university of phoenix

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by ran60, Aug 14, 2005.

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  1. ran60

    ran60 New Member

    Greetings,

    Does anyone have experience with,or comments regaring this school. I've just started the application process and, I'm finding alot of negitive commits online,does anyone here have any negitive,or positive comments. anything will help.

    thanks.........
     
  2. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    I hope your rich. Otherwise, it will smash your piggy bank into a million little pieces scattered all across the floor.
     
  3. bing

    bing New Member

    I think one might get a good education at Phoenix. I'll get that out of the way then make my comments.

    First, this school has been talked about a lot on the forum. The negative things have been 1) group work 2) expense 3) way over-advertised.

    The group work has been talked about much. A student would be assigned to a group and even the worst working person in the group still gets the benefit of the hard working members pulling them up. Some might do all the work and the others coast. The thing to consider here is that many other schools might do the same thing. I even had it in my MBA program at Cal State.

    Phoenix bothers be because it is in my e-mail, on my e-mail programs, has annoying pop-up ads, and is in every corner of the world. So, it might be considered a joke by others. Is the school a joke? No.

    What are you interested in studying? Members of the forum love to direct people to all sorts of programs. It's like a service everyone here does and is quite nice for the would-be distance learner.

    If you are looking at a master's or bachelor's then there are MANY other alternatives to Phoenix. Many are cheaper and many are even state schools.

    I had a boss once who had a Phoenix BS. He was one of the best bosses I ever had. Had to throw that anectdote in.


     
  4. Guest

    Guest Guest

    It is accredited, relatively quick (6 week semesters) and as me again notes......very expensive.

    Anecdotally, yes I have heard a lot of negative comments. A couple of people thought they were not accredited, and one Rutgers grad called them a step above a mail order school.

    If it fits your budget and future plans then go for it. You will have an accredited degree.

    UofP is in my opinion utilitarian. That is if you need the union card to get your foot in the door for a job, promotion, etc then it seems to meet it. May not work if your intent is to impress people with your grad degree or try to compete for very comeptetive jobs or to get into tough doctoral programs.

    There are many.....many more distance learning undergrad & grad programs that are more affordable and with Tier rankings, etc.

    As I say, there is much to weigh & only you know all of those factors. I have a friend who wanted the convenience of U of P, and did not want to have to mess with trying to get the correct classes scheduled in another dl program. UofP seems to have a fairly fine oiled machine as far as that goes.

    In my own case I choose ACCS because it met a need at a time in my life when I needed the coursework in the program. I had some things I needed to work through and the counseling coursework allowed me to do that. The program met my parameters for affordability and was accredited. Right program, right time. I had been enrolled in some other programs and never even got started due to one issue after another that cropped up in my personal life. Now, I got an accredited doctorate, at an affordable cost, in a subject I was really interested in. But.....I am not kidding myself into thinking that I am going to be getting a faculty position with my ACCS doctorate at Harvard Divinity School or Princeton Theological Seminary.

    So weigh all factors carefully (especially since the cost is great) and make a decision that should meet your present and future needs.

    North
     
  5. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    The University of Phoenix is a legitimately accredited institution of higher education that caters to a working adult student population and offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in business and education both online and through bricks & mortar schools in a very large multi-campus system. Like many private, for-profit non-traditional universities, they are (or so I understand) an open-admissions school (or very close thereto), they have (shall we say) a somewhat aggressive marketing strategy, they make heavy use of adjuncts, and they tend to be a bit pricey. But I nevertheless think that they are a pretty good non-traditional school. Oh, by the way, one of the things that UOP gets a lot of flak for is their heavy emphasis upon group projects. And here's a few old UOP threads.

    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20535
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20257
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20202
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20063
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20037
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19951
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19051
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17207
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16599
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16187
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15814
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15112
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12895
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12784
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12031
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11705
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11627
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11608
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11543
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11425
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10703
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10603
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10503
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10462
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10078
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9903
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9732
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9520
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9119
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9085
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8908
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8896
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8850
    http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8603
     
  6. little fauss

    little fauss New Member

    Hey ran60,

    Like the earlier poster asked, what are you seeking to study? That will tell us a lot.
     
