University of Phoenix caters to non-traditional students on clarkhoward.com

With the job market being so transparent at the moment, Clark encourages people to go back to school to do what they love. Traditional universities have only recently started adjusting to the non-traditional market, meaning students outside the core 18-24 market. But one company has had tremendous success serving the non-traditional market of mid 20s to mid 40s. It’s the University of Phoenix. Years ago 60 Minutes did a profile on this company that was terribly negative. Yet, the program continues to attract student and make massive profits. Last year alone, this company made a quarter of a billion in profits. Most universities depend on the kindness of alums and many charge an arm and a leg in tuition. The endowment of Harvard University is the only one that beats the market value of the University of Phoenix parent company stock. The program is now in 29 states across the country. Traditional universities despise UOP because they claim an education with a discount can’t be a good education. It’s just not true. But if you are a non-traditional student who would like to learn a new skill, going to a non-traditional university may be for you.

What others are saying

POE and adult education
As a 52-year old currently in school to get a bachelor's in accounting, I started exploring alternative education in the mid-1990's. A book on the subject by John Bear was invaluable to me.
Of all accredited online schools, I would recommend 3, and these because of the cost of the programs.
1. Thomas Edison State College in New Jersey. Only a couple of years ago, you could attend their with everything except books complete for around $6,000 per year.
2. Western Governor's University- started in late 1990's, tuition is presently $2,850 per 6-month term. Geared to working adults, you study one subject at a time. When you can demonstrate your knowledge of the4 subject by passing the final with a 70% or greater(you are welcome to try it at he start of the course), you get course credit and move on to the next course. Very experience based, and 100% accredited.
3. Liberty University in Virginia, where I attend. Being a Christian College, you will have to take a certain number of "required" Christian courses. But at $750 per 3-hour course, it is around a third the cost of Phoenix, and as I am cash flowing college, this is why I attend there.
By Marc @ 12/19/09 01:26:09 PMreport abuse
Online Schools
Online Schools are tough for your average person who works and has family responsibilites. However I like them due to easy availability. I attended brick-n-mortar and my attention was always somewhere else. I have attended online schools: DeVry, Kaplan and University of Phoenix. The private online schools are very expensive. Make sure you compare how many credits are required for completion of degree with each online school, it can vary widely.

Also see how many credits you can transfer over, there is always a max amount. If you seem to lose credits in a certain major or have to take a lot of additional classes, check out switching your major. I was trying to get BS as IT major but when I transferred to another online school I found it better to get BS in Management so that I can finish quicker.

Also, don't transfer to a lot of different schools, waste time, waste credits and if getting Federal Aid you will quickly max out.

For those who never attended online I would start with a state school within your state, at least when you apply for TAP you are eligble. For example, I live in NY but all the online schools I attended were technically located out-of-state so I'm not eligble for TAP. Also the state schools are about 1/3 to 1/2 cost of for profit online. However the state schools take several months to complete (1) class whereas for profit online takes a few weeks.

