University Of Phoenix, U of Phoenix Ripoff permeating all aspects of family life Fresno California

I was thinkin' about ya' when I read the news: $277 million to the Chicago Cops Pension Fund.

Heck, bro, the cops came all the way down from Chi-town, to convince a Phoenix Federal Court and a Phoenix jury that Apollo committed securities fraud.

The odds? Four successful cases out of 2218 filed (most of which were tossed before trial). The result? A 12-0 jury verdict for the Chicago cops.

Today, Apollo had to submit a $95 million dollar bond to the Court; Apollo also submitted a liquidity report to nervous investors: $500MM in cash/securities and $500 MM in credit. Apollo has already committed 20% of it's cash to the bond. If they lose a 1.5 billion qui tam lawsuit to the gov't it'll get ugly.

However, John and Peter Sperling aren't stupid: they spent almost all of 2007 buying back $438 million of their own stock, driving the price to $82.

The day before the adverse Apollo court judgment, the Sperlings sold the options to one million shares of Apollo at $82 dollars; the options had seven years remaining on them.

Today, Apollo has again crashed, losing, in two months, 33% of it's value ($55) and leaving it's incredibly stupid employees and shareholders seething.

There's a sucker born every minute pal; all one can do is give 'em the facts. You did that, B. From your first posts, warning of an Intel pull-out, which occurred several months later (causing Bank of America, last week, to rate the stock "overbought" and "sell", revising B of A's Apollo target South from $90 to $58!!!) to those posts which only an insider would ever know.

To this day, zip, zero, nada of your Apollo-only posts can be impeached or refuted.

I do this stuff for a living; top financial managers read these blogs. You, Mr. B, have probably cost Apollo close to 750MM.

Have a nice day.

The UOP receives more federal education financing dollars than any other "school" in the U.S. It's a public company, traded on NYSE and, like all public companies, they are under intense pressure to create revenue growth any way and every way they can.

The following is a quote regarding the pending lawsuit against the UOP. YOu can find the article, just google "UOP April 24 2007 LA Times." Thanks...

"The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rebuffed entreaties from the University of Phoenix to throw out a massive suit charging the nation's largest accredited private university with defrauding the government of millions of dollars in federal education loan funds."

As a Former Employee, I would come in contact with Military students who were attracted to the Online Education offered by The University Of Phoenix. The problem is that these student who would have normally be required to complete some sort of profiencies in order to be accurately placed are enrolled in college level classes that they are not prepared for. Sure the University of Phoenix will have their counselors use that as a marketing tool, but when a student fails their first course the University of Phoenix could care less. They are only concerned about the Military tuition assisatnce or Montegomery GI bill money they have received. I guess a accurate terminilgy would be " Possesion is nine tenths of the Law. I would hear enrollment counselor interviewing students as if they were selling cars. Making statements and promises that were both inaccurate and false. Let me try to make a point here. What fortune 500 company would pay its High School Graduates more than their College graduates. Case and Point the Admissions Counselor are given Pay raises every six months. Some make up to 80,000.00 a year. Their Philophy is that The admission counselor make money for the University through enrollments. They could care less whether the student has experienced a financial hardship through student aid loans owed with out receiveing any college credits. I would hope that someone would take the iniative to investigate the shady practices of The University of Phoenix.

I'm sick of all the bashing of U of P on this site. Look at the original posters reasoning? It's not their fault you have either a crap computer or horrible internet connection. Everytime I have had to call for support it was fine, and I was fixed. They had me pinging IPs to try to fix my internet in minutes.

I'm sorry you've had problems with financial aid but, I wouldnt blame the whole university for that aspect. Also, it is alot of work, sorry you lost your wife to school, but it is school. I have had to bust a*s alot to manage my full-time job and still pass, which is why when you call this place a joke, I laugh.

I recently wrote a 3000 word paper along with a power point presentation on the introduction of dialysis machines into South American countries for one of my economics classes. But, I guess I need to be in a classroom to understand how to market it. Some teachers are better than others just like others.

Shelia-what a great story. I too, went to ASU, but only for a semester. And what a joke. I didn't learn anything because there was too much "life" happening all around me!! Like you, I am also a U of P graduate, and I am very worried about their future and what my degree will be worth down the road. I have done all I can to voice my concerns and complaints to U of P Administration, but so far it has fallen on deaf ears.

