University of Phoenix

Good Business Plan

University of Phoenix

Founded by Dr. John Sperling Corporation

Corporate name is Apollo GroupFounded in 1976John Sperling is worth about $1.4 billionPeter Sperling is worth about $1.5 billion

Brother also works for University of PhoenixWealth through stock ownership of Apollo

University of Phoenix

Some people do not value the degrees

Originally classes were taught through mail i.e. students were buying the degree i.e. students were not learning i.e. low quality

University of Phoenix

Why are studying this education model?

University management is smart

Good model to incorporate in a growing educational facilityCreated two billionaires in education

I think the only billionaires in education

University of Phoenix

CampusesLocated in large cities throughout the United

StatesExpanded into Mexico and Canada

University of Phoenix

Caters to working adultsMost adults work 9 A.M. – 5 P.M.

Classes are Monday through Friday 6 – 10 P.M.Saturday 9 A.M. – 1 P.M.

Tutoring SessionsFriday eveningsSaturday mornings and afternoons

University of Phoenix

A campus is smallHouston, Texas has about 5 campuses

Spread throughout the cityStudents prefer to go to school near home

Campus is close to homeAfter class, students are home within minutes

University of Phoenix

Do not have “physical” librariesUOP has electronic librariesSearch engines

Google is a search engineEconlit is a search engine for economics

Subscribes to many electronic journalsStudents can download articles at home via

the internet

University of Phoenix

Textbooks will be electronicUsually protected pdfs

Some courses have computer tutorialsComputer keeps track

Student progress Identifies a student’s problem area Informs instructor of progress

ALEX is the algebra tutorial programAbout ½ the students like ALEX and the other

half did not

University of Phoenix

Students’ records are computerizedStudent can take a course at any

campusExampleStudent has to leave Houston, Texas and

work at a project in Chicago, Illinois for a month

Student can take a course in ChicagoStudent can finish degree on time

University of Phoenix

The university rents office spaceIf the market is saturated

A campus can no longer attract students nearby

University shuts down campus

Students who did not graduate can still finish at another campus

University of Phoenix

Courses are standardizedAll instructors have to follow course syllabusNo matter where student takes course, they

learn the same material

University of Phoenix

A team of professionals creates a course at corporate headquartersFaculty can download materials through

internetA detailed syllabus

Contains topics Contains exercises and homework

Selects textbookFaculty notes and suggestions

Methods of Education

Ground CoursesStudents attend class at campus

Online CoursesStudents attend course via through the

internetFlexNet

Students can take both ground or online courses to fulfill degree requirements

Ground Course

University of Phoenix uses active learning

Students get involved inDiscussionsDebatesReflectionsApplications

Ground Course

Undergraduate classDuration is 5 weeksStudents attend a class once per week Class is 4 hours long

10 minute break each hourTotal contact hours is 20 hours

Standard University Class3 hours per week for 15 weeksTotal contact hours is 45 hours

Ground Course

University claimsStudents make up the remaining time as

homeworkHomework

Team assignments Team has to meet once a week Because corporate workers work in teams

Individual assignments

Ground Course

From experienceSome teams work on the problems togetherOther teams

One or two people do all the work while other team members do little

Other teams assign homework problems to team members

Team assignment is a “collection” of different styles and handwriting

Some students copy homework from other team members

Ground Course

Graduate coursesDuration is 6 weeksStudents attend a class once per week Class is 4 hours long

10 minute break each hourTotal hours is 24 hours

Still less hours compared to a regular university

Ground Course

Students attend classes throughout yearStudents can graduate within 3 years for

bachelor’s degree

Expanding into Corporate Training

Caters to corporationsSome corporations contracted with UOP

for training programs

Many students are staff employees at corporationsSome corporations reimburse for their

employee’s tuition

Criticism

Not against a university earning profitHowever,

Textbooks cost over $100Even electronic textbooks

A class cost about $1,000ALEX costs over $50

ALEX is algebra tutorial softwareSoftware is non-transferableStudents cannot re-sell software

Criticism

Courses are viewed as too easy

Remember, course is only5 weeks for undergraduates6 weeks for graduates

Criticism

Corporate headquarters designs course Instructor may want to incorporate new

materialCourse should be updated with newer

informationNeed approval to modify course

Criticism

University accepts anyone who is willing to pay

Does not have name recognitionEmployers want college graduates from top

universitiesTop universities are selectiveThe lower the acceptance rate, the higher

the reputation

Criticisms

Relies on part-time faculty95% of faculty are part timeRetention problems??? – Not sure I enjoyed working at this place

In theory, part-time faculty work full-time professional jobs and teach part-time during evenings and weekends