University of Phoenix

I have been a student in the MSN/ED program since April, 2009 and plan graduation in February, 2011. The academic rigor of the program is not less because it is online. My instructors have been topnotch. Core nursing courses all had instructors prepared at the doctoral level. Most were practicing in clinical or research areas. Several had multiple degrees and were nurse practitioners. I have only had one instructor that was an UOP graduate and she was topnotch also. Admission criteria were the same as a ground campus program. The counselors are available and helpful as are the instructors. Funds were distributed as expected. Costs for the program remain as originally calculated. Do not enroll if you believe you will automatically graduate because you enrolled. You must work hard for this degree. The only detractors to the program are individuals with personal agendas against the university. I have met dozens of UOP students that are happy with their programs. Additionally, I have made friends from all over the country. Some are in my area. I have been privileged to meet a greater diversity of students than I would have on a traditional ground campus. Prior to starting I called nursing schools and asked about the acceptance of UOP degrees. Everyone recognizes UOP online degrees. I have recommended this program to many nurses and professionals.

I have been a student at UOP for 8 months. The main thing I want anyone considering online education to know - it is NO walk in the park! I am a 48yo RN working full-time, mother of a 4yo, & sole support for our household, including my disabled spouse. UOP challenges me in ways my prior education at community college & a traditional state university never did. You get out of it what you put into it. Weekly discussion questions require reaching beyond just looking up answers in a textbook. Posting reqs mean you must interact & try to see other viewpoints. There are tests & quizzes & workbook assignments. I hope you like to write or can tolerate it because there is an APA-formatted paper due every week. I admit this can be a hassle & I just do NOT always feel like doing it, but I expect more work when 3 cr hrs is crammed into 5 weeks! The only actual complaint I could make is the dreaded learning team! They are easier to deal with if the instructor allows you input into your teammates - only one so far did not. Generally, there are folks who follow you through the same classes & you learn who pulls their weight. I never hesitate to ask NOT to work with someone (and why) & to work with someone I respect. Instructors DO pay attention to what the team says & peer evaluations! I had one class in which a teammate kept asking every few days what she could do to help, but never followed up with anything suggested. This class had a learning team discussion question every week - most have one project the team works on from the 1st week & turns in the 5th. After a few weeks, we all started complaining - outright to the student & to the instructor. Finally, when we were doing final revisions to the major team project due week 5 & she had done nothing the entire class, our instructor stepped in. She disappeared, but not before getting in a last jab - how awful we were to her & did not support her & how now she had to quit school because she was failing the class. So, they DO listen. Advisers are amazing. Initially, their calls every few days to check on me were annoying when I am smart enough to figure out a few things on my own, but they were trying to help. Some students might need the extra support. I am just NOT one of them. Now if I need them, I call them. I have had the same academic adviser the whole time & he calls me regularly to see if I need a break. Before registering for my current class he nearly insisted that I take one, but I want to get this done so I can have a life again! UOP has been very good to me. Beware if you think because you can go to class or study anytime you can party down! Online education is NOT for anyone who cannot be extremely self-disciplined. UOP tells you this right up front! If you want a quality education that will take you far, you will get it here. And no, I am NOT a UOP employee, just a hard-working/barely-sleeping student.

Everything negative that has been said about this school is true. I am a former employee of UOP and as such, I can tell you that their main goal is not "graduating students", as they like to tell employees right from the get go. Its recruiting them. Hit your numbers or take a 10% pay cut. The incentive is, if an Enrollment Counselor gets a fair number of students to enroll every month, he/she is eligible for up to a 30% pay increase in their first 6 month review. This is no joke. Ask anyone who works or worked there. I worked there for over 3 1/2 years and I never saw any of my students graduate. My manager did not care about that. All he cared about was that my students stayed in class for the first 5 weeks so they would count as a "REG" for me in my review, thus making his numbers look good. It is also true that a lot of companies will not except a UOP degree holder. Blue Cross Blue Shield is one company that I know of that absolutely will NOT hire someone who holds a degree from UOP. There are several other colleges and employers who feel this same way. I would NEVER recomend this school to anyone. The VPs and CEO's better get a business strategy plan going or UOP will be closing its doors very soon.