University of Phoenix

I received my Associates of Science degree in May 2000 from Tidewater Community College, and then continued to work for the Department of Education here in Virginia for 14 years until I was released in early 2008 due to budget issue the state was having. After spending nearly 4 years trying unsuccessfully to break back into the workplace full-time, I decided to finish my degree.... After some looking around for a good fit for an online degree, I settled on UoP, and finally completed my bachelors in Information Technology, which I believed would increase my marketability to employers. This has NOT been the case, and I am finding myself still seeking part-time, and low paying jobs in an attempt to get my foot in the door with a new employer. and I am starting to feel that my time, effort, and MY MONEY, were WASTED at UoP now. Maybe my mistake was not continuing to search, and find an online program that was in the field I initially started my higher education in, Computer Science, and settling for a degree in IT instead, but UoP was so accommodating to my situation, and managed to get almost ALL of my TCC credits transferred in. As well, the financial aid was right, and the convenience of obtaining a degree online sucked me in. However, after having this "degree" for over a year now, I have realized that I did NOT learn much at all, and basically threw away over $48,000.00 on a degree that is not worth the paper it is written on. Perhaps this could be blamed on the abysmal state of the job market in America at this time, but I believe it is because after completing 2 years, with a GPA of 3.96, I have come out of this with almost ZERO new knowledge, and am just as screwed as I was before deciding to complete my degree. What's worse is that now I have a new HUGE debt hanging over me for a diploma that most employers just laugh at because of the name on it. I know that you get out of something what you put in, but I worked HARD to get that degree, and it is worth NOTHING?? What in the world??

Terrible! Don't bother wasting your time here for they are unprofessional staff online and in-person. I wouldn't expect children to be working in this joint but it will become quit suprising especially when they treat you unfairly. Online courses were fabulous but then it started shooting down with corruption and I was framed for violations I never did which left me with nothing. Avoid this trash if you can for their high tuition ratings are not affordable and not a decent atmosphere to work with.

The University of Phoenix Information Technology for the Bachelor's Degree was tough, long, tiring, and sacrifice driven. All of which is necessary for you to get a dergree that is meaniningful and hard fought for. The Staff for the Financial and Education counseling were very helpful. For two years, I did my homework during the week and weekends. I had to post with everybody else on-time. Every last one of my papers, like every student at the school has to write a least three papers in a 5 week period. You can't be lazy with this school. You HAVE to be proactive by talking to people, coordinating group assignments, etc. Why? Because its homework! If you get stuck on citations, the database library works perfectly. If you want the grade, do the work. I finished my Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology with a concentration of Information Secuirity. AGAIN...I say to the nawsayers...This is a good onlie college.

After reading some of the negative comments, I want to laugh. Bottom line is people want things handed on foot to them. I graduated with BS and had multiple interviews with impressive companies too. All this complaining about learning teams, do people not see the point that if you can't learn to work as a team you will never be succesful in the professional world? UOP has nothing but your career in mind, so things like being responsible enough to work with a team and actually do your work are apart of preparing you to be independent and responsible in the REAL world. Most of the negative reviews on here appear to be from people who have never experienced another college, clearly a succesful career for that matter. Look around before you throw the darts. If you fail a class, THATS YOUR FAULT. Of course you have to pay for it. If you can't learn to work with people as a team, also your fault and downfall career wise. I very much enjoyed and LEARNED a lot from my experience here, but that's because I put my best into it. I also put actual effort into finding a job with using UOPs career tools to make an excellent resume that got me job interviews and a career within a month. Its all about what you put into it people. The university itself has the highest accrediation possible for a university, something that can't be bought by any college. It must be earned.

I have a Bachelor Degree from UoP but can't seem to find a job. I have been done with school for a year and not one employer has called me back that I have submitted a resume to. The program through UoP is just writing papers and making power point presentations and looking after your learning team members to make sure they do their work and if they don't you have to do it and they probably still end up passing the classes. The work is a joke. To get a big chunk of your grade all you have to go is go on the discussion forums and write 2 posts (you can easily bullshit your way thru this) 3 days a week. I think a monkey could go through their program and get a high GPA.

