University of Phoenix Online

As an institution always focused on the needs of an adult learner population, our Instructional Framework reflects the instructional strategies most important for this population.

University of Phoenix was founded upon the vision of making higher education more available, even if you’re a professional with a full time commitment to work and family. With 40 years of experience, we continue to focus on meeting the needs of adult learners. Malcolm Knowles identified the characteristics of adult learners as differing from the classic 18-22 year-old college students; through areas such as the learner’s need to know, self-concept, experience, readiness to learn, orientation to learning and motivation. These characteristics influence the instructional design process – shifting our framework from content-driven to context-driven and reinforcing relevant application to the real world.