Is the University of Phoenix On-line a good school? Does it have a good reputation?

Answer 1

The University of Phoenix has been getting some bad press lately. Also, at least one large employer has stopped tuition reimbursment for University of Phoenix.

If online education is your only option, the state universities and community colleges will be the best and least expensive way to further your education online. Usually degrees obtained online from state universities and colleges will be no different than a degree granted to a student sitting in class.

Stay away from the for-profits because of high cost. Some will be reasonable, but most, like University of Phoenix, overcharge. For profits are schools similar to Kaplan, Strayer, University of Phoenix, AIU etc.

If you are just starting your college education or have less than 60 semester credit hours, try your local community college first. They may have an online AA degree program. If they don't, try other community colleges in your state.

Once you have an AA degree, you can enroll in an online bachelor's degree completion program at one of the state universities. Many state universities now have online degrees. The following are some websites to get you started.

Fort Hays State University – http://www.fhsu.edu/virtualcollege/
Peru State University - http://www.peru.edu/offuttafb/degreeprograms/onlinelearning.htm
University of Wyoming – http://outreach.uwyo.edu/ocp/
American Public University – http://www.apu.apus.edu/index.htm
Mississippi State University - http://www.distance.msstate.edu/
University of Florida -
http://www.distancelearning.ufl.edu/degrees.aspx
University of Illinois -
http://www.online.uillinois.edu/
Texas Tech University
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/ode/CollegeOverview.asp

If you really feel like spending more than $400 per credit hour, at least attend Penn State. Penn State has about 50 degree programs online. http://worldcampus.psu.edu

Finally, when you choose a school, make sure it is at least regionally accredited. You can check accreditation at http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/search.asp You can read all about accreditation at http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/accreditation.html#Overview

Good luck

Answer 2

You should change schools because you will not get hired with a degree from the University of Phoenix. I earned MBA/GM from UoP in my 40's, and I found no respect in the business world with a MBA from UoP. Before you earn it you will be required to do more work and pay more in tuition then at other universities for a degree that for me has been worthless. The reasons are many. The caliber of the student body extremely low because of open enrollment anyone can attend UoP, and as you will see, most of them could not get accepted anywhere else, so you will be forced to carry those students through the program in the Learning Team environment. UoP does not employee professors or licensed teachers only facilitators who do no teaching only facilitate the class according to a predetermined curriculum. Everything you learn, you will learn on your own, and those who not want to learn anything and just want a degree, they can get that here, which is why I have found their degrees are not respected in the business community.

Answer 3

The University of Phoenix is regionally accredited but lacks the more prestigious national accreditation. It has a poor reputation, and is twice as expensive as good state universities. Most on-line "universities" are For Profit corporations.

The following article will give you more information on why the U of P is a bad idea.

Answer 4

I wouldn't even consider an on-line school such as UofP. The only exception would be if there's not a college or university that's locally accessible. Most places have an accredited four year college or university within driving distance. Spend your time there instead of looking for the "easy way out" that the online school's dangle in front of you. Believe me I know where you're coming from. I didn't want to "bite the bullet" as it were for a long time and resisted enrolling at a real university. I wish I had fifteen years ago. You can handle the coursework. Just get in there and give it hell. :)

Answer 5

Actually U of P is accredited. But that does not mean that they are a good idea. You can learn more about U of P by reading an article in the N Y Times for Sunday Feb 11th. That should be easy to google on line. It explains why they are not well respected.

There are some much more respectable schools that offer degrees or courses on line. What you want is a real university, like a state university or college, that offers part of its courses on line. Then you will get a degree from that university and it will be respected, not looked down on like the U of P degrees. Actually, it will probably be cheaper, too!

When you search on line, each school, check out how long they have been in business, how many full time day students they have at the home campus. How many full-time permanent instructors for the fulltime students on their home campus. That tells you how committed they are to academic success for their students. The real problem with U of P and other "for profit" online schools is that they are in it for the money. They don;t care about you, they only care about your money.

Answer 6

Yikes! Let me clear up some of the confused posters above.

Rouroni – Yes it is regionally accredited the highest institutional accreditation that a US university can get.

Matt – How does “How many full-time permanent instructors for the fulltime students on their home campus” automatically translate into caring about students? I went to a highly ranked research university and we rarely saw our professor. Teaching assistants did all the work, the professor was too busy for class and definitely too busy for student questions.

Tonto – LOL - Regional accreditation and national accreditation for an institution are mutually exclusive, so not sure what the source of your confusion is.

NGC6205 – Great post like usual, keep up the good work!
I think you are referring to Intel discontinuing payment for UOP classes. The NY Times article that Matt quotes is really poorly written and implies that only UOP was cut out. If you look at the less biased Chronicle of Higher Ed one, you can see the Intel policy now requires ABET or AACSB accreditation, a very commendable goal. IIRC only 5-6% of business schools have AACSB.

“Under the policy, started in November, employees at the computer-chip giant can be reimbursed only for attending institutions accredited by two selective business and engineering accrediting boards. As a result, about 100 colleges and universities, including several for-profit institutions like the University of Phoenix, no longer qualify to participate in the company’s reimbursement program. About 200 institutions remain eligible.”

http://www.cael.org/news.htm

That all being said, yes, avoid UOP.

Answer 7

I've heard that University of Phoenix does not have a good reputation as far as employers considering applicants that had attended that school. I've heard something similar about Devry and Strayer University. Best to go to a well-known reputable university to take online courses. A lot of community colleges also offer online courses as well and can save quite a bit of moolah ;)

Answer 8

Horrible rep... quite a few employers will not ever CONSIDER UofP graduates... You are much better off checking into a more presitious school... Strayer University has been around for over 115 years, and they have great customer service... www.strayer.edu

They have over 32,000 student working on diplomas, certificates, associates, bachelors, and masters degrees! Every program they offer is offered online and/or on campus... 1-888-9-strayer

Answer 9

Its not a good school. It is not accredited. Also it has a very poor reputation.

Answer 10

Wow! I'm shocked by the answers. I was going to ask the same but it looks like it's not a good idea to transfer. Thanks guys for the input.