University of Phoenix

{{Distinguish2|[[Phoenix College]]}} {{pp-semi|small=yes}} The '''University of Phoenix''' ('''UPX''', '''UOPX''') is a [[For-profit school|for-profit]] institution of higher learning. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of [[Apollo Group]] Inc. which is publicly traded ({{nasdaq|APOL}}), an S&P 500 corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona. The university has more than 200 campuses worldwide and confer

{{Distinguish2|[[Phoenix College]]}} {{pp-semi|small=yes}} The '''University of Phoenix''' ('''UPX''', '''UOPX''') is a [[For-profit school|for-profit]] institution of higher learning. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of [[Apollo Group]] Inc. which is publicly traded ({{nasdaq|APOL}}), an S&P 500 corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona. The university has more than 200 campuses worldwide and confers degrees in over 100 degree programs at the [[Associate's degree|associate]], [[bachelor's]], [[master's]] and [[doctorate|doctoral]] levels. The University of Phoenix is one of the largest higher education providers in North America. Although the university attained a peak enrollment of almost 600,000 students in 2010, a 30% enrollment drop in 2011 has been attributed to operational changes amid criticism of high debt loads and low job prospects for UOPX students. These changes include allowing students to try classes before officially enrolling and new recruiter training programs that have been implemented to improve student retention and completion rates. University of Phoenix has an [[open admissions|open enrollment]] admission policy, requiring a high-school diploma, [[GED]], or its equivalent as its criteria for admissions. The school also provides associate or bachelor's degree applicants opportunity for advanced placement through its [[Recognition of prior learning|prior learning assessment]], which, aside from previous coursework, college credit can come from experiential learning essays, corporate training, and certificates or licenses. ===1970–1999=== {{expand section|date=December 2010}} The University of Phoenix was founded by [[John Sperling]], who felt that "working adult students were often invisible on traditional campuses and treated as second-class citizens." Started in 1976 the [[Phoenix metropolitan area]], the first class consisted of eight students. In 1980, the school expanded to [[San Jose, California]], and in 1989, the university launched its online program. ===2000–present=== The university has settled a number of lawsuits concerning its admissions program. In 2000, the government fined UOPX $6 million for failing to include study-group meetings as instructional hours. In 2002, the Department of Education relaxed requirements covering instructional hours. A lawsuit filed in 2003 by two former UOPX admission counselors alleged that the university improperly obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in financial aid by paying its admission counselors based on the number of students they enrolled, a violation of the [[Higher Education Act of 1965|Higher Education Act]]. Six years later, the Apollo Group, UOPX's parent company, agreed to settle by paying the United States $67.5 million, plus $11 million in legal fees, without admitting any wrongdoing. In 2004 the [[United States Department of Education|Department of Education]] performed a program review and alleged that UOPX had violated Higher Education Act provisions that prohibit offering financial incentives to admission representatives, had pressured its recruiters to enroll students, and did not disclose such practices.. UOPX disputed the findings but paid a $9.8 million fine as part of a settlement where it admitted no wrongdoing and was not required to return any financial aid funds. UOPX's President states that though recruiters are paid a commission based on the number of students enrolled, their compensation is not based solely on that criteria, which makes the practice legal. Also that year, the university paid $3.5 million to settle alleged violation of [[overtime]] compensation provision with the [[United States Department of Labor|Department of Labor]]. In May 2008, the university announced the formation of the University of Phoenix National Research Center, designed to study which teaching methods work best for nontraditional students. That year, the school was also the top recipient of [[student financial aid]] funds, receiving nearly $2.48 billion. In 2009, the [[U.S. Department of Education | Department of Education]] produced a report that claimed the untimely return of unearned [[Title IV]] funds for more than 10 percent of sampled students. The report also expressed concern that some students register and begin attending classes before completely understanding the implications of enrollment, including their eligibility for student financial aid. In January 2010,the parent company Apollo Group was required to post a letter of credit for $125 million by January 30 of the same year. University of Phoenix settled a false claims suit for $78.5 million in 2009. In settling these matters, University of Phoenix did not admit any liability or wrongdoing. In 2010, UOPX came under government scrutiny after its Phoenix and Philadelphia campuses were found to have been engaging in deceptive enrollment practices and fraudulent solicitation of [[FAFSA]] funds. ==Admissions and financial aid== The University of Phoenix has an open admissions policy. However, students entering with fewer than 24 previously earned college credits are required to complete a three week orientation workshop at no cost. Students must successfully complete the orientation