Admissions Policy

Phoenix Cyber Academy (PCA), is a private non-accredited, non-college degree (certificate) institution, that serves disadvantaged and low-income members who are seeking education that qualifies them for meaningful employment as a cyber security practitioner.

Please review the Phoenix Cyber Academy Admissions Guide for more details.

We seek underserved community members that have a passion for cyber security, those with a demonstrated financial needs, and those with ambition.

What qualifies as an underserved or disadvantaged community member?

• Persons in poverty or of low socioeconomic status;
• Those with challenges accessing education or employment opportunities due to geographic location;
• Those whose religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity create barriers to access; or
• Those in underserved racial and ethnic populations.

Also, at a minimum students must:

• Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident;
• Be a high school graduate including GED;
• Be at least 17 years of age; and
• Have access to a computer with internet connection to complete pre-work.

Student (“Student”) registrations are defined as individuals who register for public courses regardless if they are employed by or associated with an Organization.

Scholarship payouts will cease on the same day a student becomes inactive, cancels, or withdraws from the program.

An Inactive Student is a student who is not in attendance, in person, for training 100% of the time.

To ensure only the most qualified students are accepted and graduate from the program, there are multiple steps designed to assess each students’ performance.

An overview of the admissions process follows:

• Step 1: Apply for Admissions
• Step 2: In Person/Online Interview
• Step 3: Interview Assessment and Application Review
  • Acceptance or Rejection
  • If Accepted, Pre-Work Assigned
• Step 4: Obtain financing via Meritize
  • Meritize Benefits:
    • No payment required by student while they are training, followed by a 3-month grace period so they can get situated in their new career before repayment;
    • Online application that takes minutes to complete with instant decisioning – and NO IMPACT TO CREDIT SCORE to apply and see what terms they’re approved for; and
    • Tuition advances are sent directly to PCA and aid is distributed to Active students each Friday
• Step 5: Complete Pre-Work
• Step 6: Pre-Work Progress and Performance Assessment
  • Core Program Acceptance or Rejection
  • If Accepted, Enrolled Into Core Program Class
• Step 7: Complete Core Program
• Step 8: Core Program Progress and Performance Assessment
  • Apprenticeship Program Acceptance or Rejection
    • Acceptance requires selection by an employer partner
  • If Accepted, Enrolled Into Apprenticeship Program
• Step 9: Complete Apprenticeship: Phase 1 – Initial
• Step 10: Apprenticeship Phase 1 Performance Assessment
  • Specialization Training Acceptance or Rejection
  • If Accepted, Enrolled on 3-5 day specialization training
• Step 11: Specialization Training
• Step 12: Apprenticeship Phase 2 Transitional
• Step 13: Apprenticeship Phase 2 Performance Assessment
• Step 14: Employment Transition

Students enrolled into a class are subject to on-going performance assessments that measure:

• Assignment completion;
• Exam performance (80% minimum score on all exams);
• Attendance;
• Participation;
• Communication skills (verbal and written);
• Ethics; and
• Professionalism.

Students who are underperforming will be counseled and offered tutoring. Students who continue to underperform will be given the opportunity to re-start the program at no additional cost. Those that do not accept a re-start will be dismissed from the program without a refund.