University of Phoenix is an online school that was established in 1976. It has over 200 campuses across the world, and has over 100 different programs in associates, bachelors, masters, and doctorate degrees.
University of Phoenix was originally started as a field based experiment in adult education that Sterling and some friends were working on. At that time, the majority of colleges and university students were 18-22 years old. Any adults with jobs were considered second class and were often not seen on campuses. The first class that Sterling had only had eight adult students. Sterling then created the University of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona during 1976. Then during 1980, it expanded into San Jose, California.
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The University of Phoenix has campuses and learning centers in over 30 states, DC, Puerto Rico, and Canada. The University of Phoenix is specialized in online teaching, but they also have some campuses for additional classes and services. Through eCampus their online website, UOPX students can access multiple things like electronic libraries, online textbooks, and other things. During 2009, University of Phoenix was ranked #28 by OEDb for Colleges and Universities that bestow online degrees.
University of Phoenix offers many classes, all of which are assigned to four different colleges – The John Sperling School of Business and Technology, the Artemis School, the School of Advanced Studies, and the Axia College. Students can expect to spend 20 – 24 hours with their teachers during their course. Whenever there are group projects, the classes are split into groups to read the class forum and to talk about the project and assign parts of the project to different students.
The UOPX has an open access policy. Applicants are eligible for either Pell Grants or Federal Student loans. The University of Phoenix was one of 15 online colleges cited by the Government Accountability Offices for deceptive statements that were made to undercover investigators posing as applicants.
The UPOX was accredited in 1978 by The Higher Learning Commission. It has also been accredited for it’s specialty degrees including the Nursing, Business and Teacher Education accreditation, as well as the Counseling accreditation.
The average age for college students enrolled in University of Phoenix classes is 33 and most of those students are there for work related programs. The Department of Education calculates that the University of Phoenix’s overall graduation rate is 16% – the national average is 50% making it one of the lowest in the nation. The University of Phoenix creates it’s own graduation rate of 59% by including it’s large number of non-traditional students, so be sure to look at the number’s carefully when deciding.
To get more information, get a free information packet from UOP.
If you found the previous article informative, you should check out more in our distance education section, or read some of these articles below:
- 4 Tips to Get Your Master’s Degree Online
- Starting Online Classes?
- College Review – DeVry University
- College Review – Kaplan University
- College Review – Walden University
- College Review – University of Phoenix
- College Review – Capella University
- College Review – Strayer University
- Pros and Cons of Online Learning
- The Truth About Distance Education
- Distance Education: One Solution to the Nursing Shortage?
- Factors influencing adult learners decision to drop out or persist in online learning
- Influence of structure and interaction on student achievement and satisfaction in web-based distance learning
- Factors influencing students intention to take web-based courses in a college environment