Powerpoint Presentation on the University of Phoenix's Apollo Group and the strategic planning implemented by UOP's Founder and Chairman, John Sperling.

1. MBA 580
Presented by: Rose Soto
Instructor: John Vincent

2. History of the University of Phoenix
 John Sperling (88 yrs) – Founder
 Chairman of the Apollo Group Inc
 “Unintentional” entrepreneur now on the Forbes 400
list of America’s wealthiest people
 Completed high school
 Joined the merchant marine
 Went on to Reed College
 PhD from Cambridge University (Economics major)

3. Online Concept Formed Early On
 1972 Sperling was chosen to run workshops at San Jose
State
 Brought in teachers who were experts in their fields,
divided the class into small groups, and challenged
each group to complete a project
 Curriculum he sketched out was slapped down
 Stanford University backed his idea
 USF became his first client and became a success

4. Strategic Thinking
 Became a for-profit enterprise
 “The faculty member is an equal in the classroom. His
job isn’t to expound wisdom, it’s to serve a learning
group.”
 Sperling forbade tenure in his own programs
 After a futile five year battle to win accreditation,
Sperling left California and headed to Phoenix
 In 1979, UoP earned its accreditation

5. UoP – How a university for working
adults should look, feel and function
 Main campus has no student center, no fine-arts
buildings, no center
 School offers undergraduate and graduate-degree
programs in business, information
technology, accounting, management, marketing
 Age of average student – 34 yrs earns between $50,000
and $60,000 a year
 1989 Sperling purchased a distance-learning company
to create profitable electronic education system

6. John Sperling was ahead of the
game (a strategic thinker)
 In 2000 the university’s online enrollment jumped 81%
 Phoenix online now generates $327 million in revenue
 Analysts at William Blair & Co. call it one of the best-
performing tracking stocks of all time

7. SWOT ANALYSIS
 Strengths: UoP offers classes both online and on
campus
 Instructors are working professionals in their fields
 Credit is given for prior courses and life credit is also
considered when enrolling

8. SWOT ANALYSIS CONT’D
 Weaknesses: Many other online schools today that
rival with UoP
 UoP must invest more money in their technology in
order to stay ahead of the game
 Faces controversy over traditional higher educational
schooling

9. SWOT ANALYSIS CONT’D
 Opportunities: To continue being a leader in online
education
 To increase the program offerings at the school in
order to keep up with the market
 To expand on a global level and use the same business
model that has made it successful

10. SWOT ANALYSIS CONT’D
 Threats: Ongoing battles to force the university to
continue to meet accreditation
 Many other online competitors will try to gain
advantage over UoP with newer marketing methods
 Concept of attracting only working adults is changing
to lure in students who are completing high school as a
potential market share

11. Financial Key Notes
 Since going public in 1994, Apollo has racked up an
annual growth rate of roughly 25%
 In 2002, it had $1 billion in revenue-a 31% increase over
2001.
 Its distance-learning division claims nearly 60,000
students and an enrollment that’s increasing at a rate
of about 60% a year
 Its stock has split twice and nearly tripled in price
since its IPO in 2000, making it one of the few Interact
companies to have prospered

12. John Sperling’s lessons on
business: Ignore them
 Ignore your detractors: “If I weren’t immune to
criticism, it would have been impossible to create and
protect the University of Phoenix from hostility and
legal assaults. But that’s a unique characteristic that
was positive for me. If someone in an organization is
indifferent to the feelings of others, he won’t function
well.”
 Take bet-the-farm risks: “I drove my company to near
bankruptcy on a couple of occasions, that kind of bet-
the-farm risk taking helped build the Apollo Group.
But I had nowhere to go but up. I had nothing to lose.”

13. More advice we should ignore…
 Challenge authority: “If you challenge authority, but you’re
not tough enough or shrewd enough to carry it off, you’ll be
ill served by this advice. The same can be said for a number
of characteristics that have served me best: opportunism,
joy in conflict, a thrill from taking risks. None of them is a
safe ride.”
 Never set a goal: “An English historian once observed, ‘He
goes farthest who knows not whence he goes.’ There’s much
truth in this. If you have a goal, you’re constrained by the
goal. Organizations must have a coherent philosophy, a
clear direction, and the strategies to make the journey
successful.”

14. References
 Breen, Bill. (2003). The hard life and restless mind of
america's education billionaire. Fast Company, (68),
6p. Retrieved May 17, 2009, from Business Source
Complete database.
 Apollo Group, Inc. (2007). Mergent's Handbook of
NASDAQ Stocks (Wiley), (1), p22.
Retrieved May 16, 2009, from Business Source
Complete database.

15. Questions?