I went through UoP's BSIT program from 2002 to 2004. As far as value for money paid, I am a disabled veteran, so the VA paid 100% of my costs. First of all, they misquoted my graduation date by not including most electives. Although transferred US military training took care of most of this, I had to double up on courses for the last year to graduate in the time frame that I wanted. While most of the instructors were quite good, some were totally incompetent. In fact, our Unix instructor actually admitted to being fired from his most recent job for incompetence. By the end of the class, we all agreed with his former employer. PowerPoint is used heavily at UoP, and some of their instructors have NO IDEA how to even put PowerPoint in the Presentation mode for better viewing. The student services staff is fairly responsible, but classroom equipment was not well maintained. We had several classes in the same room, where the projector became so dim, it was unviewable unless all lights were turned off. We complained for MONTHS but nobody responded. I finally filed a complaint under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which FORCED them to resolve the issue. There were NO computers in the classrooms. Nor was there real networking hardware to work with. There was literally NO real hands on training, with the exception of data bases, web programming, and software development. For the software development, UoP used a worthless Freeware compiler based on C language, which was totally outdated. UoP also had students download a free UNIX emulator called CIGWIN, which messed up almost everyone's computers. At the time I was in UoP, much of the "technology" was simulated via proprietary computer-based training software (from Thompson Learning, another Apollo Group company, but I can't recall software name). It was the WORST CBT that I have ever seen. It would frequently stop responding, requiring the user to force quit... this resulted in an incomplete assignment. While most instructors understood this and didn't grade based on these results, there were some that told us that WE had to find a workaround (even though tech support said there was NO work around)... Our previously mentioned UNIX instructor was one of the idiots who did this. I was enrolled at UoP when they transitioned to online textbooks. UoP had many textbooks that were written specifically for them. These textbooks were abysmal. Very poor layout, no index, and some had no table of contents. Finally, for the ENTIRE IT PROGRAM, there was NO official training in the BASICS of digital technology (numbering systems, logic circuits, etc.) We did have one instructor who did try to explain databuses and computer programming with the limited time that she had but most of the students did not even understand the concept of binary numbering and how it relates to IT... Additionally, binary and octal number systems are used heavily in UNIX (remember, the idiot instructor), and that instructor did not even explain this to the students. The fundamentals of digital technology SHOULD have been taught before students were exposed to ANY other IT theory. There is no reason that this couldn't be done in ONE five week class... I've been teaching this for more than 20 years, and I teach it in a THREE DAY class (total 24 classroom hours). I did get my degree, which I needed... but the actual training would have been worthless had I not had a background in electronics prior to attending UoP.

Program: Information Technology Concentration: Software Engineering Graduated? 3 more months GPA: 3.99 Teachers: I put teachers as excellent, because its not the teachers that are bad, its the program and standards they have for how the teachers should teach. This is a software engineering review and semi technical, if you want to write essays for the entire 2 years, then this is the school for you. Otherwise, read further. If you are looking for real world application, this wont be it, but you will learn all about everything of everything that has to do with software development. Do you need it? Business Systems, Fundamentals of Business systems analysis, project management, introduction to operating systems, and software architecture mostly Essay classes, and if you are going to be a software developer, you only needed 2 of these, not 5. Programming? The first java class is good, the second java class does not require you to go without an IDE, they should have when learning swing because you learn it way more and you learn how to actually program instead of drag in drop. As a result, all but me used an IDE, yes dragging and dropping, and they all got A's. The SQL business class was the only other class that had real application to it, it was actually really good, just plain learn SQL, and the class did not seem to get too tied up in discussion/writing so we had some time to learn the stuff. Everything else was either way too easy or essays. The web classes barely spend time on CSS and java application. I could provide a simple CSS assignment and that would help someone learn more then what both of these classes taught, it is extremely sad I paid $1700 a class. Take a look at the VB.net classes, I have not taken them yet, but notice that they teach the same exact stuff that the first java class teaches, programming basics. They should have created a 3rd harder java class, and just one visual studio class that covers all the content of the two. I found that the text books many times do not cover what they want from the essays, and you end up having to Google it, which is pretty lame. The text book is the learning material and students should be forced to learn it and answer the information that is in it. Instead I barely read them and still made A's on my Essays, why? Because again, the subjects were different and quoting from Google's articles are easy, and they do not look for accuracy. In a since though I have been happy about this because their classes provide way too much non-relevant IT information. Lastly, when you look at the curriculum, if it says "explain", "describe", or "Identify", its a writing class, and usually an Essay class, even if it is an IT class, if it says that, Essays. If the classes details say "Apply", this means you might actually do something technical. If you only see one "apply" down the list, most likely you wont apply anything, it has to be all the way down the 5 or so bullets. Like I said, they provide way too much information about IT, things that various IT managers might need to know, but for a bachelors degree in software engineering, they do not focus near enough on the actual discipline, and way to much on everything else that has to do with IT.

