University of Phoenix Online

The University of Phoenix (UOPX) is a for-profit entity that markets higher education degrees to both traditional students and working adults. With 310,000 students, it describes itself as the largest accredited private university in North America.

UOPX was founded in 1976 in Phoenix, Arizona, US, and is owned by Apollo Group, Inc. It presently offers over 100 degree courses at more than 230 physical campuses and learning centres across the US, Canada, Mexico and the Netherlands. Programmes are offered at the associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels; students may attend face-to-face evening classes, study online, or blend the two modes as preferred. Of roughly 21,000 faculty members, all who teach at the bachelor's and master's levels are professionally employed within their respective fields. In 2007 the average age of UPX students was early 30's; 65% were women.

Online courses at UOPX are delivered via a proprietary system, largely focussed on asynchronous bulletin boards.

In 2007 Apollo Group Inc. announced a $1 billion joint venture with private equity firm the Carlyle Group, "Apollo Global", which targets education investments and partnerships in countries outside the U.S.

The University of Phoenix Web sites include http://www.phoenix.edu/ and http://www.uopxonline.com/

More details

UOPX classes are offered in sequence, with most lasting no more than five or six weeks. Degrees are typically completed within two to three years. Note that some "online" programs (e.g. educational and doctoral) have requirements such as field work, clinical work or residencies, indicating a face-to-face component.

In an Apollo Group restructuring, UOPX acquired Axia College in 2006, which altered both the organisation's student demographics and the range of courses offered. (Axia alone has over 100,000 students, most of whom are beginning-level college students.) Axia's teaching methodologies and programmes may also differ slightly from those described above.

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