University of Phoenix Classes Give Working Learners the Skills They Need to Succeed in the Workplace

University of Phoenix classes are designed to meet the needs of the working learner. Small class sizes—around 15 students—allow students to receive more individualized attention from instructors. The short length of classes (from five to six weeks) and the availability of online classes provides for greater flexibility in terms of scheduling. Online students can complete their coursework after hours or on the weekends, making it easy to integrate their roles as employees and learners. 

The teaching style emphasized at the University of Phoenix is also geared towards working learners. Faculty view themselves as facilitators rather than lecturers, taking on the role of fellow professionals sharing knowledge. Practical learning is stressed first and foremost: Students are encouraged to discuss real-world business problems in the classroom and brainstorm with their classmates and instructor to identify solutions specifically targeted to the needs of their employers. This grounding in the “real world” makes University of Phoenix classes immediately relevant to students, and enables them to quickly apply what they’ve learned back in the workplace. Employers thus see a quick return on their investment in education. 

“I’ve taught in traditional programs, with classes of around 150 students, and there I’m basically a talking textbook ,” says Dr. Alex Hapka, a Lead Faculty member who teaches managerial statistics. “But at the University of Phoenix, you have the opportunity to deliver the material in so many different ways. It’s much more real-world. Here the students need to demonstrate all the different communication styles from written to oral to graphical. We’re able to simulate the workplace very closely.”

Dr. Hapka views his classroom as a laboratory where students can test out business problems in a risk-free environment: “I tell students, ‘It’s important to do the best job you can today because you’ll be seeing these kinds of situations come up later in your career. Make your mistakes today so you can be perfect in the workplace tomorrow.’”

Another unique feature of the University of Phoenix classroom is the heavy emphasis placed on teamwork. Students are typically divided into learning teams of 3 to 5 people, with whom they complete a variety of assignments. “With learning teams you’re very accountable for what you need to do,” says M.B.A. student and Associate Vice President of Corporate Strategic Partnerships for Apollo Marketing. Carrie Alperovich. “You have to set expectations, take on leadership roles, and make sure deadlines are met. It mirrors what’s happening in the global market with people becoming cross-functional.” 

“One of our most important educational goals is collaboration, which our research shows that employers value very highly,” says Brian Lindquist, Dean of the School of Business. “We have woven that theme through the curricula of all our programs. At the end of each program students are expected to come together as a team to produce a substantial outcome, such as a marketing launch plan, that you’d expect in an actual business environment.”   

The University of Phoenix takes pains to ensure that the quality of its courses remains consistently high across the board. When planning their syllabi, faculty use a common Course Design Guide which describes key learning objectives and recommended assignments. In some cases, there may be a programmatic assessment assignment which the faculty member is expected to use. The Guide ensures that course work has a consistent “feel” and that students acquire the same skills regardless of when, where, or in what modality they take classes. Even if a student moves, he will be able to continue his education with relative ease by taking courses online or attending them at an on-site classroom in his new location. However, faculty do have the flexibility to modify class activities and assignments to better meet the needs of their students and the companies that employ them. For example, a class held in San Jose might have a Silicon Valley emphasis, whereas one based  in Miami might focus instead on doing business with Latin America.       

Students find University of Phoenix classes rigorous and engrossing. “I’ve been doing a lot more work online than I would for classes at a brick-and-mortar school,” Alperovich says. “For one of my classes I filled two three-inch binders with readings! It’s a very intense 6 weeks.” Alumnus and M.B.A. student Lorie Vega agrees: “The University of Phoenix is tough; course material is intense. The instructors are knowledgeable, dedicated, and provide the necessary tools; however, one must be committed, have the desire to learn, and be disciplined to succeed.”

Practitioner Faculty Draw upon Extensive Workplace Experience

The faculty of the University of Phoenix are a cadre of trained professionals holding impressive academic credentials. The University requires its faculty members to have at least a master’s degree in the subject area in which they teach. Potential faculty are evaluated by a highly selective recruitment process, and those who are accepted undergo intensive training. Following a four-week training course, new faculty are paired with a mentor—a more experienced faculty member who coaches them, observes how they run their first class, and gives them suggestions for improvement. This attention to faculty development aids in retention of both facilitators and students, Dr. Hapka says. “I’ve taught at traditional universities,” he remarks, “and, for the most part, training consists of being told to use the textbook and borrow from syllabi previous instructors have used. It’s not even close to the depth and breadth of training you get at the University of Phoenix.” 

