University of Phoenix [UOPX] review: discriminatory practices, misuse of title iv funds and accounting practices, and substandard ethics 17

Please let me introduce myself. I am currently a Doctoral of Organizational Management in Leadership student with the University of Phoenix and a 2008 graduate with a Master of Business Administration and specialization in Public Administration. I am also a former Online Academic Counselor located at the main campus in Phoenix, AZ.

BACKGROUND HISTORY

On April 10, 2009, I resigned from my position after 2 and a half years. In March 0f 2009, I filed an age discrimination charge with the EEOC and the Arizona Attorney General's Office. After filing the charge, my work environment immediately turned hostile and efforts were being made to terminate my employment.
Prior to going to the EEOC, I informed my manager that I needed a day off. I informed him via email that I was going to go to the EEOC and make a charge. Within 2 days after filing my charge with the EEOC, I was immediately put on a performance plan. In essence, this was a form of retaliation for going to the EEOC and making the charge. One I was placed on the performance plan, I immediately informed my attorney. During this time frame, my attorney was negotiating with the Apollo Group, Inc. legal counsel. While my attorney was negotiating the terms for my request to move to a different division, I continued to work in a hostile environment. I was continually asked to attend meetings with my manager, James McAdams, and senior manager, Jennifer Beane. The meetings were explained to me as a requirement for the performance plan; however, I know the meetings were held as a method to make my work environment as uncomfortable as possible. I was also explicitly told not to communicate with any of my colleagues at any time.

Furthermore, I later found out after I left the company that some of my colleagues were specifically told by management not to communicate with me in any shape or form during or after work. If the organization found out that they were corresponding with me, they were informed that they would lose their jobs. The reason for this was to prevent me from informing other colleagues of my situation and charges to the EEOC in an attempt to beat down any support for my case. While I went to work and completed my duties, I was told on a daily basis that my request was being considered and that I would be transferred soon. After 1 week, I still did not receive the transfer that was promised and negotiated by my attorney and Apollo Group, Inc.'s attorney. In hindsight, we realized that it was a stall tactic to allow my manager and senior manager to enforce the performance plan within a two week period of time. If I did not perform according to the performance plan, I would be terminated. As a result, I knew that the performance plan was unattainable and subjective to the requirements of my manager and senior manager. Therefore, on the day that I was to receive the results of my performance plan I decided to submit my resignation and leave under my own terms. While I was leaving the facility, I decided to stop by and speak with Vice-President Nikki Mancuso. She was unaware of my resignation and told me that she was aware that they were attempting to get me transferred. After our brief meeting, she said I could go home and that I could use my vacation until the transfer was completed. After one week, I finally heard back from the human resources department in a conference call with Ms. Mancuso and the HR representative. In less than 30 seconds, they informed me that the company was going to accept my resignation and the transfer was not going to be awarded.]

Since my resignation at the University of Phoenix, I have decided to make it a life long crusade for me to inform the public about the practices of this deceptive organization. As of today, I have gone to numerous lengths in speaking out against the organization. I have posted on similar sites such as [redacted], FACEBOOK, and even created fake dating website profiles displaying my story. Ironically, the University of Phoenix has a presence on FACEBOOK and a huge marketing effort as well. As a result, I was informed by FACEBOOK that my account would be terminated for violating policy which never was explained. I think its obvious why my FACEBOOK account got terminated.

As of today, I continue to get inquiries through different emails and websites about my experiences as a student and employee with the University of Phoenix. I intend to convince as many students and employee's as possible to attend and work for other institutions in an effort to compensate for the financial, educational, and personal damage the institution has caused me. At present, I have changed the minds of over 60 students and 15 potential employees from attending or working at the organization. Based on those numbers alone, I would propose that I have eliminated about $3, 600, 000 from its revenue. A far cry from my humble $35, 000 a year academic counseling position. SO maybe it wasn't in the best interest of Apollo Group, Inc. to accept my resignation? Or at least, I'm going to think that way.

I'm not stopping at those numbers either. I have made this a life ambition and will continue to encourage individuals both students and employees to become active in speaking out and standing up for yourself. If you are an employee and feel as though you have an issue, go to the EEOC, make a charge, and take a stand. If you are a student and feel the you have been wronged, write your congressman and the Department of Education. If you are a potential student gathering information, I would suggest that you attend elsewhere. GOOD LUCK.

