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The University of Phoenix has vocal critics among its alumni, students, and employees. One has created a critical web site[1]mirrored in multiple locations, including UoPexperience.com.

The main points of criticism are that, the coursework is perceived by some as trivial, non-challenging, and non-educational.[1][2]

UoP's tuition cost is disproportionate to the educational value it gives to its students.[3]

That a degree from UoP is perceived by some employers as inferior, and that some graduates have discovered that their degree did not offer the job advancement they anticipated[2] and is that most HR professionals prefer job candidates with an online degree from a traditional school such as USC or University of Michigan rather than one with a degree from an organization such as the University of Phoenix."[4]

The UoP's does not properly balance value to students vs. and profits to shareholders, e.g. UofP's recent success on Wall Street has come directly at the expense of a declining quality of education to students.[3][5][3][5]

That UoP does not have qualified professors or teachers, but rather, facilitators, which encourage students to teach each other.[1][5] Critics contend this issue is exacerbated by UoP's willingness to enroll anybody regardless of background, pointing out that being taught by "just anybody" is no replacement for traditional classes with a professor. On the other hand, others point out that the University of Phoenix only hires "facilitators" who have masters or doctoral degrees. Even if these "facilitators" do not have the title of professor, they have the advanced education and experience needed to teach their courses.

Some members of the academic community and employers consider UOP's faculty to be too "come-and-go" and nomadic.[1][6] Approximately 95% of UOP faculty are part-time compared with an average of 47% across all universities. The University of Phoenix requires that most faculty be actively working in the fields that they teach.[1]

University of Phoenix popular MBA program is accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)[7] but not the more prestigious Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) In November 2006, Intel Corporation decided to exclude colleges who lacked the AACSB accreditation from its tuition reimbursement program, saying they lacked "top-notch accreditation."[8][1][9] [6][1] John J. Fernandes, the AACSB's president, said the University of Phoenix has never applied for membership and feels that their chances of acceptance would be low because they have a "lot of come-and-go faculty".[1][6][2] Additionally, there have been published reports that Procter and Gamble and other companies[10] will not hire graduates of non-AACSB-accredited MBA programs. [8]

When calculated by the federal standard used by the Department of Education, UOP's overall graduation rate is 16%, which when compared to the national average of 55% is among the nation's lowest.[1] The federal standard measures graduation rates as "the percentage of first-time undergraduates who obtain a degree within six years".[1] The number is significantly lower at its Southern California campus (6%) and its online programs (4%).[1] University of Phoenix published a response[citation needed] acknowledging the 16% graduation rate but took exception to the Federal standard used to calculate the rate, noting that the rate is based upon criteria which includes only 7% of UoP's student population. The institution publishes its own nonstandard graduation rate of 59% to account for its large population of non-traditional students.[1]

UofP has been sued numerous times by several federal agencies. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission settled a second sexual harassment claim filed against the university by a former employee for $225,000 in August 2007.[11]

In September 2004, the university paid a settlement of $9.8 million to the United States Department of Education for alleged violations of the Higher Education Act provisions which prohibit distributing financial incentives to admission representatives.[12][13][14][15][16]

A federal whistle-blower/false claims lawsuit accusing the university of fraudulently obtaining hundreds of millions of dollars in financial aid was filed in 2003 and is currently pending.[3][1][17][18] The university receives more federal student financial aid than any other university in the United States, receiving $1.8 billion in federal student aid in 2004-5.[1] The lawsuit was dismissed by the federal district court and then reinstated by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court declined to hear University of Phoenix's appeal of that decision.[19][20] The federal district court in Sacramento refused the university's motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that an "alternate remedy" had already been achieved by the aforementioned $9.8 million settlement. That court set the case for trial in September 2009.[21]

  • The university paid $3.5 million in back wages owed to 1,700 workers related to overtime pay and exemption status given to its recruitment advisers, under a settlement reached in July, 2004 with the United States Department of Labor.[22][23]
  • The university settled allegations by the United States Department of Education for $6 million in March 2000 pursuant to a ruling by government auditors that the university's teaching schedule fell short of the minimum time required to qualify for financial aid because it wrongfully included study group meetings among students as instructional hours. The auditors also ruled that the university erred in including cost-of-living expenses for some students when determining financial need.[25][1][3]
  • The aforementioned $6 million settlement with the United States Department of Education came less than a year after that agency ordered the university to pay $650,000 for failing to promptly refund loans and grants for students who withdrew.[3]
  • In January of 2008, University of Phoenix's parent company, Apollo Group, Inc. was found guilty of fraud for misleading investors by not disclosing a Department of Education report that harshly criticized the recruitment practices used by the University of Phoenix.[26]:


The University has been criticized for various reasons. One is that a conflict of interest may exist when a for-profit company administers education—perhaps fostering a "stripped-down" academic schedules that rushes students through their studies. Moreover, the university's business program is also not accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.[27] UoP has also been criticized for not having qualified professors or teachers, but rather facilitators that encourage students to teach each other.[1] Additionally, UoP's overall graduation rate is 16% while the national average is 55%.[1] The federal standard measures graduation rates as "the percentage of first-time undergraduates who obtain a degree within six years".[1] Supporters say that the comparison is not a fair one since UoP follows a significantly different educational model than traditional universities, but critics find the statistic troubling.

