Why UOPX should be on your college list
Written by Grace Stetson
Reviewed by Jessica Roper, MBA, director of Career Services at University of Phoenix
Deciding where to go to college — for the first time or later in life — is something to consider carefully. You must think about which college or university would fit your educational, professional and personal goals. As you review colleges, compiling and collating the data and developing a college list can help.
Creating a college list by compiling details on degree programs, financial aid and learning options can sometimes be a surprisingly challenging task, but the list can help frame your decisions to make choosing easier. For many looking to have a flexible, affordable and virtual experience, University of Phoenix can be a great option. Here’s why.
Benefits of choosing University of Phoenix
Going back to school as a working adult presents its own unique challenges. From retaining your “student brain” to balancing your classwork with adult responsibilities like a full-time job or caregiving, there’s more to choosing a college than just the school’s name alone.
When he was 21, Marc Booker, PhD, was looking for a flexible program to align with his full-time job. He knew he wanted to get his degree, but had to pay his own way, and the University of Phoenix program aligned with those core needs. Now, more than 20 years later, Booker has gone on to attain his master’s degree and PhD* from University of Phoenix, while also serving as the school’s vice provost of strategy. He oversees academic planning initiatives that aim to improve students’ experiences, including the implementation of the University’s competency-based education model.
From his experience on both sides — student and administrator — Booker explains that one of the key components a prospective student should consider for their college list is how the academic programs and institutional structure fit the learning needs of the student.
“University of Phoenix has been offering online learning for approximately 35 years and we have some of the most robust experience in this learning delivery model,” he says.
When researching colleges, especially virtual options, students should consider how they want to learn in a remote setting and add that assessment to their college list. For Booker, he finds a great deal of value in UOPX’s asynchronous model, which provides “lots of autonomy for how to approach your courses and degree program.”
“UOPX is different from a more traditional school, and both offer valuable ways to learn,” he says. “But the UOPX model helps when you’re busy during the day and seeking to balance your studies with your other responsibilities. It’s not for everyone, but it is great for those people who need flexibility.”
*University of Phoenix now offers doctoral practitioner degrees and no longer offers a PhD program.
Why working adults find their version of success at UOPX
When you search for a college, it can help to look at current students and alumni to gauge how you might also approach opportunities while attending classes and after graduation.
UOPX Director of Career Services Jessica Roper has seen a variety of student and alumni experiences during her two decades with the University. As she explains, earning a degree can prepare students for careers, but completing a degree is only one part of the puzzle — and that’s where a UOPX-style education can help.
“Now, we’re more commonly seeing ‘skills-based hiring,’ in which employers are looking for a combination of academic credentials and practical skills,” Roper says. “At UOPX, we have a wide range of programs that align with specific skills-relevance and reflect current job market demands.”
UOPX focuses on offering skills-aligned programs in which coursework, assessments, and workplace insights from practitioner faculty prepare students for today’s workforce. The University also offers students visibility to which skills they’ve mastered and can take to the workplace. In this way, students not only learn career-relevant skills; they also know when and how they’ve learned them so that they can practically apply them at work.
Booker can attest to the value of a skills-based education, but it’s the human connection that resonates most with him.
“In my 24 years, I have been at two commencement ceremonies where I’ve had the opportunity to take a photo onstage with a mother and her daughter getting their degrees on the same day at the same time,” he says. “That is powerful stuff.”
The advantages of a supportive community and networking
For prospective students beginning their college search with University of Phoenix, one of the best places to begin is with the wide range of programs and certificates available. From associate degrees to doctoral degrees, UOPX is appropriately described by Booker as a “full-cycle institution” where students can pursue degrees at multiple levels with career-relevant specializations.
Four prominent areas of interest for UOPX students are:
● Business (such as accounting, business administration, marketing and project management)
● Information technology (including cybersecurity, computer science and data science)
● Healthcare (such as health administration, informatics and healthcare compliance)
● Education (including education leadership and educational technology)
Many programs are led by University faculty who are practitioners within their fields, teaching students how to apply textbook learning as applied skills in real-world situations.
“Largely, our goal is to help students who want to enhance their careers, or who are working adults who may have taken a break from their education and need help to get over the finish line,” Booker says.
In addition to networking with other students in their classes, students have access to a suite of career development tools. The University’s Career Navigator™ tool is available on the first day of classes and lets students explore potential careers as well as how the skills they are learning at school can potentially help align them with career opportunities.
UOPX also offers a Career Services for Life® commitment, which features career advisement from the day they start class and through the entirety of a graduate’s career.
While Booker notes that 70% of enrolled students are already working, those who are seeking new career paths or upward mobility in their fields can find significant opportunities from their learning experience at UOPX.
“Our goal is to try to help our students build a narrative that makes them stand out from other applicants in real time,” Booker says. “Our students are not just showing their progress toward a degree in course completion, but moreover the skills and learning they are gaining that is embedded into that degree program, which is unique to their personal academic journey before they graduate.”
A closer look at the Career Services for Life commitment
In comparing schools and postgraduation support as a prospective student, many may leverage the benefit of their institution for only two to four years after finishing their program, Booker says. UOPX strives to do more for its students by way of its Career Services for Life commitment.
Both currently enrolled students and graduates of UOPX are eligible to connect with the suite of tools available in this program, which include access to Career Navigator and the opportunity to meet with dedicated career advisors to learn more about personal branding, interview prep and topics related to career advancement.
“We want to help our students tell the story of who they are, so they can show that they know what they know,” Booker says.
Roper adds that students have access to these career services as soon as they have started their courses.
“We know our students are busy, and sometimes, to take action on these career development activities, it can be difficult to fit in,” she says. “These on-demand tools allow students to build their skills at any time and really figure out specific jobs that could be aligned with their career goals.”
Aside from the online tools, Roper acknowledges that students may also want human support, which is available and encouraged through the Career Services suite. This is why, when comparing institutions, you should look at all of the services and benefits they offer to make a good decision as to what learning experience meets your needs and outcomes beyond just taking classes.
Financial aid and scholarships for working adults
When a prospective student starts to compare schools, a large portion of their decision may rest on financial aid, scholarship options and tuition. For individuals who have UOPX on their college list, the University’s Tuition Guarantee basically means the tuition rate that’s in effect when a student enrolls will be the tuition rate that student keeps until they graduate from the program they started.
When it comes to affording tuition, students have options. Federal financial aid is available for UOPX degree programs. Scholarships are also available to students based on a variety of factors, including merit, academic experience, and interests.
Additionally, all prospective students should research and evaluate the options for scholarships at their chosen institution. UOPX offers a number of scholarship options for bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs.
Ready to add University of Phoenix to your college list?
To get started on your college list and determine if University of Phoenix is right for you, read more about program offerings and potential cost savings on tuition.
Request more information and connect with a University of Phoenix admissions representative.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Stetson is a freelance journalist and communications strategist dedicated to sharing vital stories with the greater Santa Cruz Community. She writes for various universities and publications throughout the Bay Area, and she coordinates political campaigns in Santa Cruz County. When not at work, Grace is volunteering at the SPCA or Second Harvest, exercising or getting lost in nature with a good audiobook.
ABOUT THE REVIEWER
Jessica Roper, University of Phoenix director of Career Services, is a seasoned leader with over 15 years of experience in leadership within higher education. She has honed her expertise in student services and career development and is passionate about helping others discover and refine their skills.
This article has been vetted by University of Phoenix's editorial advisory committee.
Read more about our editorial process.
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