I had a few facilitators in my program (MBA) who in my mind, had no business in a college classroom or virtual environment. I also don't have a lot of love or respect for the "learning team" either. I would certainly not do work for lazy people at my company, so I can't understand why they insist we do it at the U of P. Don't give up on the U of P yet Sheila. Contact them and let them know your frustration.

First, I want to state that I am NOT an employee of UoP. I am concerned by what I am reading and mostly because I was probably a sucker for not doing my research 4+ years ago. I just completed my BSB/Accounting in October through the UoP.

For my first attempt at college, I attended Arizona State University for a year and then dropped out. My experience there was good. Life happened and in mid 2002, I realized I needed to get my education and do more with my life. Due to my personal situation, attending on-campus classes was not possible. I did look into several of the local colleges for online degree programs but at that time, they only offered a few courses online.

Then I stumbled onto UoP, which seemed to be the answer I was looking for. Eager to start back to school, I jumped at the opportunity. The worst part of my experience was the lack of a financial aid advisor for my first two years. The "temporary" financial advisor never returned calls or emails so I finally started contacting the manager for all issues and concerns and those were always dealt with immediately. I had three academic advisors during my 4 years with UoP and I was very happy with each individual. As far as tech support goes, I did not have an issue as I never had to contact them.

I worked hard for my degree and I worked hard for the grades I received. I was not a 4.0 student, but I was up there. I had both great and lousy facilitators and classmates/teammates. What stuck out most in my mind is that when I attended ASU, I sat in an auditorium style room for most of my classes and struggled to pay attention to the professor. With the constant interaction with people online, I felt I gained much more knowledge and real-life information than what I got out of my experience at ASU. I realize everyone learns differently and the online programs work for some people and not others.

I was looking to continue for my MBA and decided to do my research this time around on UoP and that is how I discovered this site and information. I became sick thinking that my bachelor's degree may not mean anything or worth anything. I worked so hard and learned so much during my 4 years of study to complete my program. My big concern was with the accreditation of UoP versus other business schools. UoP is regionally accredited with the NCAHLC. It was brought to my attention that I should attend a school that is also accredited by the AACSB, etc.

I discovered that the --- offers an online MBA program that is accredited by both the NCAHLC and AACSB. I just submitted my application for admission so we will see how it goes. I especially want my MBA to be recognized if I were to change jobs at some point.

I do also have to add in that I work for a student loan lender and I talk directly with students and financial aid offices of major universities. We get complaints from students all the time about their school and one of the offices. A school that I work directly with is working on building their financial aid office reputation back up because the students have such a negative view of the office. We also get many complaints from students of another very large online university. Is it because of the size that there are more complaints/issues?

I have my BSB degree through UoP. Is it worth anything? I would like to think so. My MBA will NOT be done through the UoP. You live and learn and now that I have learned, all I want to say is do your research.

Sheila - St. Paul, MN


sorry, allowing you to give a competitors name would instigate others to just file against their competition, to only come back later to suggest their company your comments on this policy are welcome! CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

After reading the original post, I had NO idea what their actual complaint was. Some specifics would be nice.

An associate of mine is a UOP student. While discussing a religious studies course she had just completed, she was complaining of how difficult her term paper had been; the assignment was to write a four page paper on a non-Christian faith. She opted to interview a local Pentacostal. I looked confused as I asked her "why?...they are Christians." She said she could find no non-Christian church locally. I asked why she did not go to the local Synagogue... she did not know what that was, so I explained. The short of this is that she claims, after taking their religious studies course, that Jews ARE Christians. She professes to have received an 'A' for the course. She purportedly has a 4.0 average. If this is true, it speaks volumes as to the 'quality' of their education.

I am not saying that she definitely has perfect grades, and I am not saying that all people who take their courses are idiots.

My points are these... check carefully about the quality of ANY courses you may want to take before laying down the cash and double check the school's accreditation by contacting a reputable school and asking if the credits are transferable; if they are not, do not waste your time and money. Many quality schools are offering online courses. You will have to do research in your classes, so do some research before classes.

Nicole-calling people hippies is hardly mean, evil and insulting. In fact, most revel in the accusation!! And please understand that my comments are mine and mine alone-I just happen to agree with many of the complaints about the University of Phoenix on this and other websites. And you are right-I was the perfect fit for the U of P-an undercover conservative who gritted his teeth for 2 and 1/2 years while long-haired ponytailed freaks spewed their liberal bias all over me!

