University of Phoenix July 2012

You work hard. A college degree does too. With convenient class locations as well as online learning, University of Phoenix makes quality higher education accessible for working students. Whether you're seeking a college degree at an associate's, bachelor's, master's or doctoral level, we can help you reach your academic goal--and sooner than you might think.

Higher education. Highly accessible.

Founded in 1976, University of Phoenix is dedicated to meeting the educational needs of working students. You can choose to learn at a local campus or online--and you'll receive a real-world education with real value.

• Attend University of Phoenix classes at times and places that fit your busy schedule.
• Learn from University of Phoenix instructors who hold advanced degrees and have substantial experience in the fields they teach.
• Collaborate with college peers in small, interactive classes.
• Receive personalized student support every step of the way.

Get a real-world education.

Whether you're seeking education to earn your associate's, bachelor's or advanced degree, University of Phoenix can help. Program availability varies by location and learning format.

Business and Management

In today's fast-paced business world, you need problem-solving and critical thinking skills--as well as the latest knowledge and techniques. At University of Phoenix, you learn from instructors who have substantial experience in the fields they teach. So whether you're studying accounting or administration, management or marketing; you'll receive a real-world education that can help you achieve your goals.

Criminal Justice and Security

Depending upon the program you select, you can study topics such as the nature of delinquency and crime, criminal law and procedure, and the components of the American justice system. Additionally, you can learn key management and administrative skills.

Education

Education programs at University of Phoenix cover a variety of areas within this important field. The curriculum enables you to gain up-to-date expertise and may provide preservice teacher preparation. Additionally, specializations cover a range of topics--all designed to create healthy learning opportunities for students. The curriculum is continually updated to reflect the latest theories and techniques in teaching.

Human Services

At University of Phoenix, students interested in helping others can gain the key knowledge needed to work in the human services industry. The integrated program includes academic instruction in the foundations of human services such as counseling, social work and psychology. Depending upon the program selected, management skills such as planning, organizing, assessing and evaluating may be incorporated.

Nursing and Health Care

For those interested in the health care field, University of Phoenix offers health administration programs. These programs can help you develop the knowledge and skill set needed in a variety of health care and related health settings. University of Phoenix nursing programs, which are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (www.aacn.nche.edu), can help registered nurses develop their professional skills and knowledge.

Psychology

Wouldn't it be helpful to gain a better understanding of people's thought processes, emotions and behaviors? Psychology degree programs at University of Phoenix focus on the general rather the clinical psychology of individuals to provide students an understanding of the cognitive and affective processes that underlie the individual human experience. Research methodologies as well as critical-thinking and problem-solving strategies also are explored as they relate to the evaluation of behavior.

Technology

The curriculum of the information systems and technology degree programs at University of Phoenix is designed to prepare students with the competencies and skills needed to function effectively in the information technology arena. Students can explore specific technology areas while learning to address real-world business opportunities and challenges.

Earn your degree when, where and how you want.

University of Phoenix fits your lifestyle and learning style. Depending on the degree program you select, you can attend class on campus or online. Some campuses offer degree programs in a combined campus-based and online learning format. While widely available, not all degree programs or learning formats are offered at all locations.

1. Online Learning Format

Providing the flexibility of an online education.

• Complete coursework through online forums.
• Receive lectures, questions and assignments online from your instructor. Study them at your convenience.
• Participate online in class a minimum of three or four days per week, depending on your degree program. You choose the days and times.
• Build teamwork skills by collaborating on additional online assignments with your learning team.

2. Campus-Based Learning Format

Providing the convenience of attending classes near your home or workplace.

• Attend classes one time per week, and meet with your learning team once a week. Classes are held in the evening or on weekends. Some campuses offer day classes.
• Complete assignments on your own, as well as with your learning team.

Your degree is within reach.

University of Phoenix strives to make higher education highly accessible. Financial options, including financial aid, are available for those who qualify.

1. Financial Aid

You'll get to work with your own University Finance Advisor. They'll show you a number of ways to help keep you on track and also present you with our many scholarships. Several low-interest financial aid options are available. University of Phoenix participates in many federal student aid programs, including the Stafford Student Loan, PLUS Loan and the Pell Grant.

2. Financing Options

University of Phoenix offers numerous options for financing your education. Our cash-paying plans let you pay for one course at a time rather than an entire semester or year at once. Alternatively, pre-paying tuition will guarantee that your rate will not increase for the duration of your program.

