University of Phoenix was founded to advance a disruptive idea – that anyone who wants a degree and is willing to work hard to earn one should have access to quality higher education – and sometimes it’s difficult for people who are accustomed to a traditional college experience to understand the value and power of this concept.
Although our approach is different, University of Phoenix holds the same level of accreditation as the best “traditional” universities in the United States, and our degree programs are held to the same standards of academic rigor and quality, and so are our students.
We work closely with Fortune 1000 companies to educate them on the value of a University of Phoenix education, and to help them understand how well prepared and hardworking UoPX students are.
Phoenix Focus, our monthly Alumni Association magazine, features how our alumni are translating their degrees to success in business.
Let's face it, University of Phoenix has good name recognition, but sometimes has a less-than-favorable reputation. However, in the IT field, where skill and experience usually outweigh education, this degree can still be a good value. In my company, many senior developers, analysts, and managers have degrees from UoP.
This degree works best for students already working in the IT field who want to expand their IT education. For someone who wants the degree for a career change, a distance degree from a state or non-profit university with a better reputation may be a better option. Without experience, the degree's value isn't as great.
The program requires a lot of group work, and students will need to work with others from different time-zones with varying abilities and backgrounds. This can be challenging for many students.
Unfortunately UoP degree descriptions are a lot of fluff! There are no concrete descriptions that provide any level of technical knowledge that will be gained and be of value to the student. Generalities are used and as a well versed IT Leader, applicants to my departments whom attended UoP IT courses were not at the required level that is comparable to other applicants. If you want a career in IT, steer away from UoP. You would serve yourself better by acquiring industry standard certifications such as Cisco, MCSE, et cetera.
