Case Analysis of the Apollo Group

Case Analysis of the Apollo Group

Introduction

The Apollo Group runs the University of Phoenix. The university was officially formed in 1978 with the accreditation of the idea of John Sperling. The university mainly caters the adult students who are working individuals. The age limit is usually between 23 to 36 years. The university has renewed its accreditation five times since its inception. The university has centralized curriculum development system.

John Sperling, founder of the Apollo Group was born in 1921. After graduation Sperling joined marine and served there for two years. Then he joined Reed College in Oregon and then got masters degree from Berkeley. Then he went to University of Cambridge for PhD in Economics History. In 1960s, Sperling was the experienced professor in the San Jones State University. Ho joined American Federation for Teachers and convinced professors to arrange a strike. The strike backfired, and almost 100 professors had to lose their jobs.

In early 1970, the San Jones State University asked John to run workshops on new courses of the university. The courses were designed for police and teachers who were dealing with juvenile delinquency. John laid the foundations of the curriculum and divided classes in small groups. He hired experienced and experienced teachers to handle each class. Sperling thought to start a degree program in this field and negotiated with the VP of San Jones State University. His idea was rejected, and then he formed an organization with the of Professional Development. The institute tried to find academic institutions with operational losses and contacted University of San Francisco for accreditation of the degree.

The University of Phoenix views the students as customers, and the customer is king. The classes have flexible timings to meet the timings of the students because the students are mostly employees. The University ensures the easy arrivals of students to classes.

The UOP went through various development phases and now the university has about 200 campuses and learning centers. The university has campuses in 39 states. The UOP has also developed the online education system which was started in 1989. The university has more than 160,000 students enrolled in online education.

Discussion

Strategic Groups Map

This map is primarily drawn on two axes. X-axis contains the levels (high and low) of Research and Development. Y-axis contains the prices level (high and low). UOP is not involved in heavy R&D and charging exorbitant fee. The following figure will present the relative comparison of UOP and other universities and educational institutions.

Five Forces Analysis

The five forces analysis primarily compares the industry with the company. The following analysis is about the education industry of United States and the University of Phoenix. The rating scale is based on strong and weak scaling. The paragraphs will be used for the analysis.

The first factor is Rivalry among competitors. This will rated as strong on the scale. There is a huge rivalry among all the competitors providing education to the employed students. UOP is facing competition from private for-profit institutions and traditional public institutions ...