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July 02, 2010 10:00 AM
The University of Phoenix Orientation
The for-profit, online University of Phoenix will now require students to attend an orientation program. According to an article by Dawn Gilbertson in the Arizona Republic:
The free three-week program will be mandatory for new students with fewer than 24 college credits.
The Phoenix-based company has been testing the free three-week program in undisclosed cities and… has provided few details. Executives said Wednesday that 25,000 prospective new students have gone through it. Eighty percent successfully completed the program and went on to enroll, the company said. It’s early, but those students had better grades than those who hadn’t gone through and were less likely to drop out, the company said.
Three weeks? Whoa. At my own college orientation only took like two days.
While it’s a little unclear what the Phoenix orientation program actually consists of, the school says the plan exists to help prepare new students for college and reduce the school’s dropout rate. In 2007 the institution’s six-year graduation rate was a mere 16 percent.[Image via]
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C Virgo on April 21, 2012 12:45 AM:
Thank you for the article, but I don't think you understand how graduation rates are calculated. With most public schools, the students are 18-25, first-time attendees. Thus, the DOE looks at that demographic when calculating the graduation rate. Unfortunately, that market segment is not indicative of UOPX's student body. Instead, it is working adults people with families that enroll with UOPX (obviously seeking the flexibility the programs offer). Classes that are designed for adults don't work as well with recent HS graduates because more time management and self discipline is required.