netrashetty
Netra Shetty
Apollo Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL) is an S&P 500 corporation based in the South Phoenix area of Phoenix, Arizona. Apollo Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, owns several for-profit educational institutions.
The company owns and operates four higher-learning institutions: the University of Phoenix, Western International University, Axia College (of University of Phoenix), the College for Financial Planning, the Institute for Professional Development. It also owns Insight Schools (Online Public High Schools for Washington, Wisconsin, and other locations), and Olympus High School. As of November 2005, the combined enrollment of the four U.S. domestic universities (UOPX, WIU, Axia, CFFP) was approximately 315,350 students. Of these, nearly 90% attend the University of Phoenix, which Apollo describes as "the nation’s largest regionally accredited private university" [3].
As of September 2008 the company also owns and operates Meritus University (Meritus) in Canada.[2] On January 24, 2011, citing how "enrollment will continue to be insufficient to sustain the required quality academic and student service infrastructure we and our students demand", Meritus University announced its closure, with their last classes taking place on March 14, 2011. Additionally, Apollo Group, Inc is the owner of BPP, and joined forces with Carlyle Group for tactical investments in education to expand student base. Apollo also purchased UNIACC college in Santiago, Chile and ULA college in Mexico.[3]}}
Apparently John Sperling started his entrepreneur career a little later than some, at the age of 55. While some people of his generation were retiring John was just getting started. Who is John Sperling, you ask well today he is a billionaire after a huge IPO. It took 18 years to get that IPO and several hard fought battles against an American tradition which was sorely outdated.
Was his company a high-tech, medical, government defense, or some miracle multilevel marketing company? No, in fact it was the most untraditional company America has ever seen. He has had hate mail, media defamation, and an entire non-profit organization that he spent 12 years building defy and leave him in the cold. California State Government officials taunted him, and his company was eventually kicked out of the "Great State" of California by the WASC; he was a true under dog in the academic world. So he went to Arizona to start again.
That's right John Sperling is the founder of the University of Phoenix and the parent company The Apollo Group. Seems kind of strange to think you can buy stock in a university. Let me see "I'll take management 3600, accounting 1050, and 185 shares of Apollo Stock, please".
John grew up in poverty his father hardly ever had a job and he remembers his mother saying almost on a daily basis "We are all going to starve to death." He claims that poverty forced him to be a hard worker, and further forced him do it for the rest of his life.
He may not know this but I do, he chose to be a hard worker. For example I know several people who grew up in poverty and who have stayed there, and several middle class who have achieved great heights. What I mean to say is that he truly with his whole heart really wanted more than what he had, he had a drive to succeed. Not every one who is poor chooses to be a billionaire. There are always exceptions; this is America there are no real socio-economical rules except those that we "perceive" are real.
I don't think he finished high school during the great depression; he joined the Merchant Marine instead where he learned to read and gain a lot of self esteem. He created an awesome work ethic at a young age. He joined the Air Force, went to Reed College, Berkley, and finally King's College Cambridge, by 1955 he had his Ph.D.
He tends to talk about his life in phases, the first gave him the foundation of his character, and the second phase education gave him the route out of his hard life. The third phase consisted of job or work place "know how" and the fourth was an integration of education and experience.
My favorite thing about John is his tenacity, when people he respected said it would never work he was inspired to seek a second opinion, a third, and a fourth if needed. He was determined to get it done.
He had identified a niche in that the traditional academic world refused to supply classes to older students when they needed them, and how they needed them. He didn't make a university degree easier to get, he just simply change the rules of how they were earned. The first semester offering his brilliant idea at San Jose State he brought in $40,000 in tuition for the school, and can you believe it by the end of the year the company had grossed over $210,297 in tuition; just by expanding to other schools. It was obvious to him and the traditional academic world that there was a high demand for his services. In the second year they grossed $2.8 million a staggering amount for any start up even today in the second year.
John's biggest battle was won when they earned their accreditation on appeal; no other university had ever done that. They were finally able to open their own doors and really rake in the cash. So wouldn't capitalism in education be a contradiction? Well yes traditionally speaking it would be. But think about it, academia has gone for centuries unchecked by the business world, always producing half ready employees and subsidized dependant citizens.
