Devry University

I wrote that University of Phoenix (also University of Phoenix) and online education are almost synonymous and it's fair to say that University of Phoenix (also University of Phoenix) is the most prominent online university in US. Close number two is Devry University (also Devry University), and I don't think that many argue with that. I cited comments made on University of Phoenix (also University of Phoenix) and added my thoughts when I wrote a column about University of Phoenix (also University of Phoenix). I will take the same approach again; I will cite comments made on Devry University (also Devry University) and add my thoughts.

There was a report about some cat's having received an online college degree a while ago.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Jerry Pappert isn't amused, since Colby is a pet cat and a Texas-based online college allegedly gave the feline a degree for $399.

"I filed this lawsuit to stop a massive illegal spam campaign that not only defrauded consumers and employers, but damaged the reputations of numerous Pennsylvania businesses across 24 counties and a government office," Pappert said Monday.

Pappert's office used the pet cat to investigate an alleged scheme designed to promote and sell bogus online academic degrees.

Source - Cat Gets MBA Degree, NBC10

JumpHook.com mentioned about this, and one of its readers responded as follows.

Everyone knows college pussy is the best pussy! But seriously, it is wrong to use your pussy to get a diploma. Haha I joke, but I always knew DeVry graduates were pussies.

Source - JumpHook.com

Aside from rather vulgar language, the response is pretty typical. There is a widely adapted perception that Devry University is an online university that essentially sells online college diplomas; they do not provide any real education.

There was an online discussion about computer science education at Philip Greenspun's Weblog, and one of comments made was as follows.

The type of curriculum you describe would be appropriate at the Devry Institute of Technology.

We don't train auto mechanics or plumbers at prestigeous 4-year universities, so why should be continue to train code monkeys in this way? Actually plumbing or auto repair is probably a more lucrative career path as these functions are inherently difficult to offshore.

Source - Philip Greenspun's Weblog

Devry University is not recognized as a real university. Devry University is often seen as a training school or a vocational school.

Perhaps they will be replaced by DeVry Institute-type ventures: places that make no real claim to "universal" education, but simply to professionalization and training. Certainly Cortland, with its emphasis on teacher certficiation and sports-related education, clearly is interested in moving in that direction. But the strange thing is that not all of the students seem interested in professionalization. Many of them, particularly in Arts and Sciences, are not particularly excited about graduating and working for some corporation.

Source - digital digs

The university's public relations department probably has much work to do still, but students at Devry University seem pretty enthusiastic. One of CS students talk about his programming course enthusiastically in his blog.

"Structured and Object-Oriented Techniques (An Introduction Using C++)", 2nd Edition, written by Andrew C. Staugaard, Jr., published by Prentice Hall. Nowhere near as humorous as the Llama Book. A good start on C++ nonetheless. (Is that a word? Or is it none-the-less?) A required textbook for my classes at DeVry University. I fell in love with C++, and after the classes ended, my interest didn’t. Now that I have a stable job, I want to complete the textbook. Yea, I’m a geek, deal with it.

Source - Careless Thought

Also Devry University offers wide variety of courses, and they are one of selected universities that show up in IT trade shows to explain their offerings to IT professionals.

DeVry University was the only major educational institution present. Nicole Smith, Manager of Corporate Development, was on hand to answer basic questions but she wasn't able to convince a professor or two to come out on a Saturday to provide information on technical aspects of DeVry's offerings. Their course descriptions (PDF) do list some Linux/Unix courses including C/C++ programming but you will have to contact one of their advisers to get a better idea. Some of these may be available through their online classes.

Mad Penguin dot org

DeVry University is thriving.

After a few dot-com-era bumps, online education is back and bigger than ever. But so is corporate influence and bottom-line pressure. As distance learning grows into a $5 billion a year market -- up 38 percent in 2004 alone -- virtual classrooms are no longer the sole province of dot-coms and for-profit schools like DeVry and Phoenix. Top universities such as Harvard, Stanford and Duke now offer full credit for online courses. On campuses nationwide, distance learning is moving out of the pedagogical fringe and into the institutional mainstream.

Source - xplanazine

Summing up:

University of Phoenix and Devry University are very similar in the sense that both are very successful for-profit universities, a lot of people criticize the quality of education that they provide, yet many students are quite enthusiastic about their study and they are proven models of sustainable for-profit online universities. It's probably fair to say that Devry University is structured more like a training school or vocational school, but Devry University is fully accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, so if nothing else, you will get a college diploma from an accredited university as you complete your study.