I have nothing but praise for UOP's Info System's curriculum. I had ABOVE EXCELLENT instructors. The work was HARD and a good personal schedule is REQUIRED. The information was up to date, cutting edge instruction from instructors employed by cutting edge technology companies. Value? Expensive no doubt! But if you work, have a family or an impossible schedule, the on-line option really works. Was it worth it? Overall, yes. I make great money, have had EXCELLENT opportunties and have started a company with some fo my class mates. Could they be better priced, sure, especially now. My husband is going to UOP and if the federal financial aid does not cover tuition and materials then that IS too expensive and just pure greed. So far we have not reached that point. Hopefully the university keeps the tuition at federal financial aid level. If it was above, I would NEVER have been able to get my degree (ground campuses over 200 miles away for me and at the time, only UOP was online - mid 2000). I graduated late... 2008 due to a ton of personal issues and the university graciously granted me the opportunity to take care of those and extend my education over many years. Do I think all schools are perfect? No way. UOP's financial counselors could be more helpful with grants and scholarship search information. When you are working, taking care of family and going to school, how much time is left to do this? ZERO.

The UOP is not a bad online education. Yes, it's expensive but what education isn't? If you are an adult with a full time job and family, UOP is for you.

I got accepted into one of the top universities in the country for my masters degree in information systems. If UOP was a poor academic school believe me they would not let me into their program. They require that you hold a 3.2 adverage or you will be removed from the progam.If you want a job you need certifacations and experence along with a degree.I went to school with people who had families, held down full time emloyment and went to class. I do not believe these people wasted their time.

Stay away. the courses start off good and challenging. How ever, the past few classes the University has hired instructors that want to collect a pay check and fail to teach. It is more read the lessons, write nasty letters and talk down to you if you do not do the assignment properly and when ask for help, they will not answer you or guide you to the right direction. Save your money and research for a better online university

I really don't know what some of the negative comments are all about. I attended multiple brick & mortar schools over the years and had to do a heck of a lot more work (reading and writing papers) at UOP than at other schools. There were people that didn't put in a lot of effort and definitely didn't have the skills to attend college in my classes. I don't know what grades they received, but I do know that I put in a lot of work to get my 3.95 GPA. As a matter of fact, I added up all of papers written for my 20 classes (Junior and Senior years) and it totaled up to more than a quarter of a million words. I learned a lot about time management, critical thinking, and how to research and write well. It definitely prepared me for my MBA.

I will finish my bachelors degree in IT with a concentration in software engineering in June of 2010. I transferred my two year degree from a community college, and needed two years more from UOP. I learned more from University of Phoenix that I did in the traditional community college where I live. At Phoenix, you are responsible for do the work, so you get out of it what you put into it. Of course they can improve, but what school can't. Look, unless you are in your twenties with your whole career ahead of you, University of Phoenix is OK, and they constantly make improvements. The school is regionally accredited and the government will give you loans; So the US Government is telling you it approves of this school; what more do you need to know. If you don't like it, blame the government.