He believes that educational institutions need to be held accountable to the students for giving them valuable education and to the businesses who hire them. He understood that for profit business and our free economy was the only real engine in which an education of real value to both the student and the employer could be obtained.
Entrepreneur characteristics I noticed while studying John's Life:
• He created a business vision, a large revolutionary vision • He had a thirst for knowledge learning all he could about his education business • He created disciplined work habits • He fostered his tenacity to see his vision through despite criticism and defamation • He developed a passion for his business vision • He cultivated leadership skills enabling him to, shared his passion, and create a great business team who were loyal to his vision • He created habits of innovation, opportunity identification, honesty, and accountability • He grew in humility and was willing to listen to customers, the ones that had jobs • He had a desire to be in charge • He was involved in philanthropy and giving back to the community • He enjoys a great challenge
This was one of sixteen well-known prominent business, political, and academic leaders on leadership, entrepreneurship and overcoming adversity, including two billionaire entrepreneurs and several mega- millionaire entrepreneurs, including: Dr. Anthony Bonanzino, Jack Canfield, William Draper III, Mark Victor Hansen, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Monzer Hourani, U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI), J. Terrence Lanni, Dr. John Malone, Angelo Mozilo, Laurence Pino, Dr. Nido Qubein, U.S. Army Major General Sid Shachnow (Ret.), Dr. John Sperling, Dr. Blenda Wilson, and Zig Ziglar. Five internationally known and respected leadership scholars offered their reviews of the Dr. Haller’s groundbreaking leadership and entrepreneurship research and his findings including: Dr. Ken Blanchard, Dr. John Kotter, Professor Jim Kouzes, Dr. Paul Stoltz, and Dr. Meg Wheatley.
Dr. Haller’s groundbreaking leadership and entrepreneurship research was been recently published by the major German firm, VDM Verlag Dr M?ller AG & CoKG. Dr. Howard Edward Haller’s book is entitled: “Leadership and Adversity: The Shaping of Prominent Leaders.” [on Amazon]
Dr. Sperling was the founder and initial Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, of the Apollo Group, Inc., and is now the Chairman and Director. Apollo Group, Inc. owns and operates the University of Phoenix and several other colleges. Billionaire Dr. John Sperling was interviewed at his home in San Francisco, California.
John Sperling was born in poverty in the Ozarks. As a young child John suffered physical injury, psychological trauma, and was raised in a home where his parents were always fighting. John candidly commented that he was regularly abused by his derelict father. If fact, when John’s father died (when he was just 15 years old), John said he was “very happy.” Dr. Sperling said of his father’s death, “It was the best day of my life.” John overcame his early adversity, as well as impossible odds and facing multiple battles in his lengthy and successful entrepreneurial journey.
Professor John Sperling saw major unfulfilled educational (and business) opportunities that the traditional academic community was ignoring. He tried to work within the existing university system, but after meeting repeated resistance, Dr. Sperling literally walked away from his position as a professor at a major public university to pursue his entrepreneurial dream.
Dr. John Sperling’s very successful entrepreneurial venture, University of Phoenix, was challenged on a number of fronts because the University of Phoenix was a “for-profit” University, which the regulators believed it was educational heresy, immoral, and thought should be illegal. Sperling had to battle every educational and other regulatory body that his vehement enemies could launch against him. Dr. Sperling summed up the long list of those attacking him and the University of Phoenix, as everyone from every where, “including two regional accrediting agencies, the state legislatures in both in California and Arizona, the FBI, and various law enforcement agencies, plus multiple civil and criminal law suits.” While the journey was difficult for John, the University of Phoenix and the Apollo Group ultimately won the various battles, disproved their false charges, and was victorious in all the law suits.
