Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
2009 Texas Higher Education Leadership Conference Accelerating Closing the Gaps:
Making Opportunity More Affordable for Texas and Texans
Where Are the Cost Efficiencies in
Higher Education?
Dr. Jorge Klor de Alva
Former President, University of Phoenix
President, Nexus Research and Policy Center
University of Phoenix
UOPX is a Proud Contributor to Texas Higher Education
San Jose
Sacramento
Las Vegas
Salt Lake City
Denver
Colorado Springs Albuquerque
Tucson Phoenix San Diego
So. Cal
Detroit
New Orleans
Orlando Seattle
Portland
Grand Rapids
Oklahoma City Tulsa
Honolulu Guaynabo, PR
Tampa
Jacksonville
Baltimore
Maui
Philadelphia St. Louis
Cleveland Pittsburgh Boston
Dallas
Houston
Milwaukee Boise
Kansas City Chicago
Santa Teresa Vancouver, BC
Charlotte Reston Billings
Wichita
Indianapolis
Nashville Memphis
Worcester
Jersey City Columbus
Cincinnati
Little Rock
Columbia Reno
Spokane
Cheyenne
Louisville Minneapolis
Des Moines
San Antonio
Atlanta
Raleigh
Columbus Austin
Omaha Calgary, AB
Ft Lauderdale
Wilmington Sioux Falls
Alaska
Birmingham
Also includes locations in Mexico and The Netherlands
Includes states in which the University is licensed to operate. At the current time we do not have locations in Alaska or Montana
University of Phoenix
UOPX Is a
Comprehensive University:
Offering Associate,
Bachelor, Master, and
Doctorate Programs
Helping to Close the Gap Between Educational Attainment of Different Ethnic Groups in Texas and
Nationwide
Source: NCES 2005 Caucasian
61%
Hispanic 10%
African American 12%
Asian/
Pacific Islander Other/Unknown 6%
10%
Native American/Alaskan
1%
National Enrollment
As of 02/29/2008
Caucasian 51%
Hispanic 11%
African American 30%
Asian/
Pacific Islander Other/Unknown 3%
4%
Native American/Alaskan
1%
University of Phoenix Enrollment 2009
University of Phoenix
Cost Efficiencies Through Innovation:
A New Learning
Platform—Again
Online Modality
For Students Onsite and Online:
Full Integration of Technology
University of Phoenix
Online Campus (Established in 1989,
Before WWW available to general population)
•1996 enrollment 2,000
•2008 enrollment >200,000
Resource: Digitizing Education Products and Services
•All course materials delivered via electronic portal
•Allows for rapid revision of materials
•Includes rich media
•Permits 24/7 access from anywhere
• 1720+ courses maintained by Colleges
• 1690+ courses completely electronically enabled with
• Electronic textbooks (over 1,800 works)
• Electronic articles (online library <20million articles; 65K publications; 114 databases)
• UPX-owned writings
• Discussion questions
• Web links
• 260+ courses use Simulations (<140K unique users/month)
• 400+ courses use Virtual Organizations (over 76K unique users per month)
• 100+ courses have Web tutorials
• 100+ courses use Electronic Portfolios (over 15K unique users per month)
University of Phoenix
Online Course Delivery:
Comprehensive and Multidimensional
Online Delivery of Support:
Student-centered, Ubiquitous
University of Phoenix
•Center for Writing Excellence
WritePointsm (Immediate feedback; <600K papers/month)
Tutor Review (Faculty reviewed, within 48 hrs;
<6K papers/month)
Spanish Writing Lab (El Centro de RedAcción) Dissertation Services
Tutorials and Guides
Turnitin Plagiarism Checker (promotes originality and improves writing and research
skills; <400K papers/month; 15 minute turnaround)
•Center for Mathematics Excellence
Running Start
Online Tutoring (< 4K live tutoring sessions per month; approximately 10K students per month access site for assistance)
Self-Assessments
•University Library
Onsite Support for Online and Onground Modalities
University of Phoenix
Local Resource Centers Nationwide
•First centers were established in Texas
•25 new centers by end of last year
•Drop-in centers for computer usage, tutoring, etc.
•Open and staffed 7 days a week
•Available to all students and
faculty – both online & onsite
•Creates community for students and faculty of both modalities
University of Phoenix
Does All This
Technology-Based Support Lead To
Success?
University of Phoenix
Key Predictors of Degree Completion for Open
Enrollment Institutions
• High School Grades
• Transfer Credits
• Risk Factors
• All only partially predict success
University of Phoenix
Number of Risk Factors vs.
Bachelor Graduation Rate (%)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
DOE 1996 Data UPX 1998-2000 Data
Note: Almost all UOPX students in the 1998–2000 cohort studied had R6 (financially independent) and R7 (working full time) risk factors as determined by USDOE because UOPX required students at that time to be working and at least 23 years old.
University of Phoenix
Transfer Credits vs. UPX Bachelor Graduation Rate (%)
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
1 to 15 16 to 30 31 to 45 46 to 60 Over 60 Transfer Credits
Data Source: UPX cohort 11/1998 to 3/2000.
University of Phoenix
Taxpayer Costs Public Not-for-Profit For-Profit UPX
Direct Government Support2 $11,992.06 $5,641.11 $712.49 $0.00 Student Loans –Interest Rate
Subsidy4 38.16 93.78 152.51 123.66
Expected Future Loss Due to
Loan Default5 64.14 80.15 527.44 599.67
Taxes Forgone on Investment
Income of Endowments6 550.25 7,079.64 0.00 0.00
Taxes Forgone on Additions to
Endowments7 39.73 92.45 0.00 0.00
Taxes Forgone on Gifts,
Grants, and Contracts8 325.36 2,406.55 0.00 0.00
Taxes Forgone on Corporate
Profits9 2,387.78 5,534.64 0.00 0.00
Sales & Other Taxes
Forgone10 131.20 304.10 0.00 0.00
Total Costs $15,528.66 $21,232.41 $1,392.44 $723.34
Taxpayer Credits
Tax on Corporate Profit11 0.00 0.00 1,146.91 818.06
Sales and Other Taxes12 0.00 0.00 63.02 46.09
Taxpayer Credits 0.00 0.00 1,209.93 864.15
Net Cost to Taxpayers $15,528.66 21,232.41 182.51 -(140.82)
Research Expense13 2,279.27 4,563.00 0.00 0.00
NET COST TO TAXPAYERS WITH
RESEARCH EXPENSE REMOVED $13,249.39 $16,669.42 $182.51 -($140.82)
Cost Efficiencies To the State:
Net Cost to Taxpayers Per Students