University of Phoenix
Beginning in the early 1970's University of Phoenix reinvented the way in which working adults could achieve a higher education and made academic innovation, quality and accountability its hallmark. It pioneered an educational and service model specifically geared toward the way adults learn best and made its programs widely available to working students using common-sense scheduling and fresh new approaches to academic delivery.

The University has received national recognition for excellence in learning assessment, online learning, undergraduate education, quality service and organizational performance. University of Phoenix is truly a different kind of university, whose time has come. Just ask its 20,000 faculty, and staff who are passionately dedicated to teaching and serving the University's 315,000 adult students enrolled on campuses and online throughout North America.

Mission
The University of Phoenix is a private, for-profit higher education institution whose mission is to provide high quality education to working adult students. The University identifies educational needs and provides, through innovative methods, including distance education technologies, educational access to working adults regardless of their geographical location. The University provides general education and professional programs that prepare students to articulate and advance their personal and professional goals.

The University's educational philosophy and operational structure embody participative, collaborative, and applied problem-solving strategies that are facilitated by a faculty whose advanced academic preparation and professional experience help integrate academic theory with current practical application. The University assesses both the effectiveness of its academic offerings and the academic achievement of its students, and utilizes the results of these assessments to improve academic and institutional quality.

PURPOSES

• To facilitate cognitive and affective student learning—knowledge, skills, and values—and to promote use of that knowledge in the student’s work place.
  
  
• To develop competence in communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and information utilization, together with a commitment to lifelong learning for enhancement of students’ opportunities for career success.
  
  
• To provide instruction that bridges the gap between theory and practice through faculty members who bring to their classrooms not only advanced academic preparation, but also the skills that come from the current practice of their professions.
  
  
• To use technology to create effective modes and means of instruction that expand access to learning resources and that enhance collaboration and communication for improved student learning.
  
  
• To assess student learning and use assessment data to improve the teaching/learning system, curriculum, instruction, learning resources, counseling and student services.
  
  
• To be organized as a for-profit institution in order to foster a spirit of innovation that focuses on providing academic quality, servicevc excellence, and convenience to the working adult.
  
  
• To generate the financial resources necessary to support the University’s mission.

History of the University of Phoenix

In 1976, the leading edge of the Baby Boom generation was just turning 30.That same year saw the introduction of the first personal computer, the Apple I—an event that signaled the birth of a new economic system in which intellectual capital would eventually supplant industrial might as the dominant economic force. These milestones marked the beginning of a sea change in higher education, though many (perhaps even most) within that system did not recognize it at the time.

Considered together, these phenomena suggested that the jobs that would make up the workforce of the future were only just beginning to be created or imagined. In order to fill those jobs, the bulk of the new workforce would require higher-level knowledge and skills than those needed in a manufacturing economy. At the same time, the largest-ever age cohort of the population, working adults, would be going through the stages of life during which they would be most affected by the coming economic dislocation and would need advanced education to adapt to these changes.

It was in this historical context in 1976, that Dr. John Sperling, a Cambridge-educated economist and professor-turned-entrepreneur, founded University of Phoenix. Sperling anticipated the confluence of technological, economic, and demographic forces that would in a very short time herald the return of ever-larger numbers of working adults to formal higher education.

In the early 1970's, at San Jose State University in San Jose, California, Sperling and several associates conducted field-based research in adult education. The focus of the research was to explore teaching/learning systems for the delivery of educational programs and services to working adult students who wished to complete or further their education in ways that complemented both their experience and current professional responsibilities. At that time colleges and universities were organized primarily around serving the needs of the 18-22 year-old undergraduate student. That is not at all surprising, given that the large majority of those enrolled were residential students of traditional college age, just out of high school. According to Sperling working adult students were invisible on the traditional campus and were treated as second-class citizens:

Other than holding classes at night (and many universities did not even do this), no efforts were made to accommodate their needs. No university offices or bookstores were open at night. Students had to leave work during the day to enroll, register for classes, buy books or consult with their instructors and advisors. Classes were held two or three nights per week and parking was at the periphery of a large campus. The consequence, according to Dr. Sperling was that most working adult students were unable to finish a four-year program in less than eight years, or a two-year program in less than four years (Tucker, 1996, p. 5).