Several schools allow for practice sessions. You need to know for yourself what's the best environment for you to learn. Online is not for everyone and neither is brick-n-mortar.
By Adult Edu Contd @ 12/11/09 09:06:31 PMreport abuse
University of Pheniox
I was very excited about being able to go to school online seeing that I had two children and my husband worked out of town. I enrolled with the UOP because they told me I could get all my core classes and be on my way to my rn degree, all lies!! They had in fact enrolled me in to a AAB program. I dropped the classes and fought and fought with them about the remaining 500.00 I didn't actually owe them untill they sold the loan to EDFUND who is now threatening to garnish my husbands wages for money I truly do not owe. DO NOT GO THERE>>> ITS A SCAM!!!
By Tiffany @ 09/14/09 09:09:48 AMreport abuse
Brown Mackie College
I'm part of the charter OTA(occupational therapy assistant) class at BMC in ATL. I will be finished in Dec. 2009. This is a very sought out program and a very in-demand field. Dealing with Brown Mackie has been a nightmare for everyone in the program. We are charged more than any other student in any other program ($1400.00) per class. Every month, not semester,but every month, we have to pay a lab fee ($140) and a technology fee($89). Most schools have this fee, however, there isn't a functional lab for OTA's to work in and we do not have access to the computers on a regular basis. BMC is more concerned about making a profit than they are about providing an education. They spend more time and energy collecting money than they do providing adequate equipment and supplies. They will help you in a minute and without delay to get a loan, but it takes 2 months and 3 requests to receive splinting materials for a class. This field is a very demanding and important health care field. Brown Mackie could care less about proper facilities, or materials. The program director does all she can do but the school often works against her. I do not recommend this school to anyone.
By Tim Williamson @ 08/28/09 05:54:20 PMreport abuse
University of Phoenix
I agree that it's a scam! It's more of a business than an educational institution. My Mom is enrolled at Brown Mackie and is wondering about it's validity. Anyone have experience there?
By Candice White @ 11/13/08 02:30:58 PMreport abuse
UoP
I attended the University of Phoenix and graduated. As with most life experiences, you get out of it what you put into it. Taking classes online is not for everyone but great for those with busy schedules, odd hours, or in rural areas. The University is accredited and on par with other "for-profit" schools such as Capella or Devry...
By anonymous @ 09/09/08 08:56:30 PMreport abuse
University of Phoenix
U of P is a scam. My son was very excited about going. They helped him to get a student loan. During his first year he had to drop due to conflicts with his job. The Univ of Phoenix started calling him day and night to have him return his student loan. There seems to be a "small" problem of students dropping out during the first year and banks demanding that Univ. of Phoenix pay them 50% of tuition back. My son had to come up with $1900 within two weeks or they threatened legal action. He tried to work out payment plans but they refused. He called repeatly to get everything straightened out. It was no use. They wanted their money and they wanted it now. He found the entire experience to be very unprofessional and he reported that others he knew had the same problem. It is a bad school. Stay away!
By Benita Saatvedt @ 05/21/08 11:20:23 PMreport abuse
University of phoenix question
I recently joined the military and was wanting to start moving on with my education. I hear good things about this school from peers but dont really know. I do know that the online route is the best way for me to go because of the military life. So I guess my question is is this a good school and will the credits transfer to another college? Any help would be great. Camp6329@hotmail.com
By Jason @ 05/07/08 05:20:59 PMreport abuse

POE and adult education

As a 52-year old currently in school to get a bachelor's in accounting, I started exploring alternative education in the mid-1990's. A book on the subject by John Bear was invaluable to me.
Of all accredited online schools, I would recommend 3, and these because of the cost of the programs.
1. Thomas Edison State College in New Jersey. Only a couple of years ago, you could attend their with everything except books complete for around $6,000 per year.
2. Western Governor's University- started in late 1990's, tuition is presently $2,850 per 6-month term. Geared to working adults, you study one subject at a time. When you can demonstrate your knowledge of the4 subject by passing the final with a 70% or greater(you are welcome to try it at he start of the course), you get course credit and move on to the next course. Very experience based, and 100% accredited.
3. Liberty University in Virginia, where I attend. Being a Christian College, you will have to take a certain number of "required" Christian courses. But at $750 per 3-hour course, it is around a third the cost of Phoenix, and as I am cash flowing college, this is why I attend there.

By Marc @ 12/19/09 01:26:09 PMreport abuse

Online Schools

Online Schools are tough for your average person who works and has family responsibilites. However I like them due to easy availability. I attended brick-n-mortar and my attention was always somewhere else. I have attended online schools: DeVry, Kaplan and University of Phoenix. The private online schools are very expensive. Make sure you compare how many credits are required for completion of degree with each online school, it can vary widely.

Also see how many credits you can transfer over, there is always a max amount. If you seem to lose credits in a certain major or have to take a lot of additional classes, check out switching your major. I was trying to get BS as IT major but when I transferred to another online school I found it better to get BS in Management so that I can finish quicker.

