McDonaldland University
Written: May 07 '00 (Updated Jan 03 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Convenience, speed
Cons: Instructors, quality, price, group-based schooling
The Bottom Line: Stay away.
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| SLOW's Full Review: University of Phoenix |
No, this is not a review of Hamburger University, the esteemed restaurant-management and business school owned by the McDonald's corporation; this is U of Phoenix, the fast-food franchise of educational degrees.
I just wanted to get my MBA in a simple, straightforward, convenient manner. U of P seemed like just the thing: there were four campuses in my town, the course structure is geared to working adults, and they are accredited. So where's the rub?
Well, U of P is a profit venture, a real business, unlike so many state-run pseudo-companies called colleges, without any subsidies from the government or generous alums. So they have to run like a business.
No problem, really...except they didn't seem to pay attention to the very classes they teach.
The company grew too fast, and quality has waned (I hope that's the case, and that the previous quality was not as cruddy as the current). In Las Vegas/Henderson, where I attended most of my classes, the availability of quality instructors is a hindrance- there simply aren't enough qualified people in the area to pick the best professors, and many of my classes were taught by people I found sadly lacking in any acumen or experience.
There were a few who were wonderful, but they were the exception.
Even when I finished my postgraduate work by utilizing the Internet, I found the non-Nevadan instructors less than able. What kind of distance-learning professor doesn't use e-mail? Isn't the employment of technology the point of Internet schooling?
But that wasn't the worst of it: U of P is designed to be a brief, intensive workload to crank out the degree. Fine, that's what I wanted. But the school compensates the lack of classtime hours by maintaining an absurd amount of unscheduled group activity. Each course requires every student to join a study group, and produce academic papers and projects in a collaborative effort.
For a management degree, this is inane. I am of the opinion that managers should be learning how to manage teams, not take part in them. A group of managers together is a committee, and we all know how well committees work.
The fact that my grade was dependant on the work of others is abhorrent to me- my team didn't pick up the tuition tab, I did. So if I'm paying for something, I don't want the grades to reflect either the credit or the disservice of others. Furthermore, I have no interest in helping out those classmates who were incompetent, slackers, or both; they should sink or swim on their own merits, not mine.
And the price, well, let's just say it ain't cheap- by any stretch of the imagination.
For what I paid, I expected much better service. I had to repeat the loan paperwork an average of three times every semester, and even then, it was late arriving each time. I went through six academic advisors in two years, only one of which was any help whatsoever.
I graduated in March, and have yet to receive my diploma. [UPDATE: It arrived three months later.]
So all in all, it was a pretty miserable experience. I'm glad the course structure fit into my schedule, but it wasn't worth the drag of various and sundry complaints.
Oh, well- beggars can't be choosers. At least it beats the hell out of UNLV.
You can buy my book at: http://www.amazon.com/1001-Things-Do-You-Dare/dp/1598691201/ref=sr_11_1/002-3020328-5072004
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
SLOW
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Member: Ben Malisow
Location: Vegas
Reviews written: 119
Trusted by: 124 members
About Me:
You wish you were me.
Now buy my books.
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