Thread regarding University of Phoenix layoffs

This is believable in many ways. I do know from experience that many of the faculty kept graded mostly on mechanics and not on content. I had to sub a few times for a few faculty members that were retained and every response was marked with an "s'. I never understood this at all. Also, the feedback provided was canned and with very little substance. This was not all of the time but when I saw these names I was truly surprised.

I was not retained and I received advanced as an overall rating. I know that I worked hard and was diligent with my work and I can only conclude that they kept who they wanted to keep. No hard feelings and I wish my friends well. I have excelled and moved on. It was fun while it lasted. I am now making, even more, money and the institution is viewed favorably in all sectors. I could not ask for more. I spend my time educating my students instead of defending the quality of the school. Winning!

No FTF is rated advanced in all categories. That is an exaggeration, for sure. I also doubt you retained 20+ students in all classes. It happens sometimes, but not all the time.

Sorry Anonymous post, you are absolutely incorrect. I had a high completion rate of 20+ students in each course I taught. Rated Advanced in all categories, wrote my own materials, participation and feedback. I was laid off.

Many graded on mechanics only. I experienced the same when subbing. Low word requirements, all posts marked as substantive, and no focus on content on participation or assignments. I witnessed this in those who I know who were kept.

Then you didn't know very many FTFs. I knew of at least three who marked every post as substantive regardless of content and gave high marks with minimal feedback on assignments. I covered for a lot of vacations and saw a lot of things. Imagine my surprise when I came back from my vacation to find all students got As and Bs because they'd all been given full credit for their last week's work. The FTF never bothered to open their papers at all. It happened more than you think.

I know of no instructors that give everyone an A. That just doesn't happen. That said, the students who are doing poorly usually drop out before the class is finished, so the students who actually finish a class generally have higher grades and are better students. They would like us to retain the poor performers by figuring out ways to "reach" them. We call them, we try to get their advisors involved, we give them second, third, and fourth chances to complete late work, etc. However, ultimately, those are the students who are not serious about getting a degree and/or who are only doing the minimum so that they can get their student loan payout. That is completely beyond our ability to control or inspire. They always said we would not be penalized for that, but obviously we were and are.

Completion rates and being an effective teacher aren't necessarily related, especially for those who gave everyone an A.

Quite a bit of truth in this discussion. I was one of the FTF that was "let go". Many of those let go, were exceptional educators. My one thought on the selection process....The decisions were NOT based on numbers or credentials...Some excellent FTF that led others, created tools, and had a passion for educating were let go.

I was one of the FTF fired, I mean lost my job due to a reduction in the workforce (sounds so sophisticated) and I will admit that I was not happy because of the work that I know that I put into the job. Nevertheless, I can't change it and it has been for the better for me. I currently work full-time at another online university making $11,012 more than what I was making without all of the uncertainty. They were underpaying us to boot. I am saddened however that many of my colleagues have not been as fortunate and I am praying for them.

Phoenix conducted business no matter how piss poor it was handled, I get it. Was I salty, sure, but I am not going to knock the school that I proclaimed to be loyal to when I was making the $63k+. Is the school all of a sudden bad because they let us go? I am disappointed in how crappy they handled it and the lies told by leadership on a weekly basis. Many families are hurting because of the love of money and no compassion. I will not wish the UOP bad luck but I suspect that the ship is going down and the life jackets have holes in them. Best of luck to everyone looking for a job and some stability in your family.

"If full-time faculty could demonstrate higher retention rates (of at least 2-3 more students per class than adjuncts; preferably more), it might justify the expense of FTF." Riiiiight!

With the "open" enrollment policy... the only way retention rates can increase is to simply pass all students no matter how poorly they perform or how many assignments they refuse to submit. When faculty get students who can barely read or write, cannot navigate a web browser, and refuse to communicate with their instructor... instructors are faced with having some integrity and allowing the students to earn a failing grade... or passing them and hope that they can look themselves in the mirror knowing they are doing the wrong thing. Passing students who are not meeting the minimum standards is doing no one any favors.

The tuition of one student pays for an adjunct instructor, so if more than one finishes any given class, it's gravy for the university. On the other hand, it takes 3 or 4 students to pay for a full-time instructor. If full-time faculty could demonstrate higher retention rates (of at least 2-3 more students per class than adjuncts; preferably more), it might justify the expense of FTF.