Also, don't transfer to a lot of different schools, waste time, waste credits and if getting Federal Aid you will quickly max out.

For those who never attended online I would start with a state school within your state, at least when you apply for TAP you are eligble. For example, I live in NY but all the online schools I attended were technically located out-of-state so I'm not eligble for TAP. Also the state schools are about 1/3 to 1/2 cost of for profit online. However the state schools take several months to complete (1) class whereas for profit online takes a few weeks.

Several schools allow for practice sessions. You need to know for yourself what's the best environment for you to learn. Online is not for everyone and neither is brick-n-mortar.

By Adult Edu Contd @ 12/11/09 09:06:31 PMreport abuse

University of Pheniox

I was very excited about being able to go to school online seeing that I had two children and my husband worked out of town. I enrolled with the UOP because they told me I could get all my core classes and be on my way to my rn degree, all lies!! They had in fact enrolled me in to a AAB program. I dropped the classes and fought and fought with them about the remaining 500.00 I didn't actually owe them untill they sold the loan to EDFUND who is now threatening to garnish my husbands wages for money I truly do not owe. DO NOT GO THERE>>> ITS A SCAM!!!

By Tiffany @ 09/14/09 09:09:48 AMreport abuse

Brown Mackie College

I'm part of the charter OTA(occupational therapy assistant) class at BMC in ATL. I will be finished in Dec. 2009. This is a very sought out program and a very in-demand field. Dealing with Brown Mackie has been a nightmare for everyone in the program. We are charged more than any other student in any other program ($1400.00) per class. Every month, not semester,but every month, we have to pay a lab fee ($140) and a technology fee($89). Most schools have this fee, however, there isn't a functional lab for OTA's to work in and we do not have access to the computers on a regular basis. BMC is more concerned about making a profit than they are about providing an education. They spend more time and energy collecting money than they do providing adequate equipment and supplies. They will help you in a minute and without delay to get a loan, but it takes 2 months and 3 requests to receive splinting materials for a class. This field is a very demanding and important health care field. Brown Mackie could care less about proper facilities, or materials. The program director does all she can do but the school often works against her. I do not recommend this school to anyone.

By Tim Williamson @ 08/28/09 05:54:20 PMreport abuse

University of Phoenix

I agree that it's a scam! It's more of a business than an educational institution. My Mom is enrolled at Brown Mackie and is wondering about it's validity. Anyone have experience there?

By Candice White @ 11/13/08 02:30:58 PMreport abuse

UoP

I attended the University of Phoenix and graduated. As with most life experiences, you get out of it what you put into it. Taking classes online is not for everyone but great for those with busy schedules, odd hours, or in rural areas. The University is accredited and on par with other "for-profit" schools such as Capella or Devry...

By anonymous @ 09/09/08 08:56:30 PMreport abuse

U of P is a scam. My son was very excited about going. They helped him to get a student loan. During his first year he had to drop due to conflicts with his job. The Univ of Phoenix started calling him day and night to have him return his student loan. There seems to be a "small" problem of students dropping out during the first year and banks demanding that Univ. of Phoenix pay them 50% of tuition back. My son had to come up with $1900 within two weeks or they threatened legal action. He tried to work out payment plans but they refused. He called repeatly to get everything straightened out. It was no use. They wanted their money and they wanted it now. He found the entire experience to be very unprofessional and he reported that others he knew had the same problem. It is a bad school. Stay away!

By Benita Saatvedt @ 05/21/08 11:20:23 PMreport abuse

University of phoenix question

I recently joined the military and was wanting to start moving on with my education. I hear good things about this school from peers but dont really know. I do know that the online route is the best way for me to go because of the military life. So I guess my question is is this a good school and will the credits transfer to another college? Any help would be great. Camp6329@hotmail.com

By Jason @ 05/07/08 05:20:59 PMreport abuse

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Mar 01, 2004 -- University of Phoenix caters to non-traditional students

What others are saying