Covering the business of education and training

WE LIVE

The University of Phoenix
Private but Universal

Proudly we stand
Lead by faith to which we are bound

Proudly we shine
Lead by knowledge from all around


The University of Phoenix
Solo but Sharing

Proudly we soar
Inspired by scholars from around the globe

Proudly we wedge
Inspired by scholars to aim ahead


The University of Phoenix
A Dream but Rising

Proudly we die
Alma Maters resurrected through beliefs

Proudly we live
Alma Maters sealed in truths


THE UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX

Proudly We Stand
Proudly We Soar
Proudly We Die
Proudly We Shine
Proudly We Wedge
Proudly We Live


Composed and written by:

Brenda Nelson-Porter, DM 2007 (c)
2004 Doctoral Graduate
"In God We Trust"

I do not attend Phoenix University for the cost. I do not attend Axia College for the name. While if you ask any student in their last legs of high school what impresses their family, friends and possible employers the most, it would have to do with both of these characteristics. As a student of Axia College of the University of Phoenix, I can attest to the frustrating server downtimes and the fact that I actually know what the program is costing. Yet, the schooling is easily comparable and equal to the classes that I attended at two other private, $30,000 per year universities. And yes, Axia College is by far cheaper than a private university towards getting my degree. What would make someone throw such degrading words towards an institution unless for a hidden agenda? The New York Times should be ashamed to take slander and slop it across three pages in order to tear down the only attainable degree option that America's middle class has in their reach.

Were it not that the delivery model of online education is so appealing, effective and compelling - the classic brick and mortar institutions of old would not be working to develop a distance learning model. Every not for profit institution from Penn State to Harvard to the University of Florida is engaged to a certain degree in a distinct profit motive. Certainly I hold nothing but respect for UOP, and the other institutions I have mentioned. But we need look no further than the NCAA, and the salaries that college football coaches fetch - to see that the very factors of UOP tht Sam Dillon and other are attempting to discredit are omnipresent. I suspect that Mr. Dillon desired national and widespread attention and recognized that upsetting 300,000 active students and countless alumni would do the trick.

As for the sites listed such as uopsucks.com etc. It is really a hilarious situation that whomever established the site believes that their time is best spent as a consumer advocate on a misguided journey. The individuals that post to that forum are so completely ignornant its laughable.

Thanks for posting. Great blog

I received my MBA and Doctorate from UOP. I was also valedictorian of my undergraduate (traditional) university. One of my siblings attended an MBA program at a prestigious traditional university -- same textbooks; same work. I agree that many students who come to UOP are unprepared, but that is true of most colleges and universities. I also agree that UOP has its share of "deadwood" professors, bureaucrats, and non-sensical policies. But again, doesn't every university? As in all (US) educational institutions, learners get out of their education what they put into it....There are bad students and bad professors everywhere. There are also excellent students and outstanding professors everywhere. I think that the measure of a university rests not in its grading policies or how many students graduate but in what the students do with their education afterwards. I hope that UOP can do a better job of showcasing its benefits and student successes (rather than falling into the trap of distributing negative propoganda like Sam Dillion's)....

I am a third year student at the University of Phoenix. During my course, I have been delivered much more than anticipated, due to the size of the classes and quality of education received. I am sympathetic to the statement from the anonymous writer (Doctoral grad), indicating bad students, as I was frustrated early in the program. I discussed my concerns with my Academic Advisor, who indicated, "this is a weeding process." With 72 credits posted, the end is drawing near. I have encouraged 6 close friends and family members to give UoP a try, all of which are still in attendance. Go UoP...

Haha... NY Times busted that diploma mill!

Education is what you put into it, plain and simple.

Obviously the word diploma mill does not apply to UOP anymore than it would to any school that is accredited. Despite the multiple word games played out in the media and in many pointless blogs - regional accreditation is extremely important, more so than any speciality accreditation. It amazes me how uninformed and misguided people can be. But there are those - such as the individuals that run anti-UOP sites, that attempt to discredit UOP and other schools because they have been slighted.