3. Company and Military Funding

University of Phoenix is eligible for most company reimbursement and tuition assistance programs through your employer, the military and the government. The University also offers special military rates for members of the military and their spouses. In fact, our military division is well-versed in the Post 911 GI Bill and other options such as the Yellow Ribbon Program.

Medical Financial Aid

Early management of educational loans and finance has significant long-term benefits. Your school's financial aid office is the best starting place for resources, help with applications, information on financial aid and other funding options, and financial aid awarding policies and procedures.

AAMC Resources
Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR)׀A must-read guide to premedical preparation, application procedures, admission requirements, financial aid, and estimated expenses for U.S. and Canadian medical schools.

FIRST for Medical Education offers a full range of resources, services, and tools for applicants, medical school students, residents, advisors, and financial aid officers. Our goal is to help medical school borrowers expand their financial literacy, make smart decisions about student loans, and manage their student debt wisely.

Loan Consolidation Primer׀A resource to help borrowers determine whether to pursue loan consolidation.

The Layman's Guide to Education Debt Management׀A resource to help residents manage their student loans.

Education Debt Manager׀Step-by-step, common sense strategies for managing debt.

Herbert W. Nickens Medical Student Scholarships׀This AAMC scholarship recognizes outstanding academic achievement of medical students entering their third year.

Caring for Community Grant Program׀A national medical student service project sponsored by the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative.

Other Resources
Income-Based Repayment and Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Income-Based Repayment (IBR) is a new payment option for federal student loans. It can help borrowers keep their loan payments affordable with payment caps based on their income and family size. Public Service Loan Forgiveness is a new program for federal student loan borrowers who work in certain kinds of jobs. It will forgive remaining debt after 10 years of eligible employment and qualifying loan payments.

Loan Repayment/Forgiveness Scholarship Programs
State and federal repayment programs, and loan and scholarship programs available to allopathic medicine and other health professions students

National Medical Fellowships
National Medical Fellowships provides need-based scholarships to first and second-year medical students from groups underrepresented in medicine.

Uniform Services University of the Health Sciences
Students attending USU's F. Edward H退bert School of Medicine enter the university as commissioned officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force or Public Health Service. Medical students pay no tuition or fees in exchange for a seven-year active duty service commitment.

Fizzy Aspirations & Constipated Dreams

I've just returned from an informal session with some students participating in a mentoring program sponsored and run by 100 Black Men of Chicago. They work with African American high school boys on topics from academics to health; I was asked to do a college presentation and work individually with some of their seniors. And I have to say how inspired I am after that session.

About ten students were there (including one girl, the sister of one of the boys), with six seniors and the rest from other classes. The seniors by and large had actually done most of their applications and some had even heard back from the colleges they had applied to! I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they'd really done their homework. The biggest issue I ended up illuminating for them was college costs: Most said they'd been told by their teachers that going out of state for college would cost them more than staying in state. I quickly put that myth to rest and did an impromptu college financial aid presentation, which visibly relieved not only the students but also the mentors.

The range of aspiration varied but I could tell that with enough lead time any one of the boys there could probably do well enough in high school to attend a decent college. The most prepared had actually visited Pepperdine, and knew a great deal about the process. But all the seniors except one had at least put in an application. And they seemed not to be very stressed about it.

The other concept I wish I'd had more time to talk about is "fit." The sister who was there said she'd gotten several full ride scholarship offers as well as some partial scholarships. I said that was great but that she should be sure to go to a school that met her needs, not just one that was free. I think she took that to heart because I saw her writing information down and going through the "compare colleges" pages of the College Board site that I'd steered her to.

One reason I'm so inspired by this Saturday morning meeting is that it was good to see kids and their mentors focused on college and trying to make a difference in their lives. I was impressed by the men in the room and felt that they were putting a lot of themselves out there for the good of the next generation. I confess that I don't see middle class and prosperous African American adult males in groups very often, so I was humbled and full of admiration at the same time. I realized how provincial I am despite my best intentions, but I was greeted and thanked warmly, given plenty of time to do my presentation and share in the men's desire to do something right with and for these boys.