The following is my account of the operations at Apollo Group, Inc:

HOW APOLLO GROUP, INC. OPERATES FROM AN INTERNAL VIEW

My intent with this report is to offer current or prospective students some insight to the University of Phoenix and its parent group, Apollo Group, Inc. The bottom line with Apollo Group and its educational institutions (AXIA, University of Phoenix, and Western International University) is the bottom line. The company's mission is to profit at the expense of those who cannot attend elsewhere. Ask yourself, why is it so easy to get into the University of Phoenix, Axia College, or Western International University? The answer: Apollo Group makes it easy for the student to start quickly by maintaining and open enrollment policy. Once the student is enrolled, the company keeps the student in attendance by using sales strategies (promise of a better job), scare tactics (collections), unearned grades (A's), and financial hooks or gimmicks (Title IV misappropriations). These practices generate the billions of dollars in revenue for the organization which more than 70% of that revenue comes from Title IV funding.

As a student, I was not aware of these strategies. I began my education with the University of Phoenix by entrusting those within the organization and believed everything I was told. When I became an employee on January 29, 2007, I was thrilled to be in a position of helping fellow students. However, I quickly became disenchanted with the organization. Within the first 6 months of my employment, I was witness to students receiving grades by faculty that were unearned, employees given preferential treatment based on their religion, employees unjustly promoted to positions above colleagues with better qualifications, age discrimination, and substandard business ethics. In addition, the organization trains both faculty and staff to operate in a manner that leaves the student with the impression that the student come's first at the university. This is a complete fallacy.

I put together the following statistics for the audience to consider in forming their own opinion about the intentions of Apollo Group. As an Online Academic Counselor, I was assigned a student load of approximately 400 students. Of which, 300 to 350 of those students would be active at any given time. During my tenure, I held a retention percentage between 60 to 65 %. On average, the cost of tuition is $2, 000 per class taking into consideration the cost of attendance for all the institutions under the Apollo Group umbrella. Using my highest retention percentage as a peak indicator, 65 % of 400 equals 260 active students. 260 active students paying roughly $2, 000 a class generates approximately $520, 000 in tuition for a 6 week block. The University of Phoenix refers to classes taken in blocks with blocks being 5, 6, or 9 weeks in duration depending upon the institution. For this illustration, I use the 6 week block which coincides with the length of graduate courses. Therefore, using this time period or block gives the benefit to the University of Phoenix in calculating revenue generated based on time.

Using the 6 week length of time for classes results in 8.66 blocks in one academic year. Using 8.66 times $520, 000 equals $4, 506, 666 annual dollars from 1 online academic counselor. In my division, the Online Southeast Division had 8 academic counseling teams during the time of my employment. Each of those teams had a minimum of 8 academic counselors resulting in approximately 64 academic counselors; however, this number will vary from time to time due to the growth and turnover factors. By still using these numbers as a base, an overall projection of annual retention revenue can be generated for the Online Southeast Division and that figure is $288, 426, 666. Staggering? These figures are for only 1 division. There are 8 divisions that comprise University of Phoenix Online (Southeast, Northeast, Midwest, Mountain, Southwest, West, Military, International). Again, using the dollar figures as a basis from the Online Southeast Division, the total revenue generation for all divisions with the University of Phoenix complex exceeds $2, 307, 413, 333. YES! Over 2 billion dollars and this does not include ground campus revenue. These dollars are the ONLY concern by Apollo Group Inc. and its management.

SALES, SALES, SALES

I think the following might be of interest to many of the readers, but about a month (March 2009) prior to quitting I attended our division awards ceremony. During the ceremony, the Vice-President, Nikki Mancuso, of the Online Southeast Division speech which focused on the growth of student enrollments for the division. This is a subtle way of referring to the monetary growth for the company. She made no reference to the our work and its impact on the student or the education industry. During the ceremony, the management team gave out awards and distributed them to enrollment, finance, and academic counselors. [At the time of this original report, Ms. Mancuso was still employed with the University of Phoenix; however, I now understand that she resigned shortly after I filed my EEOC charge and now employed by Grand Canyon University along with a number of other former Apollo Group employees. I find this to be a little queer.] Prior to the ceremonies, I had decided to take note of how the ceremony broke down in regard to award distrubition. After the awards were distributed, I calculated that approximately 100 awards were distributed. The breakdown of the award distribution was as follows: 70% Enrollment Counselors/Managers, 20% Academic Counselors/Managers and the remaining 10% to Finance Counselors/Managers. The results of this breakdown clearly suggest that the emphasis of the Apollo Group institutions is primarily focused on enrollment (or the proper term: sales). The reader may also find it interesting that the awards were titled Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. As a former sales representative who attended sales conventions and award ceremonies in the past, I felt as though I had gone back in time to a place I had been before.

THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND THE POLITICS

Due to the enormous revenue generated by this organization, the company has become so powerful that it can manipulate political entities. One such entity is the Department of Education. If the Department of Education decided to perform due diligence and complete a rigorous audit of the companies accounting practices and uses of TITLE IV funding, the Department of Education would have no other choice than to strip the organization of TITLE IV funding. Matter of fact, the Department of Education could have used the organizations latest legal issue regarding religious discrimination (preference to Mormon's) as a basis to eliminate TITLE IV funding; however, as usual this body of government choose to look the other way. Furthermore, the organization continues to walk a thin line in complying with TITLE IV funding in addition to other compliance issues such as FERPA (Federal Education Rights Privacy Act) and DNC (Do not call) violations. Due to these ongoing compliance issues, the Department of Education could revoke its funding and strip the university of its accreditation; however, the Department of Education much like many of its other political counterparts choose to ignore the problem by monitoring rather than enforcing.

So why does the Department of Education stand idly by and let the organization do as it pleases? There are three reasons for the Department of Education's “Hands Off” policy as it relates to Apollo Group, Inc and the University of Phoenix. Those reasons are as follows: 1) the power struggle between government entities and corporate America. The financial wealth of the organization has become so massive and powerful that it can and does influence the political institution that governs its behavior. 2) The power of money extends to its lobbyists, shareholders, and the political influence of those shareholders. The politically influential shareholders have a self-interest in the financial well-being of Apollo Group, Inc. I could list a number of politicians who hold Apollo Group, Inc. shares; however, I fear retribution if I were to name names. Here in Arizona, I may even come up missing. Thus, those individuals will use that power to prevent any financial harm to the organization because it will impact their financial stake in the organization as well. 3) Due to the company being the largest private educational institution, the company has the largest number of students that could be negatively impacted. If the Department of Education decided to stop TITLE IV funding, chaos would ensue due to the mass exodus of students to other institutions. In addition, how does the Department of Education manage the funds previously and currently distributed to existing students? As a result of these concerns, the Department of Education has taken a "hand off", wait-and-see, monitoring approach rather than perform the duties expected of the organization such as enforcement.

THE QUESTION OF ACCREDITATION

Apollo Group, Inc. educational institutions are not accredited at the same levels of other prestigious institutions for certain disciplines such as business degrees. Please check out the MBA program and its accrediting body. The university misleads students into believing that its MBA degree and other business degrees are on PAR with other institutions such as Harvard and others. For this alone, the University should be chastised by the Department of Education for using substandard business practices in the recruitment of its business students. This does not apply to only business students, but students in other programs such as Nursing, Counseling, and Education. Remember, INTEL dropped their affiliation with the university for some of these reasons and more.
All I can say is BUYER BEWARE.

HOW TO GET OUT AFTER YOU GET IN!

# 1: Ignore your financial, academic, and enrollment counselors. These individuals are trained and coached in sales strategies to discourage students from dropping out or transferring. Also, do not fall for the Financial Aid/Student Loan/Return to Lender scare tactic. These are strategies used to put fear into students in order to keep them in class and not to leave the institution. [I was forced to use this strategy with my students on a regular basis.] Another tactic is the two week break tactic. Counselor are trained and coached to keep students from not taking a break longer than two weeks. If a student takes a break longer than two weeks, the student is considered a t-drop [UOPX terminology] student which affects the performance matrix of the counselors. The performance matrix is a measure or device in which counselors are evaluated for raises. The matrix can be manipulated in several ways and often times done so by management. The intent of the matrix is to force a sales-based, pay for performance strategy at the university. The performance pay structure travels a thin line in being compliant with the Department of Education requirements for paying counselors. Again, the Department of Education has turned its head away from discouraging this practice and forcing the university to use another pay structure.

#2: Make sure your account is paid in full at the time you take your last class. DO NOT spend your financial aid money if you know that you will be leaving the school. If you have funds on account or received an excess check, DO NOT spend these funds either. THIS IS THE HOOK. If you do not have the ability to pay this back at the time that you quit, you will not be able to obtain financial aid at another institution or have your transcripts sent to another institution for evaluation to be admitted. If you owe money to any institution at Apollo Group, be prepared for a tumultuous journey of leaving the institution. You will continue to be harassed by all your counselors and at some point the collections department.

#3: Demand an Official Withdrawal Form and make sure to get confirmation that it has been submitted to University Services by any of your counselors. DO NOT violate any student code of conduct policy. Violating this code could prevent you from being accepted as a potential transfer student at another institution.

