University of Phoenix
The university was founded by John Sperling. Started in 1976 in the Phoenix metropolitan area, the first class consisted of eight students. In 1980, the school expanded to San Jose, California, and in 1989, the university launched its online program.
In 1994, University of Phoenix leaders made the decision to take the parent company, Apollo Group public. Capital from Wall Street launched the school. Phoenix had more than 100,000 students within the first five years of going public. Growth in the company made John Sperling a billionaire.
From 2010 until 2015, enrollment declined more than 50 percent.
While the school specializes in online programs, the campuses offer additional programs and services. Online students are also able to use tutoring and social centers, which can also be used for social and student meetings. The first center opened in 2007 in Plano, Texas.
Students have access to class-specific online resources, which include an electronic library, textbooks, and other ancillary material required for a course. The university says that the electronic textbooks include search features and hyperlinks to glossary terms that make the books easier to use for research.
The university's faculty consists of approximately 1,500 core faculty and 20,000 associate (part-time or adjunct) faculty members who all hold graduate degrees.
UoP depends heavily on contingent faculty: 95 percent of Phoenix instructors teach part-time, compared to an average of 47 percent nationwide. This reliance on part-time faculty has been criticized by regulators and academic critics. Most of the classes are centrally crafted and standardized to ensure consistency and to maximize profits. Additionally, no faculty members get tenure.
According to a university officer, pre-screened instructional candidates participate in a training program in the discipline in which they teach, which has the effect of weeding out 40 percent to 50 percent of the "less-committed" or -capable applicants.
African-Americans make up 18.6 percent of the university's 22,000 faculty members, and 5.6 percent are Latino Women make up 57% of the faculty. Adjuncts make approximately $1000–$2000 per course.
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