Complaint Review: University Of Phoenix Axia College - Phoenix, Internet

     My daughter inspired me to return to college. I have been attending Axia college since Sept. 2008. My daughter has a Bachelors degree in accounting. As soon as she graduated, she immidiatly received a raise at the company she works for. I am an IT major, 47 year old male w/o an previous degree. I have had no complaints about UOP. Everyone I have spoken with about this program says they have heard good things. It just goes to show you that maybe some people have unrealistic expectations. The BBB gives a rating of A+ to UOP. I have had a very positive experence with learning from the comfort of my home. All of the students are respectable, and the instructors are well versed in their field. I have a full time career of 23+ years at my current company. When I get my AA in IT in 2010, I will apply for positions with my current employeer, and will succede with my career goals.

    Final thought:

    Keep in mind, everyone has a right to their opinion, that does not nean they are correct in their assumptions, just that they too have an "opinoin".

Thanks,

Richard

Axia UOP Student 

It always amazes me when I see sour grapes comments about UoP. I am a graduate and I have found nothing to support the claims I see on this site.

A few observations and facts:

1. In my experience, UoP degrees are not only accepted by companies, they are respected. In my last job, one of our vice presidents was a UoP graduate.

2. My pay has more than doubled since I finished my Master's degree.

3. UoP offers accelerated programs. They are not for those unwilling to work hard to succeed.

4. Why do those that cry the loudest often fail to supply facts to back their assertions? One person claimed to have contacted 10 major accounting firms about UoP graduates and was shocked to hear their opinions - very negative opinions if you believe the writer. Ok, which companies did this former student call? Provide the names if you want your claim to be believed. 

5. UoP has been around for a long time. If only a small portion of the claims I have seen were true, this company would have been sued out of existence long ago.

6. You are correct that many states deny UoP graduates acceptance in licensed fields like psychology and counseling, but they do not do it because UoP grads fail to meet minimum standards. They do it because their state run institutions are losing so many students to UoP. Their state schools are losing money. Isnt it significant that a person is willing to work much harder and pay much more money to go to UoP?

7. In my opinion, and I admit it is based mostly on supposition, the loudest complainers on this site couldnt hack it. The workload was too hard and now they want someone to blame for their failure.

Just my two cents worth.

Signed,

A very happy and satisfied graduate

It always amazes me when I see sour grapes comments about UoP. I am a graduate and I have found nothing to support the claims I see on this site.

A few observations and facts:

1. In my experience, UoP degrees are not only accepted by companies, they are respected. In my last job, one of our vice presidents was a UoP graduate.

2. My pay has more than doubled since I finished my Master's degree.

3. UoP offers accelerated programs. They are not for those unwilling to work hard to succeed.

4. Why do those that cry the loudest often fail to supply facts to back their assertions? One person claimed to have contacted 10 major accounting firms about UoP graduates and was shocked to hear their opinions - very negative opinions if you believe the writer. Ok, which companies did this former student call? Provide the names if you want your claim to be believed. 

5. UoP has been around for a long time. If only a small portion of the claims I have seen were true, this company would have been sued out of existence long ago.

6. You are correct that many states deny UoP graduates acceptance in licensed fields like psychology and counseling, but they do not do it because UoP grads fail to meet minimum standards. They do it because their state run institutions are losing so many students to UoP. Their state schools are losing money. Isnt it significant that a person is willing to work much harder and pay much more money to go to UoP?

7. In my opinion, and I admit it is based mostly on supposition, the loudest complainers on this site couldnt hack it. The workload was too hard and now they want someone to blame for their failure.

Just my two cents worth.

Signed,

A very happy and satisfied graduate

I was wondering if any action had been taken as a response to this? if there has and you could use another account, my story is a nightmare and is still going, i just don't have the resources to do anything about it. please contact me. thanks.

I was wondering if any action had been taken as a response to this? if there has and you could use another account, my story is a nightmare and is still going, i just don't have the resources to do anything about it. please contact me. thanks.

I was wondering if any action had been taken as a response to this? if there has and you could use another account, my story is a nightmare and is still going, i just don't have the resources to do anything about it. please contact me. thanks.

I was wondering if any action had been taken as a response to this? if there has and you could use another account, my story is a nightmare and is still going, i just don't have the resources to do anything about it. please contact me. thanks.