#4: DO NOT let them intimidate you.

SOLUTIONS

DO NOT refer people to the institution. Prevent them from attending out of their best interest.

Trust me when I say look for other institutions. Today, many traditional schools including junior colleges offer online classes that are convenient for all learners. In the past, Apollo Group, Inc. had a monopoly on the industry resulting in its rapid growth over the last 20 years. In addition, beware of other similar online institutions such as Grand Canyon University, Kaplan University, The Art Institute, and South University with the later two belonging to EDMC. EDMC current president is Todd Nelson. Mr. Nelson is the former president of Apollo Group, Inc. I recommend googling Todd Nelson, University of Phoenix, and learn the history of his administration and the legal battles incurred under his administration prior to attending or working for any institution under the EDMC umbrella. Also, I would recommend googling Brian Mueller, University of Phoenix, and Grand Canyon University too. Mr. Mueller replaced Mr. Nelson at Apollo Group, Inc. and recently left Apollo Group, Inc. to become the President of Grand Canyon University. Many former employee's of Apollo Group, Inc. now work at those institutions. I wonder why?

If you want a quality education from a respectable institution, search out those institutions that were brick and mortar schools that now have established online classes. A few examples of these types of schools to consider would be University of Texas, University of Tennessee, and the University of Nebraska-Omaha. You may need to meet a more stringent entrance requirement and be required to take a graduate entrance exam, but in the long-run you will definitely receive a better ROI (return on investment) on your education and institution.

1st RESPONSE TO ORIGINAL COMPLAINT:

Response to Inquiry about UOP Employment Experience

To XXXX:

I receive several requests by potential employees and students about my experiences as a student and employee. The following is my general response to those who inquiry about my experience as a university employee. I wanted to share these thoughts with those of you who are interested.

If you need a job and they offer you one, I would take it. The university does have great benefits. My issue was not with the education but with internal opportunities, discriminatory practices, and legal issues the university has had to deal with in the past few years.

I left the university as a result of age discrimination practiced within my division. Prior to my resignation, the university settled a religious discriminatory lawsuit in 2009 regarding preferential treatment to Mormon's. The settlement was to avoid greater consequences if found guilty in a court of law. Since the
evidence was substantial against the university which I continued to witness even after the settlement, the company followed in the footsteps of other corporate "copycat" strategies to avoid a guilty verdict in a court of law in order to maintain damage control both financial and public image.

In my case, I filed a charge with the EEOC for age discrimination and retaliation which is being investigated as of this update. The EEOC believes my charge has merit and is looking into the matter and moving forward. When I left the company, I was not quiet. I sent emails, filed reports, kept all my documentation (email
communications), and submitted reviews to a number of websites such as [redacted]. I also was vocal and had a presence on Facebook until
Facebook removed my account. (Most likely from pressure by the University of Phoenix).

Working in other positions outside of enrollment still leaves you suspect to the mistreatment by management. There is not a less stressful position than another. If you are young, white, female, and somehow connected to the LDS, you have an outstanding chance in moving forward within the organization. If you are a demographic outside of those parameters, I would suggest that you may find it very difficult to move forward in your career with the company.

Matter of fact, I have several friends and former colleagues still at the university. I just found out by one of them that they had been threatened by a Finance Manager in the Southeast Division (Daisy -----). She told them that if they communicate with me or the EEOC about my charges/lawsuit that they would lose their jobs.
THIS behavior is against the law and I'm actually in the process of informing the EEOC about this information. This is the type of behavior and environment that you will be dealing with.

However, I would never tell someone to turn a job down in this economy. You can take the job, finish your education for free, and over a period of time if you
do not move forward simply quit. I took that path; however, I decided to quit at a bad time. In the meantime, I have joined another educational institution who places value on the student and its employee's and relies on sound and ethical business practices. This is in contrast to the business principles practiced by Apollo Group, Inc.

I am still working on my Doctorate with the university for a couple of reasons. I got caught in the financial aid trap the university employs and must finish 3 more classes. Once, I finish those classes I will be transferring to Boston University Online to finish my Doctorate degree.

I hope this helps you. Most importantly, you have to live with your decision. You are definitely on the right path by inquiring about the organization. Get all the information and base your decision on that information.

2nd RESPONSE TO ORIGINAL COMPLAINT:

Getting out in Texas: Amanda

Dear Amanda:

I want to address your concerns and inquiry about how to leave the University of Phoenix; however, I first want to congratulate you on choosing to further your education. In deciding to further your education, I am positive that you have made the right decision for yourself.