In the beginning, Dr. Sperling used his fledgling company, the University of Phoenix (and it’s precursor) to help other well-established, traditional, “old school” Universities to successfully create and foster intrapreneuring ventures in adult college completion program for working adults, including bachelor’s degrees. Two of these successful intrapreneuring ventures supported by Dr. Sperling’s company, the for-profit Institute for Professional Development (prior to his creating the University of Phoenix) were done with the University of Redlands and St. Mary’s University, both these well-established and respected Universities are in California.
After relocating his firm to Arizona, and creating the University of Phoenix, Sperling began to focus his companies’ efforts into building their own brand in business bachelors’ and masters’ degrees, and other degree completion programs for adults. The University of Phoenix’s now has a full range of academic programs, including several Doctoral programs.
Dr. John Sperling’s life story is a true story of achieving the American Dream, that of being a successful entrepreneur! His life’s story is a real “Horatio Algier” story of going from poverty and parental abuse, then suffering the major regulatory and political attacks on his business from all sides, to going on to become a billionaire and accomplished entrepreneur!. John Sperling went from a semi-literate dyslexic kid, who barely graduated from high school, to someone with a master’s degree from U.C. Berkley and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University.
Dr. John Sperling is a focused, driven and successful entrepreneur who created the University of Phoenix, in spite of all the major opposition from Academic Regulators, bureaucrats, politicians, traditional “non-profit” academic institutions. Dr. Sperling led the charge and took all the arrows to create a for-profit revolution in higher education. Sperlings significant early contributions to the growth on entrepreneurial ventures in creating new adult degree completion programs at established Universities has launched the growth of a wide range of adult degree completion programs in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and through out the world. For more information on Dr. Sperling and his entrepreneurial journey and his entrepreneurial contributions, check out his autobiography. Dr. Sperling does an excellent did of telling his entrepreneurial story, as well as his long intense journey from extreme poverty to significant wealth in his “A Rebel with a Cause” (2000).
For full disclosure, Professor Haller taught both undergraduate business and MBA (Management, Marketing and Strategic Planning) courses (both classroom and online) for the University of Phoenix, from 2004 to 2008.
Billionaire, Dr. John Sperling, like most successful entrepreneurs, would never quit. He is still Chairman, and fully engaged in, actively running the University of Phoenix and the Apollo Group, Inc.
The company owns and operates four higher-learning institutions: the University of Phoenix, Western International University, Axia College (of University of Phoenix), the College for Financial Planning, the Institute for Professional Development. It also owns Insight Schools (Online Public High Schools for Washington, Wisconsin, and other locations), and Olympus High School. As of November 2005, the combined enrollment of the four U.S. domestic universities (UOPX, WIU, Axia, CFFP) was approximately 315,350 students. Of these, nearly 90% attend the University of Phoenix, which Apollo describes as "the nation’s largest regionally accredited private university" [3].
As of September 2008 the company also owns and operates Meritus University (Meritus) in Canada.[2] On January 24, 2011, citing how "enrollment will continue to be insufficient to sustain the required quality academic and student service infrastructure we and our students demand", Meritus University announced its closure, with their last classes taking place on March 14, 2011. Additionally, Apollo Group, Inc is the owner of BPP, and joined forces with Carlyle Group for tactical investments in education to expand student base. Apollo also purchased UNIACC college in Santiago, Chile and ULA college in Mexico.[3]}}
Apparently John Sperling started his entrepreneur career a little later than some, at the age of 55. While some people of his generation were retiring John was just getting started. Who is John Sperling, you ask well today he is a billionaire after a huge IPO. It took 18 years to get that IPO and several hard fought battles against an American tradition which was sorely outdated.
Was his company a high-tech, medical, government defense, or some miracle multilevel marketing company? No, in fact it was the most untraditional company America has ever seen. He has had hate mail, media defamation, and an entire non-profit organization that he spent 12 years building defy and leave him in the cold. California State Government officials taunted him, and his company was eventually kicked out of the "Great State" of California by the WASC; he was a true under dog in the academic world. So he went to Arizona to start again.
That's right John Sperling is the founder of the University of Phoenix and the parent company The Apollo Group. Seems kind of strange to think you can buy stock in a university. Let me see "I'll take management 3600, accounting 1050, and 185 shares of Apollo Stock, please".
