Apollo Group, Inc. has been providing higher education to working adults for over
25 years. We operate through our subsidiaries, The University of Phoenix, Inc.,
Institute for Professional Development, The College for Financial Planning Institutes
Corporation, and Western International University, Inc. The consolidated enrollment
in our educational programs makes us the largest private institution of higher
education in the United States. We currently offer our programs and services at
82 campuses and 137 learning centers in 39 states, Puerto Rico, and Vancouver,
British Columbia.
University of Phoenix has successfully replicated its teaching/learning model
while maintaining educational quality at 55 local campuses and 102 learning
centers in 33 states, Puerto Rico, and Vancouver, British Columbia. University
of Phoenix also offers its educational programs worldwide through its computerized
educational delivery system. University of Phoenix has customized computer programs
for student tracking, marketing, faculty recruitment and training, and academic
quality management. These computer programs are intended to provide uniformity
among University of Phoenix’s campuses and learning centers which enhances University
of Phoenix’s ability to expand into new markets while still maintaining academic
quality. Currently, approximately 46% of University of Phoenix’s students receive
some level of tuition assistance from their employers. University of Phoenix
is our largest subsidiary, with its tuition revenues currently representing
approximately 95% of consolidated tuition revenues.
Institute for Professional Development provides program development and management
consulting services to regionally accredited private colleges and universities
(client institutions) who are interested in expanding or developing their programs
for working adults. These services typically include degree program design,
curriculum development, market research, student recruitment, accounting, and
administrative services. Institute for Professional Development provides these
services at 23 campuses and 32 learning centers in 23 states in exchange for
a contractual share of the tuition revenues generated from these programs. Institute
for Professional Development’s contracts with its client institutions generally
range in length from five to ten years with provisions for renewal. Institute
for Professional Development typically works with institutions that:
are interested in developing or expanding off-campus degree programs for working
adults;
recognize that working adults require a different teaching/learning model than
the 18 to 24 year-old student;
desire to increase enrollments with a limited investment in institutional capital;
and
recognize the unmet educational needs of the working adult students in their
market.
Approximately 24,100 degree-seeking students are currently enrolled in Institute
for Professional Development assisted programs.
The College for Financial Planning, located near Denver, Colorado, provides
financial planning education programs, including the Certified Financial Planner
Professional Education Program™ certification, as well as regionally accredited
graduate degree programs in financial planning, financial analysis, and finance.
The College for Financial Planning also offers some of its non-degree programs
at University of Phoenix campuses.
We believe that our more than 25-year history as a provider of higher education
for working adults enables us to provide our students with an effective education
and responsive customer service. Our expertise in designing curriculum, recruiting
and training faculty, monitoring academic quality, and providing a high level
of support services to students allows us to offer the following:
Accredited Degree Programs. We currently offer 19 degree programs in business,
criminal justice, education, healthcare, human services, information technology,
management, and nursing. The University of Phoenix is accredited by The Higher
Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.
This regional accreditor or one of the other regional accrediting associations
accredit the client institutions of Institute for Professional Development.
This accreditation enables us to grant associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and
doctoral degrees, while also providing students with access to federal financial
aid programs.
Experienced Faculty Resources. While substantially all of our faculty are working
professionals, we require each member of our faculty to possess either a master’s
or doctoral degree and to have five years of recent professional experience
in a field related to the subject they teach. We have well-developed methods
for hiring and training our faculty, which include peer reviews of newly hired
instructors by other members of the faculty, training in grading and instructing
students, and a teaching mentorship with a more experienced faculty member.
Our classes are designed to be small, with an average of one instructor for
every fourteen students at University of Phoenix local campuses and one instructor
for every eleven students at our University of Phoenix Online campus. Faculty
members are also required to be accessible to students by maintaining office
hours.
Current and Relevant Standardized Programs. We use content experts selected
from our approximately 19,300 faculty to design our curriculum. This enables
us to offer current and relevant standardized programs to our students. We also
utilize an institution-wide system to assess the educational outcomes of our
students and improve the quality of our curriculum and instructional model.
This system evaluates the cognitive and affective skills of our students upon
registration and upon conclusion of the program and also surveys students two
years after graduation in order to assess the quality of the education they
received.
Benefits to Employers. The employers of our students often provide input to
faculty members in designing curriculum, and class projects are typically based
on issues relevant to the companies that employ our students. Our classes are
taught by practitioner faculty members who emphasize the skills desired by employers.
In addition, the time flexibility provided by our classes further benefits employers
since it avoids conflict with their employees’ work schedules. A recent survey
by University of Phoenix showed that approximately 46% of its students receive
some level of tuition assistance from their employers.
