An Honest Review of the University of Phoenix Online
Posted: Saturday, November 19, 2005
by Jean Chortillion
Jean Chortillion
The University of Phoenix Online has been in existence for over a decade and a half. Established in 1989, it was the first accredited online university and today with over 57,000 enrolments to its credit, it has become the largest private, accredited, ‘for-profit’, online university in the United States . Because of its tenure and name recognition, the University of Phoenix is often the first name that comes to peoples mind when they consider an online University. This reputation is not without merit, as the University offers students a great deal that the other online universities simply cannot compete with. That said, not everything about this school is ideal.
Virtual classrooms with trained online instructors and flexible but strict classroom participation and assignment submissions make learning comfortable. So much so, that the students are able to complete almost 27 credits in a year as against 15 credits completed by regular on site campus learning students. With only 11 students in a class, the student to instructor ratio is low, facilitating greater one on one interaction. The instructors themselves are CIOs, CEOs and CFOs of reputed companies when they are not mentoring students in the classrooms.
But then like every thing in this universe, negatives do exist and this University is no exception. Sometimes students complain about below average quality of instructors who do not participate in the discussion or evaluation to the extent that has been promised. Lack of communication skills in some cases and at others complete or partial silence towards questions posted has been observed. This is a serious allegation considering that the good communication and prompt interactions with the students of the class are very vital for any online course. Add to this, students often complain that when a grievance or concern is addressed to the deputed ‘advisor’ an endless string of communication follows with little or no action actually taken.
There are some ex-instructors who have come up and indicated that their pay is quite pitiful relative to other universities and as a consequence the motivation levels and drive to excel is low. This often results in a high turnover of instructors. It seems that the primary complaint, substandard teaching quality is directly tied to the level of pay provided these professors.
Another negative pertains to the technology itself. The university boasts that the online software platform has been developed in collaboration with Microsoft. One would expect that the mail receiving and disseminating platform also be much evolved and sophisticated. Instead there is confirmed evidence that they actually use the notoriously lacking Outlook Express for the purpose. Another problem is that the servers are quite slow sometimes. These two problems are worth a mention since online teaching requires quick and reliable interface with minimum downtime. Therefore a slack in this area can have serious implications for the university as a whole.
A final concern pertains to ‘high’ fees being charged. It might be comparable with the several outer online universities of its genre. But when viewed in the light of students who are already disgruntled with the quality of education being imparted, can snowball into bigger packets of unhappiness.
All this might sound as the doomsday for online education and especially for the University of Phoenix . But remember when you handle thousands of students, there are bound to be a handful that are going to be dissatisfied. And life depends on changes and improvements. That said, by and large the students of the University of Phoenix have and continue to express satisfaction with the school. While it is certainly clear that it has some limitations, the opportunity to attain a degree swiftly and cheaply from a well known and accredited University makes the offer very attractive for a great many.
Jean Chortillion enjoys writing about online education. See http://www.universityreviewsonline.com/2005/10/review_of_the_u.html for another University of Phoenix review.
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More commentsI've been working on my M.S. in the University of Phoenix for almost 17 months. All I can say is that, no matter how many degrees you have or school you attend, knowledge always depends on your interest, how much time you put on diversify your skills and personal talent, and not just on a diploma/degree from X university. I have taken classes online at Stanford University and all I can say is that everyone is capable to succeed; interest, motivation, consistency, happiness! and time are the important things to succeed not just in the professional arena but also in life.Ricardo
Don't attend here, PLEASE! As a previous poster mentioned, the majority of nationally accreditted colleges and universities have online/evening degree programs. In this day and age where undergraduate degrees are than a dime a dozen, where you go (ex. the school's reputation) means more than ever now. University of Phoenix and its counterparts such as Capella or National American University are KNOWN degree mills throughout academia and the corporate world. You are wasting your money. Many posters in here are correct - it takes drive and discipline to do well in college...and part of that discipline may also mean that you as the student may actually have to make a sacrifice (*gasp*) of your time and schedule in order to attend classes at a nationally accreditted university. Geesh, everything can't be handed to you just as you want it, how you want it, and when you want it. College is a priviledge, not a right.