But what really sets the University of Phoenix’s faculty apart is the fact that the majority have work experience in the fields they teach in. Twenty-five percent of its faculty members work for Fortune 1000 companies.⁵  Its Core Faculty members have an average of 19 years’ experience in their fields, and its Associate Faculty have an average of 16 years’ experience. By bringing that real-world experience into the classroom, faculty can help students connect what they’re learning in class to what they do on the job. As Dean Lindquist observes, “Our faculty have the unique opportunity to make sure the learning experience for students blends theory and conceptual learning with practical learning in the world of business.”

Classroom Technology Helps Students Thrive in a Multi-Media Workplace

In the University of Phoenix classroom, be it located online or in a “brick-and-mortar” setting, students become proficient in the technologies they need to succeed in today’s workplace. Instructors use a variety of technologies—including software, video, podcasts, websites, multimedia presentations, and even online games—to stimulate students’ interest in the material and better replicate the work environment in a classroom setting. Enhancements such as simulations and virtual organizations help instructors vividly illustrate business problems to students. More than 80,000 students a month use simulations, which allow them to test hypotheses and make predictions about various business problems. And more than 56,000 participate in virtual organizations --sophisticated model companies that include such features as intranet, extranet, employee files, and financial and strategic data that would not normally be made public.⁶

Students also use technology to stay in touch with their classmates and professors. Learning teams utilize message boards to communicate with one another, and instructors can monitor teams’ progress by reading the boards. Students also have private message boards to contact their instructors and ask questions or receive advice. They submit all their assignments online, and instructors maintain online gradebooks where students can check their progress weekly. 

Using these technologies helps students become more comfortable with the types of software and online interfaces they will use in the workplace. “For many of my students, my classes are the first exposure they’ve ever had to tools such as spreadsheets and project management software,” says Dr. Hapka. “After taking a University of Phoenix course they have a comfort level with the tools through practical workplace applications. They’re able to go back to work and have no fear of applying the tools because they now know what to do with them and how to implement the results they get.”

Resources Aid Students in Completing Their Degrees

University of Phoenix students have access to a broad palette of online resources. Ninety percent of all University of Phoenix classes use e-books and readings available online.⁷  Instead of spending hundreds of dollars for books, students only have to pay the materials fee for each class. They can also utilize the University’s extensive online library, which contains over 65,000 publications and provides access to 114 databases.⁸

Students are also invited to use the University’s free, online academic support systems, such as the Center for Writing Excellence (CWE) and the Center for Math Excellence (CME). These services, which are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, have proven extremely popular: In the month of March 2009 alone, CWE tutors aided students with more than 9,500 papers, and another  754,000 papers were submitted to WritePoint, the CWE’s automated paper reviewing system.⁹

Each University of Phoenix student is assisted by a three-person Graduation Team consisting of an Enrollment Advisor, an Academic Advisor, and a Financial Advisor. These counselors walk students through the enrollment process, help them select the classes that best meet their needs, and assist them in applying for financial aid. Students report being favorably impressed by the level of support they receive from the Graduation Team. “The academic counselors here are very good,” says Lorie Vega. “My Academic Counselor called after I took a break between classes to see how I was doing.  He went as far as following up with my individual classroom postings to ensure I was comfortable with the online environment. My Financial Counselor ensured all was in order to avoid interruptions.”  “The counselors give you lots of support,” adds alumnus and current M.B.A. student Marilinda Martinez. “They actually call you at home to make sure you’re doing okay in your classes. I liked my counselors so much I requested the same ones year after year.” Due to her degrees from the University of Phoenix, Martinez has consistently been identified as a leader within the banking corporation she works for, and has been promoted twice.

University of Phoenix Helps Companies See a High Rate of Return on Their Investment in Education

University of Phoenix graduates report that their employers see a high rate of return from their investment in education. One University of Phoenix alumnus, Mark Chagaris,  Vice President of Business Development for Outsell, Inc., noted that his personal payback to recover his out-of-pocket educational expenses to earn his B.A. degree was nominal because his employer had a 100 percent tuition reimbursement program. He observed that his employer netted a significant ROI from his University of Phoenix degree because his study assignments were focused on real-world, work-related problems – and his personal ROI was reflected in his promotion to management upon his graduation.

In another scenario, a University of Phoenix alumna who is now a vice-president for a Fortune 100 banking company, self-funded her M.B.A. as her firm did not have a tuition reimbursement program. She estimated that her personal payback from her MBA, in terms of recovery of her out-of-pocket expenses, was five years. Upon graduation, she too was offered an executive leadership position.  

