My Experience with the University of Phoenix - Be Careful, Be Informed

II was very excited when I started classes with University of Phoenix. I decided on elementary education, which had to be in-class (no online), and was thrilled to hear that I would start within one week. I have been in school officially for over six years, since 2001, and the real prospect of getting though it all fast was just what I needed. So why at this point, am I unenrolled from UOP, and am paying a debt of over $800.00, though I was on financial aid the entire time? Did I mention the credits I earned are being held hostage until the debt is paid?

Let's get a little background info for UOP before I begin. UOP's in-class education is usually only four to five weeks long-for the entire class. You only attend once a week for several hours. So, four to five times in a class and you're all good. Here's where it gets a little annoying if you are a busy, working individual. On top of homework and papers to write by yourself, UOP also incorporates a group function. This means, you are forced to work in a group of people to complete various projects and papers. It was in this way, I was told by my academic counselor, that UOP could have such short classes. Attendance in UOP is fanatical, if you miss more than one day in a five-week class, you are unenrolled. In the case of a four-week, you cannot miss at all.

In January of 2007, classes started with "Skills for Personal Development", a required course for the elementary education major. This GEN300 course isn't a credit class, more like a warm up for people who hadn't been to school in some time, which is one of UOP's target demographics. Like all UOP classes, it was a mere five-week course with only one day a week of attendance. Sounds like anyone can do that, right? Actually, it really did work out very well, and I passed from GEN300 to a humanities class, which actually went towards my degree. The only problem I experienced in GEN300 was that the class was so small-only six people- that I was teamed up with only one other person to do group work with. She was very sick in class, was absent more than once, and then went on a pre-scheduled vacation to the Bahamas. I did all the work.

The humanities class was interesting, but it was during this class that I started having problems. I was really starting to change my mind about pursuing teaching. If you're curious why, it was actually due to the paper I did in the GEN300 class. It was about teachers being fired for unethical reasons. I discovered just how fickle the education system is in the U.S. A teacher is completely at the mercy of the administration's morals. This puts red tape on everything you do in a classroom. I knew that I just enjoyed education too much to be made into a quarter of the teacher I could be. So, I decided to switch my degree to another interest of mine: visual communications. This would focus on programming and web design. However, this major was only online. I had no idea what an ordeal that would become.

I first spoke to my counselor and asked her how difficult it would be to switch majors. I was told that it would be very easy and in fact, was good timing as my credits from another school I attended had not been matriculated yet. After I felt assured, I started the ball rolling. My Academic counselor -who was awesome by the way, ever-tenacious and always kind- dropped to me that I would have to be switched to another counselor, one who specialized in online classes. I wasn't comfortable with that at all, due to my good rapport with my current advisor. Of course I agreed anyway, and I was eventually sent a packet full of paper work I had to complete and fax to my new advisor- which down to the last day I never once got on the phone. I didn't speak to him one time, and his emails were copy-paste cutouts. I got extremely apprehensive when I saw the paperwork. It was asking for access to my bank account for automatic payments, which class I wanted to take (up until now, that was all handled for you), and other authorizations to various things. I took a break. Several weeks in fact, get my mind together. Finally, I went back to my original counselor and told her I couldn't reach my new advisor and that I needed serious help with my paperwork. After it finally got all squared away, I found out there was a balance on my account at school for over $200.00. Until that was paid, I couldn't even switch to online classes. My wonderful councilor worked with me though, she was always very nice, and I became enrolled into an online class, with a different title. In the system, I was only "half online", under the guise that I was taking both online and in-class courses. In this way, my financial aid would kick back in and take care of the balance. I agreed to that and a few weeks later my new class online showed up: Human Nutrition. An elective! I wasn't even taking a class I needed!

The online class was the worst I have ever dealt with. The interface was not only confusing, but very difficult to navigate. It was some kind of adapted version of Outlook Express, which I don't need to say, is only an email program. I am not computer illiterate by any means, and I couldn't understand what to do to submit work. I wrote one small paper (within the week I was online) that I could figure out was actually due and submitted it somewhere, and after receiving zero feedback I decided I had enough. I took online courses at CSN, and they were very comprehensive. I never expected UOPs to be so inferior. I wanted out by now. My confidence was ruined. I contacted my old counselor, since I still couldn't reach my new one and told her I wanted out. Of course she attempted to gently talk me out of it, but by now I was sure. I just wanted to be in a school that made sense again.

Shortly after, I received a bill of over $800.00 and a note saying my credits would not be released to my new school until the balance was paid. So much for having financial aid! What was the use of having it if a huge bill like this was going to show up after only a week back in school? Obviously I couldn't pay that, why else would I be on student aid? "Graciously", they allowed a payment plan which will take over six months to complete. All the school had to do was tell me that this debt would remain and be sent to me if I unenrolled from class when I did. Either way, from financial aid or my pocket, they would have gotten their money, if that is what it was all about. The online class was an elective; it really wouldn't have affected my credits if I just waited through the class to end and didn't do any work. The human thing to do would have been for them to have told me what would happen if I left when I did., and let me decide if I could pay it or leave it to financial aid, and get a lousy grade in the elective. But, they didn't.

My word to you is caution. Admittedly, things could have been better on both ends, the schools and my own, but this is reality. I was never told that this huge bill would arrive if I left when I did. So, I had no way of making a better decision, if that was what was required. Be careful when dealing with extremely expensive schools. Just because you have financial aid, doesn't mean you won't end up with an enormous bill, and that your credits won't be held hostage.

For more information, reviews, and reports from the news, feds, and previous employees, check out these links:

http://www.azcentral.com/families/education/articles/0914apollo14.html

http://uopsucks.com/forum/

http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2007/02/12/the-university-of-phoenix-
and-the-economic-organization-of-higher-education/

You'll be surprised. Be informed.