All I am saying on this count is that the U of P had better do something to balance out their faculty. I hope they (U of P management)learned from their mistake of contributing to john kerry's campaign. We have all seen what a flake and loser he has turned out to be. And don't think for one minute that I have any great deal of respect for George Bush, d**k Cheney, John Ashcroft or any of the other "leaders" of our Great Republic who were all "too busy" to put it on the line in Vietnam, as they are asking our young men and women to do today in Iraq and Afghanistan. But anyway, back to the topic at hand.

The U of P is broke, and needs to be fixed. I woud hate for my degree to turn into a piece of toilet paper.

PS-Calm down Nicole-I respect your right to be a flaming liberal. But please respect my right to be a redneck conservative.

Mark,

First, I am a Veteran's wife and from a long line of military family. So, don't call me unpatriotic.

Second, the U of P IS ripping people off.

Whether you like the liberalness of the school or not is not the topic here.

But, since you make a slander to a Non-Issue, then I will respond in kind.

It seems like such a perfect fit for you to go to U of P. And, therefore logical in your total "love-hate" for the school...

Is that why Conservative Gays have such a hard time with being a Republican -- because they seem to show the inner workings of self-hatred?

The whole party shows self-hatred busting at the seems. It is blatantly obvious that hatred and racism runs the conservative movement nowadays.

By your lowering yourself, tarnishing the education you have, by calling people names. It is typical of conservatives to resort to name-calling when they do not have a logical point to make.

Calling people names gets one no-where.

It also shows that you lack the education of a well-mannered officer.

It also shows that, for good reason, many logical conservatives have already left -- and are fleeing the party. In massive droves.

It is exactly why, as a former Republican from a long line of Republicans that I will do everything I can to address the hypocrisy you are.

It is exactly why I EMBRACE Progressive and Liberal Values - because they have solutions and don't dwell on problems like the conservatives. There is only so much complaining and name-calling one can listen to without wanting to do something to SOLVE the problem.

However, you picked the wrong school to bash liberally.

It just goes to show what a perfect fit you would be for the U of P as a student.

In fact, I suppose that since you are enrolled already, you can add yourself to the "Bush Appointed Me" list and continue to embarass yourself and your party.

It is because of name-calling people who self-hate like you who show your lack of education and manners -- that I left as a conservative and will never go back to the Repulican party and exactly why I take every single opportunity to bash it.

Because It is No Longer the Party of Abraham Lincoln. Sadly, like you show, it has become a sign of un-educated name callers that get nothing accomplished but rather people killed by lying to the American public and showing our younger generations that it really is ok to lie and get people killed without any sort of accountability.

Since when does being a liar and a thief and GETTING AWAY WITH IT IN THE PUBLIC EYE SO BLATANTLY MAKE THE CRIMES OK? Can you imagine what this does to children who are witnessing this daily example of blatant disregard for honesty, accountability, for reason, for manners, for respect, for life?

Can you imagine what a future of name-calling, self-righteous, selfish, mean lying theives would do to this nation?

Just think of the children who look up to you as an officer. Just think of the people looking at the sitting President continue to make a mockery of justice and lie, cheat and steal without any accountability for it. What does that image mean? Does it mean that it is ok for us people to now do the same to each other? Well, can you imagine a kid saying that if the president can do it, he can too?

You should be ashamed to be affiliated with such an outfit, much less even want to identify yourself as a conservative with it.

No, the U of P -- I agree with you -- DOES seem like the right type of school for you.

I hope that you learn someday to not tarnish the image of the military by your irrational name-calling and by lowering your standards in uniform.

I hope that we have at least come common decency left in this nation before its too late.

The hour draws near where we as a nation will either rise above and hold these crooks in office accountable for the daily death and destruction to make a profit over people.

Or we will sink into the demeanor witnessed above by denigrating ourselves into a nation of name-callers and shallow ideals, while letting obvious criminals run free while imprisoning those who do the same crimes while poor.

God help us all.

Gina-your response just screams LIBERAL!!!! You would be the perfect candidate for a U of P professorship! I am not sure where you get your information. Do you have a college degree from a "real" university? If you do, then you no doubt dealt extensively with "professors" who never left school and ventured into the "real" world.