(The message below is being sent out to as many news programs and papers that I have the energy to contact. I have used some quotes and links from stories on here that need to be heard. Here is a list of companies I've sent this to this morning: www.msnbc.msn.com (Dateline) http://colleges.usnews www.foxnews.com www.oregonnews.com www.kval.com www.ktvz.com www.ktvl10.com www.pax.tv www.kptv.com www.koin.com www.nbc16.com www.klsrtvfox.com www.kgw.com www.kezi.com www.oregonstate.edu www.kbnd.com www.gtconnect.com www.dailytidings.com www.argusobserver.com www.democratherald.com www.opb.org www.oregonlive.com/oregonian www.registerguard.com www.dailyemerald.com www.wweek.com) News Media, I am hoping to bring more light to some disturbing practices by for profit Online College, University of Phoenix and their lasting affect on a vast number of people. (Please be sure to note references at end of message) With nearly 400,000 students, [Dylan Dingel, UOP Enrollment Counselor 800-545-6042 X.31243] the school prides itself on education for everyone by lowering it's enrollment requirements to borderline bare minimum in order to receive Title IV federal student aide funding, which it has more than any other school. To keep enrollment high, the company continues to pay its enrollment counselors commissions based on enrollment numbers (an illegal practice) regardless of whether or not the UOP staff thinks the student will succeed, even after coming under fire for such unethical practices. More disturbing is how the corporation markets to and takes advantage of lower income people and families wishing to better their situations. UOP grants admissions to students who have minimal knowledge of the comparatively high and excessive tuition for the quality of education provided and are equally unaware of the difficulty they are going to have finding a good job with a UOP diploma. The company's ethics are more than questionable. With reports that employees are trained to lie, UOP continues to offer degrees in disciplines that an online format is simply not adequate to provide. The quality of instruction and grading has been tested and disproved by numerous students, demeaning their academic efforts. The University's Accreditation is also under debate [refer to report #99921 below] and the term fully accredited is used heavily in their sales practices as the only thing a student needs to know when considering enrollment and regarding the validity of their degree. There have been reports of students being enrolled into nonexistent programs for years, destroying their financial life and their ability to go on to receive the correct education [Report #395701 listed below] to stories of gross misrepresentation that the education they will receive has all the components necessary to achieve their career goals (This being very common and also my personal story) to name just a couple. These practices only highlight the issue that while under the title counselor, these employees know little about the important criteria that students rely on when making life changing career decisions, which would more appropriately define the counselors role as sales person. These and many other reasons are leading employers to have to weed out UOP grads in their hiring process. With marketing that implies a promise of substantial salary increases and job opportunities upon graduation, many graduates are instead finding themselves facing hard realities accompanied with overwhelming financial burden. What are the economic ramifications on the rest of society when so many students are able to incur such an enormous amount of debt with the ease of getting a credit card? Could this result in a debt crisis similar to what laid off homeowners are facing now? With such blatant misconduct at such a high cost, can't something more be done? While the links listed below from the Law Offices of Nancy G. Krop show that there is a case (in the works?) regarding the misuse of Title IV federal funds, not nearly enough people are aware of these and other equally relevant accusations. If they had been exposed to even a small percentage of coverage on this information versus the amount of over exposure favoring the college, they would be more cautious and do research on their own before making such a decision Who would have honestly thought that education could be a form of scam? That possibility had not crossed the minds of any of my friends, family or myself before I had enrolled. How many other people must be burned in order to receive this information? Please help shed the much needed light on this matter so that others will be more aware of the possible negative consequences involved with enrolling in this corporation and possibly others like it. Thank you, ******* ******** ****, Oregon Email: ************ Phone: ********** Former Student of UOP Axia Online, psychology program References: Here is a link to previous media coverage and lawsuits not receiving nearly enough press. http://www.kroplaw.com/uop/ Law Offices of Nancy G. Krop University of Phoenix: Public Documents United States of America ex rel Hendow v. University of Phoenix United States District Court, Eastern District of California District Court Case No. CV-03-00457-GEB Ninth Circuit Case No. 04-16247 U.S. Supreme Court Case No. 06-1006 BBB has numerous filed complaints on University of Phoenix, but no details... Ripoffreport.com on the other hand does, currently over 430 not including responses which are complaints in themselves sometimes. There are numerous things in these people's stories (some referenced below) that I have also experienced with them first hand in the short 4 weeks I attended, so I am able to attest to the basis to some of their claims. While my personal story is not nearly as horrifying as others, I want to help keep other families from finding themselves in such a situation. Numerous students are seeking a class action law suit but have no means to initiate one. http://ripoffreport.com/reports/0/150/RipOff0150301.htm (Ex employee with insider information, embezzlement, misuse of title IV federal aid, 10 million dollar lawsuit settlement, unethical accounting practices, training in sales manipulation, employer memo disallowing UOP applicants) http://ripoffreport.com/reports/0/380/RipOff0380443.htm (Ashamed, former employee warns students. UOPcontributing to the downfall of the educational standards in this country) http://ripoffreport.com/reports/0/187/RipOff0187127.htm (Employee written letter to management, putting into light that UOP is, in effect, a degree mill, education comes second to profit, ground campuses less expensive than online) http://ripoffreport.com/reports/0/225/RipOff0225268.htm (Student story: Misrepresentation, misappropriation of funds, lack of communication) http://ripoffreport.com/reports/0/395/RipOff0395701.htm (One of to many heartbreaking stories; 49 year old student enrolled in nonexistent nursing program for two years, lied to, stolen from) Response to report #150301 from www.ripoffreport.com from a UOP employee titled "UOP is not ethical" "One of my enrollment counselor's enrolled a student who had been in special education his whole life. I saw an essay that this student wrote before we enrolled him, and I told my enrollment counselor that the student would never succeed. The enrollment counselor agreed with me, but said, 'I need the reg (registration)for March.' He was puffing up his numbers, knowing this student would fail. This student did fail, and wound up owing like $1700. He was barely making ends meet as it was, and when all this hit, he was on the verge of committing suicide. His enrollment counselor had something of a conscience and wired the guy $20 because he had not eaten in days. The school's integrity, the quality of education, the quality of instructors, curriculum, and service, come only second to profitability. It is just not the way that a school should operate. University of Phoenix is unethical. It pushes on the edge of violating the law, but because of their crafty approach, they have been able to avoid any real penalties. But I encourage anyone to choose a different school. Most community colleges and state schools offer online programs whose primary focus is education, learning, and the pursuit of knowledge. The cost will always be less, and you will likely not be lied to." Response to report #150301 titled "Thanx for the insiteful info" "After stumbling across this site, I picked up the phonebook and started calling some accounting firms (my major). I asked what they thought of a degree from UOP, 3 out of 10 literally laughed in my face, 4 said, are you kidding me? And the last 3 said, we dont make it a habit of hiring people with a degree from that school. I was shocked. I knew that UOP was too good to be true, it just seemed to simple to get a degree in accounting."]