Hello Everyone, I sent Dr. Richard Gray a note regarding Columbia Southern University's future DBA program. If your interested I received this response: Hi Jamie: I appreciate your interest in furthering your education and your consideration of CSU. First, I suggest you decide whether you want a Ph.D. or a DBA. Although there may not be much difference in the actual education you receive, there is a definite perception that a Ph.D. is a superior degree. Traditionally, the Ph.D. was a research degree whereas the DBA was an applied degree. If you plan to teach at a comprehensive university or if you wish to do research in the public or private sector, I suggest you work toward a Ph.D. The DBA program at CSU will require a dissertation. This has been the primary thing that differentiated a Ph.D. from a DBA. Perhaps this will raise the “worth” of the CSU degree in the eyes of the traditionalists. I can assure you that the curriculum at CSU will be rigorous. Although our programs are practical, as opposed to purely theoretical, the DBA program will hold its own with any similar program that you can find. I am not sure what you have heard about Northcentral University. I was the founding President of NCU and held that position until they were ready for accreditation from the North Central Association (regional accreditation). I know that they recently lost their financial aid although I do not know the reason(s). They have just recently announced a new DBA program to go with the Ph.D. in Business Administration. If you are interested in the DBA, perhaps your decision is whether you want a degree from a regionally accredited university (at a substantial cost) or an equivalent degree from a nationally accredited university. As far as our future at CSU, I anticipate that the next step will be to add some specializations to our DBA program. At some point we may want to consider the Ph.D. These transitions will require that DETC expands the scope of their authority. Right now we are gearing up for an accreditation visit early next spring. We should know the decision on accreditation in June of 2006. Thanks for your interest. Let me know if you have other questions. Regards, Richard Gray, Ph.D. Dean of Doctoral Studies ============================================== Either way, I'm going to wait to see CSU's DBA program and it's cost. I'm sure it will be more resonably cost effective than the RA DBA's.
Looks like he is getting in his dig at his former employer, Northcentral. Really, I do wonder about that loss of TitleIV there. It doesn't make sense to mel. Other schools have non-trad schedules that seem more flexible than NCU.
I'm not sure, other than the CSU DBA will eventually have specialized concentrations, if the student desires. It appears CSU would consider pursuing a Ph.D program, when and if the DETC ever accredits such a program. I think the DETC is starting the doctorate accreditation with professional related degrees (i.e. Doctorate of Business Administration, Doctorate of Education). Once this pilot is in place and successful, I believe the DETC will pursue accrediation with Ph.D programs in the future. If the RA online schools are offering Ph.D's, it's just a matter of time before the NA schools do the same.
What a very interesting letter! Competition in doctoral program offerings is a concept that, frankly, I've never run across before. On the one hand, he offers some good practical advice; on the other hand, he seems to be engaging in what the Rabbis called "l'shon hara" (the evil tongue) toward another school. Fact is, though, I like him from his letter.
I agree. If NCU and Touro offer PhD's then it won't be that long down the road before DETC schools will do it. PhD's for everyone..."everything for everybody."
I just got a note from Michael Lambert (Executive Director of the DETC). The DETC does plan to accredit Ph.D's, but you won't see it until at least three years from now. The DETC will accredit applied doctorates (DBA, Ed.D) first and will then proceed into Ph.D's. By the end of the decade (2010) the DETC will hopefully be accrediting research based doctorates (Ph.D's). You Ph.D go getters may want to wait and see what happens with the DETC. Their roaring forward into the future and will soon be offering affordable DBA's, Ed.D's and Ph.D's. Although I already have my BSBA and MBA with CSU, I'm seriously considering the DBA at CSU. I was very pleased with my undergraduate and graduate degrees at CSU and it looks like their DBA is going to be a very solid program.
Why wait? In general, waiting may make sense for the DBA., for me, it doesn’t seem to. Tution at CSU is currently $225/unit for a masters and you must assume it will be higher for a Ph.D. Tuition at NCU is $475/unit with a 10% discount because of a partnership with NCU. This makes tuition close for a regionally accredited degree you can start now.
Very true, but I like to travel the unbeaten path. I'll be patient and wait for the nationally accredited DBA.
The problem here is that at nearly every university, the Ed.D. is a research doctorate, not an applied doctorate, with the same requirements as a Ph.D. in education. Every published study on the comparision of the Ed.D. with the Ph.D. in education has found no substantive difference between the two. If a school can offer an Ed.D. that requires research design and statistics coursework and a research dissertation, there really is no reason that they could not offer Ph.D.s that require the same things.
