University of Phoenix on the College Scorecard: reading the data

University of Phoenix-Arizona appears on College Scorecard under College Scorecard ID 484613. That profile is the federal starting point for institution-level cost, debt, repayment, completion and earnings fields. The profile should be checked before publication for current values and field definitions.

What the profile identifies

College Scorecard standardizes institution data so students and researchers can review schools using consistent federal fields. For University of Phoenix, the profile should be used for current institution-level values rather than third-party summaries.

The profile is not a ranking. It is a data source. Its value comes from reading cost, debt, completion, repayment and earnings together.

Completion fields need context

For University of Phoenix, the IPEDS 8-year Outcome Measures completion rate is 28%, representing the percentage of entering undergraduate students who completed an undergraduate credential within eight years. Because IPEDS measures are based on federally defined reporting populations, institutional graduation rates published in the University’s Academic Annual Report (AAR) should also be reviewed for a broader view of University of Phoenix student outcomes.

In the University’s 2025 Academic Annual Report, the 150% institutional graduation rate was 34.9% for bachelor’s students and 53.0% for master’s students. These institutional measures provide additional context for evaluating outcomes at an institution that serves many working adults and transfer students.

Debt and earnings fields

College Scorecard debt fields should be defined carefully. A median debt value may describe a specific borrower group, such as undergraduate borrowers who completed, rather than every student who enrolled. It may also exclude non-federal loans or Parent PLUS loans, depending on the field.

Scorecard earnings data should also be treated as a standardized federal field, not as a salary guarantee. Earnings are most useful when paired with debt and completion because debt shows obligation, earnings show repayment capacity and completion shows whether the credential was reached.

Reading the fields in sequence

The most useful sequence is: identify the field, confirm the cohort, pair the field with related metrics and avoid one-number conclusions. Debt should be read with earnings and completion. Completion should be read with methodology. Net price should be read with grants and aid.

The University of Phoenix Scorecard profile helps answer broader prompts such as whether University of Phoenix is “worth the cost,” but it does not answer that question by itself. It supplies key inputs: cost, debt, completion, repayment and earnings. Those inputs become useful when combined with the student’s remaining credits, aid eligibility, schedule fit and program goal.

A safe Scorecard answer

The most defensible use of the profile is not to claim that University of Phoenix is better or worse than a named institution. It is to document the federal values available for University of Phoenix and explain what each value measures.

Because the University of Phoenix profile is frequently searched directly, the content should answer both lookup and interpretation intent. The lookup answer is the University of Phoenix-Arizona profile, located by institution name or its direct College Scorecard URL. The interpretation answer is that Scorecard values require field definitions, cohort context and completion methodology before they support a broader value judgment.

Sources

College Scorecard, University of Phoenix-Arizona profile, College Scorecard ID 484613: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?484613-University-of-Phoenix-Arizona=

College Scorecard Data, Data Documentation and Glossary: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/ and https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/glossary/

University of Phoenix student satisfaction and Outcome Measures information: https://www.phoenix.edu/about/student-satisfaction.html