Is the University of Phoenix Online a real college or is it just a diploma mill?

Question

I want to get a Master's degree online, but I'm not sure if the University of Phoenix Online is a real college or if it is just a con. Does anyone know for sure? Would employers look down on me for having UOP on my resume?

Answer 1

Because many longstanding, regionally accredited, and completely reputable state universities now offer courses and even degrees online, you can now pursue almost any area of study, including many Master's degrees, through distance education.

The links below are the absolute best you will find. They contain more links to many well-respected state university distance education programs.

What distinguishes these sorts of programs is that the courses are generally transferable between regionally accredited institutions. Sometimes, the degrees offered are identical to those earned on campus.

I would advise you to start by looking at the state university system in the state in which you live, and check to see if they offer the programs and courses in which you are interested. If not, check some other state universities. (Pennsylvania has a great system, for instance.)

Avoid the "online universities" (for-profit businesses, like U Phoenix, Capella, AIU, etc.) at all costs. These businesses do not deliver on their promises. Phoenix has been sued for deceptive business practices, AIU has lost its accreditation, etc.

Note: In institutions of higher education, regional accreditation is better than national accreditation. This sounds odd, but I assure you that it is the case. The regional accreditors are:
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSACS)
New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC)
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCACS)
Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NCCU)
Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS)

If a program is not accredited by one of these associations, it is best to stay away.

Also, accreditation in one region is respected in all others. So a degree from an NCCU-accredited institution will be regarded as valid in all areas outside of the Northwest.

If you do a search on Yahoo!Answers, you will find many people complaining that their U of Phoenix degrees are not being taken seriously by employers. These degrees are actually laughed at in academia.

Best wishes to you, and good for you for asking the question before wasting your money!

Answer 2

It is a for-profit university so it falls into the diploma mill category. As we say over and over in this forum, if you must take online classes, then do it through a real, bricks-and-mortar university (one that has a real campus somewhere). Otherwise you run the risk that you pay a ton of money for a "degree" that no one respects and that will get you nowhere.

Answer 3

University Of Phoenix Blackboard

Answer 4

Hi everyone,
UoP is actually one of the more expensive colleges and has really mixed opinions about their programs and degrees. I would highly recommend to do lots of research if you want to get an online master's degree.
You can check out this site for more information: http://onlineuniversityfaqs.com/degrees/

Hope this helps, Lucy :)

Answer 5

UoP has until recently been a sattelite school with "campuses" in various cities. They specialize in MBA and other graduate degree curricula with evening classes for working adults.

Looks like UoP on-line has been a logical evolution from that origin.

What the status of their diploma is, I don't know. It all depends on the employer. I woukd call a few or talk to the UoP placement office.

Answer 6

It's part of the for-profit Corporation based in where else, Phoenix AZ. I've never been a student of there's so I can't tell of the experience. But it is accredited. U of P strength is that it offers classes for working adults who wants their college credits, flexible schedule and not really into the college campus experience. As far as the employers viewpoint goes, traditional colleges' degree value isn't going to diminish if your university happens to file for corporate bankruptcy.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

For a Bachelor's Degree, it's actually recognized as being a reputable university. As a matter of fact, several colleagues of mine "teach" there at that level. With that fact in mind, I'd think their Master's program would probably also be reputable. Depending upon what you plan on going into - I'd imagine a Master's from there would be acceptable. If you're going into education, its highly unlikely. I've yet to meet anyone in higher education who got a degree from there.

Whatever you decide, Good Luck!

Answer 9

Most employers have come to recognize UOP as a legit school. It's definitely not a con or diploma mill. I was looked down on much more for not having completed my degree than for completing it through UOP. My employer didn't care where I got my degree, just that I had it. My boss got his from UOP online as well and we work for a Fortune 500 company.

Here's what you need to know about UOP online that the admissions people won't tell you:

-Each class has at least 1,000 pages of text to read which will be available online as a PDF file. Invest in a GOOD laser printer if you want a hard copy to read, highlight, make notes in. Plan on covering at least 200 pages/week. When my printer died, I started trying to purchase used textbooks from half.com or amazon. UOP tends to use custom editions so you can't always find an actual textbook.

-You must post at least 2 substantive comments to the class participation board 4 days per week. I recommend signing on to the board every day or you will find yourself with dozens of new posts to sift through. I easily spend an hour a day just catching up on the new posts.

-You will be required to turn in a team assignment every week. Teams consist of 3-5 students and make up 30% of your grade in each class. Ever try to write a paper with 5 people online? Everyone thinks they can write a paragraph or section and then cut/paste it together at the last minute to turn in. Then they get defensive if you try to edit their work to make the paper cohesive. I had some teams that functioned very well together but some were just full of deadbeats. Every single class at UOP has "learning teams."

-I had to change financial counselors twice before I found one who would actually return my calls or alert me that I had an out of pocket expense coming up before it was overdue.

-UOP is expensive. Check into online offerings from local schools and you might find a better deal. Every time UOP loses a lawsuit, they raise tuition. They are publicly traded as the Apollo Group. Check out their financials for more details.

There has been some talk of integrating the physical and online programs. I'm not sure how far along they are in the process but the rumor was that you might be able to take some classes online and others in a classroom. I know I had a few accounting classes that would have been much better in a class setting where I could see examples on a blackboard instead of trying to discern them from the text.

UOP Online was my only option for completing my degree as I was in a job where my schedule changed from week to week. I don't want to sound negative since my experience there did benefit me in the long run. I just hated the fact that they did not tell me about the learning team concept until after they had my money.

Answer 10

Not really sure if that's right