A good friend of mine alerted me to the 60 Minutes program on career universities tonight (Jan 30). Though I missed the program, just doing a few Google search on the Internet was enough for me.
I have been almost giddy about the upcoming UoP faculty interview at the Costa Mesa campus for an adjunct professor position. The pay, according to UoP, is very little (supposedly less than $1,000 per class). My point wasn't the money - I've always wanted to teach professionals who are eager to learn (as opposed to kids who are in college because their parents said so), and I thought I was given a chance to finally do so by the UoP.
I got my MBA a few years back from a traditional university here locally - I worked my butt off to earn that degree, and I'm very proud that the program and the school itself is highly ranked in the nation by major publications. Thanks to the education and also some luck and lots of hard work, I have been working as an executive in my industry for quite some time.
Regarding the allegations I've been reading about "Enrollment Counselors/Advisors", I can probably attest something to it. Through a job site, I went ahead and signed up for the Enrollment Counselor position just out of curiosity. I got to the 3rd (and I believe final) interview with an Enrollment Manager who was, by all means, a very nice guy and simply AWESOME sales guy - probably better than any of the people portrayed in "Boiler Room" (go see that movie if you haven't). However, things he quoted to me during the interview and also the mock phone call (me playing the Enrollment Advisor trying to score an appointment with a prospective student) made me quite uncomfortable. Now that I've read about the class action lawsuit filed on behalf of Apollo Group's investor, I can see why: looks like UoP is still, despite DOE's requirements, tying salary to enrollment performance. Make no mistake about it, the Enrollment Advisor's job is to SELL SELL SELL!
And if he or she doesn't make the numbers (something like a hundred students enrolled every 6 months), there's very little chance of making the big bucks - and if you don't make the numbers within a year, you should consider leaving. Now even if you've scored that many students, if you don't continue on scoring, your salary will be dropped in the next 6 month cycle. Totally understandable practice if I was managing my manufacturer's rep or my sales executives for Wal-Mart and Target, but quite questionable for an educational institution. But, Apollo Group is out to make money, and I'm sure UoP has helped many with their education, but I'm just uncomfortable reading about the level of education and the "care" shown by UoP's professors.
I am glad I read all the complaints and rebuttals here, and also about the lawsuits and allegations by students and investors on the net. I guess I will try to find a real brick and mortar university to teach instead.
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