University of Phoenix-West Michigan Campus

The University of Phoenix (UoP) is a for-profit educational institution that specializes in adult education. The largest private university in the world, UoP claims over 280,000 students. Founded in 1976 by Dr. John Sperling and owned by Apollo Group, Inc., the university has now expanded to include physical campuses in 38 states, as well as in Canada, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The university offers more than 100 degree programs at the associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels in various fields of study.

History

In the early 1970s, at San Jose State University in California, John Sperling and several associates conducted field-based research in adult education. The focus of the research was to explore teaching/learning systems for the delivery of educational programs and services to working adult students who wished to complete or further their education in ways that complemented both their experience and current professional responsibilities. At that time colleges and universities were organized primarily around serving the needs of the 18-22 year old undergraduate student given that the large majority of those enrolled were residential students of traditional college age, just out of high school. “According to Sperling, working adult students were often invisible on traditional campuses and treated as second-class citizens.”

Sperling founded the university in 1976 in Phoenix, Arizona.^{[[Wikipedia:Footnotes|footnote]]}In 1980, the school expanded to San Jose, California. By 1989, the university had become one of the first providing an online program for students.

University of Phoenix is a wholly owned subsidiary of Apollo Group, Inc. publicly traded on and is a S&P 500 corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona. With 250,000 students, most of them working adults, the university is the United States' largest private university. The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona is a municipal sports arena, best known as the home of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals and the site of the NCAA's Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The University paid $154.5 million for 20 year naming rights for advertising purposes.

The University of Phoenix (UoP) is a for-profit educational institution that specializes in adult education. The largest private university in the world, UoP claims over 280,000 students. Founded in 1976 by Dr. John Sperling and owned by Apollo Group, Inc., the university has now expanded to include physical campuses in 38 states, as well as in Canada, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The university offers more than 100 degree programs at the associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels in various fields of study.