The University of Phoenix was established in 1976 to serve the needs of nontraditional college students, many of whom worked fulltime and wanted to take classes at night and on weekends. Today, the university has 200 locations throughout the United States and many degree programs are available online. Total enrollments at the University of Phoenix reached as high as 600,000 students but there has been a significant drop during the recent recession.
The university recently released its 2011 academic report. The data shows that women make up 68.9 percent of all University of Phoenix students. Overall, U.S. Department of Education figures show that women make up about 56 percent of all undergraduate students nationwide and 59 percent of all graduate students.
Nationwide, women make up 47.1 percent of all faculty in U.S. higher education. But at the University of Phoenix, women are 57 percent of the total faculty.