University of South Africa - Capella concerns

I am considering a PHD in Business through Distance Learning and have found two attractice schools. I am registered in Capella but have yet to start my course nwork due to three concerns.
1. The tuition regardless of how many courses I take. I mentioned to my sdvisor I would like to tale 2 or 3 and he was hesitant and suggested one. Is it possible to take more then two or will they let you???

2. I am planning to get married next summer and he told me it is almost impossible to waize a term or two... why not???

3. How much work do you do?? Do they approve your thesis easily or is it impossible?

My other alternative is South Africa but.... I have to following questions:

1. Will I have to travel there? I have heard yes and no?

2. What will the cost be?

3. What is the work like?

4. What % of people that start - finish?

Thanks in advance -

Manda

 

I, too, am considering Capella for a business PhD. I'm an application fee away from completing the process. I live in St. Paul, MN so contact with the Capella staff is quite easy. I share some of your concerns (including #2) so I've asked some of the same questions. Capella was also decent enough to give me the names of two PhD graduates here in my area to talk with, one who is the COO of respectable 50 year old corporation here. Here's what I've found out from talking to those graduates.

1. My admissions rep at Capella says most take two classes per term. She says they expect about 10 hours/week of work in each class, but she says some can pull it off with around 6 hours/week per class. In speaking with one of the graduates, I was told 10 hours may even be a little light. He admitted he may have spent more time than most, but still thought 10 hours per class each week would be a minimum. I think two classes would be necessary to make the tuition somewhat acceptable, and it looks like that will run just over 20 hours work each week.

2. I'm getting married in January and asked the same question of the staff and graduates. Capella says taking off a quarter isn't a big issue. In fact, even though their official policy allows one quarter leave, she said they're pretty flexible beyond that. She added, "No one knows what life may bring and we adjust if necessary." I was also told by one of the graduates that he, too, had to take a short leave and there was no problem doing so.

3. I didn't discuss this point with either the staff or graduates. I would expect (and hope) that any dissertation submitted for a Capella PhD would be reviewed critically as any similar school would and not passed "easily."

In my dealings with them so far, Capella's staff has been quite helpful. I wanted to exempt a required class with some of my Master's work, they put me in contact with the registrar's staff making those decisions, no run-around. I asked for graudate references to speak to, they gave me names, phone numbers and email addresses, no questions asked. I've been quite impressed with the way Capella handles the prospective student. I'm just trying to deal with their tuition system (it really raises problems with my company's reimbursement program!)

I hope this helps you in your decision.

 

You need to take a long hard look at Northcentral University (NCU.edu)

Official RA candidacy is expected to be announced very soon and the tuition for an entering doctoral student is still only $165.00 per semester credit hour.

Good luck!

Wes

 

Well, I would disagree. I completed my first course at Capella this past Winter Quarter. Due to a number of reasons (primarily work-related), I decided to forgo enrolling in the Spring Quarter. In doing so, I was charged a $50 fee for "Continuing Studies". Apparently, buried deep within the student manual, there is a statement that says students are required to be continuously enrolled during their degree program. If you fail to register for a quarter, you are automatically registered for CS999 and assessed the cost of $50 for the quarter. If one misses two consecutive quarters, one is dismissed from the program.

As I pointed out to the pleasant Capella representative, Capella is doing its students a disservice by not making it clear that continuous enrollment is required and that failure to do so results in a modest "fine". I'm not so put out by the $50. I do, however, have a sense of being taken advantage of because this matter (continuous enrollment) is not mentioned prominently anywhere on the web site. A simple statement on their web site saying "continuous enrollment required" would be sufficient. Due to my work and extensive travel schedule, continuous enrollment in coursework may not always be possible to achieve, as I may need an academic quarter from time to time to devote extra attention to work matters. Not having to meet a continuous enrollment requirement is an important factor to me in choosing a DL school. Knowing Capella's policy up front would have gone a long way to managing my expectations. But, since the policy is listed in the learner's handbook, I do recognize that I bear some of the responsibility in this matter.

Incidentally, it’s been well over 5 weeks since I turned in my final paper and I’m STILL waiting for my grade.

