Ed.D. in one year at NCU

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by **********, Mar 28, 2006.

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  1. **********

    ********** New Member

    Greetings everyone,

    I just read that NCU (www.ncu.edu) had just granted two students their Ed.D degrees from its new education department. NCU's education department was launched in 2005.

    The two students, Dr. Jama and Dr. Peterson, completed their studies in one year. My question is... how is it possible? I was always under the impression that doctoral degrees take 3 years or more to complete.

    I'd like to know because I'm seriously considering NCU for a Ed.D degree.

    regards.

    Maria :confused:
     
  2. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    That does seem odd. Anyone?

    -=Steve=-
     
  3. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member

    My impression is that any serious school would require at least 5 years part time to finish a doctorate. 3 years is already pushing it. I wouldn't be surprise that these people already had credits in the PhD program and just transferred to the EdD and completed their dissertations in the year period.
     
  4. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    If they were given a heads-up that the EdD was coming, then they could have easily completed all of their coursework prior to begining the 24 credit dissertation stage. I seriously doubt that they could complete the coursework and the dissertation in 12 months. NCU made an announcement a long time ago that an EdD was coming, so it was possible to do the necessary coursework before the program was officially launched.
     
  5. Bill Parker

    Bill Parker New Member

    It has taken me a year just to complete 3 courses.
     
  6. PhD2B

    PhD2B Dazed and Confused

    I considered the education program before it was officially announced. There aren’t many courses that one could take in the business or psychology programs that could be transferred to the education program. It has taken me a year and four months to complete four courses. The courses are no joke! The only thing I can figure is these two individuals were extremely motivated and worked their tails off.

    Is a little over a year too short of a time to complete a doctorate? Maybe, but other people have done it in places like Walden. NCU and Walden both allow students to work at their own pace. If someone really wants the degree and is dedicated and very motivated, there is nothing to stop them from completing the degree in a short amount of time. Most B&M universities have set semesters lengths, so even if a person is capable of completing a doctorate in less time, the semester length makes it impossible to complete the degree in less time.
     
  7. carlosb

    carlosb New Member

    Also could have been a special situation:

    http://www.ncu.edu/info.asp?i=45


     
  8. jimnagrom

    jimnagrom New Member

    Now THAT is potentially very interesting for students who have completed their doctoral coursework and are having trouble getting their dissertaton topic accepted at their current school. I don't think many schools will accept ABD students.
     
  9. jimnagrom

    jimnagrom New Member

    Interesting in the WSJ article about how technology implementation is compressing the time to complete education programs. Three years is pretty much the minimum...but with PC's, the Internet, digital archives and MS Office...it makes no sense that a doctorate would be unafffected.

    The "process time" is being compressed by technology - which is as it should be.
     
  10. **********

    ********** New Member

    Hi everyone,

    I e-mailed NCU with regard to the short length of time 2 of their students completed their Ed.D degrees. I received a response from a Ms Sherelle Hemingway, Enrollment Advisor, from NCU. Here is her response:




    Hello Maria,

    I received the following response from the Academic Coordinator in the Education Department regarding your question on the fast completions of the Doctoral degrees.

    Tom was pretty much ABD and complete some coursework in addition to the 24 doctoral research and dissertation modules. Amy did the entire 51 units by overlapping courses. It is pretty amazing!

    Please feel free to contact me if I can be of further assistance.

    Kind regards,

    Sherelle Hemingway
    Enrollment Advisor
    Northcentral University
    nt an e-mail to Sherelle




    Some of you were correct about the ABD coursework; however, I find the rate of competion for Dr. Peterson unheard of. Anyway, I figured the response may help others as well.

    Thank you all for your coments.

    Regards,
    Maria
     
  11. mathguy

    mathguy New Member

    It is no wonder that traditional B&M universities look the other way to fill tenure track faculty positions rather than seriously consider graduates of a one year phd program.
     
  12. drewbobcat

    drewbobcat New Member

    WOW!

    Two things. . .

    First, I can't believe that the advisor shared that information; seems like that would be a violation of the students' privacy???

    Secondly, I'm in the doctoral Ph.D. program in Psych at NCU and I agree with what others have said. . .it's not easy! Amy must have done nothing but coursework 12 hours a day for this entire year; even so, I don't know how this would be possible. Most of the NCU courses have 12-15 lengthy papers and substantial reading.

    Allison
     
  13. simon

    simon New Member

    Re: WOW!



    In fact it is very possible.