John grew up in poverty his father hardly ever had a job and he remembers his mother saying almost on a daily basis "We are all going to starve to death." He claims that poverty forced him to be a hard worker, and further forced him do it for the rest of his life.
He may not know this but I do, he chose to be a hard worker. For example I know several people who grew up in poverty and who have stayed there, and several middle class who have achieved great heights. What I mean to say is that he truly with his whole heart really wanted more than what he had, he had a drive to succeed. Not every one who is poor chooses to be a billionaire. There are always exceptions; this is America there are no real socio-economical rules except those that we "perceive" are real.
I don't think he finished high school during the great depression; he joined the Merchant Marine instead where he learned to read and gain a lot of self esteem. He created an awesome work ethic at a young age. He joined the Air Force, went to Reed College, Berkley, and finally King's College Cambridge, by 1955 he had his Ph.D.
He tends to talk about his life in phases, the first gave him the foundation of his character, and the second phase education gave him the route out of his hard life. The third phase consisted of job or work place "know how" and the fourth was an integration of education and experience.
My favorite thing about John is his tenacity, when people he respected said it would never work he was inspired to seek a second opinion, a third, and a fourth if needed. He was determined to get it done.
He had identified a niche in that the traditional academic world refused to supply classes to older students when they needed them, and how they needed them. He didn't make a university degree easier to get, he just simply change the rules of how they were earned. The first semester offering his brilliant idea at San Jose State he brought in $40,000 in tuition for the school, and can you believe it by the end of the year the company had grossed over $210,297 in tuition; just by expanding to other schools. It was obvious to him and the traditional academic world that there was a high demand for his services. In the second year they grossed $2.8 million a staggering amount for any start up even today in the second year.
John's biggest battle was won when they earned their accreditation on appeal; no other university had ever done that. They were finally able to open their own doors and really rake in the cash. So wouldn't capitalism in education be a contradiction? Well yes traditionally speaking it would be. But think about it, academia has gone for centuries unchecked by the business world, always producing half ready employees and subsidized dependant citizens.
He believes that educational institutions need to be held accountable to the students for giving them valuable education and to the businesses who hire them. He understood that for profit business and our free economy was the only real engine in which an education of real value to both the student and the employer could be obtained.
Entrepreneur characteristics I noticed while studying John's Life:
• He created a business vision, a large revolutionary vision • He had a thirst for knowledge learning all he could about his education business • He created disciplined work habits • He fostered his tenacity to see his vision through despite criticism and defamation • He developed a passion for his business vision • He cultivated leadership skills enabling him to, shared his passion, and create a great business team who were loyal to his vision • He created habits of innovation, opportunity identification, honesty, and accountability • He grew in humility and was willing to listen to customers, the ones that had jobs • He had a desire to be in charge • He was involved in philanthropy and giving back to the community • He enjoys a great challenge
This was one of sixteen well-known prominent business, political, and academic leaders on leadership, entrepreneurship and overcoming adversity, including two billionaire entrepreneurs and several mega- millionaire entrepreneurs, including: Dr. Anthony Bonanzino, Jack Canfield, William Draper III, Mark Victor Hansen, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Monzer Hourani, U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI), J. Terrence Lanni, Dr. John Malone, Angelo Mozilo, Laurence Pino, Dr. Nido Qubein, U.S. Army Major General Sid Shachnow (Ret.), Dr. John Sperling, Dr. Blenda Wilson, and Zig Ziglar. Five internationally known and respected leadership scholars offered their reviews of the Dr. Haller’s groundbreaking leadership and entrepreneurship research and his findings including: Dr. Ken Blanchard, Dr. John Kotter, Professor Jim Kouzes, Dr. Paul Stoltz, and Dr. Meg Wheatley.
