I'm going to start the Master's in Education program at the University of Phoenix so that I can become a certified teacher at the secondary level and teach in English and History. (Those are the subject areas I really want my endorsements in.) I've gone through the A To Z Teacher Stuff archives and saw some negative comments about the University of Phoenix. However, I've also read some very good comments about the University of Phoenix. One of my mom's co-worker's friends received her Business degree through the University of Phoenix Online and had nothing bad to say about it a all. In addition, I know someone pursuing her Master's in Special Education through the University of Phoenix Online and is almost finished with it. She'll be doing her student teaching soon and her father has told me that his daughter's experiences with the University of Phoenix have been pretty good for the most part. As far as I can gather, the University of Phoenix seems like a fairly decent choice for my teacher certification. Is there anyone here who feels otherwise or who has had bad experiences they'd like to share with me?
As far as the school itself goes, it is a great school to go to online. My DH is getting his degree in Criminal Justice through their online program. Seeing as how you are in IL, I assume that you'd be doing their online courses as well. The only drawback to that is that some districts do not recognize UOP as an accredited university.
My district would probably not look highly upon UOP...it's unfortunate that graduates would face such problems, but getting teaching jobs is a competitive market-school districts can afford to be discriminating. My advice would be to first check with your local school districts/districts in which you would be interested in teaching- ask them if they hire grads from UOP, what their feeling is on the program. Here's a Feb 2007 article on UOP from the NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/education/11phoenix.html?pagewanted=1&_r= I wish you luck- UOP does seem convenient and well-priced. Just make sure you are going to be able to use your degree before you invest your tuition $$.
Really? Isn't it a state university? I'm sure there's districts and schools that will pick me up. They all can't be against UoP and not see it as accredited.
For teaching it seems to be more respected as a plan for a masters, but not as much for initial degrees/certification. The reason being that so much of teaching is actually teaching and you wouldn't have a professor there to formally observe you for mock lessons or in real classrooms the way that a local university would. If you are set on going there, call the HR department of your projected school districts and ask them what if they accept a degree from UoP. Another option may be to take online classes at a local college until you get to the methods classes/classes where you are teaching and then take them in person. JMHO
It is connected to a brick and mortar school; however, czacza is right about it not being looked on favorably by too many districts. Call the districts you're interested in and ask them if they accept degrees from UOP. I did that before I started at Walden. Luckily the districts around here take it. Does UOP online require student teaching?
I'd go beyond checking with districts and check with your state's dept of education about teaching certification and the University of Phoenix.
That seems kind of silly to call and ask if they'll accept UoP. I'm sure, just like with any other university or college, there'll be some districts and schools that won't hire a UoP grad and others that do. Besides, there's a possibility I may just pick up and move to AZ and teach there. Who knows. Yup. I'll have to do student teaching and will be placed by UoP in the Northern IL area. By the way, according to UoP, they're acredited by the Higher Learning Commission and are a member of the North Central Association (NCA). The Master of Arts for the Secondary Teacher Education program is pre-accredited by the Teacher Accreditation Council (TEAC). UoP holds the exact same accreditations and memberships that National Louis and Dominican University hold. So, I don't see what's wrong with it other than it's out-of-state and online. I'd like to think the whole online thing would be more of a turn off to districts and schools rather than UoP not being accredited.
Thanks for telling me that! I just checked the ISBE's website and learned that I'll need 3 additional classes on my UoP transcripts for secondary certification in IL: EDU 566 - Adolescent Psychology EDD 585 - Intro. To Middle School: Curriculum & Instruction RDG 515 - Secondary Reading Methods It's good to know that now rather than at the very end of things.
Thank you! While I'm thankful everyone is telling me this stuff, the UoP is my best route towards teacher certification given its more affordable for me than area univerities. (Dominican University is $580 a credit hour and National Louis is $665 a credit hour whereas the UoP is $515 a credit hour.) Not to mention, it's more convenient to be taking classes from home rather having to turn around and travel 20 or more minutes away from home to sit in a tradional classroom setting, especially after a 7 hour work day. I may not be working as a para right now, but I hope to soon. Sometimes, you just have to bite the bullet and do it for good reasons even if other people are telling you not to do it ir cautioning you against it for whatever reason(s). Given the UoP holds the same accreditations and memberships the local colleges and universities have, I really don't understand why some districts and schools have issues with it and look down upon it. The only reason I can see they would is because it's all being done online. I think the whole UoP not being accredited is a mask for the REAL reason as to why it's looked down upona nd that's a shame. Just because it's done online doesn't mean it's any less valid than if it was done in a traditional setting. Probably the most crutial aspect of any teacher education program, whether it's online or in a traditional classroom setting, is the student tecahing and as long as I do that and at a fairly good district or school then I should be fine in the long-run.