And in case you are wondering - I am not a UOP grad, but I do hold an MBA from Cornell. With that said, I would have absolutely no reservation in hiring a UOP graduate because having an ivy pedigree is meaningless if you are unable to deliver.

I've completed 5 UOP flexnet courses and I have to agree with much of the NY Times article. Only two of the five instructors I was assigned understood the course material better than I do. One instructor hardly spoke English at all. The two instructors who did have a knowledge of the subject were slowed down by the class (most likely because they had bad instructors perviously).

The learning team experience has been the most frustrating experience of all. Team members who do not contribute at all receive similar grades as those who contribute the entire project. How can students with no knowledge of the subject teach the rest of the team properly? The blind are leading the blind in learning teams. UOP is not a terrible institution, but it needs to take a good look at their learning model and clean some house.

I'm currently in my seventh class at UoP. (BSIT/SE) All in all, I would say I'm satisfied with my experience so far. Much like any other educational experience, you get out of it what you put in. I've seen other students skate by but I'm sure they haven't learned all that they could have. And isn't that what we're paying for, to learn?? I would definitly recommend UoP for adults with tight schedules who wish to further their education.

A point many are missing is that in the education industry, “perception is reality”. That is to say, if a large percentage of people merely THINK an institution is inferior, it is (regardless of whether it REALLY is or not). And this is the major problem with UOP.

While I have no doubt that many have attended UOP and been happy with their experience, I can tell you that the PERCEPTION of many people I’ve spoken with about UOP is that it is not a “real” school. On the contrary, most people I speak with say that UOP graduates are people who want to take short cuts to a degree rather than put in the hours (“pay the dues”) required in more traditional degree programs. Other criticisms I’ve heard are that students lose something intangible in the online format, that the classes tend to be “dumbed down” from similarly titled classes at residential universities, that easy entrance requirements allow people to enroll who have no business enrolling, and that grading occurs in such a way that very few fail.

How much of this is true, I can’t say for sure. I can only guess how much is true from the two people I personally know who have gone to UOP. One of them is a lazy secretary in my office. My guess is that she would have never graduated from a “traditional” school. (Sorry if that sounds harsh. I’m just being honest.) If she is indicative of the type of people who go to UOP and actually manage to graduate, then I wouldn’t be terribly impressed with UOP. The other UOP student I know only took a few classes before dropping out. He said UOP was too hard. Although to put his comment in context, this guy also makes Homer Simpson look like a genius in comparison. Seriously…he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed to begin with. And his definition of “hard”? He had to write an entire double-spaced, three page paper each week! (Those of you who, as undergraduates like me, had to read hundreds of pages each week and write multiple 30 page papers each term, understand why I might think this guy’s protest in writing a short paper is kind of funny.)

In sum, as a publicly traded company, the end goal of UOP is to make money. And while making money is certainly not an evil or bad thing, let’s be honest...in an educational setting, this goal will often times be at odds with the education experience itself.

“Caveat emptor”, I say.

David - I think you make some interesting points. The reality is that UOP may not be for everyone. I know several people in the UOP MBA program. They are already established professionals, earning well into the $100,000 range. The reason for selecting UOP for this work was because of family committments, career committments and the convenience offered. I believe that if you are an undergraduate seeking a bachelors degree perhaps UOP is not the best fit. On the other hand if you are an established professional it will not matter.

Another point is this. If a particular corporation does not respect the UOP degree, what UOP alumn would want to be part of the company ? The truth is that cramming 13 weeks of work into 6 weeks is very effective. More so than many campus programs. By the time an on campus program removes holidays, canceled classes and meaningless lectures - guess what - its closer to 6 weeks of actual work.