Dr. Haller’s groundbreaking leadership and entrepreneurship research was been recently published by the major German firm, VDM Verlag Dr M?ller AG & CoKG. Dr. Howard Edward Haller’s book is entitled: “Leadership and Adversity: The Shaping of Prominent Leaders.” [on Amazon]
Dr. Sperling was the founder and initial Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, of the Apollo Group, Inc., and is now the Chairman and Director. Apollo Group, Inc. owns and operates the University of Phoenix and several other colleges. Billionaire Dr. John Sperling was interviewed at his home in San Francisco, California.
John Sperling was born in poverty in the Ozarks. As a young child John suffered physical injury, psychological trauma, and was raised in a home where his parents were always fighting. John candidly commented that he was regularly abused by his derelict father. If fact, when John’s father died (when he was just 15 years old), John said he was “very happy.” Dr. Sperling said of his father’s death, “It was the best day of my life.” John overcame his early adversity, as well as impossible odds and facing multiple battles in his lengthy and successful entrepreneurial journey.
Professor John Sperling saw major unfulfilled educational (and business) opportunities that the traditional academic community was ignoring. He tried to work within the existing university system, but after meeting repeated resistance, Dr. Sperling literally walked away from his position as a professor at a major public university to pursue his entrepreneurial dream.
Dr. John Sperling’s very successful entrepreneurial venture, University of Phoenix, was challenged on a number of fronts because the University of Phoenix was a “for-profit” University, which the regulators believed it was educational heresy, immoral, and thought should be illegal. Sperling had to battle every educational and other regulatory body that his vehement enemies could launch against him. Dr. Sperling summed up the long list of those attacking him and the University of Phoenix, as everyone from every where, “including two regional accrediting agencies, the state legislatures in both in California and Arizona, the FBI, and various law enforcement agencies, plus multiple civil and criminal law suits.” While the journey was difficult for John, the University of Phoenix and the Apollo Group ultimately won the various battles, disproved their false charges, and was victorious in all the law suits.
In the beginning, Dr. Sperling used his fledgling company, the University of Phoenix (and it’s precursor) to help other well-established, traditional, “old school” Universities to successfully create and foster intrapreneuring ventures in adult college completion program for working adults, including bachelor’s degrees. Two of these successful intrapreneuring ventures supported by Dr. Sperling’s company, the for-profit Institute for Professional Development (prior to his creating the University of Phoenix) were done with the University of Redlands and St. Mary’s University, both these well-established and respected Universities are in California.
After relocating his firm to Arizona, and creating the University of Phoenix, Sperling began to focus his companies’ efforts into building their own brand in business bachelors’ and masters’ degrees, and other degree completion programs for adults. The University of Phoenix’s now has a full range of academic programs, including several Doctoral programs.
Dr. John Sperling’s life story is a true story of achieving the American Dream, that of being a successful entrepreneur! His life’s story is a real “Horatio Algier” story of going from poverty and parental abuse, then suffering the major regulatory and political attacks on his business from all sides, to going on to become a billionaire and accomplished entrepreneur!. John Sperling went from a semi-literate dyslexic kid, who barely graduated from high school, to someone with a master’s degree from U.C. Berkley and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University.
Dr. John Sperling is a focused, driven and successful entrepreneur who created the University of Phoenix, in spite of all the major opposition from Academic Regulators, bureaucrats, politicians, traditional “non-profit” academic institutions. Dr. Sperling led the charge and took all the arrows to create a for-profit revolution in higher education. Sperlings significant early contributions to the growth on entrepreneurial ventures in creating new adult degree completion programs at established Universities has launched the growth of a wide range of adult degree completion programs in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and through out the world. For more information on Dr. Sperling and his entrepreneurial journey and his entrepreneurial contributions, check out his autobiography. Dr. Sperling does an excellent did of telling his entrepreneurial story, as well as his long intense journey from extreme poverty to significant wealth in his “A Rebel with a Cause” (2000).
For full disclosure, Professor Haller taught both undergraduate business and MBA (Management, Marketing and Strategic Planning) courses (both classroom and online) for the University of Phoenix, from 2004 to 2008.
Billionaire, Dr. John Sperling, like most successful entrepreneurs, would never quit. He is still Chairman, and fully engaged in, actively running the University of Phoenix and the Apollo Group, Inc.