Thread regarding University of Phoenix layoffs

Dear Colleagues,

In my June 29th message, I outlined a number of bold, strategic changes to how we serve our students that we believe will result in a more stable and higher-performing University. These changes are critical to our becoming a more focused, more trusted, higher-retaining and less-complex institution - and if executed well - they will position us to again begin to lead and grow. In that memo I also committed to providing more information and updates about these changes. The purpose of this message is to share more details about one of these important changes, our market investment strategy. As a reminder, in my June 29th message, I described this effort as follows:

"Consider more aggressively investing in fewer markets to establish a strong regional presence that can meet ground and online students’ needs. This would mean better engagement between corporate and nonprofit organizations, our students, faculty and alumni - all while retaining our differentiating national footprint. These investments will also support the regional long-term strategies Executive Deans recommended for their respective schools and colleges. It would also allow the University the ability to offer more hybrid/blended offerings for students."

Today we are ready to kick off this effort in earnest. We’re retiring the current vocabulary around campuses and learning centers and establishing a more consistent, holistic and relevant concept - driven and supported by the priorities and academic needs of the Schools and Colleges. The key aspects of this new model are described below.

Every one of our locations will receive the necessary investments to bring them to an even higher, and uniform standard - by making significant upgrades that will improve the student experience, improve faculty support in classrooms (including hybrid learning), motivate and help our dedicated staff, and create a vibrant destination for activities linking community, employers, alumni, faculty and students to enhance and enrich all aspects of our activities in each location. These will include making sure all locations have dedicated career services spaces, centers for the proctoring of third party tests and wireless technology that empowers students to share content in the classroom seamlessly, along with other facility improvements. Select locations will also have video conferencing and veterans’ centers. In addition, we’re piloting and exploring options about how best to optimize space function in these campuses through innovative new concepts - starting with new configurations that will launch in Orlando, Chicago and Salt Lake City. Almost immediately we will start actively engaging the campus directors and staff to help us design and execute these upgrades in the way that best enhances each of these locations.

In addition, in a number of locations we will invest in innovative resources and facilities to create college specific “centers of excellence” such as high-tech IT labs, counseling centers, entrepreneurship centers and building on our existing nursing labs to explore the concept of a dedicated health care campus. All of these investments will improve academic standards and student outcomes as we allow the colleges to execute on each of their own strategies.

It will be the campus leaders, staff and faculty - not just the upgraded facility - that will create this important transformation of our ground locations into truly unique, vibrant venues for teaching, exchanging ideas, bringing in industry leaders and employers and hosting career fairs, alumni events, speeches and civic meetings.

Practically speaking, all this means the University has now made the challenging decision to devote more resources in a set number of places: 26 regional markets, 29 of our existing designated campuses in 17 states, including Washington D.C., for a total of 67 locations. Those are outlined below.

To make these decisions, every campus and learning center location was evaluated for a number of factors to identify the best communities in which our Schools and Colleges’ programs can thrive. These aspects include total working adult population, job demand, employer trends, student demand and preference, population density, state education levels and the labor market.

With this evaluation comes the difficult decision to no longer enroll ground students in 14 designated campuses and a further 10 learning centers who were notified this morning - we will continue to accept online applications from students in these states. I know that you will all join me in supporting our colleagues as they work through the challenges of teach out and transition.

You will shortly be receiving further communications about how this vision will affect you and your teams specifically. We’re actively going to seek to involve the campus directors and all staff in the creation of unique vibrant locations. I encourage you to participate and help us lead this new chapter.

Thank you for your ongoing hard work, dedication and support.

Sincerely,

Timothy P. Slottow

President

University of Phoenix

Timothy P. Slottow, President

University of Phoenix

1625 W. Fountainhead Parkway, Tempe AZ 85282

email: president@phoenix.edu

Love is the answer. It transcends all physical limits. Donkey Kong.

@502 - management can help by putting a solid plan of action in place. Keep your workforce engaged and show them respect. Remember sometimes it is about business need and they know that. If business is evidently being disrupted by their actions they will feel it and adjustments are made. UOP has one of the best support systems provided via its representatives and tech support reps. Build good relationships with those assets and they will work hard. Generating more business doesn't need to be a mandate, it should just happen naturally. People are organically designed this way.

AA is going. I hope management can turn things around.

@452 - I think it's very possible. I think it would definitely compete in that market very well. It already has an operating model designed for the working-class via its online flagship. Online Associates need to go. It's mainly unprepared students who get into AA's so either completely downsize the AA's to select few and can demonstrate proficiency. Or, build additional cohorts with community colleges and make it a pre-req for interested AA students to complete a minimum of 24 gen Ed credits that are directly applicable towards AA. This will help alleviate drops and class's that are a bit costlier than a local JC. Yes, this may decrease short-term enrollment a but it will also build better long term student/institution relationship and positive experiences would increase. Grad rates would rise, and non-profit would allow the university to also save millions in taxes. Loss of capital on the short term (pay off shareholders) and gains in tax benefits in the long-term. Short, steady local growth in satellite campuses as well as online exponential growth. As grad rates rise, alumni find employment in their respected areas and can responsibly pay back their loans reputation will come back at full force. Use your capital wisely UOP, treat your workforce well, stand tall with your heads up. You were able to set unprecedented milestones once, you can do it again!

Why would Grand Canyon becoming non profit negate the possibility of Phoenix doing so? Even at half the enrollment it had several years ago (and dropping), it's still huge...much bigger than GC. The school does now seem to be taking steps to reverse the damage that's been done. I hope it's not too little too late, and there is some way for the university to get back on track in a reduced, more ethical fashion. The history of Phoenix is a good one, but taking the company public and aiming for unsustained growth was its undoing.

Appears Grand Canyon has captured the market for any transition to nonprofit in Phoenix. What lender would participate in that type of risk?