All schools have a profit motive. Dont let anyone fool you. Two points to prove this: NCAA coaching salaries, university president salaries. Take a look at WSJ 2-25-07 Stanford president - overpaid ?? Maybe not - but profit motive regardless. Other institutions want to hide behind the NFP veil.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, and I wish you well.

J. Reynolds, MD, MBA (UOP)

I am a MBA Healthcare Management student on my last course at Univ. of Phoenix. The reason I chose Univ. of Phoenix is that most colleges offer just the MBA and I wanted the specialization. I must say I do not regret Univ. of Phoenix and have indeed felt I have been trained by some of the best instructers in the industry who are well informed of the current trends and expectations of each of the subjects. This litigation has given me a bitter and disturbing feeling as to how low people will stoop in order to promote their disruptive endeavors for their personal gain. I understand the litigents accuse UOP of forcing them to meet quotas and would pay them incentives. Yet, the Karpo document that is irresponsibily plastered on the Internet rather than being kept confidential, the litigents stated they knew they were not to receive incentives tied to recruitment effors, but allegedly went ahead and took the money anyway. In my opinion, and I would certainly expect to bear some responsibility in allegedly engaging in this activity, they in fact became accessories. And the NY Times articles was absolutely libelous, whicn included libelous and suspicious sources that are not official.
Anyway, I hope Univ. of Phoenix beats this obvious attempt by unscrupulous individuals to achieve personal gain regardless of the degree of disruption and potential adverse affects this may occur in relation to hundreds of other colleges, universities and other organizations. I also hope Univ. of Phoenix achieves the ACBSP accrediation because in my opinon, UOP deserves it, considering, among other things, UOP's online learning, learning team and adult learning concept has been adopted by practically every college and university in America, including ivy league. In this case, UOP has indeed made a great contribution to the academic world in my opinion.

I have left off my name and email for I have a cyber stalker/harasser from Linkedin.com where I went against his attacks on UoP, many I believe are libelous (are you listening UoP?). That said.

What I find funny is no one has attacked HLC, the organization awarding the accreditation. This is akin to blaming American service members for the actions and strategies of Donald Rumsfeld. If the university is bad, how did it get accredited? This moves the focus of the attack away from UoP and onto HLC. A battle I don’t think many with an agenda to bring down UoP and like colleges want to engage in nor can afford. Why? Look at all the schools in the below link; some are famous, worth millions in ad revenue (can we say NCAA football), and whose alumni are well positioned in today’s society. It is easier to attack UoP than Notre Dame – both accredited by HLC, both meeting the same standards.

On another front, AACSB was founded in 1916 and has accredited over 500 schools in 30 countries. Many are implying this is the gold standard for education (my cyber harasser included). Well – this begs the question when were all these schools granted their initial accreditation. In 1916, did AACSB wave a magic wand and PUFF, all the schools were suddenly accredited? Does this mean that those who received degrees at these institutions before AACSB accreditation are not worthy and their business acumens are not worth the paper the degree was printed on? Neither assumption is true. In time, I believe that UoP will be awarded AACSB accreditation. Why, the university is a for profit institution and the students (the market) will demand it.

Finally, if a company is to succeed today it must participate globally. That means companies, executive board members and employees alike, will have to engage in commerce with businesses, politicians, and such from other countries that may not have AACSB accredited institutions in their countries or available for their residents/citizens to attend. How well with this snobbish elitism go over? Picture this,

“Hi, we would like to do business in your country that is beneficial to both of us. That said, I know you have made a billion dollars here and there but I feel that you are inadequate, inferior and should never claim you attended formal schooling for your school wasn’t a AACSB accredited school. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Does anyone think that that will go over well? How anyone compared which colleges have more students with real-time experience living and working in countries other than North America or Western Europe? The world is a big place filled variety, forgetting this important fact is dangerous to the bottom-line of a company. Does anyone serious think that hiring employees, even at the executive level, with elitist attitudes benefits a company’s long-term strategy?