UoP has also been the subject of several lawsuits in recent years. A federal whistle blower lawsuit accusing the university of fraudulently obtaining hundreds of millions of dollars in financial aid was filed in 2003 and is currently pending—[1][28][18]the university receiving more federal student financial aid than any other university in the United States in 2004.[1] In September 2004, the university paid a settlement of $9.8 million to the United States Department of Education for alleged violations of Higher Education Act provisions that prohibit distributing financial incentives to admission representatives.[12][13][14][29][30]

The University also paid $3.5 million in back wages to 1,700 workers related to overtime pay and exemption status given to its recruitment advisers, under a settlement reached in July 2004 with the United States Department of Labor.[31][32] Additionally, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) settled a sexual harassment claim filed against the university by a former employee for $225,000 in August 2007.[33] Currently, the University is also being sued by the EEOC for alleged religious discrimination favoring Mormon enrollment counselors.[34]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Sam Dillon, Troubles Grow for a University Built on Profits, The New York Times, February 11, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c Dawn Gilbertson, Losing Intel a blow to school, Arizona Republic, Dec 5, 2006
  3. ^ a b c d e f Dealing in Diplomas, For the University of Phoenix, college is a big business - and getting bigger, The Dallas Morning News, February 28, 2004 by Katherine Yung
  4. ^ Greg Eisenbarth, The Online Education Market: A Crossroads for Higher Education & Business, Online University Consortium
  5. ^ a b c UOPSucks.com, Rebuttal to UofP's Response to New York Times article
  6. ^ a b c University of Phoenix Staggers Under Growing Criticism, ConsumerAffairs.com, by Truman Lewis, February 11, 2007
  7. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ACBSP
  8. ^ a b Dawn Gilbertson, Losing Intel a blow to school, Arizona Republic, Dec 5, 2006
  9. ^ Stu Woo, Intel Cuts 100 Colleges From Its Tuition-Reimbursement Program for Employees, The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 2, 2007.
  10. ^ Business School Seeks Accreditation, The Ithacan, by William Earl, October 7, 2004
  11. ^ EEOC Settles Claim with University of Phoenix, Associated Press, August 29, 2007
  12. ^ a b Student-recruitment Tactics at University of Phoenix Blasted by Feds Univ. of Phoenix Audit Leads to $9.8 mil Fine The Arizona Republic, September 14, 2004, by Dawn Gilbertson
  13. ^ a b University of Phoenix Receives Record Fine Austin Business Journal, September 14, 2004]
  14. ^ a b U. of Phoenix Uses Pressure in Recruiting, Report Says - Institution disputes charges that it pumps up enrollment through illegal tactics, Chronicle of Higher Education, by Goldie Blumenstyk, October 8, 2004
  15. ^ US DOE Program Review Report
  16. ^ US DOE and U. of Phoenix Settlement Agreement
  17. ^ List of Court Documents Related to False Claims Suit
  18. ^ a b Lisa M. Krieger Lawsuit: University of Phoenix breached ethics, laws, San Jose Mercury , Jun 23, 2007.
  19. ^ Supreme Court Lets False-Claims Lawsuit Proceed Against University of Phoenix, Chronicle of Higher Education, by Goldie Bluumenstyk, May 4, 2007
  20. ^ Apollo Group Legal Information Center
  21. ^ University of Phoenix fraud case goes forwardL.A. Times, August 21, 2007
  22. ^ University of Phoenix, Dept. of Labor Reach Overtime Agreement The Phoenix Business Journal, July 23, 2004
  23. ^ Apollo to pay Department of Labor $2M-$3M to Settle Case Austin Business Journal, July 17, 2004.
  24. ^ Worker Bias Suit Targets University of Phoenix-School Favors Mormons, EEOC says September 28, 2006, by Dawn Gilbertson
  25. ^ University of Phoenix Reaches $6M Settlement The Business Journal of Phoenix, March 28, 2000
  26. ^ Jury Finds U of Phoenix Parent Company Liable for $280 Million Chronicle of Higher Education January 16, 2008
  27. ^ Losing Intel a blow to school. Retrieved on 2008-05-03.
  28. ^ List of Court Documents Related to False Claims Suit
  29. ^ US DOE Program Review Report
  30. ^ US DOE and U. of Phoenix Settlement Agreement
  31. ^ University of Phoenix, Dept. of Labor Reach Overtime Agreement The Phoenix Business Journal, July 23, 2004
  32. ^ Apollo to pay Department of Labor $2M-$3M to Settle Case Austin Business Journal, July 17, 2004.
  33. ^ EEOC Settles Claim with University of Phoenix, Associated Press, August 29, 2007
  34. ^ Worker Bias Suit Targets University of Phoenix-School Favors Mormons, EEOC says September 28, 2006, by Dawn Gilbertson

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Hello, Mysteryquest. You have [[User talk:Mysteryquest|new messages]] at [[User:Mysteryquest|Mysteryquest]]'s talk page.
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Please see Wikipedia's no personal attacks policy. Comment on content, not on contributors. Personal attacks damage the community and deter users. Note that continued personal attacks will lead to blocks for disruption. Please stay cool and keep this in mind while editing. Thank you.

Please do not attack other editors, which you did here. by calling PetraSchelm a vandal. Please comment on content, not editors. If you continue, you will be blocked from editing Wikipedia. Mysteryquest (talk) 05:29, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

Welcome to Wikipedia, and thank you for your contributions. However, please be aware of Wikipedia's policy that biographical information about living persons must not be libelous. Any controversial statements about a living person added to an article, or any other Wikipedia page, must include proper sources. Thank you.

Welcome to Wikipedia. Although everyone is welcome to make constructive contributions to Wikipedia, at least one of your recent edits, such as the one you made to Ottoman Empire did not appear to be constructive and has been reverted or removed. Please use the sandbox for any test edits you would like to make, and take a look at the welcome page to learn more about contributing to this encyclopedia. Thank you.

Please refrain from making unconstructive edits to Wikipedia, as you did to University of Phoenix. Your edits appeared to constitute vandalism and have been reverted. If you would like to experiment, please use the sandbox. Thank you.Mysteryquest (talk) 06:06, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

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