Anyone have experiance with University of Phoenix?

I am seriously considering with drawing from the UoP. I have not incurred any cost yet? I am due to start on the 28th in the BSBM (Bachelor of Science Business Management).

I have only been able to locate one thread of discussion on this board from a gentleman named Richards.

Does anyone else have experiance with them?

My concern is the quality if the degree and the education. Time and cost are secondary to my goal. Having said that, the cost is a factor, but I am willing to pay for the value of the credential.

Coralee

 

Well Coralee, you will get a diversity of opinion regarding U of P on this forum.. They're RA and that good since RA is the gold standard...... They are the McDonalds of education... bad quality and service and products and lousy overworked faculty.... say away go some place else ....

Bottom line It's up to you. Obviously you must be looking for some sort of validation of your choice to continue or some reason to discontinue. It's your money... what are you going to do ??


Regards,

Dick Suhar

University of Phoenix Facilitator
Philadelphia Campus

 

UP

Quite frankly, My opinion of UP is not one of a positive.
For an online University the credit cost is quite high.
Undergrad @ $365 and Grad @ $ 460 per credit not inclusive
of books and software which averages $120 to $150 per
item. Then the other fees.
They are an accredited institution however, you can find
a local College or University with a campus at a better price.
Sorry, but I do not consider classrooms in public office buildings like Philadelphia and Jacksonville FL a campus.

Just my opinion.

For some other sites and reference materials
Check, Bears Guide of course
Barrons Guide to Distance Learning
and the website www.acenet.edu for a guide

Oh yes, you might want to check another thread in here regarding the founder of PU paying for the kitty cloning.
Maybe that is the reason for the high cost.

Off to pick up Thelma Lou.

Enjoy,

Barn

 

You should look at the information on the following sites. I think you could find a program that would be both significantly more affordable and have a better reputation.

Distance Learning Undergraduate Business Degrees

About.com Distance Learning: Colleges and Universities

 

Miserable school that I eventually withdrew from. I think I spent more classroom time learning about their accredidation and related problems than I did class subject material.

Someone already called it the "McDonalds of education" which is correct. Very overpriced, especially when you need to come up with the money every 5 weeks for the next class.

Yet, it may work for you if you like the format and want the credential more than the knowledge. Me, I'd rather acquire the knowledge than the credential, which is why I dropped out of UoP...I wasn't learning anything.

Now taking classes at USQ: www.usqonline.edu.au

Christian

 

I withdrew from the UoP masters program after discovering that their online program is a scam (I am not saying that all online programs are bad).

I took one class and didn't read the textbook and didn't do a lick of work. To get an easy "A," all I had to do was "log on" a couple of times each week. There were no exams and I didn't learn anything.

It is way overpriced too. You will pay Mercedes Benz prices, but the quality is akin to an abandoned bicycle.

A fool and his money are soon parted.

But it is RA.

 

...with no wheels or seat.

Christian

 

Thanks to all that have posted so far! It helps to make an informed decision when you can think out loud on a forum like this.

I have three criteria for this endeavor:

Cost.....................................UoP places last here.
Time frame to accomplish.....UoP places last here too.
Quality of education.............UoP seems to be last here as well

I have pretty much made up my mind to do my BS through GRE's, CLEP's and an assessment of my work training and experiance.

Now to choose the best DL?????

 

My experience with UOP was horrible! I took one class and only learned one thing! "I had to get the HECK out of there". I had to log on everyday to comment on my classmates assignments (who care's), do a few writing assignments, read a few pages in the book and I got an "A". I had no way of evaluating my work/knowledge because everything I did was "great" in the eyes of my instructor. I really didn't get much constructive feedback. Sometimes I got the feeling that my instructor didn't even look at my work before grading it. On top of that I and a few of my other classmates experienced billing problems. This school is the pitts in my opinion. Good luck with "it"! YUCK!

 

low level, low work ? => degree

hm,
that rises another question:

could it be that the UoP _is_ the right choice for people who

-have money
-want/need an accredited degree
-have time (to log in, at least)
and
-do not want to learn/study more than they have to... (lazy peopel, so speak it out loud).

?


am I getting it right that all the remarks about the low quality of the UoP-programs indicated that almost ANYONE could PASS the exams (if there are some) without having a lot of work?


I would appreciate answers and further discussion.

greets,

trigger

 

Re: low level, low work ? => degree

As I said in my post, "Yet, it may work for you if you like the format and want the credential more than the knowledge." I certainly had classmates who were not interested in anything but just finishing as fast as possible with as little effort as possible. No doubt they are still there. Note, I went to the "glass and concrete" campus, not the online campus. Most of them were pissed off that they even had to show up for class once a week.