workshop in order to be eligible to start their first credit/cost bearing course. Students who do not complete the workshop after two attempts must wait six months before attempting again. Eligible applicants may apply for financial aid, including the [[Academic Competitiveness Grant]] (ACG), [[Federal Pell Grant]], [[National Science & Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (National SMART Grant)]], [[Federal Direct Student Loan Program]], [[Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant]] (FSEOG), Federal Direct [[PLUS Loan]]s, [[Federal Perkins Loan]], and [[Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant]] (TEACH Grant). In response to complaints about the use of financial aid by for-profit colleges in 2010 the university began an orientation program designed to lower dropout and default rates. For the 2008-2009 fiscal year, the University of Phoenix student body received more Pell Grants ($656.9 million) than that of any other university. ==Campuses== [[File:Honolulu-CBrewer-frontdesk.JPG|thumb|right|The reception desk at Phoenix's Hawaii Campus, displaying a [[Service of Process]] placard]] The university has campuses and learning centers in 40 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Chile, and the Netherlands. While the school specializes in online programs, the campuses offer additional programs and services. Online students are also able to utilize tutoring and social centers, which can also be used for social and student meetings. The first center opened in 2007 in [[Plano, Texas]]. Students have access to class-specific online resources, which include an electronic library, textbooks, and other ancillary material required for a course. The university says that the electronic textbooks include search features and hyperlinks to glossary terms that make the books easier to use for research. ===eCampus=== Through its online portal, eCampus, University of Phoenix students also have access to software required for coursework. Available, for example, are virtual companies created by the university to provide students with assignments, which Adam Honea, UOPX's [[Dean (education)|dean]] and [[Provost (education)|provost]], claims are more realistic than those available with [[Case study|case studies]]. In August 2011, Apollo group announced it would buy 100% of [[Carnegie Learning]] to accelerate its efforts to incorporate [[adaptive learning]] into its academic platform. ==Academics== The university offers degree programs through seven colleges and two schools. These are named the School of Advanced Studies, School of Business, College of Criminal Justice and Security, College of Education, College of Humanities, College of Information Systems and Technology, College of Natural Sciences, College of Nursing, and the College of Social Sciences. In addition to its traditional education programs, the school offers [[continuing education]] courses for teachers and practitioners, [[professional development]] courses for companies, and specialized courses of study for military personnel. Students spend 20 to 24 hours with an instructor during each course, compared with about 40 hours at a traditional university. The university also requires students to collaborate by working on learning team projects, wherein the class will be divided into learning teams of four to five students. Each learning team is assigned a team forum where team members will discuss the project and submit their agreed upon portions of the learning team assignment for compilation by the nominated learning team leader. The concept of learning teams is somewhat uncommon in traditional academia; however, the University of Phoenix believes that collaborating on projects and having individuals rely on each other reflects the real working conditions of the corporate world. Some academics and former students feel the abbreviated courses and the use of learning teams result in an inferior education. The University of Phoenix has been criticized for lack of academic rigor. Henry M. Levin, a professor of higher education at Teachers College at [[Columbia University]], called its [[Master of Business Administration|business degree]] an "MBA Lite," saying "I’ve looked at [its] course materials. It’s a very low level of instruction." One instructor at the university also explained that he could only cover a fraction of the syllabus because he said that the university required him to cram too much information into too few sessions. ===Accreditation=== The University of Phoenix was [[Regional accreditation|regionally accredited]] in 1978 by The [[Higher Learning Commission]] (HLC) as a member of the [[North Central Association of Colleges and Schools]] (NCA). Some individual colleges within the University of Phoenix hold [[Higher education accreditation in the United States#Specialized and professional accreditors|specialty accreditation]] or are pre-accredited by accrediting agencies that are recognized by the [[Council for Higher Education Accreditation]]. *School of Business - accreditation through the [[Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs]] (ACBSP). Because Phoenix's business programs are not accredited by the [[Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business]] (AACSB), some companies will not provide tuition reimbursement for employees attending Phoenix. *College of Education - [[Master of Education]] is pre-accredited by the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) for a period of five years, from December 20, 2007, to December 20, 2012. *College of Nursing - B.S. and M.S. degree programs are accredited by the [[Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education]] (CCNE), *College