as a consultant to the parent company.

Previously, Pooley worked at the financial-communications consulting firm Integrated Corporate Relations Inc.

The University of Phoenix is generally considered the pioneer of the online educational movement that is taking the education world by storm. The for-profit University is the home school for 90% of all Apollo educational institutions and is described the by the Group as "the nation's largest regionally accredited private university"