The University of Phoenix was founded in 1976 by Dr. John Sperling, a Cambridge-educated economist and professor of humanities at San Jose State University. He envisioned making higher education more accessible to working adults and other non-traditional students by offering multiple locations at convenient class times. It was only a matter of time before this mission branched out to include distance learning, and in 1989, Phoenix became a pioneer of online education, launching a program that allowed students to take classes from their home computers. Today, the convenience and flexibility of Phoenix’s online classes, coupled with the availability of more than 200 campus locations across the nation, have helped the school become the largest private university by enrollment in the nation, with 380,232 students enrolled according to the latest figures from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Phoenix doesn’t operate on a semester or quarter schedule, so students can get started right away and enroll year-round. The university offers associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in a variety of areas, as well as certificate programs, continuing education and professional development opportunities. Degrees are available in academic areas such as business, education, nursing, criminal justice, humanities, and information technology. The number of courses and departments is also always growing to meet career market trends, with recent additions including the College of Criminal Justice and Security and the School of Continuing Education.
Phoenix is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, one of the six most trusted regional accreditors in the nation. The university has maintained this accreditation since 1978, according to the U.S. Department of Education, with its last reaffirmation of its accreditation in 2002. Overall, the school has participated in 30 accreditation visits by regional accrediting bodies, 35 evaluations by state education agencies, and undergone 10 administrative reviews by the U.S. Department of Education.
Phoenix caters to a diverse array of backgrounds, though it is especially widely recognized as a military-friendly campus. In early 2011, both Military Friendly Schools and Military Advanced Education, two leading publications focused on military education, honored Phoenix as one of the most military-friendly schools in the country for three years running. The university stood out in such areas as its efforts to recruit and retain military servicemembers, academic accreditations, military-specific programs, military spouse programs, and financial aid offerings. As a result, military students also make up 10% of Phoenix’s student population, taking advantage of the school’s Military Division, which offers special tuition rates for active members and their spouses and credits for prior learning.
Phoenix has also been hailed for its eco-friendly policies. In 2011, the school was among the top 10 colleges and universities that utilize green power, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Some of Phoenix’s green initiatives include purchasing nearly 47 million kilowatt hours of green energy annually — the equivalent of powering more than 4,000 average American homes per year — and launching research into the viability of telecommuting for its work culture.
The Student Experience
At Phoenix, online courses are asynchronous — meaning students don’t have to get online at certain times of day, but can log in to their courses at a time of day that is most convenient to them. Students are required to log in to the student website at least four times a week to review lectures and to participate in active class discussion on online message boards. Phoenix offers technical assistance at all hours of the day if students experience server issues or difficulty accessing their email. After all, since students complete all of their work online, it is imperative that the technology that facilitates online learning is working properly.
Phoenix helps enrich the experience and sense of community online through a variety of means. Class sizes are small, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 15-1, so that students are able to receive quality, one-on-one attention. Students enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs are placed in a learning team of three or more students at the beginning of each new course they take, who will then collaborate throughout the course, participating in peer review of each other’s essays, presentations, and group projects. Students also are assigned a three-person Graduation Team consisting of an enrollment advisor for help with the application process; an academic advisor for guidance when registering for classes and setting a schedule; and a finance advisor for advice in financing the education.
A number of online resources that aid with research and course work are available to Phoenix students at any given time, including the online university library, where students can access research articles and other materials remotely; the Center for Mathematics Excellence, which provides online tutorials in math and statistics, study tips, and strategies for test taking; and the Center for Writing Excellence, which can provide computer-generated feedback on an essay’s grammar and style, as well as online feedback from a real, live reviewer.
Teaching at Phoenix
Phoenix ensures that all professors are at the top of their fields, hiring only educators who hold advanced degrees, either at the master’s or doctoral level, in the subject area they teach. Phoenix also makes it a priority to hire instructors who have a number of years of practical experience in their field. In fact, many faculty members still work in their field of expertise, so students get the best of both worlds – the knowledge they learned in school and the knowledge they’ve gained by doing the work out in the real world.
The curriculum for the university’s degree programs also is regularly updated with input from industry professionals so that that they can best prepare students for entry into the career of their choosing .
Phoenix Graduates in the Real World
Phoenix has more than 100 degree programs at the associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels, so there’s any number of career paths that students can take. Phoenix graduates typically, though, go on to become leaders in education, business, and healthcare.
Since Phoenix makes it possible for working adults to go back to school and further their education on a flexible schedule, many graduates also have been able to qualify for better careers or promotions within the field they already are in. Hiring managers recognize that it takes a great deal of commitment and perseverance to balance work and school, and take notice of the strong work ethic of Phoenix grads when making hiring decisions.
Whichever the route, help is there. Not only do all alumni have access to career resources to assist in resume building, interviewing skills, and job hunting, they also have access to a vast alumni network which they can tap when looking for work opportunities and encouragement.