I am a master's graduate of both a "real" university and U of P. Most of the professors I dealt with both during undergrad and graduate studies at the "real" universities I attended were long-haired tards who had never ventured out into the real world, but had instead remained in school attending various fraternity parties and dope-ins for the 8-10 years it took them to finally get a doctorate.

Your accusation that U of P professors are "only recent graduates" is outlandish. I verified the credentials and status of every one of my U of P professors. Not that they were all great instructors-not even-but they all had verifiable real-world experience. So on that count, you're full of it. And as far as the "diploma mill" accusation you make, such can be said about any on-line structured program. I took part of my first master's from a state university on-line program and it was very similar to the U of P program. Quite frankly, I would rather do the on-line program as opposed to attending classes and listening to some long-haired hippie wannabee who spews his marijuana-soaked theories from the virtual pulpit.

As a former military officer who has participated in combat operations on 2 continents, and who has seen men, women and children die up close and personal, I don't need some long-hair who has never left the comfort of a university telling me what combat is like, and what our nation's war policy should be. I learned the most from the interactions I had with the other students, not the professors. I never told my classmates where I was, or what I did because most of them were America-hating ultra-leftists who fell in line with the U of P attitude of John Kerryism, as did my professors. Wouldn't they have been shocked to know I was writing my papers during lulls in combat operations in places they were hearing about on the evening news!

Anyway, I am not here to defend U of P. I am not a shill who is here to defend every accusation. As a 4.00 student at U of P, I had several complains, none of which was ever addresed. They have a lot of problems-and they had beter get them fixed fast, or else they are through. Chief among them is the U of P's pervasive liberal attitude. They need a more balanced perspective, as horrible as that may sound to U of P management. And yes-the advisors do suck. But as a former major college footbal player, I can tell you some advisement horror stories from that world as well. The fact that Intel has dropped U of P from tuition reimbursement should be a huge wake-up call. We'll see.

...about Intel flunking UOP and cutting off tuition reimbursement to UOP; or the State of Tennessee flunking UOP's Nursing Programs, (both BSN and MSN) and not even allowing it to continue, regardless of where the money comes from. Now the wheels are truly beginning to come off this sorry excuse for a school.

Throw in United States v. UOP, options backdating, an EEOC lawsuit, a stockholder class action lawsuit and another lousy year at the Aviary of Incomepetence (aka UOP Stadium, home of the NFL laughingstock Cardinals) and you've got a plate full of crow.

UOP has been found out: only a chump would now sign up with that losing outfit.

Who needs to buy toilet paper? Let's just recycle UOP diplomas!

Gina,

Whether or not a man is appointed by an incompetent should not disparage their abilities. I don't know who Howard Schmidt is but after a quick search on the internet I see he is considered to be one of the nations top cyber security experts. Reading on I see he left goverment service in 2003 and has been very successful in the private sector.

Your reference to Michael Brown is nothing more than a red herring and has nothing to do with the context of this thread. If you wish to attribute the actions of a person to the education they received then Brown's accolades at Central State University in Oklahoma and Oklahoma City University's School of Law would come into question. Maybe he would have been better prepared if he had gone to UOP?

Anyway, quit trying to throw diversions into the thread.

I looked into University of Phoenix a while back, but I discarded it for a number of reasons. When they hire faculty, they ONLY hire relatively-recent graduates which means that they are not necessarily hiring people with the most value to students. Students benefit from seasoned professors who have had a few years of learning how to present ideas to their classes, have developed a fair system of grading etc.

The next reason that I decided against University of Phoenix is because it was one of several "mail-order" universities that the GAO complained about in their report entitled, "Government Employees Obtaining Dubious Credentials from online and correspondence schools."

If you're looking for a good school, look into their credentials first. Do they have national accreditation? Would their courses transfer to a traditional college or university? How are they viewed by law schools, post-graduate programs and employers?

Finally, I am not sure that noting that a man appointed to critical infrastructure protection by President Bush is a real proof of the school's value for two reasons: one, most of our chemical plants, ports, railyards and electrical plants etc. are still unprotected and two, Bush praised his buddy, Mr. Brown, when New Orleans was being torn apart. Bush said that "Brownie did a fine job." He said the same thing about Rumsfeld. To me, having Bush select a person as an appointee carries a very strong likelihood of the presence of complete incompetence rather than astute educated ability.

