The University of Phoenix revisited

Update on Monday, June 1, 2009:

A gentleman from UoP called me last week to see if I was still interested in classes. I made him aware of my concerns about the school, especially COM 140, and he explained to me that the purpose of COM 140 is to introduce one to how online classes work at UoP. He also apologized that no one had explained this to me before. While I still am not interested in taking online classes with UoP (too expensive, and they don't have a philosophy major), I feel much better about the school, and am grateful to this gentleman for listening to my concerns and responding to them with grace and intelligence. He's a real asset to UoP.

A person choosing to remain anonymous, but who I think is the Admissions Counselor I was working with at the University of Phoenix (I'll be responding under that assumption) left this comment on the first post about UoP:

The first class is more than the projects. It teaches you to navigate and use the university services. The total curriculum gets you to your goal. You must realize that general education is a requirement of accreditation bodies throughout the US.

It is too bad your path to a degree ended after one day. It would seem you lack enough evidence to make a worthwhile judgment about the value of the school.

Good luck.

First, I appreciate the good luck wish, especially after the e-mail I sent which showed a great deal of irritation on my part regarding UoP.

Second, I need to point out to my reading public, that I was complaining about one of the two classes that are required as prerequisites. The other class, the one I wasn't complaining about, is "Skills for Learning in an Information Age" (GEN 105). As you can tell from the course description, it is a brilliant idea to have this class as a prerequisite:

GEN 105
Skills for Learning in an Information Age
This course introduces students to learning in an information-rich society. Students will develop strategies for successful distance learning, time management, and for managing the abundance of information available in today's society. Students will also explore the appropriate use of information in an academic environment. Specific topics for the course include computing skills for distance learning, online library use, academic honesty, and the development of effective study skills.

Third, the first paragraph of the first post didn't make it clear that there are actually two prerequisites, and that you do not need to take COM 140 before you can take GEN 105. I have emended the first post accordingly.

Fourth, responding to the comment "You must realize that general education is a requirement of accreditation bodies throughout the US." Yeah, actually I do realize that. I also realize that at the vast majority of colleges and universities out there (and perhaps only at UoP), would I be required to take a writing class as a prerequisite to a math class.

Fifth, as I said on several occasions: I'm not necessarily on a path to a degree. A degree is secondary to my interest in pursuing formal education. My primary goals are to gain more knowledge, become a more critical thinker, learn how to research, interact with other people and their ideas, etc.

Sixth, my goal in taking a writing class is to learn how to write a paper, not how to think of, as part of the final project for that same (apparently misnamed) writing class, "how the business will work, cost, number of employees, etc." Maybe I'm missing something, but I fail to see how those considerations have any part in a writing class.

Seventh, while I appreciate the help and encouragement I got from the people at UoP, I think I've garnered "enough evidence to make a worthwhile judgment about the (silliness) of the" school's prerequisite COM 140 class.

Thanks, and...

...my second UoP rant is now over.

The University of Phoenix online classes...

...a stupid curriculum!

Update: The school did not stick me with a $2,000.00 bill (a concern I expressed in the e-mail near the end of this post). Indeed, they were very good at helping me not face any financial difficulties.

I signed up for classes at UoP last week, had my first class on Monday of this week (11/24), and promptly dropped the class yesterday because of UoP's idiotic ideas about one of it's two prerequisite classes. You have to take Contemporary Business Communication (COM 140), before you can take any other class†, including Effective Essay Writing (COM 150)! How can you write effectively for business, if you don't know how to write effectively? Effective Essay Writing teaches the proper use of grammar, punctuation, etc., whereas the proper use of these things accounts for only about 20% of your grade in COM 140 (at least for the final project). And you cannot take even a Math class without COM 140! Another stupid idea: you must take COM 140 before you take World Literature (LIT 210), but you don't have to take COM 150 before that same class, even though writing is (or at least should be) very important to the World Literature class. COM 140 is not even entirely about writing. You have to have at least a basic knowledge of business development and management for the final project.