of Social Sciences - Master of Science in Counseling degree programs in Community Counseling and Mental Health Counseling are accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). ==Organization and administration== {{main | Apollo Group}} [[File:University of Phoenix Stadium aerial.jpg|right|thumb| [[University of Phoenix Stadium]], a municipal sports arena for which the corporation paid for naming rights.]] University of Phoenix is a wholly owned subsidiary of [[Apollo Group]], a [[S&P 500]] corporation based in [[Phoenix, Arizona]], and it abbreviates its name as UOPX. The university has been cited as an example of for-profit colleges that operate to receive government educational subsidies. ==Marketing and advertising== The university paid $154.5 million for 20-year [[naming rights]] for advertising purposes of the [[University of Phoenix Stadium]] in [[Glendale, Arizona]], a municipal sports arena, home of the [[NFL]]'s [[Arizona Cardinals]], and the site of the [[NCAA]]'s [[Tostitos Fiesta Bowl]]. The university does not participate in intercollegiate sports. ===Students=== The average age of a University of Phoenix student is between 33 (undergraduate) and 36 (graduate), and most students have work-related commitments. The University states that nearly two-thirds of its students are women and that a [[wikt:plurality|plurality]] of students attending the school study business (undergraduate students representing 29.9% and graduate students 12.9%), followed closely by those enrolled in Axia College for Associate's degrees (28.1%). The student population is approximately 25% African-American and almost 13% Latino. The university graduates the largest number of underrepresented students with Master's degrees in business, health care, and education than any other U.S. school. The University of Phoenix was also named one of the nation's top 20 institutions of higher education favorable to military personnel, according to the December 2008 issue of ''Military Advanced Education''. Nearly 29,000 active-duty military, their spouses, and veterans were enrolled in University of Phoenix degree programs at that time with more than 7,200 military members or veterans graduated from the university during that year. When calculated using the standards set by the [[United States Department of Education|Department of Education]], UOPX's overall graduation rate is 16%, which, when compared to the national average of 55%, is among the nation's lowest. The federal standard measures graduation rates as the percentage of first-time undergraduates who obtain a degree within six years. The number is significantly lower at iUOPX's Southern California campus (6%) and its online programs (4%). This measurement does not take into consideration the typical University of Phoenix student who comes to the University as a dropout from another institution, so is not a first-time college student. The University of Phoenix acknowledges the 16% graduation rate but takes exception to the standard used by the Department of Education to calculate the rate, saying that the rate is based upon criteria that apply to only 7% of UOPX's student population. The institution publishes a self-calculated graduation rate of 59% to account for its large population of non-traditional students. ===Faculty=== The university's faculty consists of approximately 1,500 core faculty and 20,000 associate (part-time or adjunct) faculty members who all hold master's or doctorate degrees. UOPX's reliance on part-time faculty—95 percent of Phoenix instructors teach part time, compared to an average of 47 percent nationwide—has been criticized by regulators and academic critics. UOPX's instructors describe themselves as delivering course material, since most of the classes are centrally crafted and standardized across teachers in order to ensure consistency and reduce costs for the school. Additionally, faculty members do not get tenure. According to a University of Phoenix officer, pre-screened instructional candidates participate in a training program in the discipline in which they teach, which he states has the effect of weeding out 40%–50% of the less committed or capable applicants. African-Americans make up more than 15% of the university's 22,000 faculty members, and about 6% are Latino. ===Alumni=== {{main|List of University of Phoenix alumni}} As of March 2010, 538,000 people have graduated from the University of Phoenix. Its alumni include [[U.S. Navy]] [[Admiral (United States)|Admiral]] [[Kirkland H. Donald]], current White House cybersecurity coordinator [[Howard Schmidt]], former [[United States Secretary of Transportation|U.S. Secretary of Transportation]] [[Mary Peters (politician)|Mary Peters]] '94, four-time [[NBA Finals|NBA Championship]]-winner [[Shaquille O’Neal]] '05, and three-time [[WNBA]] [[MVP]] [[Lisa Leslie]]. ==See also== {{Portal box|University|Business and economics}} *[[Distance education]] *[[E-learning]] ==Further reading== * [[Christopher Cuomo|Cuomo, Chris]]; Wagschal, Gerry; Pearle, Lauren, [http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/profit-education-abc-news-undercover-investigate-recruiters-university/story?id=11411379 "ABC News Investigates For-Profit Education: Recruiters at the University of Phoenix"], ''[[ABC News]]'', August 19, 2010 ==External links== {{Commons category|University of Phoenix}} * [http://www.phoenix.edu University of Phoenix] * [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/collegeinc/ "College, Inc."], PBS [[Frontline (U.S. TV series)|FRONTLINE]] documentary, May 4, 2010 {{UOPX}} {{Apollo Group}} {{Coord missing|Arizona}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Phoenix, University Of}}