Compare and Contrast of the University of South Africa and University of Phoenix

Compare and Contrast of the University of South Africa and University of Phoenix

In 1873, the University of the Cape of Good Hope was established; now referred as the University of South Africa or UNISA. The University of South Africa served as a model for all other branches of higher education in Africa. UNISA ultimately established itself as the examining center, not an instructional center, for Oxford and Cambridge Universities ("UNISA," n.d.). Today, the University of South Africa boasts over 300,000 students in Africa and around the world. Their graduation rates are an impressive 62.6% with 31,000 students receiving diplomas annually ("UNISA," n.d.). UNISA offers bachelors, master, and doctoral programs. While they exist in a region which is portrayed as a developing nation, the definition fails to illustrate their standards of instruction. UNISA was rated sixth in Africa and 862nd in the world out of approximately 9000 colleges and universities ("Wikipedia," n.d.). Consequently, in 1976, the University of Phoenix lunged itself into the educational arena. It was founded by a Cambridge economist, Dr. John Sperling. He was an active instructor and a visionary who desired to assist those who were less fortunate or experienced difficulty, due to employment, in attaining follow-on degrees such as bachelors or master degrees. Dr. Sperling sought to educate the working adult, which is after all, one of the primary objectives of distance education. University of Phoenix claims to have 250,000 students throughout its 200 campuses in the United States along with several foreign locations. Its graduation rates are 1% for undergraduate degrees and 4% for graduate level programs. The numbers are not as impressive as...

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