Sperling's research convinced him not only that working adult students were interested in counterparts in significant ways. He saw a growing need for institutions that were sensitive to and designed around the learning characteristics and life situations of the working adult population. He suggested how these institutions would pioneer new approaches to curricular and program design, teaching methods, and student services. These beliefs eventually resulted in the creation of University of Phoenix, and they continue to this day to inspire the University's mission, purposes, and strategies. As an institution, University of Phoenix is unique in its single-minded commitment to the educational needs of working adults. This focus informs the University's teaching and learning model, approach to designing and providing student services, and academic and administrative structure. It also guides the institution as it plans and prepares to meet the needs of working adult students.

Over the last quarter-century, University of Phoenix has come to be regarded by many as a leader and change agent in higher education. Outside observers often attribute this to the University's dedication to creating applied professional education for working adults, an academic model designed specifically to facilitate adult learning, and an organizational culture that prizes innovation.

Program Overview
University of Phoenix offers more degree, certificate and military programs--and more flexibility in how and where you choose to learn--than any other adult-education institution in the world.

Degree Programs
University of Phoenix offers a complete array of bachelor's, master's and doctoral degree programs in dozens of fields: business, information systems and technology, accounting, nursing, management, health services and more. Formats include traditional classrooms, online learning conducted completely via the Internet, and a blended online learning approach that also includes some time in the classroom.

Certificate/Non-Degree Programs
Professional certificate programs for undergraduates include topics such as call centers, human resources, and management, while graduate studies include accounting, e-business, global management, human resources, marketing, and technology. In addition, there are several programs specifically designed for those in the information technology and nursing fields.

Military Programs
Through a full range of campus-based and online programs, military personnel can earn an undergraduate or graduate University of Phoenix degree no matter where they're posted. In addition, the University of Phoenix Associate of Arts Degree through Credit Recognition applies military experience, outside coursework and national testing toward degree requirements, with an option of a professional focus.

Benefits

Health & Wellness
• Medical insurance with a variety of plans options
• Dental insurance with a variety of plans plan options
• Life insurance
• Prescription drug program
• Flexible spending accounts
• Informational online fitness program
• Short-term disability (STD) coverage
• Long-term disability (LTD) coverage
• Long-term care insurance

Retirement & Savings
• 401(k) savings and investment plan
• Employee stock purchase plan (ESPP)
• 529 college savings plan

Time Away
• Vacation
• Sick leave
• Flexible work schedules/options
• 10.5 observed holidays per year
*New Year’s Day
*Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
*Presidents’ Day
*Good Friday (½ day off)
*Memorial Day Christmas Day
*Independence Day
*Labor Day
*Thanksgiving Day
*The day following Thanksgiving Day
*Christmas Eve Day
*Christmas Day


Beyond the Basics
• Paid community service leave
• Complete employee and spouse education tuition program
• Tuition reimbursement program
• Employee assistance program
• Business travel accident insurance


Disclaimer
All institutions that participate in the Federal Student Aid Programs are required to notify enrolled and prospective students, and current and prospective employees regarding consumer information that is available to them. Information regarding campus safety, policies and information related to drug and alcohol use and related counseling programs is available via the Internet.

The University of Phoenix Difference

Beginning in the early 1970's, University of Phoenix reinvented the way working adults could achieve a higher education and made academic innovation, quality and accountability its hallmark. We pioneered an educational and service model specifically geared toward the way adults learn best and made our programs widely available to working students using common-sense scheduling and fresh new approaches to academic delivery.

University of Phoenix questioned the status-quo in every aspect of its academic culture and operation, because it was on a mission to be a university where teaching and learning is the centerpiece and adult learners are the highest priority. This revolutionary approach extended to the University's early decision to organize as a for-profit entity, an act that has propelled its growth, widened its outreach to national and international students, and provides the resources for continuous improvement, academic accountability and assessment, and excellence in its classrooms.

The University has received national recognition for excellence in learning assessment, online learning, undergraduate education, quality service and organizational performance. University of Phoenix is truly a unique kind of university. Just ask our 17,000 faculty and staff who are passionately dedicated to teaching and serving the University's 315,000 adult students enrolled on
campuses and online throughout the nation.