It doesn't seem possible, but this past February was my 10 year anniversary of being with the University of Phoenix. There have been a lot of ups and downs in that time, but they have been absolutely wonderful to work for. This prompted me to dig up some old photos of my time there so far, which was quite entertaining!
When I started in 2003, I was only 23 years old, and I was hired on at a job fair as an academic advisor.
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| My team at a bowling team builder in 2003 |
About 2005 or so, Apollo Group (owner of UOPX) started Associate programs through Western International University (WIU). Students would then transition to get their Bachelor's through the University of Phoenix. They took a large group of people from UOPX to start up WIU. I was one of the advisors that they transferred to start up the programs, so I was shipped off to a new building, new manager, etc. This actually did not happen without quite a bit of drama. Apparently, the people they chose to bring over to WIU were not run by upper management at UOPX, and they tried to stop my transfer. After making the move, I struggled with quite a bit of boredom, as I went from working with about 300 students to 14.
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| Top Performer event with Amie in 2004 |
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| Danielle and Julie. She was my manager in Student Services and we now work together in Academic Affairs. |
During my time in Student Services, I had heard a lot of stories about how Academic Affairs was like the promise land of the company. While there were hundreds of us in Student Services at the time, there was only a small group of people that worked in Academic Affairs. Almost all of the jobs required a Master's degree. Since I was at ASU at the time, this motivated me to get my degree done. I ended up taking 9 credits my last semester, which was extremely stressful working full time. I was actually lucky enough to have ASU (and UOPX!) let me do my internship with the department I wanted to be in at UOPX. After the semester was over, I pretty much knew the in's and out's of everybody's jobs in Academic Affairs.
Once I completed my degree, I was hired on as a Faculty Development Administrator in Academic Affairs. I spent my days investigating plagiarism and Code of Conduct issues. Believe it or not, it was about this time that WIU was replaced by an Associate's program they called Axia College. While all of these school names are confusing, they were still all under the Apollo Group umbrella.
In 2006, I applied for another job in Academic Affairs at Axia called Instructional Specialist. The job consisted of coaching faculty that were not in compliance with their faculty requirements. I think I enjoyed the Faculty Development job a bit more, but the Instructional Specialist job allowed for telecommuting after being in the job for 6 months. You had to live more than 50 miles outside of the Phoenix metro area to telecommute. After 6 months in the job, that is when Mike and I decided to move back to Illinois, so I would be able to do the same job from home. At this time, I was also doing contract work on the side for Axia, including faculty training, faculty mentorships, peer reviews, and student workshops. I literally did not get done working each night until about 10:00.
However, little did I know that another change was just around the corner. In 2007, they laid off most of Academic Affairs and replaced the Instructional Specialist job with a job called Full-Time Development Faculty Member. If you were interested in the job, you had to apply, interview, etc. I applied for the job and was able to continue working from home. The only difference between this job and the old one was that in addition to our old job duties, we also had to facilitate 4 courses a year on our salary. Once everything settled down, it was business again as usual. I also was still going out to Phoenix every summer to sit as a faculty member at their graduation ceremonies (we were required to go). Outside of the ceremonies and the heat, it was the best vacation ever seeing all my old friends.
In 2011, another surprise came our way. They decided to eliminate Axia College and I was suddenly back with University of Phoenix again. I was really lucky to have a job, as they laid off a bunch of people during the re-organization. I had the same job, but I was now in the College of Nursing at UOPX and I would only work with Nursing and healthcare faculty that were not meeting requirements in the classroom. Most of my old friends and co-workers on my old team where placed in different colleges all over UOPX. When we came out for graduation, it was like a reunion. :) So, as of right now, I am still working as a Full-Time Development Faculty Member for the College of Nursing at University of Phoenix. However, you never know what may be around the corner.... :) I am just so lucky to have made life-long friends, as well as have a job that I love!
