So, I’m heading back to school after the new year, and I was wondering if anyone had anything to say about the University of Phoenix? Good or bad, I’d be interested in hearing what you have to say. I met with one of the “counselers” once and thought they seemed a little “selly” to me if that makes any sense.
It was like they were on a commision. I’m interested in finishing my BS as soon as possible, and so far these guys seem to have the fastest track. I’m just a little uneasy about the car salesmean like quality of that first meeting.
I had a coworker who took a few classes through them, and she enjoyed them, but it was too expensive to continue. I think that was her only real complaint, the expense.
My best friend (a very intelligent electrical engineer) is currently using University of Phoenix to complete her Masters. I asked about a comparison to ITT but she says it’s nothing like that. U of P is accredited and she says the instructors are very good. She’s busy five days a week thanks to school so I don’t get to see her too much, but she’s happy with the continuing education she’s receiving.
I would wonder how prospective employers would view a degree from the U of P however. Regardless of whether they are top notch or not, many people will view your degree skeptically because it is not from a tradtional style university. I don’t know how widespread that is.
Both my wife and my BIL got their Masters degrees from UoP. My wife’s was in educational counseling and my BIL in computer science. UoP is fully accredited and both feel that their education was as good or better than at a public university.
Yes, it is “for profit,” but it isn’t like the diploma mills that abound online. The instructors are people who work in the field of their expertise and they tend to know what’s going on in the “real world.” Perhaps moreso than a professor who has spent his whole life in the halls of academia.
The nice thing is that they tailor their schedule to fit with people who have jobs and want to advance their education. Classes are held (usually) one evening a week, with peer study groups meeting on the weekend. Of course, you wind up spending the rest of your free time studying and preparing, but that’s what education is about.
I have talked it over with my HR folks, and they have said that a degree from the U of P is not a deal breaker at all. In fact, the guy I was talking to was finishing up his masters with them…
Hmmmm.
ftg Said"As an ex-college CompSci prof: I would not allow transfer credit from UofPh or admit into a grad program a UofPh graduate.
Reviewing job applicants in the computer field: I would chuck any resume with UofPh on it immediately."
FatBaldGuy, while there are a lot of professors who have spent their lives in academia, any prof worth his or her salt is going to know something about the real world, and about job prospects after graduation.
That said, some state universities are now offering “fast track” degree programs for working adults. You might check into one.
One big problem with the U of P is that their name sounds like they are trying to scam people. Their name makes it sound similar to a diploma mill that lists a false location. Why didn’t they give themselves a more appropriate name if they always planned on being legitimate?
Robin, I hope you realize I’m not trying to tar all professors with the same brush. Many, if not most, of them are very qualified and capable. However, there are a few (and I’m sure you’ve seen some of them) who live in their “ivory towers” and teach of the world as it was 20-30 years ago.
They are on commission. They are salespeople. I worked for a similar college, and our highest-producing [del]sales rep[/del] admissions representative came to us straight from the same position at U. of Phoenix. I admit, it’s anecdotal second-hand info, but her stories of the high-pressure sales pitches there were quite close to the selling techniques our tech college wanted. She had quite a background in the pitch and the closing of the deal.
After I worked at this tech college for a few months, I was told that we should stop referring to the admissions representatives as “reps,” because it sounded too “sales-y”, and that we should no longer refer to people who called in asking for information as “leads,” but as “prospective students.” At least around the public, that’s what we had to say. In meetings, it was “sales reps” and “leads.” Oh, and admissions “quotas” and “goals.” Get your 8 or 10 enrollments per month, and there’s your bonus. Plus $X00 per application. :rolleyes:
I’m not saying a decent education cannot be obtained at such an institution, but I urge, caveat emptor.
There’s a large continuum of school quality from top-notch places to “send us a check and we’ll send you something that looks like a diploma” places. UofPh is too close to the latter. I consider “distance learning” creds. okay only if they are done via a regular accredited brick-and-mortar school and it’s the same program as the resident student program. Even then, I’d go over things carefully on a case by case basis.
Note that the “business model” of a lot of fringe schools is the following: Sign up a lot of students who don’t have enough money to go to a real school. Get them student loans. Collect the student loan money. The fact that many students don’t go far in the program and end up in even worse financial straights doesn’t matter. They prey on people who aren’t smart enough to think intelligently about money.
I would be willing to eventually change my mind about UofPh if further positive information were forthcoming, but…
They are spammers! I get UofPh spam on a regular basis. No respectable college would spam. Nope, no way.
Remember folks, the best way to stop spam is to never do business with spammers.
