Wednesday, November 24, 2010

America's Subprime University: 9% Graduation Rate at University of Phoenix

A new report from the Education Trust has just been released that analyzes the growth of for-profit universities.

Some highlights:

-- University of Phoenix (all campuses) graduation rate: 9%
-- University of Phoenix (Online) graduation rate: 5%
-- University of Phoenix (Cleveland) graduation rate: 4%
-- University of Phoenix (all campuses) % revenue from federal financial aid: 90%
-- Pell grant aid to U of P in 2009-2010: more than $1 billion
-- Median student debt upon graduation at for-profit universities: $31,190
-- Median student debt upon graduation at public universities: $7,960

The facts speak for themselves. The University of Phoenix preys upon the most vulnerable students and leaves them with a hefty bill.

2 comments:

Dave Hamilton said...

On line isn't for everyone; its only an equally effective method for highly motivated students. In Pheonix defense, they just put it out there. On the other hand we have a local for-profit which actively recruits low-skilled adults promising them a better future. You know the TV ads. The students don't realize they are taking on a big student loan, they don't realize they will have to pay it back (since the recruiters in this case were caught explaining you never will). With ability to benefit rules, they admit high school dropouts, rack up $30K-$40K in debt and send them out where the workplace doesn't value their credentials. The course work has been so watered down, the student is no more prepared then before they were admitted but are passed along. Since the recruiters are now paid when they graduate, everyone does. You end up with someone math/reading at below a 5th grade level but with an associates degree and a huge debt.

David I. Waddington said...

Dave, that's a fair point. Online education does work well for some highly motivated students, and courses can be delivered effectively online.

However, given the massive amount of public money that the U of P consumes, I would think that it would be able to deliver the goods more effectively. A low graduation rate is to be expected given the student population that the U of P is dealing with, but 5% rate is pretty dismal.