DL PhDs that hold full-time faculty positions

I'm trying to determine the utility of a Ph.D. earned entirely by distance. If anyone knows of any full-time tenure faculty at an RA U.S. school that hold DL PhDs please list them on this thread.

The schools I'm most interested in are Northcentral, Touro, and University of South Africa.

Thus far I've only been able to find one NCU grad holding a tenured position. This was at Mountain State University. I haven't been able to find any from Touro or Unisa yet.

 

I know of one, Dr. Brett Andrews from Oklahoma Wesleyan University. Have spoken with him about faculty positions at his school, he told me: "Finish the MBA first". He's Business Department Head and his MBA (Oral Roberts) and PhD (Walden) are both from non-AACSB accredited schools.

Nice guy, somehow made it to pinnacle of his dept with the online for-profit doctorate. Who says nice guys finish last?

Link:

http://www.okwu.edu/home/directory/directory_profile.php?id=91

 

At one time, I was maintaining a list of doctoral alumni from the UNISA Faculty of Theology who held full-time faculty positions at accredited institutions worldwide. When I stopped keeping track of this, I had a list of somewhere around 80 names, with at least three dozen of these holding positions in the US and Canada. I can't speak to the success of UNISA doctoral graduates in gaining similar appointments in other disciplines.

For what it's worth, I am completing my PhD from the University of Pretoria at a distance and recently was hired into a full-time, appointed faculty position.

 

But were you able to determine if that NSU grad was a DL or on-campus student?

 

Dan,

this is a topic that has been discussed at some length over the years on this forum. A search should reveal numerous threads related to, or on this very topic.

From what I've read, the general finding is that DL doctorates don't (as of yet) have quite the same utility as doctorates from many of the more recognized brick and mortar programs. This is possibly in part due to perceptions that many in academia have about DL programs. Additionally, many DL doctoral programs are fairly new when compared with B&M programs. Hence, many have not been around long enough to have the same level of acceptance for faculty positions in higher academia. However, it seems also that most posters generally agree that perceptions are changing.

I believe that several fellow posters have compiled and posted lists of B&M faculty who have earned DL doctorates. There definately are holders of doctorates earned primarily via DL who seemed to have positions in main-stream academia, it is just less common.

Perhaps others on this board can be more informative regarding this topic.

 

Congratulations! Tell us a bit about your story. Are we talking 4-year college, 2-year college, major uni? Any of the above is great, wonderful to hear of one of us getting a tenure-track position.

 

Beyond the DL/B&M debate, is anybody here, a DL PhD alumni, who had the chance to compare his/her competences with those of a PhD from a B&M PhD alumni? Is there significant differences?

 

Beyond the DL/B&M debate, is anybody here, a DL PhD alumni, who had the chance to compare his/her competences with those of a PhD from a B&M PhD alumni? Is there significant difference?

 

comparing competencies.....

I work with other PhD's--many report to me. I can't tell the difference in competency, nor in quality of dissertation..

 

Then the difference exists only in our minds. I mean conservatives's minds. It is a brand perception that DL must overcome in the near future
B&Ms are Mercedes. DLs are Hyundai...

 

I have seen lists of faculty with doctorates from Walden and Capella on Degreeinfo. However, with the exception of this page from Mountain State Univ., I have yet to see either a Northcentral or Touro University International doctorate in a full-time tenure-track faculty position at a university.

Tony Piña
Administrator, Northeastern Illinois University

 

At the currently time, it would be more likely to find someone with a DL doctorate in an administrative, rather than faculty position at a university or community college. It is also far more likely to find someone with a DL doctorate teaching full-time at a community college, rather than at a university.

To change the status of DL doctorates in academia, Capella, Walden, Touro and Northcentral faculty (particularly full-time faculty) and their doctoral students will need to conduct research and publish regularly in the journals of their respective disciplines and present at the professional conferences. This establishes the reputation of the program and the school within the profession.

I present at three or more national instructional technology and distance learning conferences every year. I see folks from Nova Southeastern on a regular basis. Once in a blue moon, I'll see a PhD student (but not faculty) from Capella or Walden. I have yet to see ANYONE (faculty or student) from Northcentral or Touro U Intl. as a conference presenter or in the journals.

Tony Piña
Administrator, Northeastern Illinois University

 

It seems there is an Assistant Professor of Electronic Commerce and Information Systems with a Ph D. from Northcentral University at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas. Don't know if he is tenured or not.

http://business.ollusa.edu/faculty/azuar/default.htm

 

I have a chance to compare competencies among U.S. DL grads in business (myself and several peers) with those from well regarded B&M schools. Conclusion? There are significant differences. The amount of research methods coverage is one big area. The DL programs typically have some research methods courses, but no where near the depth. For example, while many of my DL peers used simple univariate statistical methods (t-tests, correlation, etc.) to test hypotheses, many B&M disserations I've reviewed use Partial Least Squares and structural equation modeling.

Am I saying that all US DL grads are less competent than all US B&M grads? Certainly not. I'm sure the bottom end of the B&M bunch is no better than the top of the DL crop. But no kidding here - the caliber of dissertations and research I read from well respected B&M programs is significantly higher than the DL world. This is reflected in the publication and employment record of many of my DL colleagues. Some do publish, but rarely in the top journals. Many are employed - but largely in teaching and not research universities.

Also, in my own case I know that I took on one research problem and set of hypothess in my dissertation. Some of the dissertations I reviewed were a compilation of 3 such efforts.

I'm not saying that DL doctorates are worthless. But as I've often stated - part-time programs taken over 3-4 years can't possibly compare to 4-5 years of full-time effort with much closer faculty-student relationships. No way. Not even close. U.S. DL doctorates are quite useful for teaching faculty and administrators. But don't try to compare U.S. DL doctorates with stronger, research focused degree programs. They are truly different animals.

Regards - Andy

 

This person is listed as a full-time faculty. As an Assistant Professor, he would be on a faull-time tenure-track, but not yet tenured. We have been looking foir an example of a Northcentral Ph.D. in a full-time tenure-track positions and it looks as though you have found one. Someone will likely bring up the fact that that three of the faculty in his department do not have doctorates. So was he hired because of his Northcentral doctorate? Regardless of the answer, his Northcentral doctorate obviously did not keep him from becoming a faculty member.

Let's see if we can find more.

Tony Piña
Administrator, Northeastern Illinois University

 

Dan meant NCU or Northcentral University. NCU doesn't have on-campus or residency requirement.

 

Gentlemen-

I do not know much about faculty positions at BM schools...but what about DL schools? Why not just teach there with your DL doctorates? Do DL schools pay less? Have less benefits? Tougher to get a position?

I just never hear teaching positions at Distance Learning Institutions mentioned very much.

I would think those of you who earned your Doctorates at a distance would love to teach at a distance too.


Thanks

 

I found 2 professors at Fordham University with NCU PhDs. One appears to be a tenured Professor, the other an adjunct.

http://www.fordham.edu/Academics/Colleges__Graduate_S/Graduate__Profession/Religion__Religious_/Faculty_12619.html

 

And another: Associate Professor from Winona State University

http://www.winona.edu/coursecatalog/PDFs/SOCIOLOGY.pdf

 

DL faculty member

Found this person some time back. She's a department chair at a community college with a PhD from Northcentral University in Business Administration.

I know of someone else in North Carolina in the community college system who's getting the same PhD from NCU. My guess is that the average DL faculty would have been in the job and negotiated a deal to get a box checked before doing the DL degree.



http://www.southtexascollege.edu/bacareer/anahid.html