1. University of Phoenix
Good Business Plan

2. University of Phoenix Founded by Dr. John Sperling Corporation
Corporate name is Apollo Group
Founded in 1976
John Sperling is worth about $1.4 billion
Peter Sperling is worth about $1.5 billion
Brother also works for University of Phoenix
Wealth through stock ownership of Apollo

3. 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

4. University of Phoenix Why are studying this education model?
University management is smart
Good model to incorporate in a growing educational facility
Created two billionaires in education
I think the only billionaires in education

5. University of Phoenix Campuses
Located in large cities throughout the United States
Expanded into Mexico and Canada

6. University of Phoenix Caters to working adults
Most 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 Sessions
Friday evenings
Saturday mornings and afternoons

7. University of Phoenix A campus is small
Houston, Texas has about 5 campuses
Spread throughout the city
Students prefer to go to school near home
Campus is close to home
After class, students are home within minutes

8. University of Phoenix Do not have “physical” libraries
UOP has electronic libraries
Search engines
Google is a search engine
Econlit is a search engine for economics
Subscribes to many electronic journals
Students can download articles at home via the internet

9. University of Phoenix Textbooks will be electronic
Usually protected pdfs
Some courses have computer tutorials
Computer keeps track
Student progress
Identifies a student’s problem area
Informs instructor of progress
ALEX is the algebra tutorial program
About ½ the students like ALEX and the other half did not

10. University of Phoenix Students’ records are computerized
Student can take a course at any campus
Example
Student has to leave Houston, Texas and work at a project in Chicago, Illinois for a month
Student can take a course in Chicago
Student can finish degree on time

11. University of Phoenix The university rents office space
If 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

12. University of Phoenix Courses are standardized
All instructors have to follow course syllabus
No matter where student takes course, they learn the same material

13. University of Phoenix
A team of professionals creates a course at corporate headquarters
Faculty can download materials through internet
A detailed syllabus
Contains topics
Contains exercises and homework
Selects textbook
Faculty notes and suggestions

14. Methods of Education Ground Courses Online Courses FlexNet
Students attend class at campus
Online Courses
Students attend course via through the internet
FlexNet
Students can take both ground or online courses to fulfill degree requirements

15. Ground Course University of Phoenix uses active learning
Students get involved in
Discussions
Debates
Reflections
Applications

16. Ground Course Undergraduate class Duration is 5 weeks
Students attend a class once per week
Class is 4 hours long
10 minute break each hour
Total contact hours is 20 hours
Standard University Class
3 hours per week for 15 weeks
Total contact hours is 45 hours

17. Ground Course University claims
Students make up the remaining time as homework
Homework
Team assignments
Team has to meet once a week
Because corporate workers work in teams
Individual assignments

18. Ground Course From experience Some teams work on the problems together
Other 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

19. Ground Course Graduate courses Duration is 6 weeks
Students attend a class once per week
Class is 4 hours long
10 minute break each hour
Total hours is 24 hours
Still less hours compared to a regular university

20. Ground Course Students attend classes throughout year
Students can graduate within 3 years for bachelor’s degree

21. Expanding into Corporate Training
Caters to corporations
Some corporations contracted with UOP for training programs
Many students are staff employees at corporations
Some corporations reimburse for their employee’s tuition

22. Criticism Not against a university earning profit However,
Textbooks cost over $100
Even electronic textbooks
A class cost about $1,000
ALEX costs over $50
ALEX is algebra tutorial software
Software is non-transferable
Students cannot re-sell software

23. Criticism Courses are viewed as too easy Remember, course is only
5 weeks for undergraduates
6 weeks for graduates

24. Criticism Corporate headquarters designs course
Instructor may want to incorporate new material
Course should be updated with newer information
Need approval to modify course

25. Criticism University accepts anyone who is willing to pay
Does not have name recognition
Employers want college graduates from top universities
Top universities are selective
The lower the acceptance rate, the higher the reputation

26. Criticisms Relies on part-time faculty
95% of faculty are part time
Retention 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