I know there is a location for education discussions but I am wondering if anybody has any dealings with the University of Phoenix Online? I am looking at starting and was wondering how intense it is. I have been out of school for 20 years.
I would start there. There are some extreme horror stories about that school. Had an XPO that really got the fid from the one he went to. A financial nightmare. Said they kept charging him for classes he never took, so on and so forth.
Look at some other schools. There are better schools with better programs for less money and less hassle.
Don't go to UOPHX, especially if you are looking for a primary degree. Just a bad academic reputation, which you don't want on your resume. Better schools out there online for less money.
My wife received her Masters in Education Administration little over 3 years ago from them. Took her around 2 years start to finish. She thought it was great, working from home on the laptop. I thought it was great, was still active duty at the time. Like anything else on-line you have to stay on top of them, and rely on your account rep. Currently she is working towards her Doctorate thru Walden University, another great online provider.
Be sure that any degree you receive will be recognized by the state in which you will eventually settle. As an example a UOP degree in Criminal Justice will not be recognized in MA for the Police Pay Incentive Program better known as the Quinn Bill. This bill pays police officers 10% above their base pay for an associates degree, 20% for a bachelors and 25% for a Masters.
I teach online for the Community College I work for. I am also taking an online grad certificate program now to add to my masters. There are good bad and ugly out there.
I really tend to think that it depends on the campus you are going through. There are other colleges out there that are worse, but there are others that are better.
I used UofPhx for my Associates and I'm about to finish up my Bachelors with them too. The school is accredited by the same organization that accredits Arizona State and University of Arizona.
I haven't had much trouble with class scheduling, and the classes have been challenging enough. My only complaint is that it's quite expensive. My tuition assistance only covers about 70%.
It depends on what you are desiring to do with your degree and which employers you are aiming for. My wife work H/R and temp manpower and they do not even recognise UOP and National University. Dpending on where you live, a traditional school could be cheaper, better and will not put you in a situation where a future employers looks at you funny.
California, for example has rediculously cheap JCs that are geared to move you to a CSU or UC school. So, it depends on what you want to do with your UOP degree.
Be an informed consumer. Do your research. How does the curriculum/cost/accreditation from this institution compare with that of other institutions in the field you are considering?
University of Phoenix was once a unique opportunity for people wanting to pursue higher education in a nontraditional setting. However, the number of brick and mortar universities offering similar online degree programs increases each day, without the controversy surrounding accreditation, etc. Having said that, U of P doesn't appear to be suffering from a lack of enrollment.