Having a big ego is one thing, an elitist attitude is another.

http://www.ncahlc.org

ok ok enough with all the criticism.....there are always good and bad to everything in life....and that is a fact..nothing is perfect in life....you guys should just hear it from a person that actually goes to the school..I'm currently a junior at UOP's business management bachelor's program...I started my higher education a little later than most kids out of high school I'm currently 25 years old...I got my general education out of the way at a community college...had a choice to either go to traditional school or UOP...I chose UOP...because I needed a real job to support myself and to finish school ASAP..here is the breakdown...THE GOOD....once a week at school...innovative technology..the REsource is great..center of writing excellence..digital library you don't have to carry books....learning team....gives you a professional work environment...professors are professionals in their respective field...learning with other professional adults with real world jobs EXPERIENCE is invaluable..EXPERIENCE is the best teacher bottomline.....the course prepares you for the real world...great finanical support...THE BAD
classes are too long especially after a long day of work...4 hrs....professors....u come across "deadwood" that have no idea what their talking about.....the reading material the professors "requires" you to read everyweek most students don't read their require text.........very expensive 1300 for every class....Homework is required every week also....even though it's not very very hard work...I've had harder work at the community college level...but you still have to put in time and put together 6 page paper everyweek plus your portion of the learning team work....it's a system you have to get use to....Bottomline is that UOP is needed in America..not everyone have the privilege to go to a 4 yr university..everyone have different circumstances...it just bothers me that NY time had to make UOP seem so negative...it is not a pefect institution...but it is an institution that America needs to gain a real world learning exerience and to attain bachelor and/or master degrees to get better jobs.

I am graduating in June, 07 from UOP. When I first started the Human Services bachelor degree program, a lot of students were dropping the classes and program altogether. This made me doubt the program as well, thinking that it was too hard to keep up with the several chapter readings and additional articles each week. If you read everything each week, it adds up to hundreds of pages, so I only read a portion of it to start, but it was obvious when the instructor was reviewing and I was not recognizing the material. I began reading more and enjoying the classes more as the months went by. I decided to stick with it and have changed my attitude about my experience. I have liked most of my professors and many are very helpful and are very personable. They all have masters or doctorate degrees and must be currently employed in the field they teach, so I have direct insight into my chosen field. I do enjoy the learning teams (usually 3-5 people)for the most part, even though some students do kick back and let others fill in the gaps on team papers and while giving presentations. Most of the learning team experience is helpful, as it has prepared me for team work in any job. The tuition is expesive and that UOP has raised the tuition 3-4 times since I started in Oct.04 has been a frustration. I have no one but myself to pay the loans back, so that is my biggest gripe! I am proud that I have become an excellent researcher and grown leaps and bounds writing in APA format with very few errors if any now and my ability to do effective presentations alone and with a team has been a confidence booster. Overall, I would recommend UOP given my personal experience.

My recent experience with the UOP makes me a critic....Fair Disclosure all!!!

The NYT piece was interesting and in MY experience all too true. The UOP response is well written and made some good points. Certainly a for profit diploma can be valuable, and who cares if Harvard grads look down on the UOP, that’s WHY people go to Harvard. I even have an experience with one of those jokers and his Harvard tie. (another story)

Unfortunately for the UOP, mounting evidence, not just from some “lefty” paper like the Times, suggests there is something wrong with the culture at the UOP. In my case, I believe the UOP likely violated the law using deceptive trade practices, and certainly is guilty of a lack of ethics. After this experience, I started googling UOP to help better understand what happened to me, and if there were others like me. I found disturbing information, perhaps most of all is a U.S. Dept of Education (DOE) (Department) 45 page report released in 2004. The review describes a culture where regular misrepresentation occurs in flouting governmental rules, and appears fostered by UOP management.