What I want to know is, Has anyone who graduated actually gotten jobs in their field? Is the degree worth anything on my resume? Will I be hired with this degree????Sure you willbe hired and having UOP on your resume will make a difference. The question is how bad do you want the job, present your best attitude, reference what you have learned, and as always, be most porfessional at all times as well as in your response to employer questions. I have a Masters in Psychology from Phoenix, and I am working as a school psychologist (3rd year) and I personally know that an education at UOP can land you an excellent employment opportunity.Since the only about 30% of people with degrees actually work in their degree field, I woud guess UoP graduates are no different.Thank-you for your nice words about my school, yes we work really hard in class. no i am not on-line student, i go to the ground classes.I am second year softmore going for my BSHA in healthcare. I am working really hard in each one of my classes. they are not easy, and they sure don't give grades away. My last class best i could do was 88/100 for B+ I wanted and "A"so bad, but just could not get it!! So next class i will try to get that A but it will never come with out working for it. thanks for the kind words. glen h.Let me assure you that your degree is worth something. My sister graduated in May from University of Phoenix in teaching. She applied for many jobs through many different school districts in the area. When it was time to do call back for the new school year she received calls from most of them. She had her choice of jobs. I haven't attend University of Phoenix but after seeing my sister graduate and all her success I highly recommend it.I have graduated with Bachelors of Science in Business/Accounting and I currently have a wonderful career withone of the largest banks in America. I am also currently pursueing my MBA from UOP
No...the THOUSANDS of UoP graduates throughout the country each year don't get jobs in their fields...ever...duh. what kind of question is that? In the real world, it's hardly WHERE you attain your degree anymore...instead its whether or not you attain a masters or a doctorate....employers look at the letters behind the name first, before ever finding out where the letters came from. They don't care where you studied for so many years...just that you were willing to put forth the effort...the extra years of valuable learning and experience.
I have been a student at the UOP for some time and there are problems with plenty of schools and the quality of education varies with every school. My former employer was contracted by the government for background checks (USIS) and they had a tuition reimbersement plan and the UOP was one of the schools they frequently had come visit on education fairs. The same was true of OPM which was the segment of the government that we were contracted to, they also offer tuition reimbersement and had the UOP there on their education fairs as well.I am sure there are people who look down upon online for profit degrees and you may get passed over because of it, but I know atleast 2 people with UOP degrees who got jobs in less than 3 months after they completed there degree so it is possible you just got to get a job at a place that is not as closed minded.The most complaints I have heard about the university of phoenix is when you try to leave they are down right evil, they do want their money. That being said if you do want to go here make sure you will see it threw to the end because they will still want their money and will almost stalk you to get it.All i can say about the value of the education is that my wife goes to a traditional school and she went to both the main campus one semester and did one semester online and she despised online education with a passion. She was not self motivated and did not put any pressure on her self to study and it showed in her grades. She also could slide by on class content because she can be the silent person in class who just shufflers her way threw the course online she did not have that option because there was no one else to funnel her past material, so for some people online education regardless of where can be a terrible mistake. From helping her with assignments i can also note that the UOP is better organized than the college she attended online, it was a mishapen mass of information that was almost impossible to find what she needed and when she needed it. The university of phoenix does not allow their prof's to direct anything but the content they are asigned to teach and they cannot customize the interface so every class is laid out the exact same so there are very little suprises. My wife's online experience was that every professor had almost complete control and that meant they all thought their version of organization was the best and it made it hard for her to do well untill i started helping her.I would like to say that once i get my degree i will report back here but i wont ill forget about this thread because there are 4 million or so threads just like it with various information regarding what they think about this school or that school. Take it all at face value and if this is not for you dont go here, if it is for you dont let people stop you. If you can go to a traditional school and thats for you than go for it, if you work great on your own time and have discipline and motivation than online can work for you. The bottom line is that the current job market is flooded with over qualified people so finding any employeement is hard enough right now at this point a degree may or not may not help you get a job. What i find is that a lot of people at the UOP are working in their field and trying to move up in the company not get a new job. So weigh your options and look at everything, search out what degree you want, where you can apply it in your area (unless your not opposed to moving) and see if there is more than one place to get that education. Once you have all the facts then make your decision on where to go and why you will go there. Dont take anyone's word for it because what credentials do people on a message board really have? I could easily say i am an HR manager and discriminate against this school or that school or that I manage this company and we dont even look at these candidates. I could also say that i have graduated from this school and now make six figures and there is no evidence to support any of these claims so decide for yourself what is the best option. The education at UOP is solid education even if some companies will over look you for it. If the job you want is one of those companies dont waste your time and money, if they are more concentrated with the ability to do the job than the place you got your degree than its perfectly fine to go there. I have found that in most subjects theory differs from practice because text books can become outdated before they even get shipped so regardless of where you go your job will not line up exactly with your studies and education.The fact that you are not able to distinguish between "threw" and "through" is to say the least, distressing.So is your inability to use proper punctuation. I obtained my MBA from University of Phoenix and am currently enrolling in the Doctoral program. University of Phoenix offers a solution for actual "WORKING PROFESSIONALS." In addition, many of my instructors have been Strategic Consultants for companies such as Motorola, Intel, AT&T, Microsoft, etc. Their in depth knowledge of the business world has provided additional insights that I just couldn't get at a traditional university. I attended ASU for two years and was enrolled in the W.P. Carey School of Business. Although the professors were intelligent, many had their own agenda that was forced upon the students which had no pertinent value to the class. University of Phoenix allowed me to learn the about the inner workings of successful corporations without having to deal with the instructor's liberal personal agenda.The fact that out of the ~ 900 words I only really messed up on 7 things does not bother me at all. I did not proof read any of it, and I believe I wrote it at some ungodly hour in the morning after having worked a 16 hour day. During that time frame I was working 2 jobs so my work day was 8:30am to 12midnight 4 days a week and just 4pm - 12midnight the other 2 days a week. Sleep was not on my to-do-list so sorry if my grasp of grammar is horrible.
