Complaint Review: University Of Phoenix - Albuquerque New Mexico

First off, to Molly, I am glad that you are pursuing higher education, it is an important step and I wish you the best with it. Now, with that aside, I do have something to say in response to "University of Phoenix Not That Evil! Albuquerque, New Mexico." If you look at the facts real closely, the UoP offers professional training, real world, vocational style job training, and I've heard that their students do fare well, as an old boss of mine got both a bachelors and an M.B.A. from the UoP, and seems to be better because of it. However, I don't like the statement that the UoP education is better than the "stuffy, outdated coursework from other public or private institutions." As someone who holds a degree from a "stuffy, outdated" public university, I would like to disagree with this statement. When employers are looking to fill jobs, if there is competition, they rate someone based on where their degree comes from, and this is called the "tier system." Harvard and Yale are in the first tier, UCLA and Texas A&M are in the second, and most other public universities, such as UNM, Arizona State, and Colorado State are third tier. The University of Phoenix fails to meet tier standards and is rated below the lower rated universities, in the bottom tier. Actually, to be completely fair, most vocational or online degree programs fall in the bottom tier, because of their lack of theoretical education, research based coursework, and their failure to provide a full four year undergraduate education. I personally have no problem with people who decide to go to the UoP, but I can guarantee you that their educaiton is of inferior quality to an undergraduate education obtained from a public or private "in person" university, and the quality is ESPECIALLY inferior to a graduate school (masters or doctoral) education from these public and private universities. In closing, I don't have an agenda against the University of Phoenix, it's better than nothing. But going out and saying that it is superior to a classic college education is absolutely ludicrous and would be made only by someone without the firsthand knowledge or from a biased viewpoint. I tried classes online and found very quickly that it was a joke and I would basically be just paying for a degree and not getting an education. My education at New Mexico State University was 1. cheaper than the UoP, 2. came from real professors who are experts in their fields, and 3. got me a job immediately after graduation. Again, good luck with UoP Molly, check back with us in a year after you've experienced it a little.

First off, to Molly, I am glad that you are pursuing higher education, it is an important step and I wish you the best with it. Now, with that aside, I do have something to say in response to "University of Phoenix Not That Evil! Albuquerque, New Mexico." If you look at the facts real closely, the UoP offers professional training, real world, vocational style job training, and I've heard that their students do fare well, as an old boss of mine got both a bachelors and an M.B.A. from the UoP, and seems to be better because of it. However, I don't like the statement that the UoP education is better than the "stuffy, outdated coursework from other public or private institutions." As someone who holds a degree from a "stuffy, outdated" public university, I would like to disagree with this statement. When employers are looking to fill jobs, if there is competition, they rate someone based on where their degree comes from, and this is called the "tier system." Harvard and Yale are in the first tier, UCLA and Texas A&M are in the second, and most other public universities, such as UNM, Arizona State, and Colorado State are third tier. The University of Phoenix fails to meet tier standards and is rated below the lower rated universities, in the bottom tier. Actually, to be completely fair, most vocational or online degree programs fall in the bottom tier, because of their lack of theoretical education, research based coursework, and their failure to provide a full four year undergraduate education. I personally have no problem with people who decide to go to the UoP, but I can guarantee you that their educaiton is of inferior quality to an undergraduate education obtained from a public or private "in person" university, and the quality is ESPECIALLY inferior to a graduate school (masters or doctoral) education from these public and private universities. In closing, I don't have an agenda against the University of Phoenix, it's better than nothing. But going out and saying that it is superior to a classic college education is absolutely ludicrous and would be made only by someone without the firsthand knowledge or from a biased viewpoint. I tried classes online and found very quickly that it was a joke and I would basically be just paying for a degree and not getting an education. My education at New Mexico State University was 1. cheaper than the UoP, 2. came from real professors who are experts in their fields, and 3. got me a job immediately after graduation. Again, good luck with UoP Molly, check back with us in a year after you've experienced it a little.