Another reason for my excitement is the wonderful contrast between working with this group and working with the families of my former employer. The freshness and eagerness of the African American boys I saw today stood in such contrast to the constipated dreams of the parents I once worked with. These were parents for whom having to go to Tufts instead of Brown was a major tragedy; for whom not getting into a "name" school was simply "unacceptable" and a failure (of mine, not their child's); for whom any little twig of advantage had to be grabbed to give someone already supremely privileged another "edge" into Valhalla.

It's such a relief to be out of that niggardly, grasping, contentious, and status-anxious world. It feels so immensely better to be devoting my time and talents to students and parents who can really use my help and who actually appreciate it, who believe that hard work really does matter, not just who you know or how you construct yourself according to some nasty "How to Get Into College Book." I think that the kids I work with now are more authentic and actually more desirable in many ways, despite academic lacunae, and that with the right support an inspiration early enough they could do just as well as the overbred scions of the crafty elite. Let's not forget that George Bush drank and C'd his way through Yale; I'd put up any of the kids I've met in the last year against him and feel confident they could do better at running a country, never mind four years in college.

I haven't looked back at my former school with anything much more than pity since I left (not voluntarily but willingly). The endless agonizing over iotas of meaning in instructions and points on tests, the ceaseless strategizing that finally erodes any traces of interesting character traits, the fierce determination to "win" at any cost, and the sad Bataan death march that is high school for these students, even one that purports to give them so much (that's another story), left me feeling sorry for them and pity for their parents. But in the end there was no real help for them--they all wanted what they wanted and refused to accept less than that, despite the fact that they received more than they deserved in the first place. I'm glad to be with kids and adults who see the world head on and are willing to take it as it comes, rather than always trying to find a way around it; I'm glad to see the spark in a young African American boy's face when you tell him he can indeed go to college. I live for that now and feel like it's what I should have been doing before.

It takes time to learn these things--but better late than never.

Is Free Tuition Really Free?

I know you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth (and surely there's a 21st century version of that around somewhere...), and I support colleges' and universities' using more of their endowments to ease the financial burden on families with low incomes. In fact, I work with first-generation and underserved students, so anything that eases their way to college I support. But I wonder about the implications of a "free" college education: By not asking a student or family to make any financial commitment to a college education, how will that change the dynamic between them and the college or university? And how will it affect the way a student values that education?

I've worked with the Daniel Murphy Foundation here in Chicago for a number of years. They help talented 8th graders from needy families attend private schools here and elsewhere by providing a scholarship and by getting the host schools to kick in most of the resrt of the tuition. But no matter how financially needy the family is, they are asked to contribute something to their child's education. This seems proper to me because it asks the family to back up its generalized support of its son or daughter with hard cold cash, a measure of its commitment. It's a commonplace that we value most what we pay for, and I think that applies here, too.

One might say that disadvantaged families are already in enough of an economic bind but I'm not talking about asking for anything that the family can't handle. The DMSF pegs its request of the family to income and families are able to pay it. It's not about the money; it's about the commitment. Since most of the colleges and universities eliminating loans and so on are in the elite crowd, perhaps their status automatically generates commitment from the families, but I think if someone comes up to you and hands you a diamond for free, you're going to wonder about whether it's stolen or a cubic zirconium. Without a price tag it's hard to gauge the value of the item. And I don't think it's unfair to ask students to shoulder some kind of debt if they really want the kind of education that a college can give. Again, not anything crushing (save that for law school or med school) but enough to keep their eyes on the academic prize.

My other reservation about the rush to give away the store is that it only benefits a handful of students at a time and only at the very point of entry to college. All that money might be better used to strengthen the educational prospects of more students from disadvantaged backgrounds sooner, so there might be a greater number of first generation and underserved students in the application pool. Right now, colleges' and universities' largesse is passive, not active: It rewards those who have made it through the American educational system but hasn't actively affected it. In a sense it validates a Darwinian process of survival of the fittest instead of attacking many of the inequities of the system at their root.

The economic might of the Harvards, Yales, Amhersts, and so on might be better used to inject life and hope into needy schools starting at 9th grade or even earlier, helping them build strong foundations for their students as they prepare for college. By taking a more active role in education, by considering themselves part of a K-16 educational continuum rather than the beneficiaries of the results of "educational selection," colleges and universities might have a much greater and more significant effect on the education of America's least served but not undertalented students. So two cheers for spending more of their endowments, but a third cheer in reserve for when colleges and universities really take up the task of improving American education where it needs it the most.