I liked the ability to work and be a full time student. The course work was demanding, so good time management is a must overall. I feel that I learned more at U of Phoenix Online than the brick and mortar schools I have attended. You get what you are willing to give.
I attended on-the-ground classes at a local community college prior to attending classes at the University of Phoenix online. I did not notice any significant difference in the difficulty or quality of the classes. University of Phoenix provided an excellent way for a working adult who had to travel for work a great way to complete his education and receive an undergraduate degree. My only caveats are: 1. One can definitely find a less expensive alternative to earning a regionally accredited online degree - be sure to shop so that you have funds remaining for your graduate education. 2. The "team" approach to 1/3 of one's grade at the University of Phoenix can be frustrating because the University seems to accept anyone regardless of whether (s)he can write, spell, or is interested in doing quality work.
University of Phoenix is known for leaving students with an exorbitant amount of debt compared to the quality of the degree. There is a lot of advertising giving the feeling that UoP is the best solution for the online student. However, I worked for a highly respected financial institution for 6 years who saw them as providing nearly worthless degrees.
The school is full of educational resources but requires discipline to complete coursework without being penalized. I have attended tradional schools and I learned more at the UoP than any other institution because the UoP immerses students in their area of study. I had a great experience and highly recommend this institution for any working adult that wants to further their education.
Name: TJ
Post On: October 26, 2010
Grade: C-
The classes are okay, some of the instructors are great, most are sub par. The students they allow into the program for the most part should not be in a college program- many write on a third grade level or below.
Name: Romeo G.
Post On: March 27, 2010
Grade: A-
I was a military veteran and I have performed college in many Brick and morter schools accross the nation on post. I have also attended 4 year universities for courses. Due to the fact that I was constantly moving with the military, I had to gain college in several locations. I decided to start at UoP for the fact that if I move I can still continue with the same college. I will say that all the rhetoric on this site is not at all what UoP is like. I have been impressed with the instructors and the curriculum that I have received thus far. I have found so far that this college is actually a little more difficult then the brick and morter because as a student, I had to learn how to be a time manager for studies and without an instructor present, you could not ask question for immediate responses so you have to wait a day or later in that day to get the answer. the instructors are very knowledgeable in their understanding of the subjects and will assist in any questions you have in the subject. The Learning experience I have had thus far is actually better then the colleges I have belong to in the past. They place heavy grading on the team program as a way for you to learn to work in teams as you do in the real world. I have had several issues at times with students that believe they know everything, but this is found in everything you do in life. There is always one person who knows everything, right? You learn how to work with people in this fact, so to produce a professional and articulated assignment. The cost factor is on the high side, but in comparison to a college like University of Texas, it is very close. As I said before I enjoy being a Phoenix and I look forward to completing my degree with this college. I do find that there are students that are slackers and only do the bare minimums, but their grades are a resemblance to it also. Especially in the team enviorment, because the team members place a % of participation to the team for the instructor to view. The instructors also view the team folders to concur to %'s given. It appears to be a fair system in how the instructors grade the students work. They provide a detailed matrices that explain what they are looking for and the plagiarism checker is amazing. They also hold students responsible for their actions. Overall I am very pleased with the education and performance of this college.
Name: Nick
Post On: January 7, 2010
Grade: C-
I don’t know where all this bashing the school because its online is coming from. This is an online degree website why bother going around bashing online schools because there not traditional brick and mortar? The University of Phoenix is regionally accredited by The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) as a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). It also has accreditation for a variety of its specialty degree programs, including its nursing and MBA programs. So all the online schools "not good enough" hate comments are bull. I have another beef with UoP, I consider their school to be ridiculous expensive for an online program. They are also very structured which made it difficult to complete coursework for working adults. You have to constantly log on and chat with other classmates. Like another reviewer stated people can cheat by riding off comments that you posted for a particular subject. I made a mistake once and submitted the wrong attachment to a lesson that was due, when I tried to re-submit I was denied and given zero for a common mistake. Don’t fret on getting a zero either, you have so many assignments and participation requirements getting a zero will hardly affect your grade because so much crap is due. UoP discussion boards are the worst, UoP claims that its necessary to communicate and debate with classmates to build self esteem and maturity around other working adults. What UoP fails to consider is that most people attending online schools are not 17 years old out of high school but middle class workers that probably communicate with customers/employers far more than traditional college students. I will agree that UoP is known by many employers to be an online school and might be look down upon as an inferior education, it might be better to go to a no name online school to avoid the suspicion. Over time as online schools continue to be acceptable alternative education from traditional ones will this stigma cease.
Name: Mark
Post On: October 14, 2009
Grade: A-
I've attended both a traditional four year college and UoP. It's disturbing to say the least that UoP doesn't have the reputation it deserves. They're definitley not a degree mill like some might think. The courses are tough and take a lot of work and effort to complete successfully. They are expensive and sell convenience. At the time I started there were no other regionally accredited colleges offering a degree online in information technology. UoP is ahead of the curve in online education and hopefully the public perception will change with other universities finally catching on.
Name: Amber
Post On: September 15, 2009
Grade: C-
I have not been impressed by UoP. The tuition is stupidly expensive and I have quite frankly not gotten much bang for my buck. I have had instructors that have been very unclear as to their requirements. I have an instructor in an abnormal psych class who is an attorney not a psychologist, and likes to take off points without real reasons other than I think she has a hard time giving full credit. I have had instructors argue APA formatting and I have APA software. I had a math instructor who was absolutely no help when I had questions. I dropped the class after 1 week and paid $240 for it out of pocket. My academic and financial counselors are about 12 and have no real world experience. I have had some decent instructors but over all I am not very impressed.
