University of Phoenix was part of a trend that took advantage of the rigid nature of traditional academia and actually customized educational programs around working adults schedule. The problem is they charged outrageous rates for their service.
(The most telling fact in the article is that University of Phoenix still increased their revenue even with this drop)
But with accredited online universities like Western Governors University gaining traction and traditional schools realizing they need adult students University of Phoenix (and others) have lost their unique advantage. Which means a dramatic drop in students.
It may also be a function of the first couple generations of students from UoP finding out their expensive degrees carry fantastically little weight in hiring decisions.
I know several UoP graduates who have found themselves without any additional employability, no improvement in salary and a huge student debt to pay off.
That's also not unusual for bioscience Phd's from land grant universities, english majors from small liberal arts colleges, or recent Master of Architecture graduates from the Ivy League.
If the measure of education is that it provides vocational opportunity, then all we can shut down all higher education except the nursing programs in the community colleges.
It would be nice to see some statistics, but I suspect that an english major from a small liberal arts college is actually significantly more valuable. Of course it isn't going to get you a job using the English major, but it qualifies you for the generic HR screen of "4-year college degree from a respectable institution", which opens up a tier of jobs not available with just a high-school diploma. The unemployment rates and average incomes of people with 4-year liberal-arts degrees are certainly much better than those with just high-school diplomas. Is the same true of UoP degree holders? I'm not sure, but my guess is that UoP degrees don't pass as many HR screens, especially at large companies, at least for now.
To the extent to which a degree is used to signify socio-economic status (which I believe to be substantial and to which the higher earning potential correlates), then it would be surprising if Phoenix graduates are seen as less desirable than those from less accessible schools. Phoenix tuition, is not the $37,000 a year that the Rollins Colleges of the world charge, and that is what a significant part of what those degrees signify. [http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/...]
If the measure of education is that it provides vocational opportunity, then all we can shut down all higher education except the nursing programs in the community colleges.
I would say it's one of the measures of an education. But I don't necessarily disagree with your other examples.
Waxing poetically about UoP as a second chance school is true. I'm willing to be that a majority of the student body could be called "second chancers". It's unfortunate that the school has ended up with a rather negative image problem it needs to shed (that and not bother becoming a proper accredited school so credits are transferable/recognized elsewhere is a huge problem).
(Full disclosure, I could also be considered a second chancer but went a more traditional route -- so I can feel some sense of sympatico for UoP students)
(The most telling fact in the article is that University of Phoenix still increased their revenue even with this drop)
But with accredited online universities like Western Governors University gaining traction and traditional schools realizing they need adult students University of Phoenix (and others) have lost their unique advantage. Which means a dramatic drop in students.