Read the letter to the editor by University of Phoenix President Bill Pepicello, published by the New York Times on 2/18/07
The recent Sunday New York Times story by Sam Dillon regarding University of Phoenix (“Troubles Grow for a University Built on Profits”) is symptomatic of a prevailing bias against non-traditional higher education. The story is ridden with factual errors and misrepresentations. Here are the facts:
- University of Phoenix is the largest institution of higher learning in the U.S., serving approximately 300,000 students through its more than 250 campuses and learning centers across the country.
- University of Phoenix is dedicated to providing access to higher education for working students, many of whom are single parents or first-generation college students. These students require flexible learning options, such as online classes and alternate schedules, and access to intensive support services including academic counseling, tutorial services and 24-7 technical support.
- Today, only 27 percent of all college students can be classified as “traditional” – that is, living on campus, attending full-time and being supported by parents.
- University of Phoenix’s graduation rate averages between 50-60 percent, the same average found among traditional public colleges.
- The 16 percent graduation rate cited by the New York Times applies to only 7 percent of University of Phoenix’s total student population. The federal standard used to calculate this rate requires universities to report only those students with no prior college experience. The vast majority of students attending University of Phoenix enrolled with a significant level of prior college course work as well as professional experience and therefore cannot be reported into the federal database.
- University of Phoenix’s innovative teaching and learning model has been widely recognized by such organizations as the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business and the American Association of Higher Education.
- University of Phoenix’s teaching and learning model includes collaborative learning teams, which have proven especially beneficial to working adult learners. Among the documented benefits learning teams provide are the fact that they:
- Create collaborative learning environments in which students can share the practical knowledge that comes from their life and work experience
- Allow students to broaden and deepen the understanding of concepts explored in the classroom
- Serve as laboratories through which students develop into more effective leaders and members of workplace teams
- Improve the quality of group projects and assignments
- Serve as vehicles for reflection, by which adult students make sense of and apply new knowledge
- Provide a sense of community and support that is invaluable in helping working students cope with the challenge of balancing school with other life demands
- University of Phoenix is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association, one of six U.S. regional accrediting bodies considered to be the gold standard of accreditation.
- University of Phoenix is the most examined university in higher education. Since its regional accreditation in 1978, University of Phoenix has participated in more than:
- 30 accreditation visits by regional accrediting bodies
- 35 evaluations by state education agencies
- 10 program reviews by the U.S. Department of Education
- University of Phoenix has 23,000 professional faculty, all of whom hold masters or doctoral degrees. Associate-level faculty teach full-time. Undergraduate- and graduate-level faculty must be professionally employed in their field.