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University of Phoenix Staggers Under Growing Criticism

By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.com

February 11, 2007      Spanish version

University of Phoenix • Unauthorized charges • Financial "aid" • Withdrawal credit • Learning teams • Easy A's • Does UOP meet DOE regs? • Compliments from satisfied alums • UoP Responds --- News • University of Phoenix Staggers Under Growing Criticism

Consumer complaints and heightened federal scrutiny are threatening to shut off the river of cash that has made the University of Phoenix the nation's largest private university and by far the biggest recipient of federal student aid funds -- $1.8 billion in 2004-2005.

With 300,000 students on campuses in 39 states, the heavily-promoted school was a darling of Wall Street for years. But its stock price has tumbled amid revelations about its low graduation rate -- 16 percent, among the nation's lowest -- and concerns that its largely parttime faculty is delivering less than a first-rate education.

"I attended University of Phoenix for five classes. I have found that they literally give A's away," said Karen of Sutter, California. Other students complained of mediocre instructors, technical problems accessing online courses and disputes over financial aid.

The University of Phoenix student body consists mostly of parttime students who hold down fulltime jobs and are hoping to advance their occupational fortunes with a bachelor's or graduate degree. It offers a heavy schedule of evening and weekend classes, as well as online courses that can be taken largely at the student's convenience. Its "campuses" are mostly located in office buildings near major employment centers, making it easy for students to swing by class on their way home from work.

But former students and the school's own staff and faculty complain that the relentless quest for profits has hurt the quality of the education that students receive, the New York Times reported in a front-page story today.

"This company does not deliver what it advertises, sets up policies that make it more difficult for working adults to resolve disputes, and seems only concerned with exploiting students to access the tax dollars for which they qualify as veterans," said Peter of Dillon, Colorado, in a complaint to ConsumerAffairs.com.

Peter, who edits a local publication, said he enrolled in a Master's Degree program at Phoenix and had intended to write an article about the school's convenience and consumer-friendly nature. But instead, "I got taken in by their false claim that they care about helping working adults," he said.

As doubts about the school grow, corporations that once funded their employees' education at Phoenix are starting to have second thoughts, among them Intel Corp., which the Times said has removed Phoenix from its list of schools eligible for tuition reimbursement.

An Intel manager told the Times that the company was concerned that Phoenix, while accredited by a regional accrediting association, has not achieved the more prestigious national accredition that is expected of major universities. The head of one such association told the Times that Phoenix had never applied and said the school's chances of approval would be low, partly because of the high turnover among its faculty.

About 95 percent of the school's instructors are parttime, compared to 47 percent among all universities, the Times said.

The school's new president, William Pepicello, defended the school and said its plummeting stock price and an exodus of top officials were signs that Phoenix was "reinventing" itself.

But a growing number of students past and present say there is simply not much of substance to work with.

Typical is a 2003 complaint from Heather of Kansas City, Kansas: "I enrolled thinking UOP would be a great fit for my lifestyle. After enrolling I started my first class. This was a waste of time. The 'teacher' was awful. ... I wanted my degree very badly so I decided to give the school one more chance. My second class was just as bad. The teacher was better, but the problem is I learned nothing. My book was never used and I still got an A."

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