I agree with the "EDUCATED" man from Fresno. I do think these rebuttals holding Apollo Group and its unsavory tactics in high regard to be something like the KKK, or as I like to call them, The Bedsheet Gang! Cowards that actually are moles without the guts to admit they actually work for the entity.

I am apparently not afraid to let you know who I really am, but I am a Texan, and that speaks for itself. I am also finding out that many people are upset by the fact that many entities want nothing to do with a University of Phoenix degree.

Intel pulled out for a reason, the Ninth Circuit Court upheld its decision for a reason, and the United States Supreme Court ignores Apollo for a reason. They are guilty! Dee, Dee, Dee!!!

On the subject of water Robert, are you the same Robert that responded to me claiming to be from California? The one claiming to be a UOP employee? Perhaps you need a good cool glass of water to the face to give you a proverbial wake-up call, nothing personal, guy, but coming from a person who truly suffers from mental illness, you are truly delusional.

As far as fake students in the classrooms, I myself have noticed an interesting pattern. If you prefer, I can rewrite this in APA format to better help you understand. You asked the man for facts, and he gave you the facts. Enough said!

Of course UOP has to pass some of you legally and give some of you your degrees to give the appearance of being legitamate... think about it. Thousands of complaints being so similar should raise a red flag, don't you think?

I am glad you profess to have had a happy outcome with UOP, I am quite sure the rest of us would have been happier to not have to resort to Rip-Off Report in need of help. I am happy for your successes in life, wherever they may take you. I truly hope you really are who you say you are, but that is between you and the "man upstairs", now isn't it?

Find an unbiased third party website to do your research if you are a serious student. I work for one of UOP's competitors, and it pains me to see any educational institution subjected to this garbage.

It's always fun to find a "rebuttal" from a UOP graduate; isn't it strange that happy AmwayU students/graduates are culling thi site?. AmwayU does have it's moles!!!

Routinely, these moles marginalize Rip-off Report complaints as coming from lousy students, or bad eggs looking to find fault in everything they see. The moles refuse to see these complaints as real issues coming from real people who see a systemic problem that needs fixing.

I saw this same attitude 20 years ago with Amway. The Amway faithful zealously defended their MLM scheme to the very end.

I can get into a pissing contest with the Amway U folks forever. However, these facts cannot be refuted:

AmwayU's business school has not graduated ONE Fortune 500 CEO/CFO...zero, zip, nada. This from the self-proclaimed largest "University" in the country with over 30 years on the books.

Over the past two years AmwayU (Apollo) stock has dived from 100 to 51, while the exchange it's listed on(NASDAQ)has seen gains between 5 and 15%. Apollo's equity owners are getting killed. Why? Because Amway U, despite huge profits, and an obscene Return on Investment, has been found out as incompetent within the Academic and Business Community--that's why there are NO AmwayU President's at ANY major University, NO AmwayU Fortune 500 CEO's and NO AmwayU Nobel Laureates.

Online education is a superb idea, but when Amway U buries it's head in the sand and does not re-invest it's profits into instructor pay, and better infrastructure blogs like Rip-Off Report will be filled with punishing Amway U reviews.

I find your claims difficult to believe. I did my Masters online with UOP. I was completely happy and amzed at the professional online environment and seamlessness of my program. The counselors were available whenever I needed them. Furthermore, my classmates were phenomenaol people from various parts of the country, whom some were already in adminstrative positions at their respective districts. After countless hours of hard work and valuable learning, I obtained by Masters. I am now an administrator at one of the local high schools.

I also have a friend who is currently attending the ground program at the Fresno campus. Like me, she is extremely happy with her experience. She raves about the university every time she talks about it. She loves her counselors. She has not experienced any turnover of any of her counselors she ever had. Not a single one of counselor has quit, from her enrolment counselor to academics to financial aid.

Because she's had such a great experience, she is also having her 19 year old daughter start there as well. I have not heard anything negative about the school whatsoever from any other community member in Fresno or Clovis. I hear that the chief of police from San Jose also earned his Bachelor's from UOP.

UOP has great people working there. People that genuinely care about students and their success. And the curriculum is up to date, challenging, and allows students to retain what they learn. It's tricky at first with the learning team thing, but once you know the ropes, it's great.

Learning is about retaining what you learn, not learning to take tests. I know some good test takers in my lifetime, but they are not necessarily retention learners.

