University of Phoenix

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allthatisman

Senior member
Dec 21, 2008
542
0
0
I'm a UoP student. My honest opinion of it so far is that it's basically a community college level education that you pay a lot for the online convenience.

Classes basically are a single (generally easy) assignmet each week that counts towards the majority of your grade, and participation points for making a certain number of posts per week to the instructors and other students. You pretty much 'learn' from reading .pdf files that the instructors suggest for the different weekly subjects. So there is knowlege to get out ot it, but no more than if I decided to read wikipedia every few days on the same subjects.

I'm only in 100 level classes right now, I'm hoping that things get a little more challenging after the first block of classes. I'm only going for an associates, I figure I'll get that then look to a different school for any further education, unless of course, the later classes are more challenging and worth while.

Just my honest evaluation of the school after attending for a while.

So you are going for an associate degree and you are surprised that the level of education is that of a community college...?

I graduated from UoP with a BS in Management. Prior to transfering the max number of lower division and electives (72 units), I went to both community colleges and CSU Sacramento. I went to UoP because I was tired of being dicked around by college counselors and administrators. I wanted to be DONE. UoP gives you a schedule, and you know exactly when you will be taking X class, and when exactly you will be done. Parking is easy and it's free. All of my instructors were actually WORKING in the field of study that they were teaching. I had students in my program with me that worked for Pepsi, AeroJet, Intel and Verizon... all being put through school by their respective companies. At least in my program, there were no jeans allowed... you go to UC Davis and you'll be lucky if people brush their teeth in the morning.

I think a lot of you are just plain ignorant about UoP and education in general. Education is what YOU make of it. I know plenty of people, family included, that went to Universities like USC and Berkeley and are still idiots...
 

Kanalua

Diamond Member
Jun 14, 2001
4,860
2
81
My Uncle has a PhD from Univ of Phoenix back in the early days. He works it like a boss. We still make fun of him for his correspondence degree.
 

Capt Caveman

Lifer
Jan 30, 2005
34,543
651
126
My problem with UoP is that on a daily basis, I get some of junk email about them. It just creates a bad image about them to me. I'm sure there are UoP students that are smarter than the OP.
 

IndyColtsFan

Lifer
Sep 22, 2007
33,655
688
126
The guy I know who got his Master's from there flat out lies on his LinkedIN profile and claims it is from the University of Arizona. That, or he is so monumentally stupid that he thinks it is part of the Arizona system.
 

SP33Demon

Lifer
Jun 22, 2001
27,928
143
106
Did he defend his dissertation in a chat room?

He probably still makes a crapload more than you do. Especially if he's in the government sector. UoP phD still > no phD at all and it was probably a pretty big raise from a master's.
 

SlowSpyder

Lifer
Jan 12, 2005
17,305
1,002
126
So you are going for an associate degree and you are surprised that the level of education is that of a community college...?

Where did I say that I was suprised about anything? I didn't know what to really expect, it's been 10 years since I've been in school. Having been to a community college for a few classes, this is the closest I can relate the classes I've taken at UoP. There is material to read, that's how they 'teach' mainly it seems. The insturcors are very hands off, which isn't necessarily a bad thing in many cases, but they seem to do little more than steer discussions in the class forums. And even then some of the instructors barely seem to post much.

I'm just about to start my third set of classes, so it's not like I've seen all they have to offer yet. But up to this point it seems like they are more interested in taking money and pushing you through than anything else. I'm this far and I don't hate it, it's quite convenient, but I wouldn't say it's a real high quality education either. I do want to see how the higher level classes go, I imagine things might be a bit more challenging. At least I hope so.
 

IndyColtsFan

Lifer
Sep 22, 2007
33,655
688
126
The government will give u a fat promotion for getting your master's there, so it's a valid degree.

Remember, the government was also paying like $600 for a hammer and $2,000 for a toilet seat, right? :D

I'm the type of person that knows that if you want to learn something, you can learn it regardless if it is UoP or a regular school. Where there is a will, there is a way. The issue I have with UoP is that there are far better schools you can attend which are cheaper and will look much better on your resume. The list provided earlier showed two in my area with online MBAs -- Indiana and Purdue. UoP can't even sniff their dust.
 

SP33Demon

Lifer
Jun 22, 2001
27,928
143
106
Here's a real life scenario.

Student A graduates with a 3.0 from a state school.

Student B graduates with a 3.0 from state school and also has a 3.8 Masters from U of P. Who are you hiring?

Pretty obviously the U of P student who has more initiative and education than the first. To say you wouldn't hire someone because they had a Master's from UoP is utter horsesht, they still successfully earned a legit degree with more drive than Student A. It's amazing that some of you cannot see that having a master's, even if it's not from an Ivy League school, is still > than no master's at all.
 