You asked for opinions, so that's what we gave. I said my husband like the experience of going through them online, but I had heard districts were leery of it. That was just my .
Aye. I did and you all gave it. That's just so strange though. I'm sure many districts and schools are losing terrific teacher candidtates over it too. That's too bad!
I think some are leery of the UoP,because they seem to do everything. You google search any degree and their name pops up. I say go for it, if it will get you a job where you want. I did the 4 nights a week classes at a school an hour away. It was difficult, but I did get through it. I haven't met anyone here in Florida that went thru UoP, but that's not to say it isn't done. Like everyone else says, just do your research. Nothing worse then having student loans and no job.
Suburban Girl - I'm sorry you've gotten so many negative responses about UOP...especially since it doens't seem like you've heard from anyone who did a UOP program. I got my teaching credentials/masters through UOP here in Southern California. I'm sure it depends on your state, but my program was not online. I had classes one night a week for 4 hours. The entire program was 18 months. We did have to do 15 weeks of in-class student teaching. I chose Univ. of Phoenix because it was the most convenient route to take. I could hold a full-time job the entire time. Honestly, the courses might not have been a rigorous as other schools, but I still learned a lot, and well, once I student taught, I realized that most of what I learned in the classes didn't help anyways, ha ha. I definitely learned the most just by student teaching. I wouldn't think districts would look down on you because your teaching credential is from UOP. Here in Los Angeles, a ton of teachers get their credentials/masters from UOP and it's considered a very legitimate prep program. I say - go for it!
Tell me about it. Though I did decide to do some futher checking (mainly to set my mind more at ease). And I fund out that a Rockford educator was named 2007 History Teacher of the Year in Honor of World Teachers’ Day and that the 12-year educator who currently teaches 5th grade received his Master’s of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from UoP. I also learned that the Pontiac Township High School District 90 has a faculty member from the science depatment who earned his education degree from the UoP and they're just west of me. The ROE in Lincoln, IL for Logan, Mason, and Menard even pushes the UoP in regards to Professional Development. They even have a UoP liasion, LOL! So, I really don't understand what the deal is in egards to UoP. If UoP is THAT bad, then why would, of all things, a ROE be pushing it in regards to professional development? That's a good thing to know going into this. I have every intention of going for it unless something really damaging comes to light and Ihear negative thing from disgruntled people who've actually gone there. Thank you for heping to re-enforce my decision to do this.
School districts have many ways of screening through the applicant pool for job openings- one of the screening tools is often accepting/not accepting candidates from various programs/schools/etc...(others include screening in or out based on GPA, errors in cover letter, amount of experience, what kind of experience, philosophy expressed in cover letter....)There are literally hundreds of applicants for every ONE opening in my district. Any reason a school has for screening out a candidate may be leaving 'terrific teacher candidates' out- given the number of highly qualified terrific teacher applicants from high quality, rigorous education programs out there though, districts feel they can be selective. I hope this doesn't affect you as you seem to have researched your options and are trying to make the best choice for your circumstances....sounds like the districts near you look positively upon UOP, so go for it...
If it is your only option and the schools around you are open to it, go for it! We all just wanted to give you a fair warning based on our experiences. My district too has 100s of applicants for any given position and that might be a deciding factor between two equal candidates. There are many people on the job seekers pages that haven't been able to find a job despite multiple certifications and even good letters of recommendation after previous experience, so it is good to know what your job prospects are. If your area is in need of teachers and is open to UoP, I am sure you will have a great experience
wannabe- Suburban Gal won't be back- it says banned under her username so she is no longer a member...Weird though- this is the second post started by Suburban Gal to be resurrected today...doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo (are you imagining that spooky music?)
uop is not regionally accredited which means many universities will not accept credits from it and many districts will not honor the degree u get from ther
