now, his school is everywhere-- the university of phoenix. it's one of the largest universities in the world, enrolling close to half a million students, more than the entire university of california system and all the ivy league schools combined. i traveled here knowing that the university of phoenix is wary of the media. but they had agreed to some interviews. then, at the last minute, they backed out and gave no explanation. instead, i spoke to former phoenix executives. >> it was not by accident that this university developed in the southwest and the west. that's where people go to reinvent themselves. and that's where john reinvented the university. >> smith: why did the university need to be reinvented? what's wrong with the way that universities were running up until the time that john sperling came along with phoenix? >> john saw the constraints of most... most college professors. you know, anybody who's got any new ideas in college are quickly beaten down. the academy hasn't had a real change in how it worked for almost 500 years. >>

i know the university of phoenix has a lot of attention and minneapolis we have an on line graduate institution that is growing rapidly but in the very near future i think higher education is going to be blindsided by this phenomena and wasted they don't even see coming. i think within 20 years you are going to have the equivalent not as itunes but icollege. much of the replicable undergraduate experience, spanish one-to-one and econ 101 is going going to be in digital format available much more efficiently and effectively from where you want, how you wanted and what you wanted and it is going to disrupt i think in a very positive way traditional delivery of the service. i think a lot of that is going to speak to public-private partnership and i'm excited about that future but i think the current higher ed structure platform is very ill-suited and very ill prepared to do with what is coming. >> margaret if i could just barely quickly, basically what tim touched on their, the graduates and waits-- rates are horrific and throughout the country. the private sector has a much higher graduation rate

i know university of phoenix gets a lot of attention in minneapolis. appelli university which is an online graduate institution that's growing rapidly but in the very near future i think higher education is going to be blindsided in ways they don't see coming. in 20 years you're going to have the equivalent not of itunes but icollege. much of the competitive undergraduate, econ 101, spanish 101 will be much more effectively and efficiently how you want it and when you want it and i think it will disrupt, i think, in a very positive way the traditional delivery of the service. and i think a lot of that is going to speak to public/private partnership and i'm excited about that future. but i think the current higher ed structure is very ill-suited very ill-prepared for what's coming. >> basically what tim had touched on there. but, you know, the graduation rates are risk in all higher education throughout the country. the private sector has much higher graduation rate than any public higher education and if you look at how the money is doled out, it's base

in one a student group at the university of arizona holds a rally in tucson to demand a repeal of the state's controversial immigration law. >>> later tonight, in phoenixl shorp tan leads a candle light vigil and march to protest this new law. [ crowd cheering ] [ male announcer ] competition... it pushes us to work harder. to be better. to win. but sometimes even rivals realize they share a common goal. america's beverage companies have removed full-calorie soft drinks from schools, reducing beverage calories by 88%. together with schools, we're helping kids make more balanced choices every day. ♪ welcomerewards from hotels.com. see when i accumulate 10 nights, i get one free. and...they let me choose where to use them. the loyalty program he signed us up for has all these restrictions, blackout dates, a crazy point system... and we couldn't stay here. so what am i getting for free? my undying love? [ yelps ] wendy. hole-in-one. [ male announcer ] accumulate 10 nights. and get a night free. welcomerewards from hotels.com. smart. so smart. >>> as president of the united states, i'm going to spare no effort to respond to this crisis for as long as it co

response research center with a joint project between the university of new hampshire and the national oceanic and atmospheric administration. phoenix, you're up first. charlotte on our democrats line, you're on with nancy kinner, go ahead. caller: hi. i was wondering, is it actually possible after it hits land and starts doing the damage to clean up that? i mean, is that a real possibility? because it doesn't seem like what happened in alaska it ever got completely corrected. guest: well, the alaskan situation, which was 20 years ago, was in a totally different time. there really wasn't a whole set of responses and a very coordinated response. in 1990, congress passed the oil pollution act, and that actually set up a whole command system and designated certain federal agencies to be responsible for various parts of coordinating the response. that has improved markedly so there's not a lot of question of who's going to do what, when, and where. but to get back to the first part of the question, it really depends on where the oil hits on the shoreline, how the response occurs. so the first line of defense obviously is to try and have