Not having a succession plan for key employees can be a costly venture for employers.  In spite of the recession, firms are still using recruiters to find highly skilled managers and executives.  Many of the positions they are trying to fill are either newly created roles or positions that have become vacant due to resignations or retirement.  In many cases, oftentimes because they are trying to fill positions that require M.B.A.s, employers do not have qualified individuals to promote or step into the role. 

Companies who are not preparing their managers for the next move up face enormous costs in hiring someone from the outside. Leslie Lazarus, a senior manager and executive recruiter in the areas of tax and finance with Gent & Associates, Inc., details the following obvious and not-so-obvious costs of hiring employees from outside an organization:

• Higher salaries. “Qualified individuals are not going to quit their job and take on the risk of joining a new company for a lateral move,” Lazarus says. “In most cases they are seeking a 10 – 30 percent increase in salary. They may also require hiring bonuses, which can range from $5000 to $30,000, to replace stock options or benefits they may be losing by leaving before certain date.”
• Travel costs for interviewing. “We’ve seen these range from $500 to $2000 per interview based on distance and location,” Lazarus says.
• Recruiting fees. “For positions with salaries of $100,000 and up, there’s a high probability that you will need to use a recruiter. Their fees can range from anywhere to 25 percent of base salary to 33 percent of total compensation,” says Lazarus.
• Relocation costs. If an employer has to relocate someone, costs can range from $5000 to $30,000.
• Productivity costs. New hires cause productivity costs to other parts of an organization. For example, human resources and other employees may have to stop work to interview candidates and check references. Depending on the new hire’s position, this process can take from 3 to 6 months.
• Ramp up time. A new hire’s ramp up time usually ranges from 3 to 6 months. If hiring time is factored in, a company can lose 6-12 months’ worth of productivity for each key position its needs to fill.
• Administrative costs. These include a new employee’s health insurance, corporate training, computer and office equipment, and so on.
• New hires may also not work out, in which case the firm has lost all investment costs and will need to repeat the process.

Earning a degree from the University of Phoenix can also benefit employees financially. University of Phoenix graduates report significant increases in their personal income as a result of their education. In 2008, for example, graduates of the University’s associate’s degree programs saw an average increase of 19 percent in their personal income, while graduates of the bachelor’s degree programs saw an average increase of 28 percent. The salaries of master’s degree graduates also rose by an average of 25 percent.

Courses Can Be Enhanced to Meet the Needs of Corporate Partners

Dr. Mark Kass, faculty member and Vice President, Academic Enhancement – Strategic Academic Alliances, stresses the potential benefits to partnering with the University of Phoenix when he says, “In a typical program, an employer won’t see a return on its investment until students graduate. But at the University of Phoenix employers can expect that students will use tomorrow what they learned in class tonight. We offer a unique blend of learning and applying that learning on the job.”     

Corporate partners who have chosen the University of Phoenix as their education solution can opt for one of three tiers of engagement: a Strategic Alliance, an Academic Alliance, or an Academic Innovator relationship. All three tiers offer such advantages as direct billing, an assessment of the partner’s business needs, the support of a dedicated team of advisors, and tuition savings and fee waivers for employees. At the higher levels of engagement, though, the University of Phoenix will enhance its courses, or even create new ones, to better meet its partner’s specifications. Credit-bearing electives can be planned that address specific areas of expertise partner corporations want to see developed.

The University of Phoenix can also tailor such classroom technologies as virtual organizations to make them more relevant to a certain corporation or industry. “For example, we could set up a virtual branch of a ‘big box’ store for a retail corporation,” says Dr. Kass, “which a new manager could practice running for several months, encountering the kinds of issues that a manager of such a store in the real world would have to deal with. That manager would get experience he or she could take directly back to the corporation.”

Myriad other options are open to the University of Phoenix’s corporate partners. Classes can be devoted to a cohort of one corporation’s employees alone, enabling instructors to structure content around that company’s needs. Or the corporation’s top executives could take part in the leadership class required of all M.B.A. students, giving guest lectures, posing business problems to students, and being virtually present for part or all of the class. As a fully diversified educational services provider, the University of Phoenix can also provide such educational solutions as not-for-credit training sessions on topics such as safety, best practices, and sexual harassment.

The University of Phoenix Can Contribute to a Company’s Success

“Through its rigorous curriculum, experienced faculty, collaborative approach to learning, and advanced use of technologies, the University of Phoenix helps students achieve the degrees they need to succeed in today’s workplace,” states Dr. Tracey Wilen-Daugenti, Vice President of Strategic Relations at the University of Phoenix. “The working learners interviewed here make it clear that corporations who have students enrolled at the University are reaping benefits and that the student-employees are making significant contributions to their firms’ bottom line."

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