I looked for 6 months prior to attending UoP as to what they would accept versus other schools. I had been out of school for almost 10 years and most schools wanted me to start all over. I really would have been better off that way. I finished my degree from UoP, and its worthless. I have since pursued my Masters from a reputable school, and have stopped putting UoP on my resume. It does adversely effect your ability to get interviews with it on there. My experience with their "advisers" grew worse as I got closer and closer to graduation. Financial aid was a joke, there was always one more fee that they forgot to include, and I needed to pay $1200 for this and $1600 for that. Don't even try to speak to a supervisor about why one person says one thing and someone else says something completely different. UGH! I haven't attended the school in 3 years and I'm still upset at them.

There aren't any admissions requirements for this school, unlike a traditional college, which asks for SAT scores, a GPA, and a writing sample. U of Phoenix students only have to write a check and sign up. So, they accept anyone who wants to go to college, regardless of their lack of ability. The majority of students are remedial and lack the basic study skills, and can't write a grammatically correct sentence. Note: students do 1/10 of the work required for a degree at a traditional college. The classes are super easy, and anyone can pass them. There is very little reading and writing, and answer a couple of discussion questions a week. This does not even slightly compare to the amount of work required at a real college. It is just a waste of time, and is more like a public high school than a college.

Last week, I completed my BSIT after three years of hard work. However, not all of those three years was active attendance. There were times within those three years that I took breaks in-between classes (like a week or two off to recover from a tough class) and a few months off here and there for other reasons. Examples of those were, a four month trip to Afghanistan in '08 (which ended up as a 6 month break from UPX) and time off in '09 when my mother-in-law died and then a few months later in '09 when my father died. During all of these examples, UPX staff was more than accommodating and adjusted my schedule to fit my needs. I had three years of traditional school from 20 years ago and all of those credits transferred in. That left me with 24 classes to accomplish with UPX. Sure there was a facilitator here and there that I did not care for but that is anywhere. Fore the most part, they were great and very attentive. As for the learning teams, yes there are classmates that will try to get by with doing little to help but you have to address that with them and use conflict resolution which is what the whole thing is all about. UPX identified a need that was addressed to them by companies in the business world, "We are getting college grads but they don't know how to work in a team environment." By the time you finish UPX you will know how to work and play well with others. UPX is a great school and I am very happy with my experiences at that school. I finished with a 3.92 GPA and that is because I spent four to five hours a night studying. I took my time at UPX very seriously and it paid off. During all of this time at UPX I also had a full time job in law enforcement and a family life to take care of also. It is a matter of desire and motivation. Your grade is directly related to the time you put into your studies...just as in anything in life. I see people dogging on the UPX and every time I read one of these, the real problem is always written within the person’s complaint. It is normally something they did or did not do, that caused the problem. Take responsibility for your own actions or inactions and do not blame your bad experience where it should not be placed. So in summary, if you are willing to work hard, study hard and put in a lot of time, you will not only have a great UPX experience but you obtain the knowledge you are seeking and will be rewarded with good grades. And you better like writing papers because you are going to be doing that. A LOT!!! But I think that is a good thing because when you are writing a huge paper on ‘whatever’ if you do not know the material and do not do your research, the facilitator is going to know it and your grade will reflect it.

I will have my associates degree in June this year. I have no major complaints all though I do know someone who had money problems with them. Some of the teachers are terrible(but what college doesnt have those). They hold my money for ever and when I call my advisors I sometimes get different stories but this college is fully accredited and I have no regrets siging on with them. I love the flexibility. It has been so a great experience for me my wife is now enrolling to get her teaching degree(which we have only found a hand full of online colleges that even offer this program). I would and do recommend this college to anyone willing to work hard for a good degree.

