Hi all, I'm new to this forum and have found it very resourceful. Thanks! I need your advice. I'm a resident in Hong Kong and interested in the above-mentioned program. I wonder if the U is a good one. And how about the program itself? How much time do I really need to spend on campus? Like what they say on the website, 2 consecutive semesters? more or less? How about 2 summer semesters? Thanks for your attention in advance. C K
Good morning! Indiana State University is regionally accredited, and it has both undergraduate and graduate programs in numerous fields. In my opinion, this regional public university is a good school. This PhD program appears to be unique in its consortium-based approach (including schools ranging from ISU to East Carolina University to Eastern Michigan University) to doctoral-level education. Regarding your question on residency, correspondence and messages from the advisers at ISU and ECU have shown that the on-campus time is flexible. As I noted previously on alt.education.distance, the actual on-campus time to fulfill the two-semester requirement is quite short. Using Option 2, the student would attend two 5-day workshops at the Indiana State campus (this 5-day period can include weekends) for the first semester counted as residency. The second semester could be taken at the home (consortium) university with one 5-day workshop or executive session qualifying as residency. Three weeks total on-campus residency (some of which can be weekend time) does not seem (to me) to be a significant hurdle for someone to overcome in a doctoral program. By the way, I have taken two online courses applicable to this program through one of the consortium members (East Carolina), and I enjoyed the experience. The professor was excellent, and the lessons learned were relevant to the "real-world" environment. Out of curiosity, which specialization are you considering? Human resource development, construction management, and digital communication systems are among the tracks offered. Good luck in your search for the right program!
CK, With regard to your question about the quality of the University (I can't speak to the program), it is indeed a "good one." I earned my Ph.D. in psychology from ISU in the early 1980s which was an excellent experience. ISU is a regional university so it doesn't have the prestige of IU (Indiana University) which is the state's capstone school. On the other hand ISU is a very credible state university with a student-centered climate. It has a very strong program in psychology with APA-approved doctoral programs in clinical, counseling and school psychology. I also recall that the University had a strong committment to its School of Technology. Faculty, at the time, were promoted primarily on teaching as opposed to the number of articles published. My advisor was readily accessible; the most I ever waited for an appointment was a day or so and he was generally able to make time the same day. The library services were great as were the services in the computer center. At the time ISU recruited heavily in the Middle East so the academic support programs were familiar with the needs of international students. In sum, I would strongly encourage you to place ISU high on your short list.
Thanks very much for your info. Among the consortium members, I prefer the one like East Carolina. However, it's not possible to "choose" the degree awarding institution. Given your advice, I'll definitely put the ISU on top of my shortlisted schools. I'll look for either the Information Science or Information Systems. Any suggestion? I'd like to go for one which requires more mathematics so that it's "easier" to come up with journal articles later on in my academic life. I might need your advice later on. C K
David, Thanks for your info and opinion. I'll definitely put the ISU on top of my short list. The list is quite short indeed Not many PhD programs availabe in PT offshore mode in US and/or Canada. (I'd really like to go for a North American PhD). I might need your advice later on. Thanks, C K
I'm wondering which campus should be my home campus. Any idea of which consortium members is the best? Thanks, C K
Good morning! Please note that I have only taken two courses in this program, so my notes here should be considered as suggestions only. I would strongly recommend contacting your potential home university program director or the Director of the Technology Management Doctoral Program at Indiana State (Dr. Bruce Dallman) to gather more information. Dr. Dallman was very responsive to my previous e-mail inquiries. There are various factors to consider when selecting a home university in this consortium program. Some people consider geography when making a selection in case they want to visit the library or use facilities, but your location in Hong Kong probably makes this point moot. A more important factor to consider is your specialization. Based on your most recent post, you have selected Quality Systems. If you look at the course list, most of the courses in this track are handled by Indiana State and Bowling Green State University. If your home university is a leader in your specialization, this should help you as you go through the program since they will understand your area of interest. On a related note, your adviser at your home university can make a difference as you undertake different phases of the process. Dr. Poe at East Carolina might be a good selection for someone choosing digital communication systems since this is his area of expertise, but a different adviser may be appropriate for someone interested in construction management or human resource development. You may consider checking the profile or CV of each consortium member's PhD program adviser to see if your research interests are compatible with your proposed adviser's background. Cost may be an issue since each consortium member currently has its own fee structure. I found East Carolina to be very affordable when I took two classes last year ($369 for a three-credit-hour graduate course or $123/hour at that time). However, you can't pay ECU rates at the other schools when your specialization dictates that you take a course from, say, the University of Wisconsin-Stout or Eastern Michigan University. When I inquired about a particular course, UW-S fees were two to three times more expensive than ECU. Please note that there has been some discussion among consortium members to level the fees at some agreed-upon rate sometime in the future. Unfortunately, that rate will probably be significantly higher than the current ECU rate. One potential silver lining in the cost scenario is the possibility of transferring credits in from your master's program to be your "cognate area" credits. However, this possibility should be discussed with your proposed adviser early in the process. One might consider having ISU as the home university since it could make some registration and related tasks easier. Unfortunately, I understand anyone going through the program will have to work with other consortium schools at one point or another since technology core courses and others are common to all specializations. Keep us posted on your progress!