I am currently teaching an online course for a “bricks and mortar” university. It’s ok, but it isn’t the same as being there. I am sorry to say that, because it is so darned convenient, but it isn’t the same.
As a former employer, I wouldn’t take a candidate with a U of Phoenix seriously. I would have serious doubts about whether his or her education was the same as someone who went to a real university.
I don’t know. I’m currently taking classes at UoP for my BS in Information Technology. Now as I’ve been working in the IT industry for over 15 years now, do I really think that I’m going to learn anything from these classes? Nope, not at all. Is taking an online course the same as just paying for a degree? Not in my opinion. I currently take one 3 credit class that lasts for 5 weeks. Each week I have mandatory participation that I have to do. Not just post nonsense, but contribute to a discussion 4 out of 7 days. I have Study questions, and written assignments that are due, Team Projects that require me to coordinate with other students on assignments, and final exams for some courses. Trust me, it’s not a walk in the park. Is it difficult for me to pass the classes? No, not really. But then if I had the time, it wouldn’t be difficult for me to pass classes at a ‘real’ college either. With UoP, I will hopefully finish my degree within a few years, going to a regular university would take me much much long. I’m able to continue my career, have time with my family, and not take 7 years to finish taking my classes.
As for the worth of the degree, that depends upon the individual, and the course of study. I tend to think that most degree programs don’t really mean much in comparison to real world work experience. However I personally am tired of being bid for contracts, only to be told that the position requires a degree.
And yes, it’s expensive. Around $1400 per 5 week class.
I am an ex/current student of UOP. UOP’s financial aid department is so incompotent that even after me sending the same paperwork into them 8 times, they failed to imput the information into my account correctly. Due to their lack of compotency, I was not allowed to be enrolled in classes. After trying to work with them numerous times, I decided to change schools to Florida tech. UOP decided that since I am not re-enrolling with them, they are not going to release my transcripts. This is preventing me from continuing my education. Thise sharks at UOP are forcing me to re-enroll with them if I want to receive my degree. In my opinion I would NEVER recommend UOP to anyone.
My work at the education development centre at my school is dealing a lot with distance/online education, which is a big initiative they’re undertaking now. The most important question is whether this is ONLINE education, or CORRESPONDENCE education. The former is better than the latter, but neither one of them, IMHO, takes the place of a chalkboard and a professor in person. They lack the same teaching dynamic, and are inefficient ways of conveying information.
I personally do not take correspondence degrees seriously. Part of this has to do with the most horrendous experience I had trying to take a Canadian History course from Athabasca U here in Canada. I’ve saved correspondence with a professor and his TA (who also had a PhD - how 'bout them job prospects), after I spotted some GRIEVOUS errors in the textbook provided by coursepack, written by the prof. Like, “Louis Riel 18749 in liue tritke authke ngh.” I think that’s almost verbatim what one line read. That bad.
When I wrote to the professor, he became belligerent and told me I would run the risk of failing the course if I used made up words like that in a term paper. That’s not even accusing me of being illiterate, that’s accusing me of being blind. I scanned the page and without so much as apologizing, dismissed it as just being “trouble with the publisher.” That damn Guttenberg was spilling letters all over the linotype machine, I guess!
My point isn’t to conflate one bad experience with all online education. But in a lecture of 100 students that meet once or twice a week, do you think any crap like this would even come close to happening? Not a chance. U of P’s only saving grace may be that so many people have done it that the course has been revised over and over again to become a streamlined, efficient model. But I think you’re missing out over the classroom experience.
The best way of evaluating a college is by their graduation rate. Here is a table, which shows only 4% of U of P students graduated in 150% of normally expected graduation time. I’ve seen 16% quoted more frequently.
The Huff Post reports that enrollment at the U of P has dropped 42% in front of new regulations that will cut off student loans to for-profit schools which don’t perform.
Remember, they want your money, and don’t care particularly of you graduate. A very motivated person can do fine. A less motivated person is going to get ripped off, by which I mean pumping lots of money in and never getting a degree. For profit universities seem to have a business model of enabling students to get student loans, get that money, and then be not very interested in whether the student gets anything out of it. That is why they are screaming bloody murder at the new rules.
[b[ftg** said he used to be a Computer Science prof. I’m not a CS prof but I do have a CS PhD and I know a lot of CS profs, and none of them live 30 years in the past. Hell, it is a rare reference that is 30 years old.
I wouldn’t hire a U of P graduate for an engineering job either. You need to learn things on relatively expensive simulation and EDA tools they are not likely to have access to, and need a lot more hands on teaching (even if from TAs) than they are going to get.