 

I too was a bit put-off by this (I'm considering Capella's Ph.D. in Human Services-Criminal Justice). I can see, though, why Capella, as a proprietary (for-profit) institution would want you to take just one course per quarter. You'd most likely take the maximum amount of time (7 or 8 years?) to complete the degree, which would be incredibly expensive.

I've always been put-off by credit load limits. If you can do the work, who cares how many credits you take? In my Master's program I averaged 3 classes (9 credits) per semester (one semester 4 classes), and never recieved a grade below a B-plus.

Considering Capella's rather pricey tuition, they should let you attempt as many credits as you like. If you fall flat, that's your problem, not the school's.

BTW, I would recommend Capella's offer to "try a course" w/o enrolling in a program, that way you'll get an idea of what kind of work is expected, and plan your program accordingly.


Bruce

 

Anyone have anything on South Africa or Australlian schools??

Also see my post on Sarasota...

Oh and is there any other BB like this one?

 

Anyone have anything on South Africa or Australlian schools??

Also see my post on Sarasota...

Oh and is there any other BB like this one?

 

The University of Massachusetts, not a true DL program, but very non-traditional in that all classes are offered off-campus, evenings & weekends.

Bruce

 

As a Canadian I wouldn't recommend you to follow a PhD program at Capella. The tuition fees converted to Canadian dollars are just too much to handle. Also American PhD programs from private institutions are not very recognized in the academic environment, they are seen as a “bought degree”. Look in to programs in the UK or Australia from public universities, they will have more acceptance and are much cheaper than PhDs from private for profit American institutions.

 

I asked the same question to my chair of department at the university that I teach in Canada. He told me that in the history of the department, they have never hired a graduate from a South African university but several from Australian universities since their academic standards are acceptable, it doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t hire someone from South Africa but they are not very familiar with their standards. I asked around and the ones that had more prestige were:

Monash University,
Melbourne,
Queensland,

These universities have some DL Phds, but it is hard to get in. I decided to go to the University of Southern Queensland since they are more open to foreign students. Also they have an office in Canada and this facilitates things since it allows you to take the exams in Canada; there are centers in Montral, Vancouver and Toronto. It is not a top ten university, but it doesn’t have a bad name either and would have more acceptability in Canada than a private for profit university of the US and much more cheaper.

I hope it helps,

 

Private universities in the United States include Harvard, Yale, MIT, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, U. of Chicago, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Cal Tech and many hundreds more. Not only are they universally accepted, many of them are world leaders in their fields.

I think that you mean 'proprietary', not 'private'.

 

Professor Valve writes, of the University of Southern Queensland, "It is not a top ten university, but it doesn’t have a bad name either."

It surely has a much better name than its original name. When I visited the campus in the 80s, it was the Darling Downs Institute

 

I'm sorry, "Proprietary" is what I meant, or for profit education.

 

Greetings RFValve. It is amazing the number of fellow Canucks posting on the forum and the former aed (may it rest in peace). I take it you are an Eastern Canadian.

Interesting observation with regard to proprietary schools. Had the members of your department heard of Union, Walden, Sarasota, before. In other words would they recognize a proprietary degree.

I think your choice of an Australian degree is good. I have also seen a number of faculty at various schools with degrees from South Africa (most commonly UNISA).

Good luck eh!

North

 

Hi there:

I did a search to find the number of faculty members in the University that hold DL PhDs. I found three faculty members with PhDs from DL universities. Two American and one Australian:

· Fielding Institute
· Nova University
· Charles Sturt

I don’t know if the American that I mentioned before are “proprietary”. I know that normally faculties are not in favor of proprietary universities because they don’t focus on research and are seen as a business. For the other hand I think that it is really the demand of faculty at the moment that will dictate this. For example, last year our department had a hard time finding PhDs in IT for the benefit of some PhDs from Indian and Egyptian universities.


Greetings,

 

I believe The Union Institute is not-for-profit.

Rich Douglas

 

Just out of curiosity, could you send me a link to the Sturt Ph.D.?

Sturt is actually a traditional school, and began as one, but now has (I believe) about three times as many DL students as on-campus students.

Peace,

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Tom Head
www.tomhead.net