Teaching/ Learning Model-Degree Programs
Our teaching/learning model used by University of Phoenix and Institute for
Professional Development client institutions was designed specifically to meet
the educational needs of working adults. This model is structured to enable
students who are employed full-time to earn their degrees and still meet their
personal and professional responsibilities. Students attend weekly classes,
averaging fourteen students at University of Phoenix local campuses and eleven
students at our University of Phoenix Online campus, and also meet weekly as
part of a three to five-person learning team. Learning team sessions are an
integral part of each course. They facilitate in-depth review of and reflection
on course materials. Members work together to complete assigned group projects,
and develop communication and teamwork skills. Courses are designed to facilitate
the application of knowledge and skills to the workplace and are taught by faculty
members who possess advanced degrees and have professional experience in business,
industry, government, or other professions. In this way, faculty members are
able to share their professional knowledge and skills with the students.
Components of our teaching/learning model include:
Curriculum
The curriculum is designed to integrate academic theory and professional practice
and their application to the workplace. The curriculum provides for the achievement
of specified educational outcomes that are based on the input from faculty,
students, and students’ employers. The standardized curriculum for each degree
program is also designed to provide students with specified levels of knowledge
and skills.
Faculty
Faculty applicants must possess an earned master’s or doctoral degree from
a regionally accredited institution, and have a minimum of five years recent
professional experience in a field related to the subject matter in which they
seek to instruct. To help promote quality delivery of the curriculum, all faculty
members are required to:
• complete an initial assessment conducted by staff and faculty;
• receive training in grading, facilitation of the teaching/learning model,
and oversight of learning team activities;
• complete a mentorship with an experienced faculty mentor; and
• receive ongoing performance evaluations by students, peer faculty, and staff,
which are used to establish developmental plans to improve individual faculty
performance and to determine continued eligibility of faculty members to provide
instruction.
An Active Learning
Environment
Courses are designed to encourage and facilitate collaboration between students
and interaction with the instructor. The curriculum requires a high level of
student participation for purposes of enhancing learning and increasing the
student’s ability to work as part of a team.
Library and Other
Learning Resource Services
Students and faculty members are provided with electronic and other learning
resources for their information and research needs. Students can access these
services directly through the Internet or with the help of a Learning Resource
Services research librarian.
Sequential Enrollment
Students enroll in and complete classes sequentially, rather than concurrently.
This permits working adults to focus their attentions and resources on one subject
at a time, and creates a better balance between learning and ongoing personal
and professional responsibilities.
Academic Quality
We have an Academic Quality Management System designed to maintain and improve
the quality of programs and academic and student services. This system includes
the Adult Learning Outcomes Assessment, which seeks to measure student growth
in both the cognitive (subject matter) and affective (educational, personal,
and professional values) skills.
Degree Programs and Services
University of Phoenix Programs. The following is a list of the degree programs
and related areas of specialization that University of Phoenix offers:
Associate of Arts in General Studies
Bachelor of Science in Business
Areas of Specialization
Accounting
Administration
E-business
Finance
Information Systems
Management
Marketing
Public Administration
Retail Management
Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration
Bachelor of Science in Human Services Management
Bachelor of Science in Health Administration
Bachelor of Science in Information Technology
Area of Specialization
Software Engineering
Bachelor of Science in Management
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Master of Arts in Education
Areas of Specialization
Administration and Supervision
Adult Education and Distance Learning
Curriculum and Instruction
Computer Education
Adult Education and Distance Learning
Curriculum and Technology
Early Childhood
Elementary Teacher Education
Secondary Teacher Education
Special Education
Master of Business Administration
Areas of Specialization
Accounting
E-business
Global Management
Health Care Management
Human Resource Management
Marketing
Technology Management
Master of Counseling
Areas of Specialization
Community Counseling
Marriage and Family Counseling
Mental Health Counseling
School Counseling
Master of Health Administration
Master of Management
Areas of Specialization
Human Resource Management
International Management
Master of Science in Nursing
Areas of Specialization
Family Nurse Practitioner
Integrative Health
Health Care Education
Master of Information Systems
Area of Specialization
Management
Doctor of Business Administration
Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership
Doctor of Health Administration
Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership
Competition
The higher education market is highly fragmented and competitive with no private
or public institution enjoying a significant market share. We compete primarily
with four-year and two-year degree-granting public and private regionally accredited
colleges and universities. Many of these colleges and universities enroll working
adults in addition to the traditional 18 to 24 year-old students. We expect
that these colleges and universities will continue to modify their existing
programs to serve working adults more effectively. In addition, many colleges
and universities have announced various distance education initiatives.
We believe that the competitive factors in the higher education market include
the following:
the ability to provide easy and convenient access to programs and classes;
reliable and high-quality products and services;
qualified and experienced faculty;
cost of the program;
reputation of programs, classes, and services; and
the time necessary to earn a degree.
In terms of non-degree programs offered by us, we compete with a variety of
business and information technology providers, primarily those in the for-profit
training sector. Many of these competitors have significantly more market share
and longer-term relationships with key vendors.
Institute for Professional Development faces competition from other entities
offering higher education curriculum development and management services for
adult education programs. The majority of Institute for Professional Development’s
current competitors provide short-term, pre-packaged curriculum or turn-key
programs.