First off, to Molly, I am glad that you are pursuing higher education, it is an important step and I wish you the best with it. Now, with that aside, I do have something to say in response to "University of Phoenix Not That Evil! Albuquerque, New Mexico." If you look at the facts real closely, the UoP offers professional training, real world, vocational style job training, and I've heard that their students do fare well, as an old boss of mine got both a bachelors and an M.B.A. from the UoP, and seems to be better because of it. However, I don't like the statement that the UoP education is better than the "stuffy, outdated coursework from other public or private institutions." As someone who holds a degree from a "stuffy, outdated" public university, I would like to disagree with this statement. When employers are looking to fill jobs, if there is competition, they rate someone based on where their degree comes from, and this is called the "tier system." Harvard and Yale are in the first tier, UCLA and Texas A&M are in the second, and most other public universities, such as UNM, Arizona State, and Colorado State are third tier. The University of Phoenix fails to meet tier standards and is rated below the lower rated universities, in the bottom tier. Actually, to be completely fair, most vocational or online degree programs fall in the bottom tier, because of their lack of theoretical education, research based coursework, and their failure to provide a full four year undergraduate education. I personally have no problem with people who decide to go to the UoP, but I can guarantee you that their educaiton is of inferior quality to an undergraduate education obtained from a public or private "in person" university, and the quality is ESPECIALLY inferior to a graduate school (masters or doctoral) education from these public and private universities. In closing, I don't have an agenda against the University of Phoenix, it's better than nothing. But going out and saying that it is superior to a classic college education is absolutely ludicrous and would be made only by someone without the firsthand knowledge or from a biased viewpoint. I tried classes online and found very quickly that it was a joke and I would basically be just paying for a degree and not getting an education. My education at New Mexico State University was 1. cheaper than the UoP, 2. came from real professors who are experts in their fields, and 3. got me a job immediately after graduation. Again, good luck with UoP Molly, check back with us in a year after you've experienced it a little.

First off, to Molly, I am glad that you are pursuing higher education, it is an important step and I wish you the best with it. Now, with that aside, I do have something to say in response to "University of Phoenix Not That Evil! Albuquerque, New Mexico." If you look at the facts real closely, the UoP offers professional training, real world, vocational style job training, and I've heard that their students do fare well, as an old boss of mine got both a bachelors and an M.B.A. from the UoP, and seems to be better because of it. However, I don't like the statement that the UoP education is better than the "stuffy, outdated coursework from other public or private institutions." As someone who holds a degree from a "stuffy, outdated" public university, I would like to disagree with this statement. When employers are looking to fill jobs, if there is competition, they rate someone based on where their degree comes from, and this is called the "tier system." Harvard and Yale are in the first tier, UCLA and Texas A&M are in the second, and most other public universities, such as UNM, Arizona State, and Colorado State are third tier. The University of Phoenix fails to meet tier standards and is rated below the lower rated universities, in the bottom tier. Actually, to be completely fair, most vocational or online degree programs fall in the bottom tier, because of their lack of theoretical education, research based coursework, and their failure to provide a full four year undergraduate education. I personally have no problem with people who decide to go to the UoP, but I can guarantee you that their educaiton is of inferior quality to an undergraduate education obtained from a public or private "in person" university, and the quality is ESPECIALLY inferior to a graduate school (masters or doctoral) education from these public and private universities. In closing, I don't have an agenda against the University of Phoenix, it's better than nothing. But going out and saying that it is superior to a classic college education is absolutely ludicrous and would be made only by someone without the firsthand knowledge or from a biased viewpoint. I tried classes online and found very quickly that it was a joke and I would basically be just paying for a degree and not getting an education. My education at New Mexico State University was 1. cheaper than the UoP, 2. came from real professors who are experts in their fields, and 3. got me a job immediately after graduation. Again, good luck with UoP Molly, check back with us in a year after you've experienced it a little.