If you had lots of money, didn't really want to learn anything, didn't want to be hassled with studying for tests or writing big papers, then UoP is perfect.

Christian

 

are the experiences with the "online campus" about the same?


greets, trigger

 

Hello,

My experience was quite different than those who have posted thus far. I went through the exact program you mentioned.

First of all, when I compare the academic rigor to that of the other undergrad school I attended, they are equal. I feel that I learned more from UoP than McKendree College, because I had to write about the material, thus demonstrate a thorough knowledgeof it. They are nowhere close to being a scam. In fact, I have seen many products of UoP in lately. Fontbonne College in St. Louis used a video produced by UoP and President Bush appointed a UoP grad as head of the Federal Highways Commission.

UoP is very writing intensive. Due to this, students who come out of there do well in Grad School. When I was getting my MBA, I had absolutely no problems with the writing assignments that freaked everyone else out.

Understnd that in any arena you enter, there will be staunch proponents, as well as opponents. If you look at the schools in your area, you are likely to find the opinion locally is that the school sucks......even though the school may have a good reputation on a broader scale.

Is there a better way to get you degree? Probably! More schools have non-traditional program that cost way less than UoP. UoP is definitely in the Private School Tuition range.


I would first look at the local programs...But don't count UoP out.
My experience with them was nothing but rewarding.

 

Personally I do not see the point in spending a lot of money to learn nothing, even if you are lazy. Chances are you'll get into a situation in your career when that knowledge that you were supposed to have been exposed to would come in handy. So why not get it, if you've paid for it!

I have managed to have a successful career in high tech for 15 years without a degree. As a hiring manager, I looked at academic credentials and professional certifications secondary to practical experience and accomplishments. The accomplishments told me the real story. The training told me whether or not someone was ambitious.

I only recently decided to pursue a degree as I have reached a glass ceiling. In this market recruiters and employers will do anything to narrow down the list of applicants. Degrees are one of the screening items. One VP said to me recently "It doesn't have to be in a related field, just a degree" His comment told me that I did not want to work for the company even if I had a doctorate.

So After extensive research and reading forums like this, I have decided not to move ahead with UOP.

 

@ cwray:

i guess there can certainly be various examples where you could need a degree but would not want to studay regularly or in an intense way - for example when you already have an other degree (in another subject), but need - say an MBA for even getting admitted for certain jobs...

or you just hold a Bachelor´s degree, but need a Master´s to "move on" in your present job (imaginable, isn´t it?).

or you already have the knowledge (say from 15 years of work experience in the related field), and rule your own business, but your business partners look down on you because you do not have the degree (which they all do have).

couldn´t it be that such a person would want the easiest way to get the desired degree - with least work effort imaginable (also because of time reasons), but still regionally accredited.

everyone the way he wants and gets happy with, i would say.

therefore - if you decide to "purchase" the least possible legitimate piece of knowledge - why shouldn´t you do so?

not everyone wants to make a career in academia, and therefore ANY regionally accredited degree could help to move a step forward...

think about it.

greets, trigger

 

Actually, what I see is managers above me who lack basic knowledge of subjects like economics and marketing, and this lack of knowledge shows glaringly in many of the decisions they make on a daily basis. Of course, then they use their position of authority to enforce their lame decisions when you try to point out why they might want to reconsider.

Christian

 

Hi Trigger,

You have a point. And yes I have run into these scenerios. UOP wasn't the fast way though. GRE's are for the holes in my credentials and the cheapest.

Thanks for your point of view.

 

Christian,

I agree! I have encounterd this as well. Fortunately I do not lack in these areas. The wisest managers know the areas that they are lacking in and either seek advice in these areas or surround themselves with people who do.

 

Hardly a endorsement for UoP. This board has been filled with discussion of government using degree mills to get degrees to either keep their government job or to be promoted.

While UoP is RA, my comments above show that it doesn't matter where you get your degree, or even if it is accredited or not. In the government world, all you need is a piece of paper.

Yeah, Stanford University and the University of California at Berkeley sure do suck!


Christian

 

Obviously, as with everything, there are exceptions.


I bet there is a school in your area that you think poorly of, but tends to be highly regarded nationally. The point is, when we see things everyday, we become cynical about them.
UoP is no Stanford, but what DL school is? Stanford has the number one B-School in the nation.
I see nothing but bad things to say about UoP, but they seem to be baseless.
"I took a class and dropped...they are a scam!" How about solid reasons. This is what helps people decide.

I say it is posible that we get from our educational experience exactly what we put into it.