UOP is the next best thing in the world of higher education. If they continue to do what they are doing now, other universities will have to catch up to them and learn a few things, about taking care of students and retention learning.

I only heard good things about UOP. So I am shocked to learn that people here are so disgruntled with their experience.

If you've had a bad experience in the past, leave it at that. I hope you don't assume it's like that everywhere or that it's a pervasive, on-going dilemma. That's not been the experience of mine or others that I know who have gotten their degrees from UOP.

What I can say is, you'll hear poeple complaining about every school out there though. I've gone through the traditional route, and I would never go back. I've heard negative things about State schools and UC schools as well. (I went to Fresno State. They lost my records on a couple occasions, which really caused me a lot of headache at the time. Other things happened too. But I didn't blame the system, I blame the human error that occured.)

Talk to other people about their college experience. I'm sure you'll hear some concerns and disappointments too. But you know what, remember that people will always have something to complain about.

I have read alot of comments about UOP and it seems like every time someone defends this school they get bashed unneccesarrily. UOP seems to have very few that defend the school but this guy Robert above I have seen post alot lately. I'm not here to defend UOP but I have to defend Robert because his posts are based on facts rather than emotions.

I don't plan on going back to UOP but I don't blame them for me dropping out either. I failed to meet the guidelines that they disclosed to me before I applied for financial aid. I think alot of people that complain on this website are in the same boat.

I find it even more suspect that anyone would try to manipulate a debate using fallacies like those in your post Casey. Maybe you work for UOPs competitors? Right there I am guilty of a fallacy as well. How does it feel to be a victim to false assumptions?

I am a mid thirties family man looking to get ahead in my job. I had considered an on line degree to give me an edge in the marketplace. After researching UOP (Apollo Group) my mind is made up. The numerous complaints, I hold them as valid due to the similarities, and this one mans war to single-handedly save the reputation of the school.

I find it suspect that you go so far to dispute and discredit all claims against this so called school of higher learning, "Amway U". You have to love that one. You have put a lot of work into proving that someone of notability attended that school. Great job and very impressive but even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then. Either you have an ulterior motive or you are an "Eccentric Robin Hood of Academia."

Thank you all for your help in the discernment of my educational choices. My time and money will be better served at the local community college. This may be a little less convenient but a lot less manipulative.

Biography of Howard A. Schmidt

Howard A. Schmidt joined eBay Inc. as Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer in May of 2003. He retired from the federal government after 31 years of public service. He was appointed by President Bush as the Vice Chair of the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board and as the Special Adviser for Cyberspace Security for the White House in December 2001. He assumed the role as the Chair in January 2003, until his retirement in May 2003.

Prior to the White House, Howard was chief security officer for Microsoft Corp., where his duties included CISO, CSO and forming and directing the Trustworthy Computing Security Strategies Group.

Before Microsoft, Mr. Schmidt was a supervisory special agent and director of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI), Computer Forensic Lab and Computer Crime and Information Warfare Division. While there, he established the first dedicated computer forensic lab in the government.

Before AFOSI, Mr. Schmidt was with the FBI at the National Drug Intelligence Center, where he headed the Computer Exploitation Team. He is recognized as one of the pioneers in the field of computer forensics and computer evidence collection. Before working at the FBI, Mr. Schmidt was a city police officer from 1983 to 1994 for the Chandler Police Department in Arizona..

Mr. Schmidt served with the U.S. Air Force in various roles from 1967 to 1983, both in active duty and in the civil service. He had served in the Arizona Air National Guard from 1989 until 1998 when he transferred to the U.S. Army Reserves as a Special Agent, Criminal Investigation Division. He has testified as an expert witness in federal and military courts in the areas of computer crime, computer forensics and Internet crime.

Mr. Schmidt had also served as the international president of the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) and the Information Technology Information Sharing and Analysis Center (IT-ISAC). He is a former executive board member of the International Organization of Computer Evidence, and served as the co-chairman of the Federal Computer Investigations Committee. He is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Scientists. He serves as an advisory board member for the Technical Research Institute of the National White Collar Crime Center, and is a distinguished special lecturer at the University of New Haven, Conn., teaching a graduate certificate course in forensic computing.

He served as an augmented member to the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology in the formation of an Institute for Information Infrastructure Protection. He has testified before congressional committees on computer security and cyber crime, and has been instrumental in the creation of public and private partnerships and information-sharing initiatives.

