Online education
Students have access to class-specific online resources, which include an electronic library, textbooks, and other ancillary material required for a course. Electronic textbooks include search features and hyperlinks to glossary terms that make the books easier to use for research.[43]
Through its online portal, eCampus, students also have access to software required for coursework. Students have access to virtual companies created by the university to provide students with assignments, which Adam Honea, UOPX's dean and provost, claims are more realistic than those available with case studies.[44] In August 2011, Apollo group announced it would buy 100% of Carnegie Learning to accelerate its efforts to incorporate adaptive learning into its academic platform.[45]
Some academics and former students argue the abbreviated courses and the use of learning teams result in an inferior education.[46][47] The University of Phoenix has been criticized for lack of academic rigor. Henry M. Levin, a professor of higher education at Teachers College at Columbia University, called its business degree an "MBA Lite", saying "I've looked at [its] course materials. It's a very low level of instruction."[46]
Corporate training
The university runs a program called "corporate articulation agreements" that allows people who work at some companies to earn college credit for the training they have completed at their jobs. As of December 2015, the university had agreements in place with around 300 companies.[48]
To qualify for college credit, students can either create a professional training portfolio or write an "experiential essay".[48] A professional training portfolio is a collection of documents such as transcripts from other schools, certificates, licenses, workshops or seminars.[49]