I have just enrolled with the Univeristy of Phoenix to pursue my B.S.
in Business and I have some questions that I'm having some difficulty
getting the answers to.  As a point of reference, I live in the Los
Angeles area.

1.  How do employers view a degree from the U of P?
2.  Once I receive my degree how do universities such as UCLA,USC, or
the California State University system view my degree if I was to
apply for graduate studies to get my Master's Degree?
3.  What are some negative experiences that students have had with the
U of P that I should be aware of?

Thanks!

Spencercat,

I'm an instructor at the University of Phoenix, so I obviously know a
grat deal about that aspect. But I have done a good bit of research on
the subject, so I think I can answer your questions objectively.

1.  How do employers view a degree from the U of P?

First, check out the following article from a respected online job
information site:

Vault
http://www.vault.com/nr/main_article_detail.jsp?article_id=19393

The article desribes the results of a recent Vault survey of HR
professionals. 30% of them had encountered job applicants from an
online university. Here is the meat of the survey:

"26% of those surveyed believe that an online bachelor's degree is as
credible as an offline degree, while 61% say that the online degree is
not as credible, but was acceptable. Another 13% said that online
degrees were not credible and were unacceptable. Likewise, 37% of
those surveyed believe that an online graduate school degree is as
credible as an offline degree, while 54% said that it was not as
credible, but was acceptable. Another 9% said that an online graduate
school degree was not credible and unacceptable."

The good news is that this view is slowly changing. I dare say that 5
years ago, only a very small minority of HR professionals would value
an online degree of any kind.

Here are some additional thoughts:

* University of Phoenix is the largest private university in the
nation
* It is fully accredited
* As stated, any graduate school is required to accept your UOP degree
since it is from an accredited university.
* The view of online universities is going through a revolution right
now. By the time you graduate, I dare say a majority of HR people will
view your degree favorably.
* The tide toward online degrees has begun and there's no stopping it.
Within 5 or 10 more years, your degree will be as readily accepted as
any other.
* Many major schools, including the Ivy Leagues, are getting into
online education, or distance learning. This is the wave of the
future.
* In my humble opinion, I thing an online degree teaches you some
things that an onground degree doesn't teach you. You'll have a lot
more self-discipline. You'll also know how to work with difficult
people, since group work is required at UOP.

Now, the negative aspects.

* Yes, you're a few years ahead of the curve. When you graduate, there
will still be those who look down their noses. This is especially true
of the large, prestigious private schools such as Harvard, etc.
All things being equal, if you and a Princeton graduate applied to
Harvard MBA school tomorrow, with one slot open, you'd loose.

I like to explain it this way. A UOP degree is not as good as a
Northwestern or Harvard degree. Then again, it's probably better than
some state schools, and most community colleges. There is a definite
prestige pecking order among schools, and you are not at the top. Then
again, you're not at the bottom either. :)

That may be somewhat of a nebulous answer, but it's the best I can do!

2.  Once I receive my degree how do universities such as UCLA,USC, or
the California State University system view my degree if I was to
apply for graduate studies to get my Master's Degree?

As alluded to above, the California state university system will
accept your UOP credentials, as they would from any other accredited
university. They are actually required to. However, if you are
competing for limited slots in graduate school, for example, your
degree will of course not carry as much weight as an Ivy League
school. Remember, there's a prestige pecking order. But if you're a
California resident, applying to a state school, you really shouldn't
have any problem, assuming your grades are good.

3.  What are some negative experiences that students have had with the
U of P that I should be aware of?

Wow, that's a hard one. There are always going to be disgruntled
consumers when you have 160,000 students worldwide. And I'm sure you
can find lots of places on the web. Here's one place I found:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/education/phoenix.html

But, overall I've found the complaints I've heard rather petty and
self-serving. People say, the value's not there, the administration
was unresponsive, the teacher gave me too low a grade, etc. There has
been, to my knowledge, no problems of any great magnitude or
consistency.

As a matter of fact, I think the UOP program and administration is the
classiest, best-run program I've every been associated with. They try
to respond quickly, they're dedicated, and excited about the future.

One problem you didn't mention: the technology leaves a bit to be
desired for such a big company. The servers are slow sometimes. Worse,
there is no dedicated software technology. They simply use Outlook
Express. For a company this size, both of these shortcomings are
pretty inexcusable in my mind.

Still, if I were getting my education online - for whatever personal
reason I had - I rest well at night.

Thanks for the question!

Prof

From the articles I've read on the subject, the clear answer seems to
be that degrees from online universities are not given the same
respect or credibility by businesses or other schools.

On Question 2.
Public universities are required to accept the degree as valid if it
comes from an accredited university. The University of Phoenix is
accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central
Association (http://www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org/) which means
its degree programs as covered by the accrediation are accepted by
other universities.

In response to the questions on University of Phoenix credibility and
so forth. I can tell you from my own and several of my team/class
mates that not one of us was happy with the university. Some of us
dropped out and others finished with an undergraduate degree. I can
let you know those who stuck out all the BS and headaches the school
provided will NOT go there for their Masters programs. Some of the
instructors were good but also felt frustrated with the poor
communication, follow up and lack of professionalism from the schools
administration and management. It is way too expensive to deal with
these problems not normal at a credited educational institution. I say
if you have any other options besides Univ of Phoenix, do that. Best
of luck in whatever you do.
Damage Resulting = This school cost me thousands of dollars, loss time
and energy and misused credits that did NOT transfer to another
university after I was told they would.