Mr. Schmidt has been appointed to the Information Security Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB) to advise the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget on information security and privacy issues pertaining to Federal Government information systems, including thorough review of proposed standards and guidelines developed by NIST.

Mr. Schmidt holds a bachelor's degree in business administration (BSBA) and a master's degree in organizational management (MAOM) from the University of Phoenix. He also holds an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters

"Give me an answer. Have you read UOP's list of "distinguished alumni"? What a joke! Pulitzer Prize Winner? NO. Nobel Prize? NO. General/Admiral Armed Forces? NO. National Academy of Sceince? NO. Fortune 500 CEO? NO. Academy Award Winner? Even a friggin soul who has passed a bar exam? Nada."

Howard Schmidt was appointed by President George W. Bush as the Vice Chair of the President's Critical Infrastructure Protection Board in December 2001. The board reports to Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor and Governor Tom Ridge, Director of Homeland Security. The Cyber Security Board focuses on building a specialized group of senior government and private sector leaders to focus on cyber security issues and coordination of security related incidents.

Before that Schmidt was one of 29 industry leaders called to the White House to meet with President Clinton on cybersecurity. He has testified before a joint committee on computer security, and has been instrumental in the creation of public and private partnerships and information-sharing initiatives.

Schmidt holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and a Master's degree in Organizational Management. Both from the University of Phoenix.

...and I gave them to you. Hard numbers from Wall Street. UOP, at one time, had it's own stock...it raced to 100. Enrollments started declining in 2003; the market took note...the stock has been steadily declining ever since. Why? Credibility. Why are there no complaints on this site against Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, Michigan, Cornell? Only UOP? I'm asking you for answers here. Give me an answer, OK? Why has Apollo stock hit the skids? Give me an answer. Have you read UOP's list of "distinguished alumni"? What a joke! Pulitzer Prize Winner? NO. Nobel Prize? NO. General/Admiral Armed Forces? NO. National Academy of Sceince? NO. Fortune 500 CEO? NO. Academy Award Winner? Even a friggin soul who has passed a bar exam? Nada.

NO honors whatsoever! From the self-proclaimed "largest school in the country." That's been in business since the 70's Why?

I'm waiting.

I understand where you're coming from...you've spent countless hours and thousands of dollars...now you have to put "UOP" on your resume...pathetic. Maybe you can arrest UOP's slide into incompetence.

I first enrolled while I lived in California before I moved to New Mexico. Satisfied? Unlike your wife, I read all the documentation thoroughly before I enrolled. The reason I care to know as to the root cause is because I wish to understand why some people like to discredit this school.

How do you expect to rally support for your complaints unless you present some facts? Is it because you don't have any? Or like many other UOP students who come to complain to this site, your argument holds no water? Don't want to take responsibility for your actions? Choose to blame others and make lame assumptions?

If you post to a public messageboard, expect to be criticized.

...regarding the post from Robert/New Mexico...why would a student from a New Mexico UOP campus know of, or even care about California's disclosure laws? Or the root cause of our difficulty?

Maybe because that student is more than just a student? Maybe that "student" is UOP staff, yes? Oh yeah, I've seen on these posts, and many other sites, thinly disguised rebuttals/comments from UOP staff, claming to be just regular folk.

To all UOP staff writing comments: identify yourself as UOP reps...show some guts and stop sweating Big Daddy Apollo.

Wall Street has found out Acamdemia's Amway (Apollo Group/Amway U./UOP) Since May 2004, the NASDAQ has climbed, AS A WHOLE, 15%. During the same period Apollo Group, a NASDAQ listed stock, (APOL) has LOST 42% of it's market value--a 57% downward swing against a baseline of thousands of other stocks on the same index.

Nuff said.

Bad tech support?
High turnover on counselors?

What is the root issue? Were there technical problems or financial aid issues? Your wife really can't complain about the cost as this would have been disclosed to her when she initially filled out her financial aid paperwork. California actually has a required disclosure statement detailing the costs of tuition and fees that your wife is required to acknowledge before she can finish her application.

I support UOP and have had bad experiences there. But no worse than most other schools I have been to. For the most part while I use financial aid, I am very aware of amounts and ensure that I adhere to the policies set forth by the DOE.

I do not feel like a sucker at all and have learned a great deal in the 16+ classes I have taken at UOP.