Since education is considered to be a person's greatest investment, each person should be confident in getting a substantial return on that investment. Therefore, your concerns about the University of Phoenix are legit and real. What ROI will you receive on a degree from the University of Phoenix? This is a question that I cannot answer nor any University of Phoenix employee. The only fact about getting an education is that the POTENTIAL to earn more is greater. Nothing more, nothing less. If any University of Phoenix counselor tells you otherwise, they are doing you a disservice and should not be in the educational field.

I always struggled with the term counselor in the post-secondary educational industry. The term has a loose attachement to those positions of Finance, Enrollment, and Academics at the University of Phoenix. The use of the term gives a false sense of security to current and future students that they are being counseled by professionals. The more appropriate term would be Representative or Advisor. The Representive or Advisor terms are commonly used by traditional schools, colleges, and universities. In fact, individuals in Finance, Admissions, and Academic positions are representatives of the educational institution and not professional counselors. Professional counselors require a minimum of a graduate degree and/or a license. In the case of the University of Phoenix, none of the so-called counselor positions require an advanced degree or licensing. As a result of this false sense of security, the University of Phoenix purposely built an effective business strategy by creating position titles that dupe current and potential students into believing that they are receiving professional counseling services.

In addition, the University of Phoenix DOES NOT require a degree to be an Enrollment Counselor. Therefore, someone without a college degree can obtain a professional title such as counselor. During my employment with the University of Phoenix, I discovered that many Enrollment Counselor's ($35K starting salary) where making up to $15, 000 dollars more a year than I was as an Academic Counselor ($35K starting salary) which required a degree. In some cases, Enrollment Counselors have made more than $100, 000 dollars a year and without a degree. Does anyone see the irony? Due to this irony, I struggled every day with the contradictions between my personal values and ethics and those of the University of Phoenix in advising my students. I also became disenchanted with the institution because of its value placed on performance for those without degrees in comparison to those with degrees.

Ask yourself this question, how can I attend a university where the person enrolling me does not have a degree and makes considerably more money than an Academic Counselor which requires a degree?

One of the most effective strategies Enrollment Counselors use is informing the student that they can make more money with a degree than without a degree. How is that ethical? Especially when the university itself pays individuals without degrees more than those with degrees. In addition, the potential student has Enrollment Counselors telling them how important it is to have a degree when those individuals do not have a degree. Today, I still struggle with these concepts and the University of Phoenix pay structure.

I will never forget my introduction to the former Apollo Group, Inc. President, Brian Mueller, who now is the President of Grand Canyon University. After completing my initial training, Mr. Mueller gave a welcome speech which turned out to be more of a motivational, sales pitch for the university. A very bright, well-spoken man, Mr. Mueller mentioned one particular Enrollment Counselor who started at the University of Phoenix. He mentioned that she was making over 6 figures within a year. At first I was impressed; however, after about 3 months of working on the "floor" I eventually realized the primary motivation and intention of Mr. Mueller and Apollo Group. MONEY.

The University of Phoenix and its sister schools have perfected a cloaking device that allows itself to offer a valuable commodity to the public with little or no value in an effort to capitalize and profiteer from those who have few choices and resources to pursue an education elsewhere. The institution has caused more harm than good to the educational industry. Yet, the institution continues to prey on those who have no other options.

Just some more information for you Amanda. I do want to address your concerns about how to leave the university.

1. Finish your class. DO NOT drop.

2. DO NOT spend your excess fund check. If you have a balance, leave it on account.

3. DO NOT hesitate to contact another college and start the enrollment process. Other institutions have better equiped counselors/advisors/representatives that actually want to help you. If online is your only alternative, consider JUCO and career schools that have online classes. Also, be mindful of the tuition rates, accreditations, and career services offered after you graduate. Its all about ROI (return on investment).

4. Request an Official Withdrawal Form. Sign, date, and FAX it to your Academic Counselor or contact University Services. I would recommend contacting University Services and faxing it to the number they provide you. If you fax it to an Academic Counselor, it may never get faxed into the system because once it is in your records its official. Otherwise, the Academic, Finance, and Enrollment counselors can and will continue to hound you about continuiing or returning to class. MAKE SURE YOU GET CONFIRMATION that the Official Withdrawal Form has been received. Confirmation email would work, if you can get it.

5. Make sure all your accounts are in good standing. If you follow these 4 steps, you should be free and clear to move on with your education at another institution.

6. Avoid further contact with any University of Phoenix representative.

Hope this helps.