I chose University of Phoenix Online for the convenience. I was able to complete a Bachelor of Science degree without losing career momentum or a few years of full-time salary to attend school. That is worth the premium tuition price to me. Yes, it is expensive. U of P is a private university. They don't have financial support from the government (as state schools do). So, you're paying the full amount for your education. Yes, you have to work hard. It is certainly not a diploma mill. It is an accredited university. However, you are responsible for learning. Of course you aren't just passed without earning it. That's silly. I failed my first computer programming class and had to repeat it. My grades tended to be right in line with my performance. At first, the learning teams really got on my nerves. They get on everyone's nerves. That's the point. The idea is to learn to function within that irritating framework because most business requires that you find ways to get along with all kinds of folks. The U of P learning teams help teach how to get things done in the real world. It's better to make all your novice political/teamwork mistakes in the relatively consequence-free world of college, yes? Everyone has to start somewhere. U of P is a *very* young school. They have been around since the '70s and that's not long in the world of academia. Many of the less generous remarks about this school are from people who really don't know what they're talking about. In particular, the sneers about online degrees are really dated. There are plenty of companies who recognize that a degree from an accredited college is acceptable. I graduated in October 2008 and was accepted into the distance learning program of a traditional brick-and-mortar school (Norwich) for my Masters. They didn't have any problems whatsoever with my U of P degree. However, I came running back to U of P after one week, when the other school revealed themselves to be far less supportive of *working* adults. For example, we were expected to post to their classroom M-F only or your grade suffers. U of P doesn't restrict the hours/times you may post. Believe it or not, this was huge for me. It's just so much more convenient. Also, that pushiness in the financial aid office is an *asset* folks. It means less work for me. They treat me like a paying customer. That means that if they don't ensure I get my paperwork done right, they don't get paid. At a traditional school, if you don't do your paperwork perfectly, too bad. Anyway, check 'em out. If you're willing to work hard, it's a good choice.

I really hate it when people knock the University of Phoenix. When you get a degree through UoP, you learn 2 things...How to write a lot on a dry subject, and how to work with others on a team. I got to know more about my fellow class mates and communicated more with my professors at this school than any brick & mortar school. Sure, as some have said there are people who coast by and don't put in the work on team projects but with peer evaluations, you get to make sure the professor knows who worked and who didn't. The only thing I missed about going to UoP is that there are no sports teams to cheer on and getting drunk at the frat party is out of the question too. Nope, it is all studying all the time.

I was actually one of the people who had the computer problems etc. I thought I got a pretty raw deal from UOP. I wasn't aware from the start that I had to have MS Office. I bought a new laptop to go to school and it didn't have the actual copy of MS Office. So, my trial of the program ran out, and I was unable to submit assignments. I didn't have enough money to purchase it, either. Basically my enrollment counselor just railroaded me through the sign-up process without explaining to me everything I would need to have. He also tried to get me to use my expired military ID card to get further discounts... Basically when I explained to UOP my situation, they kept putting me off, etc. I filed a greivance, and no response yet. This was over a year ago now, and I'm out $750 cash for tuition, which bought me what, other than a hard lesson. They really don't seem to care whatsoever about the students as long as they are gettin' paid!

Personally this school worked for me. I had a couple two year degrees, already had worked in IT for 15 years, and needed a bachelors and this format clinched it. Married with kids, the on-line format and 5 week classes were perfect. Finished in a little over two years. There is little or no testing; that may be good or bad depending on who you are. Lots of reading; I'd suggest buying the books from Amazon as opposed to the on-line library. Good for reference later on too. Lots of papers to write and participation; you can learn alot from your classmates and instructors; who are really just people like you that work in the field. Learning Teams are hit or miss; find a good group and stick together from class to class, and don't put up with free loaders. It is what it is. Not for the kid right out of high school, but for working adults who need a degree; and have tuition reimbursement benefits; not a bad choice IMO.

If you attend UoP, you know who the sponge people are...those that contribute zero to the team project but they get the same grade as everyone else who worked for it. They claim their computers broke, they have a family crisis, they were sick, anything to get out of doing the work and you know the excuses are made up because they use them from class to class over and over again.