Not to mention my particular mistake that you noted would not have been noticeable if spoken.
Anyways an update I am still enrolled in UOP, will get my degree in 2012 and might be able to update on how my degree worked out in relation to the job market.
This university does not even give students a placement test. You can easily find forged essay's online vs. actual content when doing a research paper. The Syllabus's are recycled and some i've found are over 4 years old. I would not recommend this to anyone, it's a bs waste of time and money.
I have been attending for over a year now and have had nothing but problems. Instructors could care less and won't even answer questions. It is way over priced for a less than sub par eduction. Every step of the way has been a fight up to this point in time. PLEASE investigate and look into all the problems before signing up and paying for all the problems.The education is like any education it is what you put into it, I am going to transfere to MIZZOU for my masters because it is much less expensive and less strenuous than UOP but for anyone going to UOP it is a very adequate program.
The phrase, "quantity over quality," never applied more than to the University of Phoenix. Instructors, academic advisers, financial advisers, guidance counsellors are lazy, cocky, idiotic, and flat-out liars at times. The quality of the course work is good if you take the time to read through it and actually do the work, but the instructors do absolutely nothing. Ask a question, and they will avoid answering. Question their authority, and you will literally be laughed at by advisers on the phone. Instructors will ignore their own course syllabus, incorrectly grade you, and ignore all response when called out. Advisers will stand by their sides tall and mighty. They are obviously bitter about having "Master" degrees in Psychology, yet instructing entry-level algebra at lower-class online universities.
The guidance counsellors are all gung-ho about getting you started, but they toss you aside like a used –up hooker after your first year and you are left to rely on your less-than-adequate academic advisers. I initially had a terrible set of academic and financial advisers, but managed to transfer to an even more incompetent pair because I moved overseas. The first ones didn't even warn me of when the course fees were due until the day before the due date at one point. I was then surprised to be suspended from further classes for two weeks while I scrounged up the out-of-pocket $2500. The second academic adviser only ever referred me to my academic counsellor - who sounded about 14 years-old and straight out of the depths of a Californian teenage wasteland from a Brett Easton Ellis novel.
In my math course at UOP, nearly 15 students dropped out, specifically because of the insults and nonsensical teaching of the instructor in the class. We even emailed each other in disgust regarding the subject. When I filed a complaint, it took threatening to leave the university after three weeks of no response for the academic adviser to finally call me. When she did call, she refused to call between the hours I gave, and continued to leave messages on my phone outside of these hours (as if avoiding me). After four times of telling this girl (who was obviously dense) that I could not be contacted outside of the hours of 9am to 4:30pm every day, I finally gave in and took time out of work to speak with her. This only led to justification for the instructor - even though the instructor blatantly disregarded the syllabus multiplied times and even went as far as to call me illiterate when she didn't even know how to use the word "disconnect" properly. When you can do math better than your instructor when you haven’t looked at the concepts in over 7 years, there is definitely something wrong. When your instructor refuses to admit that they’re wrong, there is definitely something very wrong.
The name of this vapid and spiteful instructor is Maureen Clifford. The name of the sarcastic and dim-witted academic adviser is Nada Othman. If you have the unpleasant situation where you are currently enrolled in UOP, and you are unable to transfer universities, avoid them at all costs.
This school is pitiful. I only wish I had read the reviews before I went and spent money on an AA there. I am transferring to another online university for my BA.
I have been at UOP for a year now and all I have had was problems. The coursework sucks and no instructors want to help. I have had to get help form a site called aceyourcollegeclassesdotcom They are an excellent way to get good grades and make some money helping others that are having a hard time. I do reccommend aceyourcollegeclassesdotcom to all College students. As for UOP STAY AWAY FROM THEM!!
I attend UoP and will agree with each of you to a certain point. Some of you have said that like with any college you get out of it what you put into it. That is true, you can certainly skate by with coursework you buy online at some hack site, also brick and mortar schools ahve the same issue with cheating that all online colleges have. When you get out in the real world your employer will know the difference. Advisors and counselors have been nothing but gracious and kind with me over the two years I have been attending, I think it has something to do with the fact that I am gracious and kind when dealing with them. yet again you get out of it what you put into it. Be nice and polite and they will work with you, be rude and obnoxious and they are likely to bury your problem at the bottom of the pile.
If you take the time and do the work you will come away with a degree you can be proud of and know that you earned it, If you cheat your way through then you will have to live with that too.
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