Is University of Phoenix ok for a Teaching Credential/Masters in Education?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I am looking into going back to school to get a teaching credential and a Masters in Education. I have had several people tell me to just get it from the University of Phoenix online and that no one really cares where you get your advanced degrees when you are teaching as long as you have them.

Is that really true? It doesn’t seem like it would be, but what do I know. I do know that University of Phoenix would be a hell of a lot cheaper and I could keep my current job while I got my degrees, at least for a while.
I have also been told that in Southern California that the best place for me to get my credential and MA was from CSUN, but that was from different people than the ones who said the University of Phoenix stuff.

What, if anything, do you guys know about this? Does it matter at all where I get my degrees? Does going to a school with a “better” program mean much in the real world?

2

Get the credential from a CSU, then finish the Master’s from UoP. It does make a difference to the people hiring.

3

That’s good to know. Thanks.

So, where you get the credential is the most important thing and what I should be focusing on then?

4

Can you even earn a teaching credential for California from UoP? I had looked into getting a master’s via UoP when I was “college shopping” for a career change to teaching, but the only master’s program in education they offered, at least in Ohio, was for teachers with credentials already.

Not to mention I’m not sure that UoP degrees carry much gravitas, for whatever reason.

I think if I were in your shoes I’d try to go with a local college/university if for no other reason than for the alumni connections they could provide upon graduation. You really can’t discount networking when looking for a teaching job, especially now that education jobs are drying up.

5

Depends who’s checking. If it’s your typical incompetent HR department, then any degree from anywhere is fine.

6

Am I mistaken, or isn’t University of Phoenix pretty expensive? Is there a brick and mortar state university you could get it from instead?

I might be mistaken again but I thought UofP was kinda considered more of a degree mill and not so great?

7

Yes. Get it from a brick & mortar college. The degree is just units after that and advancement on the salary scale.

8

From here the per credit hour cost for a graduate degree is $465. CSUN lists their graduate school tuition as $5737 for a full year.

9

Wow that’s a lot cheaper than what I am paying now for a masters from a brick and mortar private local university. I wonder where I heard UofP was really expensive?

10

Because it is. $465 per credit hour really adds up. A part time student might take fewer course hours per semester (or quarter, I don’t know which UoP is on) and each class on a semester system is usually 3 credits, or course hours. Again, depends on the class and school. Quarter systems are often higher counts. Then add up all those books and special fees.
My mother owed over $40,000 in student loans at the time of her death, having received a Masters in Marriage & Family Therapy at least four/five years previously. She spent a lot of time, energy and money on a degree that never went anywhere and she didn’t do anything with. :frowning: