Would you hire someone for a top position with a PhD from University of Phoenix if the PhD was a requirement?

Question

I just want to point out that accreditation means nothing in terms of qualtiy. It just says the school is valid.

Second, UoP is not number one for graduate quality. It says UoP graduates more MBA's than other schools. Why not say Walmart is quality since more peopel shop there than anywhere else.

Third, UoP was number one in graduating under-represented people with MBAs. This again notes nothing about quality. UoP is considered a "Lite" MBA.

Answer 1

Simply put, the best people go to the most competitive schools because the best firms hire graduates from the best schools. You will NEVER see a Fortune 500 select from UoP.

Clearly there are a bunch of underachievers who took the UoP course. You can even see the moronic flaws in their logic (UoP granted more Masters than anyone. By that criteria, Harvard and Yale suck).

Nevertheless, the answer is obvious. No one in their right mind would hire someone who bought their degree over someone who earned it.

Answer 2

Yes.

I read blog traffic from a few individuals who seem like they were unsatisfied with their experience at UoP. I completed a sandwich (part online, part rez) course for my MBA and it was the reason I enrolled to the doctoral program at UoP. The rez component of UoP is somewhat short; however, rez is a very expensive component and I would prefer something less than the three week residencies that I experienced last time. My feeling is that the most important part of rez is the face time that ensures team work online is effective and enjoyable. The purpose of a doctoral program is to write a dissertation...to contribute to the body of knowledge. I am a proponent of online for graduate school work. I feel that undergrad work often requires the student to attend brix&mortar, mostly because of the age factor. The UoP doctoral program has very young students...at least in my cohort (average age is maybe 40).

I have read no negative reviews on the doctoral programs at UoP, only issues surrounding legal issues, undergrad and master level education quality, and customer support types of issues.

UoP has a decent DBA program. I would strongly suggest it to those who are not faint of heart when it comes to 3.5 years of continuous challenging work. It takes up a few hours a day every day and a ton of research.

I would consider many of the graduates of my class to a c-level leadership position in a global corporation. That's what the program is all about. I would treat the doctoral degree component as a narrowing tool in a hiring process, not a decision tool. I would likely not look much further than accreditation, and the UoP is accreditted by a Canadian accreditation unit.

I have no experience with undergrad or master level programs. I would also note that the author above asks whether respondents would consider a UoP PhD candidate for a top role, but then qualifies several issues of quality referring to the MBA program. I would suggest that this reference in the question causes bias and indicates to me the author's desire to attract negative postings. If the author has experience or examples of a poor doctoral program at UoP, I would be interested in reading about it.

Answer 3

As much as I'm a proponent of distance education - the academic reputation of UoP is not high enough to even consider a candidate for a top (or close) position based on that PhD. One can presume though that those people who have earned a PhD from UoP are working somewhere. They graduate a lot of students.

That said, very few top positions hire based on the degree alone - there are other considerations that have much more value. This includes experience, publications, etc...

There are much better places to do your doctoral studies.

Answer 4

I have to say absolutely not. University teaching, at any level, is a highly competitive field. There is no way that a U of Phoenix PhD would be in any way prestigious enough to get you a full time teaching job at a state university, and the Cal State system is actually competitive. It's nothing to sneeze at. I also don't think it's good enough for a community college. And I'm not sure most schools would take you on even as an adjunct. Some might. Somewhere... But no, not Cal State. In general, if you plan to teach, full time, at university level, you want to get a PhD (in person) from the most reputable, highest ranked program in your field that you can get into. At the PhD level, reputation of program can make or break you. That doesn't necessarily mean that the program must be elite - that depends. But it must be, at its core, reputable. I've taken a quick look at the faculty listing at one of the less competitive Cal States. Their faculty come from highly reputable universities: U Cal Berkeley, UCLA, UC Riverside, U Indiana, Cal Tech, Stanford, U Zurich, U Arizona, U Florida, Ohio State, UMass Amherst - not all of these are the most elite programs in their fields, but many of them are, and all are extremely solid. Not one from U of P.

Answer 5

Part of getting a Ph.D. is the interaction with your colleagues, attending seminars, sharing ideas, hearing about other peoples' thesis topics, and seeing their work. You also make contacts in your field of study. People who got a Ph.D. from a brick and mortar school are generally speaking going to think a Ph.D. from an online university is just plain goofy, and they are not going to hire you.

If it is a job where there is no one else in the entire company with an advanced degree, they might be interested in an online Ph.D. But if the job really REQUIRES a Ph.D., it probably requires a Ph.D. from a brick and mortar college.

Answer 6

Not only would I hire a Phd. from University of Phoenix, I would also consider them just as competent as a Phd. from a so-called traditional school. Also, in terms of so-called non profits, it is apparent that these traditional schools indeed profit and rake in billions of dollars in endowments and other forms of revenue-tax free. Indeed, these so-called non-profits make more revenue than Univ. of Phoenix and don't pay taxes as a result of their non-profit tax shelter scheme. Yet, Univ. of Phoenix pays hefty tax dollars to the IRS annually. Also, any idiot should know that a Phd. or Doctorate candidate must engage in residency; meaning they must spend some time at the college's main campus. These students must also be willing to travel in order to participate in seminars and internships. Getting a Phd. or Doctorate from Phoenix does not consist of only online courses, just like any other regonally accredited college.

Therefore, I wonder who are the real crooks and as a result of the below link, I would think UOP is small potatoes compare to society's gallant traditional colleges. LOL!

Answer 7

I love hearing about how bad of a school UOP is from people who have never taken a course there.

Answer 8

No. Absolutely not. A PhD from University of Phoenix is a minus on any resume, not a plus. It indicates poor judgment.

Incidentally, a cousin of mine is enrolled at U of Phoenix for a PhD. I tried to talk him out of it, but he wasn't listening. For some people a PhD—any PhD from any School—is so psychologically important that their reasoning abilities fail to kick in, and they choose something appalling like U of Phoenix.

Answer 9

PHD from a good accredited online school or school associated with a well known brick & mortar school? Yes.

PHD from uni of phoenix? No. Unless they have substantial experiance in the field to outweigh that degree.

Experiance ≥ Degree

Answer 10

Absolutely not. Never. Not a chance.

With a PhD, if you're getting it with any sort of career in mind, it's especially important that you get into the university with the best reputed program in your field. You want to get into the best program that you can. Employers hiring PhDs really pay attention to program reputation. It's *important*.

So goodness no, not U of Phoenix. Not only not worth your time, but honestly, it will educate you right out of a career.