  7. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    First of all, you haven't said which program you're applying to. It might make a difference as to what others will say. If you're applying into the MBA program I'd suggest you go here:
    http://www.geocities.com/liu_jonathan/distance.html
    There are about 180 DL MBA programs listed. Tell me why the University of Phoenix is better than all these. Do you really think that having the U of P on your resume will look better than UMass? (for example). Do the research. Think it through.
    Jack
     
  8. ran60

    ran60 New Member

    UOP

    Hi,all

    Thanks for the straight forward comments and,offers to help.
    A little about myself,over the last 20 years I've had several jobs,in retail and, copier repair.I've attended the local J.C. and completed over 40 credits in business and, computer courses, plus I've done alot of self study to stay current in I.T.
    I'm considering UOP because I don't fit into a traditional college platform,because I haven't completed the gen. ED classes,nor do really want to at stage in my life and, I have trouble staying afloat with the required course loads, just being truthful,thats why a like their one course at a time approach.
    All that said I'm considering a BS in business and, maybe an, MBA or, MM, just to prepare myself for better career opportunities.


    thanks again for your support...
     
  9. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

    I have taken classes at UoP and they are OK. Since you are a more mature person (not 20 years old), have you considered taking CLEP and DANTES to get a degree from one of the “Big Three”

    I earned 54 credits in about 6 weeks to complete my BS.
     
  10. ran60

    ran60 New Member

    Randell,

    No I haven't looked into the clep,or dantes tests, maybe I should.

    I'm concerned that by testing out of courses and, accepting life credits I won't learn what I need to learn.

    Also what are these big 3 schools you mention?

    Are there any RA adult programs that don't stress group learning, that might be better for me than UOP?

    Last I'm only considering UOP because they have a campus close to my home, so I can attend class instead of learn online, which I'm not sure I'd like to do, they are RA ,and I believe I would do better in their easier learning enviroment.

    thanks....
     
  11. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    The Big Three are the three schools that pioneered the awarding of degrees by "testing out" procedures such as AP, CLEP, DANTES, ECE, PEP, TECEP, etc. They are: Charter Oak State College www.cosc.edu , Excelsior College www.excelsiorcollege.edu , and Thomas Edison State College www.tesc.edu .
     
  12. Randell1234

    Randell1234 Moderator

  13. mcdirector

    mcdirector New Member

    The Big Three get a lot of publicity, but don't forget about Indiana University. They have a general studies degree with a concentration in humanities OR social science OR math&natural sciences. You can transfer in 90 hours. And they take tests.

    from the site:\
    30 hours can be through a portfolio documenting self-aquired learning.

    Cost is about 125 an hour.


    IU BGS
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 14, 2005
  14. CocoGrover

    CocoGrover New Member

    Take at look at DePaul University - you can transfer in what you have already completed and create a BA with the focus of your choice.

    www.snlonline.net
     
  15. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Wow, that looks like a really good program. I considered applying for a while until I read you have to complete 30 credits with the University of Indiana.

    Right now I am waiting for a grade to post for a class I completed at the University of IOWA DL program. After that I am applying at COSC. I will apply for a Bachelors of Arts with a concentration in Spanish. I am hoping to only need to complete 24 units of Spanish, and that's it. I am still looking for fast, cheap, ways to obtain upper level spanish credit.

    Anyway, anbody else reading this may want to check into the link mcdirector posted. U of Indiana seems really flexible, I like the sound of the Self acquired competency portfolio option.

    Have a good weekend!

    Abner
     
  16. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Hi ran60:

    I am just going to make some comments on a conversation I overheard at work regarding UOP. One of the people engaged in this conversation was in H.R. A young lady that I worked with completed her Masters from UOP. Anyway, the conversation poked fun at UOP, and the people speaking about it made it sound like UOP was basically a "bought" degree. They also said Charlene (UOP grad) would download purchased term papers at work and turn them in!

    Just a few comments. I am not trying to discourage you. My comments are certainly not factual by any means. However, I thought I would post them in the hopes that it can help you make a decision. You stated UOP is close to your home, and you wanted to attend in person. Certainly there must be other options you can entertain in addition to UOP.

    Take care,

    Abner
     
  17. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Wow!


    Abner :)
     
  18. bing

    bing New Member

    Re: Re: university of phoenix

    Abner,

    You might want to refrain from using names when accusing someone of cheating...especially when you only heard it second hand.

    I can tell you that cheating goes on no matter if it is at Harvard, Brigham Young, UC-Berkley, UofP, or Ohio State. The educational delivery format makes no difference.

    Bing

     
  19. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Re: Re: Re: university of phoenix

    Which is why I said my comments are not factual. I never said I believed what I heard, nor did I accuse anyone, but perhaps I could have been a little more specific. I certainly did not mean to offend anyone.

    Take care,


    Abner
     
  20. bing

    bing New Member

    Re: Re: Re: Re: university of phoenix

    But you did mention her name in the same breath that you said you did not know if it was factual. That was what I was concerned about.

    Bing

     

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