Here's the e-mail I sent to the Admissions Counselor who worked with me.

[Name of Admissions Counselor],

I am rather disappointed at not having received a phone call from you at 5pm earlier today (11/25), although you said yesterday that you would call at that time. I do appreciate the call I received at 4:30pm from the Education Counselor gentleman whose name I don't remember. As I said in the voicemail I left for you at 4:43pm, the call dropped when he tried to transfer me over to you.

Certainly you know by now that I've decided not to take classes through the University of Phoenix (UoP). It wasn't until I saw the COM 140 final project guidelines and realized that COM 140 is absolutely required as a prerequisite for every single other class, GEN 105 excepted, that I knew UoP is not for me. Both COM 140 as a class and its status as an absolute required prerequisite are highly frustrating. Purportedly, COM 140 is about learning to write a paper. Based on the "final topic additional guidelines", it seems that in reality COM 140 is much more about business than about writing. Here's one quote [from those guidelines] that leads me to that conclusion: "You may want to think about how the business will work, cost, number of employees, etc." What does this have to do with learning how to write a good paper? These are considerations for business development and management.* One earns only 2 points [out of 10] for following "[r]ules of grammar, usage, and punctuation". Only 2 points for grammar, usage, and punctuation in what is supposed to be a writing class? Either the instructor is unaware that she is supposed to be teaching us how to write a good paper, or UoP is offering a business class disguised as a writing class, or UoP is unaware that the instructor has turned a writing class into a business class. One cannot even take COM 150 "Effective Essay Writing", which is apparently the real writing class, unless one goes through the silliness of COM 140 first. I don't understand why and how it is that one must take a (purportedly) business writing class before one can take a class on writing effectively. How COM 140 alone is the prerequisite for the Humanities classes instead of COM 150 is beyond me, and why COM 140 is a prerequisite for math classes.

Now that you're aware of why I'm dropping UoP from my consideration as a viable (and trustworthy, I might add) institution of study, I'd like to know how this affects my finances. [Name of Academic Advisor] indicated that because I've only "attended" class the first day, I haven't really met any attendance requirements, and therefore will owe nothing...If this is not the case, and UoP will be keeping the money and thereby sticking me with a $2,000 bill for classes never taken, I'd like to know so I can chalk this up to an expensive lesson learned and start paying...as soon as possible.

I should add that if it turns out that the instructor is abusing the purpose of COM 140, and UoP corrects it so that I would actually learn how to write well (even if it would be for business), I'd consider taking the class. It would primarily have to teach writing, of course.

I had high hopes of continuing my education through UoP, and am disappointed that it has turned out to be such an utter failure from the first day of class. I do appreciate the encouragement you gave me, and will pursue other avenues of learning. In the future, however, you may want to talk more fully with someone like me who expresses reservations about UoP before you get them to sign up for classes, and so avoid situations like this.

Sincerely,
[Woodrow]

P.S. I know many businesses are very interested in social media, so I will alert you to the fact that I'll be discussing this situation on my blog. I won't mention anyone by name, but will post this e-mail message as a warning to other people who may be considering UoP.

*And since I've never had classes to teach me how to develop and/or manage a business, how am I supposed to take these things into consideration? Are we going to learn these business skills in this, once more, purported writing class?

Reader, beware! Online classes are not as good as they sound! At least, not at the University of Phoenix.

Some other frustrations I had: the Academic Advisor was not as knowledgable as she should have been regarding my question about whether or not financial aid would pay for classes that would give me extra credits not needed toward a degree. She apparently didn't kow the answer to that question, althouh the Education Counselor did. (What the difference between an Academic Advisor and an Education Counselor is, I have no idea.) The Education Counselor kept insisting that Contemporary Business Communication is a writing class, although the final project guidelines indicated differently. There was no way to take COM 150 followed by COM 140.

I guess I'm done with my rant now.

†With the exception of a class called GEN 105 which is an introduction to learning online, among other things.