Is the University of Phoenix an actually legitimate and accredited university. And I guess the most important of questions will employers look at my master’s degree that I received online there in the same way they would look at a concrete classroom university. I’ve heard from several people that the University of Phoenix online was a scam and they knew of people that got screwed with payments and other financial stuff and I just wanted to know what everyone thought of that?
The baccalaureate program at the University of Phoenix is accredited by the North Central Association (one of the six regional accrediting bodies recognized by the government.)
The business school is accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs, which is also a recognized accreditation agency, though perceived by some to not be as auspicious as business schools accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
In any case, University of Phoenix is a legitimate institute of higher eductation, and not a diploma mill or scam. But it’s not exactly Yale or Princeton, either.
One of our local colleges, in an obvious slap at UOP, has a commercial that includes the line, “Get a degree from a university that you don’t have to explain.”
A co-worker got his MBA from UOP. He certainly feels that it’s a real school.
We have talked about this a bunch of times. They UOP grants legitimate degrees but that doesn’t mean that employers feel the same way. I am a hiring manager and I would not although I would not exclude someone automatically who got there degree from the UOP. Many traditional colleges off degrees as well these days and sometime they are simply listed as being the same as as their on campus degrees so I don’t see the point.
The education is the same or comparable (or else it wouldn’t be accredited), but the public perception is not. It marks you out as someone who Just Isn’t Our Kind for some employers.