Apollo Group (Apollo), a US-based for-profit education company was started
by John G Sperling (Sperling) in 1973. Since, its inception, the group's focus has
been to provide higher education programs tailored for working adults. Over
the years, the group with its subsidiaries, the University of Phoenix (UOP),
the Institute for Professional Development, the College for Financial Planning
and Western International University has created a highly profitable
post-secondary education business. In order to cater
to the needs of thousands of adults who wanted to pursue their education
and were not able to attend regular scheduled classes, Sperling pioneered the
concept of for-profit higher education for working adults. By 2004, the
consolidated revenues for the group had reached
$1.7 bn, UOP being the catalyst behind Apollo's
growth. Apollo was one of the first education companies to be listed on
the NASDAQ. With its programs and services spread across 37 states in
USA, in Porto Rico and Vancouver (Canada), 109 teaching centers and 60
campuses, Apollo had become a leading provider of higher education programs, dedicated
to the education of working adults.
By focusing on a narrow range of career-oriented programs, developing
a common syllabi, treating students as customers, providing student finance
and pioneering the concept of online learning, UOP became the largest private
university in the US. In its initial years, UOP had
to overcome the hostility from the educational community as
representatives from traditional colleges and
universities tried to prevent its accreditation. Also,
it was criticized for its high tuition fees. As Business Week reported, the education establishment branded UOP as a
`diploma mill.' But, Diane Harley, Director of
the Higher Education in the Digital Age (HEDA) Project at the University
of California at Berkeley, said, "even though the parent company is unpopular
among some critics of for-profit education, the consensus is that it understands
its market, and Phoenix Online is proof of that. Its niche is `the convenience
market,' where the customers want fast, easy
access to degree programs." |
