Apollo Group's Bad Debt

Ryan    Uncategorized     Apollo Group, Online Universities, University of Phoenix

Today, Apollo Group, the owner of the ginormous, University of Phoenix, fell 4.71 points to $56.71 today out of news that they were below street estimates. The prime culprit you ask? Bad debt.

Now remember back in the day when people were foreclosing on homes, losing their jobs, yadda yadda yadda? Well to combat this, our government decided to issue some  stimulus into our economy. More money to people means more money in our economic system right? Not necessarily, but the idea is good. In addition to that stimulus, Obama told people, “Go back to school!”, “Get a higher education,” and so on and so forth. Again this is a great idea and an important tool to increasing the prosperity of our nation.. but what do you think happens to the schools when you have people who can’t pay for this education?

Another bad day on Wall Street.

High Education, For Profit Education.. it was a nice little alternative for people who lost a lot last year in banks or financials… but looking forward to this year and beyond… my only suggestion is to take caution. UofP mentions that they’re trying to focus their efforts from Undergraduates to more Graduates and Doctoral students… this does make sense, but if you are seriously considering a Masters or higher, I’d try and find a reputable University that focuses on Masters or higher.

For a long time, UofP and their undergraduate programs were a behemoth to not get in a battle with, but is it crazy to think that the idea of ‘Online University’ is moving more along the lines of ‘Online Graduate University’? I think it should, or at least play a more substantial role.

Online degrees (undergraduate) were a good idea, but as people become more and more independent within their own personal education system, so do their mentalities once they began their career. Now, with high school diplomas available online, are kids supposed to think that all higher education is easier AND better online? I hope not. Traditional universities with a campus, athletics, coffee shops, etc. are an important lesson ground for everyday life.. aside from a career perspective. Giving students that kind of experience is almost impossible for online universities to do.. this is why I believe online education should be a post undergraduate thing.

What do you think?

Peace.