Question about Northcentral U.

Im aware that NCU has gained RA accreditation, but how likely is it that it will keep RA status? How often has a school lost its RA accreditation? Im interested in earning my MBA with NCU, but Im also apprehensive about earning my degree with a school that has only been in existence since '96. If anyone has any information in this regard it will be greatly appreciated.

 

There is no gaurantee any accredited school will maintain accreditation.

 

I don't track this matter closely, but it is my belief that the great majority, perhaps all, of the RA schools that have lost their accreditation in recent years have been cases of financial problems, and the majority of those are, as they call themselves, HBCU's -- historically black colleges and universities. It seems most unlikely that NCU will have any problems in that direction.

 

Re: Re: Question about Northcentral U.

Serves me right for criticizing Doctor G's misspellings!

 

Prior to enrolling in International College for an undergraduate degree, I had similar concerns because the college has only been in existance since 1990. I thought, "What guarantee do I have that the school won't go under?" However, as it turns out, the college is still going strong and is one of the fastest growing college's in southwest Florida. Afterwards, I got a Masters degree from the state university with the assumption that it would never "go under" because it is supported on the backs of the taxpayers.

Now, I too am looking at NCU for a PhD. Since it is the first 100% online university in the United States to gain RA status, we are charting new territory. But since this is the 21st Century, I think that we are on safe ground.

 

Well that makes me feel a little better about choosing NCU for my grad degree. It really does feel like a gamble going with a online only institution, but hopefully it will all work out ok. I appreciate the feedback.
Also, are there any current or former NCU students on the board, and if so, how was your experience?

 

I'm going to a primarily b&m school with just a few online programs. I didn't much care about that because I think the larger issue is that it's online period (no matter what kind of school). I don't see a significant advantage to getting it from UWA versus Capella.

Either way, it won't help me much in the job search after I finish (likely in 2005). Given where I live, the first question out of any interviewer's mouth will be how I earned a master's from a small state school in Alabama (but didn't live there). Thankfully, I have lots to say on that subject.




Tom Nixon

 

For all practical purposes, I don't need a PhD. I'm just a policeman. How is a PhD going to help a policeman?

Consequently, NCU will be just fine for me.

 

It will be worth it the first time you see the shocked expression on the defense attorney, after he asks you to state your educational background.

 

I too am a Police officer. However, Im trying to earn my MBA so that I can find a better job. If that exists.

 

I received an MBA from Baker College in Flint, Michigan, and completed 16 hours in the NCU PhD program. My learning experience at Baker beat NCU hands down.

Bill Hurd

 

How was your experience with the NCU staff and faculty? Was it the material of the program that you werent happy with, or the faculty?

 

All policemen are a bunch of ground-up assholes who are looking for a free lunch?

My grandfather wanted me to be a businessman and he was sorely disappointed when I told him that I wanted to be a cop. He angrily replied that:

• "All policemen are a bunch of ground-up ass holes who are looking for a free lunch."

My grandfather is now dead, but I currently enjoy those free lunches, no matter what time of day they are served. LOL

In memory of my wonderful grandfather, I pursued and obtained a Bachelors degree in business management. But it was a hard degree and it taught me that I want nothing to do with the business world!!!

 

There was NO interaction between and among other learners, and little or no help, assistance, mentoring from faculty. In one class, the sum total of correspondence from the instructor was less than this paragraph. Any learning (if at all) was one-sided. I was disappointed.

Bill

 

I am thinking about pursuing a PhD also and can not justify it in my mind. The cost would not be a factor since I get $4,000 per year in tuition assistance.

I am concerned with the time and effort for a degree I don't need .

How did you justify it? Did you justify it?

 

I receive a significant pay increase for having a graduate degree, but I would earn nothing further under that program if I earned a doctorate.

However, I think about the proud look my father had after I crossed the stage to receive my B.A. diploma (I was the only child to graduate college). I didn't bother to go to my graduate commencement (I only visited the campus twice), but I saw the same look on my father when I showed him my M.A. diploma.

Now, I overhear my father proudly telling his friends that I'm considering a Ph.D. program. Besides the fact that it's something I want to do, that alone is enough justification for both me and my wife.

 

I love the family aspect of the process, Bruce, and I think it is important. There are times that I really believe that my father, who was chronically ill at the time, 'hung on' for an additional couple of years, so he could come to my doctoral graduation.

And it goes in both directions, generationally. And sometimes oddly. I had a consulting client long ago who had been quite a well known poet in Germany before World War II. He escaped Hitler, but could not get a visa to the US, although his wife was here. He spent 21 years on Trinidad before Eisenhower learned of his plight, and a special bill was passed. He was in search of a Bachelor's degree (which he got from Edison, with a great deal of portfolio credit), but he was adamant that no one in his family know what he was doing. He wanted his children and grandchildren to discover his diploma among his last effects, so that they would know that 'grandpa' had this achievement.

 

I have no doubt that your dad did "hang on" to see you graduate. That's awesome.

Unfortunately, my mother didn't see any of my graduations. She was very ill for my HS graduation, so couldn't be present, and she died before any of my college graduations.

 

The X Factor

Yes, I justified it with the unknown X factor i.e. the potential future doors that a PhD may open outweighs the costs of the present. However, the X factor is extremely difficult to assess.

For example, when I first took the time and trouble to pursue an AA degree, I had no idea that it would later allow me to take an entry-level position as a cop. I also didn't know that it would allow me to receive a commission in the National Guard. Those two X factors had nothing to do with my pursuit of an AA degree. However, without the AA degree, those "doors of opportunity" would have been closed in my face. Conversely, a PhD may open doors of opportunity in the future. What might those doors be? I don't know yet. But I feel compelled to equip myself for the future by obtaining a regionally accredited PhD.

 

Re: The X Factor

Thank you for your response. I have also experienced the same type of "doors of opportunity." I got my AA and I was able to get a job that requires an Associates Degree - any Associates. A coworker was hired to repair medical equipment with an AS in Culinary Arts, and he does a great job.

I was promoted several times and coincidently right around the time I finished another degree.

But a PhD , I am having a hard time feeling it will open any additional doors that a MBA (from CalCoast) and a MS-ITM will not open except perhaps teaching.

I still have some thinking to do.