The DOE review was conducted in the summer of 03 to determine UOP's compliance with the Higher Education Act...One of the requirements makes it against the law for educational institutions like the UOP to pay enrollment counselors compensation based solely on obtaining enrollments. In summarizing the UOP’s compensation system the report states, “The actions of UOP and the system it has established cultivates and maintains a corporate culture of defiance of UOP’s fiduciary duty. UOP has created an environment that pits the strong motivation of individual gain against its fiduciary duty to the Department. It is one that flaunts the Departments regulations and the prohibition against incentive compensation based on enrollments.”

The DOE begins its report asserting that when the UOP is hiring recruiters, they promise substantial income opportunities, and could "double or triple thier salary in three to six months."

The report explains new trainees quickly learn income potential is specifically tied to number of enrollments achieved. Recruiters learn a system called matrix, which supposedly supplies numerous factors in determining a recruiters compensation. However, "The matrix sets forth the rating ("meets," etc.) associated with the number of enrollments, and it is these criteria that supercede all others and actually determine salary." Indeed one recruiter recalls the Director of Enrollment saying "we're flying under the radar of the Department," believes that the "matrix is a way to deceive the Department." (Department refers to DOE)

The DOE describes daily morning meetings where managers "...serve to motivate or humiliate the recruiters based on their activities." Managers use large boards to post statistics for each employee, "Except when "visitors" are expected, UOP managers prominently post the board..." "UOP used these frequent meetings to drive home the message that a recruiters success in securing enrollments would equate to success.." in reaching salary goals. "One enrollment manager puts a spreadsheet on her recruiters' computer desktops that shows how many enrollments each recruiter needs to reach the next salary level."

The report describes intimidation tactics used by managers. One admissions director tells students who are not meeting required enrollment they are, ""stealing from Brian Mueller" (CEO of UOP on line.)"

The "red room" was a place reserved for punishment for those not meeting required sales figures. The room was a glassed in enclosure so those outside could look in. Tables were placed in the middle where recruits were made to sit and make calls, while fellow co-workers looked on. Those sent to this room had to report immeadiatly and would be closely monitered by management. THis practice was eliminated in 2002.

SOme recruiters point out management would become intimidating when enrollment numbers were down, saying their "heads would be on a chopping block" if numbers weren't reached. One recruiter recalls explaining she may need to fly home to attend here grandmas funeral and was told by her manager, "YOu can't afford the time away..." and ..."if you go, you have to prove that you went to the funeral and that she is dead."

As to recruiter evaluations, the report describes, "More than 70% of the recruiters reported that they were unaware of any basis for compensation other than enrollment numbers and recruiting activities. It is remarkable that the only recruiters who said that their salary also included qualitative factors, such as customer service, were recruiters chosen by UOP to be interviewed by the reviewers. Literally every recruiter interviewed randomly or outside of the work premises said that the number of enrollments determined their salary." One manager when asked by a recruiter about compensation stated “its enrollments. You know its enrollments. It will always be enrollments.”
“From its monthly commissionable sales reports, to its admissions counselor policy guide, to its repeated reminders from managers, UOP reinforces to recruiters that UOP evaluates and pays them solely on the basis of how many students they enroll” the report concludes.

The report asserts, “The sales philosophy at UOP and practice is designed around evasion and relies upon euphemisms to avoid detection by the Department. UOP systematically established terminology and procedures to hide the fact that UOP pays distinct and significant financial incentives solely based on recruiters’ success in securing enrollments.” To avoid detection, the UOP uses euphemisms to describe enrollments, such as “activities or “level one student information cards.”

The report goes on to describe how recruiters with the highest enrollments get massive pay raises. It describes managements pressure to recruit unqualified students. That recruiters are coached when officials from government or accrediting agencies were visiting. And in response to DOE questions, “Literally every current UOP employee who has worked longer than a year, expressed anxiety over possible retaliation by the UOP.”

