Hi, First of all, thanks again to all of you who responded to my first inquiry on this board regarding the validity of DL PhD's. After much research, I've come to the conclusion that Walden or Capella will have to be my institution of choice. Truthfully, I'm not entirely thrilled with either choice, but my current employment situation and family obligations make these two the best options that I've found. So to the point of my post, are there any board members out there that have direct experience with either university's PhD programs? If so, what is your impression of the educational quality of their offering? In addition, any information you might have to share regarding the academic rigor of the courses will be much appreciated. Thanks, Del
I have not attended either program. However, I have had peers in the Walden program. They felt it was both rigorous and of value. I also felt like they had acceptance of the program when they completed from other peers.
Hi Del, I originally started with Walden, but withdrew and am now with Capella. I think in both of these schools you will find variance as to quality and rigor. In the case of Walden, it mainly depends on your faculty mentor, who guides you through the entire KAM and then dissertation process. My mentor was a full professor at Florida State University with the reputation for not taking any prisoners, research-wise, so I think I would have gotten a solid degree under his tutelage . However, I heard from other students that their mentor really didn't help or challenge them, and frequently were inaccesible. Before you ask, , I dropped out because of the structure of the program -- I decided it didn't fit with what I wanted to do. At Capella, I'm currently taking two classes. One I find quite challenging that requires a lot of contemplation, writing, reading, research, discussion, etc. The professor for that course is very involved, with very high standards (she is not afraid to publicly point out errors in APA citation styles in discussion board postings!). The other class has minimal input from the professor, and many of the postings/essays my classmates write are truly horrible, and nowhere near doctoral-level work (many of them are simply cut and pasted, badly, from other sources). Of course, I don't know if they are taken to task privately by the prof, but I haven't seen any revisions made to date in their work. Although far less seems to be required in that class, I still personally do research, etc. to the level that I think is appropriate for a PhD class. So, in a nutshell, I guess a lot depends on the instructor, which is really true in any program. I think one integral part of DL is maintaining the rigor yourself, regardless of classmate, instructor, and/or class circumstances. Despite the class I described above, overall I'm pleased with my Capella experience so far, feel the program is a good fit for me, and I believe I'll be able to accomplish my learning and research goals with the program. I hope this information helps. Regards, Adrienne
Walden or Capella? I cannot speak for Walden. It is an older school than Capella. Capella is more ambitious in their expansion. This is evident by their multi-million dollar national ad campaign. Walden is smaller in terms of amount of students. Capella has now around 10,000 students. Capella has made public statements at colloquias that they are committed to getting every important certification, license, accreditation, etc. for their individual programs. They have expressed that they are moving in the direction towards getting the school psychology dept. programmatically accredited. They are already CACREP accredited (first online school to get that distinction) for their professional counseling masters program under their school of Human Services. They are on the road for APA accreditation for their newly revised Psy.D. program in Counseling/Clinical psychology. I cannot speak for their business related degrees but it does not surprise me if they attain programmatic accreditation there also. At Capella's School of Psychology (my school), you are required to do around 20 mini-papers (two per week) that get posted on the courseroom forum. You also respond to your classmates commenting on your work. You have to respond to at least one classmate's work per mini-paper. Then there is a larger paper 25-30 pages long that you have to submit at the end of the course. They require a good literature search as part of the content. A typical student will take two courses and will have submitted a total of 42 papers by the end of the quarter. They library resources are ample. Most of the major databases, including Lexis/Nexis, APA Journals, Ebsco, Premier Search, etc., etc., are part of your student online package, plus more. They have a contract with the John Hopkins University Library to manage the online library. I've been told that you get the same research package that John Hopkins' grad students get. Capella, definitely is not perfect. No school will totally meet all your needs. In my case, I have been most satisfied and am glad I did not choose Walden, Saybrook, Fielding, Union, or Nova. Those are great schools but they don't fit me like Capella does. In the end, you will have to evaluate your learning style and lifestyle and compare it with the specific learning model at the school you are looking at. Best regards!
Aarbrooks wrote: You're right that a lot depends on the instructor. There are always those not so wonderful instructors no matter which school you go (I had quite a few of these at my old alma matter: USF). Overall I've noticed that tuition drive schools are more receptive to student's comments than state schools. About a year ago I was going through something similar to your situation: one great class and one not so great (the insructor wasn't showing up). What bothered me most was the apathy of the students. They weren't happy but they were not doing anything to let the school know what was going on. I immediately contacted the dean of the psychology department, and in a snap everything changed dramatically for the better. The instructor began showing up a lot more, apologized and became much more receptive to the students. The School now has employed more online investigators that monitor the performance of each instructor. So in sum, students have a duty to report any disatisfaction with their class to the instructor and to the school. Overall, besides that bump on the road, I'm quite satisfied with Capella. -S
If I may contribute .. Both are fully accredited but Walden has been around longer. Chances are that more Walden alumni are employed in the ivory tower. I don't have any experience (directly or indirectly) with either of them. Ike
Re: If I may contribute .. Hi Ike, You're right -- Walden's been around for 30-something years now, and Capella only 11. If you do a Google search for faculty, there are plenty more out there who are Walden alums. But, as you said, a lot of that probably depends on the time factor. Regards, Adrienne
But... Keep in mind that Capella is growing at almost an exponential rate. Though right now there are less Capella grads than Walden in some fields, that is not going to stay that way very long. At 10,000 students and growing... there are going to be lots of grads out there in short time. Walden is a great school but a lot smaller from what I gather.
Capella Hi! I am completing my dissertation at Capella in IT Management. I started the program in April 2002. I have completed all the courses, residencies, and comps. The courses require a great deal of writing. I was able to complete all the residencies locally in Dulles, VA. The comps process was my least favorite part of the program. Capella as many posters have noted is growing and as the institution matures it has created many new procedures and policies that were not always well communicated to students or faculty. Other than that complaint, I have been satisfied in the program. Many of these changes are actual improvements. For example, the structure and content of the IT Management program has been completely revised and is much stronger than the "old" program which I began in April 2002.
Re: Capella Hi, I wonder what is the average completion time for a PhD at Capella. I found interesting that you started on April 2002 and you are almost done. Was it followed full time or part time? Most of the PhD programs require a minimun of 3 years full time to complete but most take about 4 to 5 years.
Hi! I have heard that the average completion time for a PhD at Capella is 3 to 4 years. I took three courses per quarter to complete the course work as quickly as possible. Most students take one or two courses per session. I don't know how long it will take me to complete the dissertation.
Capella completion time If you can transfer in the max. number of credits (48), completing the degree in 3 years is very doable, if you take 2 courses per quarter. Otherwise, at that schedule I think the norm is 4 years. Regards, Adrienne
When I began my program with Capella (TGSA at the time), I had visions of a fairly quick completion. I had heard the stories of some finishing in a two year time frame. I gave myself two and a half years. It took me three and a half years. The dissertation process alone took me almost a year. While anything is possible, I have met very few that have their processes so well organized and dissertation topic so well developed that two years is even close to reasonable.