They have indicated that there is no significant difference in retention between FTF and adjuncts, so now they are developing other "roles" for us to fulfill, such as mentoring. editing the newsletter, and managing Brown Bags. That is just for show (they are still under review with the HLC).

They are also developing leadership positions (similar to lead faculty). Eventually, when the HLC review is complete and/or when they resell the university, they will cull the FTF herd again. Perhaps they will just keep a few full time lead faculty. Perhaps they'll cut us all. However, it is only a matter of time.

And yet UoP has asked those who are or will be laid off to accept solicitations for courses as adjunct faculty. If they were so inefficient, then why allow them to teach at all? What a bunch of bull. It's all about money...and letting undeserving students pass for the sake of retention.

The remaining FTFs can spend their time making newsletters about themselves, presenting brown bags to themselves, and creating the word press website to copy from one another.

FYI, it is really coming. Once the mentoring faculty receives no hits (as if any full-time faculty member would come to any of them for guidance), watch how fast we start fading.

These responses make so much sense, especially the one that references the metric. The initial post is, however, factual because I am an FTF and management did tell us that we were kept because of our efficiency. Most did not buy it however because we asked several times with no response. We were being blown off at every turn. They had to say something otherwise the powder keg that was brewing would soon explode.

Listen, I do not blame Phoenix for laying folks off because that is just business; however, the way the hard working full-time faculty members were treated is hard to overlook. So, take the little justification and metric comment and go fly a kite. I am grateful to have a job, however, I still wonder on a daily basis when is my time. I have opportunities in the hopper because I am not positioned to wait around for someone to decide my fate. I am always prepared for the unexpected. Get on board friends. This train is leaving the station.

Look, people. No point in arguing over whether the faculty who were not laid off are "better" than those who were. Whatever metric management used, they figured they could justify firing the ones they fired.

You have to read the tea leaves. Don't believe a word that management tells you. Your jobs are toast, and sooner than you realize.

There were a lot of outstanding educators laid off. Those kept include a lot of "teachers" who just pass the students through with absolutely no compunction about setting students up for failure in their "real" classes. Retention as a measure of success is also a joke because some classes would start with 25 students and drop by half by week two because the students never showed up. The student population in those classes are prone to lower retention which is why they're all about teaching "grit" now. Keep them enrolled, keep collecting tuition, and keep telling students that more personal "grit" will get them through. Sure! Oh, and for the person who said the laid off were terrible teachers... You're probably one of the "managers" who has an even worse reputation than the very worst FTF. But don't worry. You'll find another reason to sue when they come for you.

I was retained as well, and I know that what you are saying is the truth. It is likely that some of the laid off faculty had lower measures of effectiveness and retention, but not all of them. I also believe that the rest of us will be laid off soon, regardless of what they say to us.

You must be one of the "managers"

Some of the FTF who were laid off needed to go. They were terrible teachers and were just there to collect a paycheck.

This company is motivated by money - not education, teaching, or learning outcomes. While most of us work for money, decisions made at uop are based on profits and putting as much money as possible into the pockets of those at the top. As I said, teaching ability and learning outcomes played no role in their decision of who to keep. Some faculty members were not passing illiterate students who can't put a sentence together. Some required substantive posts, the citing of references, and a demonstration of learning and meeting the course objectives. As the teacher, I took responsibility for what happened in my classroom and those students you speak of did not pass. If you are passing them, that's on you and not the university. I imagine there are some good teachers who were kept. I wouldn't want to generalize and say all who were kept are bad and all who were let go are good. Rather, I would encourage everyone to make an assessment of their own work. For those who pass students regardless of performance, you should do better. For those who use the wiki, I would encourage you to start doing your own work. You are fortunate enough to have a job...do it.

You might be right however, some faculty members gave the house away or simply mailed the check in and I was not for that crap. We are turning out illiterate unprepared folks and taking their money in the process. Unacceptable behavior and the university will pay a price for these injustices.

Those who were kept had higher completion rates. Some don't follow the rules or meet the minimum expectations, but were kept because they pass more students. Teaching ability, effectiveness, and efficiency had nothing to do with it. Some who were kept don't write their own materials and copy everything off that wiki. For those who were kept, if you aren't writing your own participation and feedback, you fit right in there at UOP. Be happy to move on, you will be better for it.