Teaching with RA DL Degree

Are there really that many sucess stories of people who garnered faculty positions by earning RA degrees via distance education? I know that this is often quoted as a reason to get RA degree more than a NA degree, but I still see more of the B&M bias among people hiring professors.

What say you?

 

Lots of anecdotal evidence, but no studies that I know of.

There are examples brought out by supporters of unaccredited schools where we sometimes find people listing unaccredited doctorates while teaching at accredited schools. But these examples invariably regard teaching in positions where the master's--not the doctorate--is required. We don't see cases where the accredited school awarded a position where the doctorate was required to a person holding an unaccredited doctorate. But.....

We do see cases where holders of accredited DL doctorates are in positions requiring the doctorate (like tenure-track positions, full professor positions, leadership positions, etc.). What we don't know--and this is the chicken-and-egg dilemma--is whether or not the degree caused the appointment, or the potential for the appointment caused the degree.

It is hard for someone completing a DL doctorate to network into an assistant professor's position. And many such candidates wouldn't want that job. DL grads tend to be mid-career professionals, using the doctorate to advance their current careers, not to start new ones. But one wonders about people already in academia who pursue accredited DL doctorates and get tenure-track (and other) positions on the basis of that degree.

We have several board members who have done it. I think Tony and Andy have. I have, but to a lesser extent, with UoP. (UoP required the doctorate, but doesn't have tenure, or anything else resembling a traditional faculty/administration setup.) There are probably others I'm leaving out.

Here's a link to Union Institute's listings of graduates who work in higher education. Some of them might fit the paradigm we're discucssing:

Union Grads Working in Higher Education

 

I wish that I could be included in this list of success stories but, alas, all of my degrees are from traditional brick & mortar programs (although a few of the courses were hybrid DL, where some of the class sesisons were online). My doctoral institution (La Sierra University) does not currently offer any DL doctorates (although they do offer two online masters degrees). My dissertation research was on the topic of distance learning (specifically how it becomes institutionalized at colleges and universities).

My colleagues who have completed DL doctorates at Capella, Walden and Nova Southeastern have all done it while already employed in their positions. So I do not have examples of those who have gotten new positions in academia as a result of their DL doctorate. I predict that it will happen--I just wish that I had any evidence that it is happening now.

Tony Pina
Coordinator of Learning Technologies
Northeastern Illinois University

 

Here, I suppose, is a start (look at a few Capella grads):

Jack Cox. Associate Professor of Management, Amberton University
B.S., Park College. M.S., Lesley College. Ph.D., Capella University.

http://www.amberton.edu/Fac_and_Staff_2003.htm (also several NSU grads here)

Vickie Cook. Program Faculty, Antioch University McGregor
A.A., Kaskaskia College, B.A., Western Illinois University, M.S., Capella University, Ph.D., Capella University

http://www.mcgregor.edu/CCM/ccmgmtfaculty.html

Deb Gearhart. Director, E-Education Services and Assistant Professor of Education, Dakota State University
B.A., Indiana University of Pensylvania, M.P.A., The Pennsylvania State University, M.Ed., The Pennsylvania State University, PhD., Capella University.

http://www.departments.dsu.edu/gradoffice/MSET/faculty_faculty.htm

Dr. Brian A. Kinnaird. Program Director/Assistant Professor of Justice Studies, Fort Hays State University
B.A., Sociology, Fort Hays State University, M.L.S., Criminal Justice, Ibid., Ph.D., Human Services/Criminal Justice, Capella University

http://www.fhsu.edu/polisci/js/faculty.shtml

Marta Abele. Associate Professor of Education, University of Dubuque
PhD, Capella University; MEd, University of Missouri; BS, Phillips University

http://www.dbq.edu/academics/education/education3.cfm


Tony Pina
Coordinator of Learning Technologies
Northeastern Illinois University