Why we teach? We are among the cogs that drive the conveyer belt that carries the money from tax payer pockets into the pockets of shareholders and administration weenies.
I know 4 people who instruct for the UOPX (honest to god, that's what they call it. Like the o for of and the X are important).
None of them were aware of this until just now when I fb'd them about it.
I'll tell you this though: these four have worked for UOPX for 10 to 18 months. Each of them has had between 4 and 6 assignments. Imagine "working" for a university and getting one assignment for a 5 week course every 3 or 4 months.
My reaction to this news is very similar to what my reaction would be to the news of a mass layoff of pharmaceutical reps: while I feel for the people who lost their jobs, and am sure at least some of them were genuinely seeking to contribute to the greater good through their work, I'm glad that the tail that has been wagging the institutional dog has been docked, if not amputated entirely.
I've never had contact with UOPX, but I was a non-academic contractor over at National University in La Jolla, CA. Their headquarters was in a rambling hacienda-style building allegedly the former offices of an oil company. The property had its own (unused) helipad, tennis court, detached poolhouse (converted into a gym), and loads of underground parking. And this was a non-profit!
[BTW, UOPX sounds like the callsign for a Russian shortwave utility station, or maybe a Kazakh amateur radio operator]
U. of Phoenix appears to be a joke, at least from the course materials that I looked at in mathematics. Just another way to separate the ignorant from their money.
It is more than a joke. It is a travesty. I am a "facilitator" in their associate's program because it's great to be able to work from home in the summer. I laughed my cute little behind off when I read this announcement earlier today.
I feel for the students because they are the ones who really believe that what they're getting is going to help them and their families. Then again, a lot of them can't construct an actual sentence and the UoP materials don't help them. In fact, the recent changes to the courses in order to aid in retention seem to have made them even less academic. Even worse? I can safely say that I try to make my work fit a decent $/hour ratio because if I spent as much time on the courses as I'd like, I'd make about $3/hour and that's just not ...fiscally responsible.
In our house? We refer to it as Nooniversity of Neenix per Samberg's monologue comment on the Michael Phelps SNL episode.
An interesting video about For Profits is the Frontline documentary "College Inc." (released earlier in 2010). It's short (about an hour) and to the point. Nothing groundbreaking for the collective here, but still very good!
It's free to view at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/collegeinc/ (and is also available via streaming NetFlix)
Imagine if your school had more full-time admissions officers than full-time faculty. Isn't that true for McUniversity? I think so.
ReplyDeleteI know it's true that they spend more on advertising than they do on faculty compensation.
What a joke.
Apollo Group got $1 billion in Pell Grants last year.
ReplyDeleteAnd that doesn't even include the student loans.
They received almost 90 percent of their revenue from students' federal financial aid (our tax dollars) in fiscal 2010.
Somebody's getting a real laugh out of this. It's one hell of a financial scheme.
Remind me again why we're teaching.
@Southern Bubba -
ReplyDeleteWhy we teach? We are among the cogs that drive the conveyer belt that carries the money from tax payer pockets into the pockets of shareholders and administration weenies.
Ah-hahahahahahaha!
ReplyDeleteNo Christmas goose for you, University of Phoenix whores!
I know 4 people who instruct for the UOPX (honest to god, that's what they call it. Like the o for of and the X are important).
ReplyDeleteNone of them were aware of this until just now when I fb'd them about it.
I'll tell you this though: these four have worked for UOPX for 10 to 18 months. Each of them has had between 4 and 6 assignments. Imagine "working" for a university and getting one assignment for a 5 week course every 3 or 4 months.
That's after a 7 month unpaid training program.
Nothings sucks harder than this "university."
My reaction to this news is very similar to what my reaction would be to the news of a mass layoff of pharmaceutical reps: while I feel for the people who lost their jobs, and am sure at least some of them were genuinely seeking to contribute to the greater good through their work, I'm glad that the tail that has been wagging the institutional dog has been docked, if not amputated entirely.
ReplyDeleteI've never had contact with UOPX, but I was a non-academic contractor over at National University in La Jolla, CA. Their headquarters was in a rambling hacienda-style building allegedly the former offices of an oil company. The property had its own (unused) helipad, tennis court, detached poolhouse (converted into a gym), and loads of underground parking. And this was a non-profit!
ReplyDelete[BTW, UOPX sounds like the callsign for a Russian shortwave utility station, or maybe a Kazakh amateur radio operator]
U. of Phoenix appears to be a joke, at least from the course materials that I looked at in mathematics. Just another way to separate the ignorant from their money.
ReplyDeleteIt is more than a joke. It is a travesty. I am a "facilitator" in their associate's program because it's great to be able to work from home in the summer. I laughed my cute little behind off when I read this announcement earlier today.
ReplyDeleteI feel for the students because they are the ones who really believe that what they're getting is going to help them and their families. Then again, a lot of them can't construct an actual sentence and the UoP materials don't help them. In fact, the recent changes to the courses in order to aid in retention seem to have made them even less academic. Even worse? I can safely say that I try to make my work fit a decent $/hour ratio because if I spent as much time on the courses as I'd like, I'd make about $3/hour and that's just not ...fiscally responsible.
In our house? We refer to it as Nooniversity of Neenix per Samberg's monologue comment on the Michael Phelps SNL episode.
An interesting video about For Profits is the Frontline documentary "College Inc." (released earlier in 2010). It's short (about an hour) and to the point. Nothing groundbreaking for the collective here, but still very good!
ReplyDeleteIt's free to view at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/collegeinc/
(and is also available via streaming NetFlix)