    If a student enters NCU's Ed.D program with a masters degree plus completion of all doctoral courses from another university and have conceptualized the dissertation topic and methodology they can expeditiously complete the few required courses while simultaneously completing the dissertation.

    keep in mind that the Ed.D dissertation does not require the same level of intense research required by the Ph.D program. In addition, NCU does not require an oral defense of the comprehensive exam or dissertation. This takes additional time to prepare for resulting in the increased length of time to complete the Ph.D program.

    BTW, how do you like the Ph.D program in Psychology at NCU? Simon
     
  14. drewbobcat

    drewbobcat New Member

    Re: Re: WOW!

    Maybe it's just me, but I don't see how it would be possible to complete 51 credits of coursework and write a dissertation (24 additional credits) in a year? Hat's off to her for doing so, but. . .

    I like the Psych Ph.D. program so far; it's what I expected it to be and I like the self-paced approach of NCU.

    Thanks for asking!

    Allison
     
  15. jimnagrom

    jimnagrom New Member

    Re: Re: Re: WOW!

    Bear in mind that a RA 3 credit academic class is expected to require approx. 120 hours in class and out of class. 51 credits is 17 3 credit classes. That's 5-6 classes for Spring, Summer and fall - very doable if you aren't doing anything else.

    If a person (changing careers say) worked at this full time (40-60 hours a week) they should be able to finish in a year - in fact, since this would be their primary focus - their minds would have less opportunity to forget information over time.

    Realistically, there's quite a bit of time spent "spinning your wheels" in a traditional PhD program (when classes are offered, faculty turnover, faculty availability, etc.). For example, I have wasted over a year, simply because the PhD staff have made mistakes, put out incorrect info, failed to send e-mails as promised, etc.

    Now people being what they are...anyone who has done a "traditional" PhD is going to look down their noses at anyone who did not have to jump thru the same hoops that they did. I wasted no time letting "summer" graduates of the US Army's Ranger school know that I had gone thru as a "winter" Ranger - and we both looked down on the "spring" and "fall" Ranger graduates.

    But everyone met the same graduating requirements.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 30, 2006
  16. Andy Borchers

    Andy Borchers New Member

    Re: Re: Ed.D. in one year at NCU

    But doesn't education involve transforming the mind of the student? If so, can people be molded and shaped in less time through the use of technology?

    I don't see it this way. If these students had done their coursework elsewhere - then I can understand the one year. But to complete a doctoral program from begining to end in one year raises serious questions about the rigor of the doctoral program.

    Regards - Andy

     
  17. foobar

    foobar Member

    Re: Re: Re: Re: WOW!

    That's 17 doctoral-level 3-credit classes.

    I can't speak to an Ed.D., but there is no way that a program in which someone could take 17 doctoral-level courses in one year would get any respect from someone with an AACSB-accredited business doctorate. Nine courses would be considered a lot, and anything over 12 courses would be considered suicide.

    At the risk of coming across as a B&M bigot, if someone was successful at doing this, it implies a lack of appropriate rigor in the courses.
     
  18. drewbobcat

    drewbobcat New Member

    Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: WOW!

    Yep, I agree. . .and I'm in a NCU doctoral program.

    I just don't see how this would be possible. The courses in Psych are similar to the doctoral courses at the B&M school where my husband earned his Ph.D.

    In addition to the courses, she also wrote her dissertation in this time? Even for an Ed.D., this seems near impossible.

    Back to my original point, though, I do find it upsetting that the advisor shared this personal info about two students. . .major violation of their privacy.

    Just my two cents. . .

    I've been really happy with NCU so far, but this story makes me think twice.

    Allison
     
  19. RFValve

    RFValve Well-Known Member


    Wow!

    This beats the record of one person that I met that finished a PhD in two years full time. He was a real genius hired by NASA as a research scientist after graduation.

    Unless Amy is another genius ready to win a nobel prize, I don’t see how one can finish a credible EdD in one year.

    It seems that NCU is becoming a degree factory but it might be possible that the person in question is just more of an exception than a general rule.


    In any case, you should look for more options for your education. NCU seems to be too new in my opinion and needs more time to be a tested product.
     
  20. me again

    me again Well-Known Member

    IMO it would be very difficult to do 24 dissertation credits in one year, but if an ABD student transferred with most of his coursework already completed, then ???. I've looked at the dissertation requirements and it's pretty straight forward. As long as you stick to the plan and meet the requirements, then you graduate. :eek: I plan on sticking to the plan. :eek:

    I went to a RA college to inquire about the pay for teaching because they offer in-resident and online classes... and when I told them that I anticipate graduating with a RA doctorate in about 1.5 more years, they practically rolled out the red carpet for me. It is quite an incentive to stick to the plan. :eek:
     

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