a decade and a half. Established in 1989, it was the first
accredited online university and today with over 57,000
enrolments to its credit, it has become the largest private,
accredited, 'for-profit', online university in the United
States. Because of its tenure and name recognition, the
University of Phoenix is often the first name that comes to
peoples mind when they consider an online University. This
reputation is not without merit, as the University offers
students a great deal that the other online universities simply
cannot compete with. That said, not everything about this school
is ideal.
Because of the length of time the University has been in
operation, it has perfected the art of serious online teaching.
The curriculum has been tailored to meet the requirement of
working adults who seek to supplement their working knowledge
with theory and practical skills while earning a degree for
themselves to a degree that other online schools do not.
Virtual classrooms with trained online instructors and flexible
but strict classroom participation and assignment submissions
make learning comfortable. So much so, that the students are
able to complete almost 27 credits in a year as against 15
credits completed by regular on site campus learning students.
With only 11 students in a class, the student to instructor
ratio is low, facilitating greater one on one interaction. The
instructors themselves are CIOs, CEOs and CFOs of reputed
companies when they are not mentoring students in the
classrooms.
A Review Of The University Of Phoenix Online Nursing Degree The University of Phoenix Online started as a traditional university in 1976 and was one of the first to go online in 1989. It is currently the leading online university, with tens of thousands of students from countries around the world. This has made this school one of the most popular of its kind anywhere in the world. Their flexible schedule and commitment to excellence shines through as they churn out more graduates than any other school in their class every year.
One hundred percent online. Lectures and assignments can be downloaded into your home computer through the use of special Int ..
But then like every thing in this universe, negatives do exist
and this University is no exception. Sometimes students complain
about below average quality of instructors who do not
participate in the discussion or evaluation to the extent that
has been promised. Lack of communication skills in some cases
and at others complete or partial silence towards questions
posted has been observed. This is a serious allegation
considering that the good communication and prompt interactions
with the students of the class are very vital for any online
course. Add to this, students often complain that when a
grievance or concern is addressed to the deputed 'advisor' an
endless string of communication follows with little or no action
actually taken.
There are some ex-instructors who have come up and indicated
that their pay is quite pitiful relative to other universities
and as a consequence the motivation levels and drive to excel is
low. This often results in a high turnover of instructors. It
seems that the primary complaint, substandard teaching quality
is directly tied to the level of pay provided these professors.
Another negative pertains to the technology itself. The
university boasts that the online software platform has been
developed in collaboration with Microsoft. One would expect that
the mail receiving and disseminating platform also be much
evolved and sophisticated. Instead there is confirmed evidence
that they actually use the notoriously lacking Outlook Express
for the purpose. Another problem is that the servers are quite
slow sometimes. These two problems are worth a mention since
The University of Phoenix degree program vs. a traditional degree programThere are different schools of thoughts advocating either a
traditional degree or an online degree. Whereas the goal of
education and job marketability remains the same, the point of
argument is over the ways in which the goal is attained. You
will be better able to reach an effective decision if you weigh
the pros and cons of both.
A traditional degree requires a student to be physically present
for a class at a predetermined location at a specific time. An
online education in an accredited institution like the
University of Phoenix has been able to make this a
non-requirement. Y ..
online teaching requires quick and reliable interface with
minimum downtime. Therefore a slack in this area can have
serious implications for the university as a whole.
A final concern pertains to 'high' fees being charged. It might
be comparable with the several outer online universities of its
genre. But when viewed in the light of students who are already
disgruntled with the quality of education being imparted, can
snowball into bigger packets of unhappiness.
All this might sound as the doomsday for online education and
especially for the University of Phoenix. But remember when you
handle thousands of students, there are bound to be a handful
that are going to be dissatisfied. And life depends on changes
and improvements. That said, by and large the students of the
University of Phoenix have and continue to express satisfaction
with the school. While it is certainly clear that it has some
limitations, the opportunity to attain a degree swiftly and
cheaply from a well known and accredited University makes the
offer very attractive for a great many.
About the author:
Jean Chortillion enjoys writing about online education. For more
information, see this
href="http://www.universityreviewsonline.com/2005/10/review_of_th
e_u.html">University of Phoenix review.
Jean ChortillionAn Honest Review of the University of Phoenix Online | 
