UOPX: A Closer Look

Nursing is one of the fastest-growing professions in the United States today. There are currently more than three million registered nurses (RNs) nationwide, making it the nation’s largest health care profession.1 With more than 587,000 new nursing positions expected to be created by 2016, nursing is now the nation’s top profession in terms of projected job growth.2

The delivery of health care in the United States is becoming increasingly complex. The constant ramping up of health care technologies, coupled with an increased focus on patient safety, efficacy, and evidence-based medicine — not to mention increased pressure to improve efficiency and decrease costs — have all combined to create a very challenging environment for today’s nursing student.

Introduction The resolution of student and faculty disputes at the University of Phoenix (UOPX) is managed differently than at other colleges and universities. Rather than using an ombudsman office or relying on its deans, lawyers, or administrators for handling student and faculty grievances and appeals, UOPX applies a risk management business strategy to the demands for customer service from a student population exceeding 400,000 distributed across the U.S. and around the world. Nearly ...

The School of Advanced Studies (SAS) Campus has developed an organizational culture to serve the School’s mission. The creation and continued development of the Campus are predicated on underlying principles found in learning organizations and performance organizations. Our goal is to create the conditions for excellence in doctoral education for learners by fostering continued development of faculty, counselors, and leaders in service of the SAS mission.  ...

The notion of accountability has hovered over academe for years now, an idea fomented in the early 2000s when policymakers sought to determine what was responsible for the declining performance of higher education in the United States.  Yet despite its lingering presence, the meaning of ‘accountability’ remains as hazy as the morning fog.  Ask a dozen educators for a definition and 12 different answers will come billowing forth, a cloud of methodologies and assessments by which they ...

In the past two decades, college textbook prices have increased at an average rate of 6% per year, twice the rate of inflation.1  Over the same period, however, technological advances have made it easier than ever to offer materials electronically. Thanks to the nearly ubiquitous availability of digital resources and the Internet, higher education institutions have the opportunity to provide better services to students on two fronts: digital textbooks and comprehensive online libraries. ...

The public has grown weary of secrecy, tired of government stonewalling and corporate obfuscation.  They react with head-shaking disbelief as backroom dealings are brought into the light, exposing sweetheart contracts and revelations of failing financial institutions lavishing exorbitant bonuses on executives in reward for gross mismanagement. “Where is the accountability?” the public asks while demanding greater institutional transparency – and an unfiltered view into hitherto ...

John G. Sperling, as he often reminds those around him, is running out of time. At 88, he is in relatively good health, despite a weak kidney and back problems. He still walks the dog, drives himself to meetings, and seems to have no shortage of nervous energy: Forced to sit still for any length of time, he twirls his cellphone between two fingers or distractedly peels the label from a bottle of water, leaving it in shreds on the table....

The faculty certification process at University of Phoenix is designed to optimize the success of new faculty teaching working learners in the University’s unique environment. Potential faculty are selectively screened, and those who pass undergo a rigorous four weeks of training. The certification course teaches candidates the skills they need to thrive in the University of Phoenix classroom, including facilitating active rather than passive learning, coordinating Learning Teams, ...

University of Phoenix strives to stay abreast of the needs of today’s employers and working learners by using thorough internal and external research and evaluation. One way the University responds to the external demands of the marketplace is by creating timely, valuable, and rigorous new degree programs. The University’s program development process ensures that programs meet or exceed the stringent requirements of accreditation, professional standards where applicable, and the ...

Doctoral degrees represent the pinnacle of an educational career. Historically, the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) is the most widely known degree, but advanced-level programs have emerged in the past several decades to include a variety of research and professional disciplines, such as nursing, technology and business. Specific degrees vary in length, depending upon the field of study, but all programs culminate with the successful completion of a dissertation. Through rigorous study and ...

Published in The Chronicle of Higher Education

In 1962, the American inventor and futurist R. Buckminster Fuller, in a talk delivered at the University of Southern Illinois, presented academe with a prescient recommendation. “Get the most comprehensive generalized computer setup with network connections,” Fuller said, “and what will ...

Of all the values instilled in students by higher education, perhaps none is as essential as academic integrity. Unfortunately, students are not inevitably honest. In fact, a majority of students carry questionable ethical habits into college with them. According to a recent survey conducted by the Josephson Institute of Ethics, 64 percent of 30,000 high school students polled admitted to cheating on an exam at some point during the past year. The numbers for higher education ...

For years marketing was seen as an abomination in higher education. Reputation alone was thought to “sell” an institution, to attract students as well as funding. Yet, as the number of colleges and universities began to grow in post-World War II America, the competition for enrollments increased intensely – particularly as the first wave of “baby boomers” passed college age, diminishing the pool of potential students. As a result, institutions young and old turned to advertising to help ...

Not since the G.I. Bill of Rights of World War II have so many adults sought higher education. Before the war, college was mostly a pursuit of the privileged, an unattainable dream for the average American. But after the 1944 passage of the bill, millions of veterans now found the doors of academe wide open and welcoming, regardless of race, religion or socioeconomic standing. In the peak year of 1947, veterans accounted for 49 percent of college admissions....

Published in The Chronicle of Higher Education

Much has been written about the current class of college undergraduates, the so-called “millennial generation,” born between 1980 and 2000. Many observers of academe have tried to ascribe a core set of traits to this vast group of students: sheltered, confident, team-oriented, achieving, pressured, ...

Published in The Chronicle of Higher Education

For many organizations, “going green” seems more a public relations campaign than a cultural commitment to change. But, for the University of Phoenix, “going green” reaches far beyond a simple slogan. Across the institution, quiet yet sustained action abounds in place of mere words, and has ...

Published in The Chronicle of Higher Education

These are the most uncertain times, socially and economically, that the country has seen in more than half a century. Change is occurring in nearly every sector of industry, with thousands of workers displaced and thousands more questioning the stability of their career paths. For higher ...

In the near future, America will face a serious shortage of educated workers. As the baby boomer cohort retires, it is being replaced by a generation that is smaller in number and no better-educated. The Employment and Training Administration predicts that the U.S. will experience a shortage of 9 million qualified workers by the year 2014.1

Traditionally, campus bookstores owned and operated by a college or university or operated under contract on the institution’s behalf have been the primary source for new or used textbooks and related course materials for students.1 In addition to coursework-related merchandise, campus bookstores offer a variety of products such as: apparel, computer products, gifts, supplies, and food. However, campus bookstores face increased competition from online retailers. According to ...