Our students are working moms and dads who study during lunch breaks and sports practices, who dream of better lives for their families.
They’re adult learners, late bloomers, dream-chasers and trailblazers. We understand the key to serving our students well is knowing who they are.
Phoenixes are as diverse as they are determined. Here’s who they are statistically.
University Learning Goals (ULGs) are a set of five overarching competencies that employers identify as top soft skills and that University of Phoenix incorporates into its academic programs. Students met or exceeded expectations for each of the following ULGs.
Professional competence and values
Critical thinking and problem-solving
Communication
Information utilization
Collaboration
We value what our students say. One way we listen to them is through surveys.
Likely to recommend instructors to other students
8.8/10
Likely to recommend the University to colleague, friend or family
9.1/10
University of Phoenix founder Dr. John Sperling knew what it meant to beat the odds. He grew up poor, he battled a learning disability, and he worked his way through school to earn a PhD.
The challenges he faced inspired him to create a better path for students like him. He saw adult learners struggling with rigid class schedules, often taking six to 10 years to earn a degree. And it gave him a revolutionary idea: What if he created a university for working adults?
His experiment didn’t make earning a degree easier — only more practical, with schedules that made sense for working adults and coursework that translated immediately to the real world.
100+
programs aligned with 300+ careers, 90% of which are in growing fields
In today’s competitive job market, skills can matter as much as a degree. Our career-focused education aligns degrees and select courses to skills important in today’s workplaces.
*Available in select courses; the dashboard is in the process of being rolled out more broadly.
YEARS
continuously accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org)
PROGRAMS
carry programmatic accreditation, an additional level of evaluation and quality assurance
From academic counseling and tools that help students manage their finances to our Career Services for Life® commitment, here are some of the ways we help and support our students as they move toward their academic and career goals.
In FY21, University of Phoenix students saved over $102 million in tuition between discounts, scholarships and other savings. Here are some highlights:
approximate tuition saved through our Prior Learning Assessment
in monthly scholarship opportunities available to students
organizations whose employees were eligible for education benefits
students completed competency-based education degrees in 2021 in less than a year and for under $11k
in potential alumni savings for a bachelor’s degree ($2,200 on a master’s)
We offer extensive tools and resources before and after enrollment to help our students understand the different types of student loans and loan amounts that might be right for them.
For example, we offer memberships at no additional cost to the iGrad online money-management tool, which students can use to learn how to budget, save, minimize borrowing and understand future student loan payments.
Data helps us improve our understanding of how to support our students through the obstacles they face on the way to their degrees. It also reinforces what’s working.
For example, 2021 retention rates are measurably better in three of four categories when compared with the same data from three years ago. Our institutional bachelor’s retention rate is up more than 4.5 percentage points in that time frame, which spans the COVID-19 pandemic.
At University of Phoenix, we understand that community support and higher education go hand in hand. When we roll up our sleeves to help, we strengthen the communities we serve.
In 2021, the University:
At University of Phoenix, we’ve long been focused on creating a diverse, equitable, inclusive and belonging (DEIB) environment.
To continue fostering DEIB initiatives, we:
University of Phoenix works with employers to create a range of tailored solutions to attract new talent, upskill and reskill existing talent, and retain high-performing talent.
Depending on employer needs, options can range from full degrees, competency-based education, six- to-eight-month role-aligned certificates, individual courses, apprenticeship pathways and skill-building workshops.
University of Phoenix and Comcast have an alliance that helps close the gap between workforce needs and employee goals through education benefits for employees.
The ultimate goal was for employees to see their potential, seek ways to enhance their career and pursue avenues for growth that mutually benefit both employees and employers. “We encourage employees to continue to grow themselves and use this time to find areas they are interested in,” says Dennis Mathew, regional senior vice president of Comcast’s Western New England Region.
This is just a snapshot of the work we did in 2021. Download the full report to learn more.