I am a current student at UOP and I have to say, the entire registration process and educational process has been nothing but professional, courteous, and forthcoming. I knew getting into this mode of educating myself that being an online student was going to be difficult. It IS difficult, it's a graduate program. Participation is a MUST. Just as you have to physically go to a class at any campus while pursuing a degree, UOP online has this as a requisite. What is so bad about it? I don't see anything wrong with being required to participate a certain amount of days. It's beneficial to share ideas, thoughts, and concerns with classmates online. It's called learning from others! My professors have been wonderful and I have no complaints. My coursework has been challenging, but not impossible. I am required to think, and I am required to do well. Some classes are easier, some are not. But, no one can tell me no university is like this. My financial advisor, course advisor, and everyone else have been more than willing to take my calls, answer any questions, and have "been there" for me throughout the entire process. I am due to graduate in early 2006 and have never had an issue with the school. I can only say this is my own experience. Had I read some of these comments, I would have been slightly worried, but as the saying goes, "your mileage may vary." I have had more trouble with the university in which I did my BA and it was a standard public university! Best of luck to those that continue to face problems with this institution, but I, for one, have never had an issue and don't anticipate any. Jennifer

Molly, let me preface this by saying that I wish you the best of luck, and I hope your experience with UoP turns out to be as positive as you are envisioning. You make some good points, and I will address them in turn. First, however, I note by your report that you are either anticipating your start date, or it has recently come. Your statements lack the authoritative nature of some of other people's observations for a couple of reasons. First, you haven't had a bad dealing with UoP as of yet. Your experience has been positive. There is something to be said for that on its face, but your experience thus far does not qualify you to speculate as to the validity of other people's claims. If, one day, you find yourself in a negative situation at UoP and it is resolved to your satisfaction, then you would have standing to question the comments of others. Until then, all you have is speculation. Also, you are suffering from a sort of myopia characteristic of people starting out in an endeavor that is highly criticized. You don't want this to be a bad experience, so, rather than heed warnings, you look for reasons why people who complain of their own bad experiences are wrong (see, e.g., "multi-level-marketing" category). Which brings me to your individual points... 1) "They tell everyone [about the fin. aid issues] up front, so if you're disgruntled about owing money after you choose to drop out, get over it - that's your fault entirely." Your reasoning is flawed. In a general sense, what you are saying is "as long as you are told something bad is going to happen, you have no right to complain when it happens." By this logic, as long as I tell you that I am going to punch you in the face, then you have no grounds to hit me back when I actually do it. Just because somebody is informed of a situation, or because it is detailed in a contract, does not make it right in an ethical sense. When a consumer is pitted against a large corporation in contract formation, he has no ability to actually negotiate terms, and thus the corporation will maximize its own benefit under the contract by any means necessary. For example, after I completed my contracts course, I read over my lease and found seven clauses that a court of law would never enforce, and a few others that bordered on gross unconscionability, but that a court probably would enforce. The mere fact that I was apprised of those terms, and that I agreed to them, does not make them right. 2) "...As to degrees from the University of Phoenix not meaning much, you need to do some more web research about them. They are the largest private university in the country with over 80,000 enrollments... That's a huge statement as to how they are viewed in the community." That reasoning is also flawed. It shows that UoP is successful at recruting students, but says nothing as to how those students fare in the job market. What UoP offers is more accurately referred to as "training" than "education." Professional employers, however, prefer students with theoretical education. "Training" can be done on the job. Ecucation can not. It may seem as though UoP's curriculum gives them a distinct advantage but, rightly or not, it doesn't. Employers still prefer students schooled in the stuffy old way, which has proven its effectiveness. 3) On your comments per people "whining" wbout instructors not helping in the class, I ask you this: Why go to school in the first place if the instructors are of no help? Why not just pay for syllabi and books and do it on your own? You would certainly save an awful lot of money that way. The passiveness of UoP instructors is NOT an attempt to engender students to realize what the real world is like. That is an excuse, not a reason. Rather, sub-par instruction is a result of corner-cutting, profit maximization, and instructor apathy. UoP instructors are grossly underpaid. As such, UoP cannot attract quality instructors, who will opt for one of the better paying stuffy schools instead. And, of course, meager compensation leads to meager effort. It does a student little good to know what a job will be like if he lacks the education to do it well. Being lazy and incompetent yourself is not a good way to show students that they will be surrounded by lazy, incompetent people in the workplace. If anything, it only serves to perpetuate the problem. Molly, again, best of luck to you. I'm not trying to dissuade you from the path you have chosen, and I hope that your education serves you well.