Kanalua

Diamond Member
Jun 14, 2001
4,860
2
81
He probably still makes a crapload more than you do. Especially if he's in the government sector. UoP phD still > no phD at all and it was probably a pretty big raise from a master's.

He's not in the public sector, he's the VP of some California restaurant chain...and he makes a killing! Like I said, he works it like a boss. We still make fun of him and he still makes bank.
 

SandEagle

Lifer
Aug 4, 2007
16,809
13
0
He probably still makes a crapload more than you do. Especially if he's in the government sector. UoP phD still > no phD at all and it was probably a pretty big raise from a master's.

dang man, we get it about the government. you already mentioned it fifty times in this thread. geez, are u a recruiter for the government?
 

IndyColtsFan

Lifer
Sep 22, 2007
33,655
688
126
Here's a real life scenario.

Student A graduates with a 3.0 from a state school.

Student B graduates with a 3.0 from state school and also has a 3.8 Masters from U of P. Who are you hiring?

Pretty obviously the U of P student who has more initiative and education than the first. To say you wouldn't hire someone because they had a Master's from UoP is utter horsesht, they still successfully earned a legit degree with more drive than Student A. It's amazing that some of you cannot see that having a master's, even if it's not from an Ivy League school, is still > than no master's at all.

And if:

Student A graduates with a 3.0 from a state school and also has a 3.8 Master's from a state school.

Student B graduates with a 3.0 from state school and also has a 3.8 Master's from U of P.

Who do you hire? Student A. Why? Better program and more initiative.
 
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dfuze

Lifer
Feb 15, 2006
11,953
0
71
At my school, almost all of my professors have been hands on, even had one that recorded lectures and such, made things very helpful. Current teacher for my last summer course is useless though, doesn't do squat, so I guess it's guys like that that give online ed a bad rep.
 

Gibson486

Lifer
Aug 9, 2000
18,378
2
0
And if:

Student A graduates with a 3.0 from a state school and also has a 3.8 Master's from a state school.

Student B graduates with a 3.0 from state school and also has a 3.8 Master's from U of P.

Who do you hire? Student A. Why? Better program and more initiative.

And if you hire someone just base don what school they go to, you are a fool.
 

IndyColtsFan

Lifer
Sep 22, 2007
33,655
688
126
And if you hire someone just base don what school they go to, you are a fool.

Oh, trust me, I never would. SP33Demon, however, made this simple comparison so I was just using the model he established.

Hiring should be based on far more than simply your school.
 

SP33Demon

Lifer
Jun 22, 2001
27,928
143
106
And if:

Student A graduates with a 3.0 from a state school and also has a 3.8 Master's from a state school.

Student B graduates with a 3.0 from state school and also has a 3.8 Master's from U of P.

Who do you hire? Student A. Why? Better program and more initiative.

Not necessarily. Real work experience would also be factored in. Just admit that having a legit master's > someone who doesn't have a master's and stop arguing for the sake of arguing. Like the guy said above, the uncle with the phd from UoP is a highly successful individual as any person who would go for a PhD would most likely be a pretty driven individual. Post-grad degrees really just accentuate work experience and it's much easier for working professionals (some with families) to get an online degree. Whether it's from UoP or Accredited Bumblefck University shouldn't really matter as long as it's legit.
 

Blackjack200

Lifer
May 28, 2007
15,995
1,688
126
Oh, trust me, I never would. SP33Demon, however, made this simple comparison so I was just using the model he established.

Hiring should be based on far more than simply your school.

Yeah, I think his point was a little silly. I imagine I would interview both candidates and hire whichever one seemed like a better fit.

I doubt I'd put much stock in the UoP Masters.
 

SlowSpyder

Lifer
Jan 12, 2005
17,305
1,002
126
Simply not true

Chicagoland, huh? I live pretty close. I challenge you to a battle of wits. It ends when you decide and we both drink, and find out who is right... and who is dead.

princess-bride.jpg
 

nick1985

Lifer
Dec 29, 2002
27,153
6
81
Here's a real life scenario.

Student A graduates with a 3.0 from a state school.

Student B graduates with a 3.0 from state school and also has a 3.8 Masters from U of P. Who are you hiring?

Pretty obviously the U of P student who has more initiative and education than the first. To say you wouldn't hire someone because they had a Master's from UoP is utter horsesht, they still successfully earned a legit degree with more drive than Student A. It's amazing that some of you cannot see that having a master's, even if it's not from an Ivy League school, is still > than no master's at all.



Here is a real life scenario:

Student A graduates with a 3.0 from a state school with a BA

Student B graduates with a 4.0 from UoP with a BA


Who do you hire