University of Phoenix

According to an interview at http://www.elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=articles&article=17-1 :

LISA NEAL: How much do you pay instructors?

BRIAN MUELLER: We've got three levels of salary depending upon your academic achievements, your academic degree, and the amount of experience you've had teaching and the number of courses you've taught with us. Faculty members are hired one course at a time, each course is an individual contract, and you're going to get paid anywhere between $850 and $1,500. Hopes this helps someone!

The University of Phoenix (UOP) has the preferred regional accreditation by the Middle States Association of Colleges and School. Therefore, the coursework completed through this institution of higher learning will be recognized by all other colleges and universities. That being said, anytime one transfers from one institution to another, there is always a risk that some credit will not transfer. Reasons why some credits might not transfer are as follows.

• Courses were taken at a college or university without the appropriate accreditation. (not in this case seeing that UOP has the best accreditation)
• Course was not passed with the appropriate grade.
• Course was not equivalent to the receiving institution's credit and/or course content requirements.
• Course does not fit into a student's declared major.
• Course may be antiquated and no longer useful in terms of course content (example, computers)
• Course exceeds the transfer credit limit (not typically the case).

For those who are concerned that their credits earned from University of Phoenix will not transfer to other universities or academic programs, let me put your mind at ease. The Doctoral program only accepts 6 units.

At one point, I was highly dissatisfied with my educational experience at UOP - not due to the instructors or quality of the coursework, but due to the teamwork model they have integrated into their programs (but that is another story).

I applied to all three of Arizona's state schools - UofA, ASU, and NAU - all of which are highly credible universities. I live in Tucson, so I spoke to a UA academic adviser in person. He initially made a face at me when I showed him my unofficial transcript for UOP, but confirmed that all of the courses that I had taken would be transferable to the UofA. Similarly, ASU and NAU both accepted all of my UOP credits, no questions asked. True, some did not transfer directly into the requirements for my major (really this was only an issue for the UA) but this was due to slight variations in the curriculum. And let me emphasize the word "slight." The education I have received through my state's school was no better than what I received from the UOP.

I did wind up completing my undergrad (BSBA) through UOP, and it did have much to do with time already invested. I did not see the point of extending my undergrad an extra year in order to take extra classes (such as calculus) to satisfy some other university's requirements. I also eventually wound up with a competent learning team, so many of the teamwork woes were resolved. Overall, once I had a good learning team to work with, the rest of my studies at UOP were enjoyable.

In addition, I had no problem getting accepted into two different graduate programs following graduation from UOP - again, both at highly credible institutions. I am currently in a graduate program through NAU, but am transferring to an online MBA program through University of Liverpool (if you question the credibility of the University of Liverpool, check out its world rankings - ranks higher than the University of Arizona). For those who question the academic quality of online classes - take a few graduate-level courses before passing judgment. I have found these to be much more rigorous than traditional lecture-based classes!

I also have a friend who graduated with a B.S.B.A from UOP in 1999, then went on the get her master's degree from ASU. She was originally enrolled in a program at the UA, but transferred to UOP due to the lack of student support by professors, counselors, and administrators alike. She did not regret her decision to change programs one bit and has had no problems in getting her credits accepted at other universities.

Yes. I'm sure there are some exceptions based on your major. Say you were going for your BA in Biology, a university might request a certain list of Science and Math based subjects be taken at their campus but I'm sure most of your credits would be accepted. In an effort to save time and money, try finding out which credits will transfer before you take the classes by calling a counselor at the university you wish to attend.

I just left the University of Phoenix/Online and transferred to Western Illinois University in the Quad Cities. I had nearly completed my associates degree (42/60 credits) through UOP/Online, but decided to cut my losses and transfer to a local college. WIU accepted about half of my credits towards for the freshman and software year classes. I have to take 11 classes at a local community college to meet all of the requirements to attend WIU. Sure, all of the credits are accepted, but they don't necessarily apply to my major. Instead they are used as electives.

My advice/thoughts to anyone thinking about attending Phoenix is this:

1. Think about the reputation and experience you receive at Phoenix. It certainly is easier to obtain a degree from Phoenix Online than a traditional school, and that isn't a secret among hiring employers. Networking with people online through UOP is very, very unlikely to assist you with finding a job or gaining experience among peers like a traditional school is likely to do.

2. Bring class schedule to local college advisors. Even if you think you will finish your bachelors with UOP, like I did, take the class schedule to a local college advisor and ask them if all of the credits would be transferrable to a similar degree.

3. You are paying for convenience. UOP Online isn't cheap... I paid $320 per credit hour, plus a $70 fee for each class. UOP warned me when I was starting my withdrawal process that I would end up paying far more at my local college because I would have to pay for books. After paying for books, I might be close to paying $320, but to me it is worth it.

4. Lack of Instructor Quality. I completed 14 classes, 42 credit hours, and almost every teacher had "copy and paste" type feedback for every assignment. I can honestly say I would do the same thing if I could get away with it. This didn't bother me very much though because I was in it for one thing, the bachelor's degree.

I took classes at University of Phoenix from 2004 to 2005 in their BSIT program. I have to admit that I was very unhappy with the way classes were conducted online from the very start, but I did my best and put my best efforts into them and repeatedly finished with top grades. In the end I wound up dropping from the program due to Hurricane Katrina and the effect it had on my job (company had to close). In 2008 I decided to go back to school full-time at a traditional university, Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana. That was where the reality of just what UoP is became clear. During the enrollment process I attempted to transfer 36 hours from UoP, and of those 36 hours only 3 were accepted. Math 101 and 102, which UoP lists as "College Algebra," were not accepted and I was made to retake both, the stance of the University being that these classes amounted to nothing more than what is taught at the remedial level at NSU. When I pursued this and asked what the basis for this decision was, I was shown a copy of UoP curriculum and also a copy of the text book used, so it became obvious that their decision to deny these credits was not unfounded. The same was true of every other credit that was denied transfer. In the end I was granted transfer of 3 hours which they counted towards a CMPS (Computer Science) 101 classes.

I just want to add that your answer was so helpful to me. I have wondered if it was worth paying the 2K that I owe them for a direct study class that really was overwhelming. Yes, the teamwork concept can be difficult at times especially when you work with people that expect you to do all the work, which is similar to most workplace situations. The professors were great though. The experience was an enjoyable one, but I really don't see how the classes that I've taken which yes, helped me personally and academically, but just seem to be so similar and repetitive that I don't know how it will be integrated into my Early Childhood major? I guess I'll just have to pay my bill and find out. It doesn't hurt to try and not feel that my experience at UOP was in vain. Thanks again.bro05@email.phoenix.edu