The report goes on to describe a cover up during the DOE review, “UOP’s behavior during the program review process further substantiates the ethical concerns expressed by both current and former employees.” When one manager knew of the review, she coached two employees what to say, that salaries were based on numerous factors, not just enrollments. She further instructed they were not to speak to former UOP employees about what goes on at the UOP.

Recruiters were told if they were contacted by DOE personell, they were first to report this to management before participating in an interview. Recruiters uniformly said they felt intimidated by this practice.

After managers were told the DOE review would be conducted as schools in Northern California and Phoenix, UOP management told some recruiters at the California locations they should take leave. When interviewed, these recruiters indicated they were absent as they had reputations for being honest and frank.

I encourage all to read this yourselves, just google DOE UOP, or something similar. When confronting UOP personnel about my treatment, they acted cavalier and unconcerned. Initially I thought it was an isolated incident before finding this report, finding Dept of Labor fines, reading the NYT article, and finding information about current lawsuits.

There seems to be something amiss with this school. Having worked in several corporate settings, my experience is they always have their own cultures, unfortunately the UOP’s appears rather disturbing.

Finally, the NYT piece indicates Intel is no longer educating its employees at UOP. This must be worrisome for current UOP students. It is likely only a matter of time before other corporations follow suit, and it’s the businesses that decide how much any degree is worth.

Just my .02.

I have to agree with most of the complaints referenced in Dillon's article because I experienced them firsthand. I have been a student at the West Florida campus since 2002 and I too endured inept instructors (one who slept during presentations) and deceptive admissions' practices. I have also seen UOP admit younger students with little or no work experience who were unable to substantially contribute to learning teams.
At one point, UOP attempted to force me in to more expensive online programs by telling me that most, if not all, of my core courses were no longer available as ground courses. Supposedly, this was because my degree program no longer existed and the program was being phased out. To test this, I had a co-worker contact my campus to inquire about my degree program and she confirmed that the program was offered and that ground courses were available. An admissions' rep also tried to convince me that I had applied to a completely different degree program from the one I was in but that argument was quickly shot down when I offered to produce copies of my original paperwork. It took threats of legal action to force UOP into producing ground courses for my program.
Fast forward to graduation. I was supposed to have graduated in June of this year and I stayed in frequent contact with my academic advisor to ensure I had satisfied all the required courses/credits. I was told I had one course remaining which could be completed after graduation. Well, my online graduation application was lost (UOP systems' error) and I was told that I couldn't walk with my class. Only after constant harrassment of the administration, was I able to walk with my class but my name was not in the commencement program. After completion of my final course, I contacted my academic advisor about applying for my degree and was told that I still had two more courses to satisfy before receiving my degree. After a month or so of arguing with academic staff over my credits, I determined that two waived courses with credit that UOP awarded me still had to be made up by taking two replacement courses. Not at all what I was lead to believe.
I would like to add that, not once, during all of this were my campus chair or campus academic director the least bit interested in helping resolve these issues. They blew me off at every turn.
While I did have many great instructors (oops, facilitators) I still have a really bad taste in my mouth about UOP and have done my part to discourage others from making the same mistake.

Axia online college and the university of Phoenix are the worst colleges that I have ever experienced in my life time, Not only do they interput the wrong information to theri students. They also have a problem with helping the student in time of need and when it comes to financial aid , you do not ever receive it. 11/06/2007 they kicked me out of the school three times for silly reason that they made.

The University of Phoenix is a joke - it is simply a money making machine totally unconcerned about its students and its academics. It is all about making money. Anyone who thinks the UOP degree is respected in the workplace is mistaken. As the VP of HR for a larte national company, we totally disregard degress from UOP. You might as well have purchased a diploma online for $200.

"As the VP of HR for a larte national company, we totally disregard degress from UOP."

Sir or madamm, your lack of proofreading belies your argument. Totally disregarding a segment of potential employees because of where they've gotten their degrees is a poor business decision.

The impact of a great novel is not determined by the location its read.