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  1. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    What? Another UoP thread? :eek: :mad:

    I've had a chance to take graduate-level courses at the UoP and at a state university and, consequently, I recant my former position that the UoP is the bottom of the RA barrel.

    I also find the following to be enlightening:
    I have taken an easy course and a hard course at the UoP and, conversely, I have had similar courses at the state university.

    We are allowed to change our mind, no? :confused: :cool:
     
  2. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    UoP is RA

    Consequently, I see nothing wrong with the UoP, except for a possible stigma that has been attached to it for various reasons that have been discussed ad nauseum.
     
  3. picklehead

    picklehead New Member

    see post

    I meant to post a reply, but instead started a new thread..It says ditto.
     
  4. Why the change in heart? Next you'll be telling us how great the GRE is!
     
  5. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    GRE: sham or necessity?

    The chairman of our program was extolling the virtues of the GRE. He asked us if the program should keep the GRE as an entry-level requirement for graduate school or if it should be discarded. Before anyone could reply, he answered for us by saying that he believed in "quality" e.g. the GRE helps to create and sustain a quality academic program/product.

    Those were his thoughts. And your thoughts?

    :confused: :cool:
     

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  6. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    Why the change of heart?

    I’ve seen that the academic standards at the UoP are the same as at the state university. There is no discernable difference. It is all contingent upon the type of class, along with the requirements that are placed upon the students by the instructor.
     

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  7. MAYES

    MAYES New Member

    Harpooned.......but still the largest private university in the United States. UOP is the leading and most cesspool of american greed.

    Don't like UOP, your un-American


    :D
     
  8. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    There is a big controversy over whether the "for profit" status interferes with the ability to provide a quality education. What do you think?
     

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  9. Andy Borchers

    Andy Borchers New Member

    Re: Why the change of heart?

    UoP's academic standards may be the same as some state university some place - but certainly not all state universities. Take the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and UCLA as two examples. They require top GMAT scores (and GPA's) for admission. UoP doesn't require the GMAT and accepts students with 2.5 GPAs.

    It is certainly tough to generalize about "state universities". There are wide variations.

    Regards - Andy

     
  10. blahetka

    blahetka New Member

    DISCLAIMER: I am on adjunct faculty at UoPhx. I also completed my undergrad at UoPhx. Further, statements below are NOT based on any actual statistical sampling- but more on subjective observations.

    When I was taking classes at UoPhx I found similar proportions of serious students and those looking for a piece of paper as I did when I went to Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). So, I disagree with the statement that adult students, at the undergrad level, are more serious than 18 year old undergrads.

    I did not go to UoPhx for my MBA because I wanted an AACSB accredited school. Also, the cost (and I was busy paying off my undergrad student loans). I found the proportion of students in my MBA classes to be skewed more towards the serious side. There were those looking to 'skate' through, but usually they dropped out after a couple classes, or converted to seriousness when they realized they were no longer undergrads.

    What is interesting, I found similar proportions of serious vs. non-serious students in the undergrad classes I teach as I did when I was in school. I find the UoPhx graduate students to have a bit less serious students than I found in my MBA program, however, I find they will all do the work assigned. Further, there are less attempts to "negotiate" assignments at the MBA level at UoPhx than there were in the undergraduate classes.

    In my DBA work, I have several UoPhx MBA grads that have been in my classes. Each one is as serious and as hard working as any of the other DBA students.

    As with ANY school, what one gets out of the experience is related to the work one puts into the program. There will always be a curve as to the students that are trying to get by through to the ones that are serious. Even if the instructors are mediocre, a student that wants to learn and excel can do so, albeit with a bit more difficulty.

    I am quite happy with the education I rec'd in the UoPhx undergrad program. I am also happy I decided to branch out and take advantage of different delivery methods for my MBA and DBA.

    Russ BSBM, MBA DBA (ABD)
     
  11. Andy Borchers

    Andy Borchers New Member

    Re: GRE: sham or necessity?

    Your chairman makes a good point. The GRE is, according to their website:

    "The General Test measures verbal, quantitative, and analytical skills that have been developed over a long period of time and are not necessarily related to any particular field of study."

    Requiring this test - and using it as a screening tool makes a lot of sense, especially if your school can't serve all of the potential students who would like to attend. Students who score low on the exam are likely to bring lower skills than those that do well on the exam. Admitting such students to a progam will more than likely lower the quality of what goes on in the classroom. Frankly, the quality of outgoing students is to at least some degree dependent on the quality of incoming students.

    I'm not talking about slight differences here - but a students with a 350 GMAT, for example, doesn't belong in Harvard. Period.

    I think we need to get past the idea that everyone should be able earn a graduate degree. Perhaps a bachelor's degree is the expected level of education for a large number of people today. A "masters" degree suggests that the graduate has "mastered" a discipline. Admitting students without standardized test results (such as the GRE and GMAT) and with GPAs in the 2.5 range raises the real question - are such folks capable of "mastering" a field?

    Some would argue - "measure the ouput - if students don't measure up, don't pass them." This sounds great - but few instructors or schools have the guts to flunk students. What happens is that standards get lowered so that students can be "satisfied customers".

    Regards - Andy



     
  12. blahetka

    blahetka New Member

    I'm of a mixed mind when it comes to entrance exams for graduate programs. On the one hand, I view them as simply a barrier to entrance, a type of tax. In that respect, I wonder just how accurate they are in predicting student success.

    On the other hand, if someone has the motivation to get through an entrance exam, they may have more motivation to last through the program. In this regard, is the GRE or GMAt more indicative of 'stick to it-iveness" than potential success in a particular program of study.

    Some schools keep raising their minimum GMAT scores because they can't accept all the students that apply. Then you have some schools that do not require an entrance exam. I wonder, when compared, if there is a difference in drop rates and/or grades?
     

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