Capella University PhD programs

Hello, I am new to this forum. But, I have recently been seriously considering starting a distance learning PhD program in Education. I have looked at a series of brick and mortar schools, including New Mexico State University, Pepperdine, and University of Nebraska. All have well known programs and certainly the tuition at NMSU and U of N is reasonable.

However, someone at my work is pursuing his program at Capella and really played it up recently. I did some research on it, but am unsure what to make of it...everything from warnings about attending a proprietary university to those who claim it is wonderful. Certainly the person at my work keeps bragging about the program. But, truthfully, I am also a little concerned about any program that would enroll him.

Any feedback from you guys and gals would be greatly appreciated.

 

I work for a major corporation in the communications department, but will soon be transitioning to the corporate university. I have a master's degree in curriculum, from the University of Illinois.

I feel a PhD would set me apart from the others and may allow me to teach in a university in the near future, on a part time basis.

 

With Capella either you love it or you hate it. They have some real good programs and some that need improvement. It's not for everyone and neither is a PhD.

 

I heard good things about them. Do you have any othre concerns? I like your reasoning.
"I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members." - Grouch Marx

 

1998-2002 PhD Education - Instructional Design with Capella.

My experience was quite rewarding and the journey as much as I could reasonably imagine from such a program. I teach for a few brick and mortars and consult with one brick and mortar on one of their online programs. I find a quite similar experience between the faculty and learners from Capella as I find with faculty and learners at the B&M programs I am familiar with.

To be fair - I have to expose my biases - I was employed by Capella after completing my degree program. It was not planned and I did not work for the same school under which I received my degree.

The colloquia are enriching. I had a great program mentor chair and was very proud of the members of my dissertation committee.

I am a realist and expected normal snafus, as with all academic bureaucracies. But, by an large, the issues were nothing beyond what you see at your local liberal arts college or state university.

I do not work for Capella any more, but I am still quite proud of my experience as a learner and am happy with my own program. As has been stated, you should be clear of your own expectations and objectives for embarking on the doctoral journey. It's not cheap, and it will take some toll on your personal life.

For me, the rewards justified the means...but I was relieved and worn out by the time it was over.

 

Paul, I agree with you. Several months back I got my Ph.D. at Capella. I'm still recovering. I won't complain. Like you, I had some pretty cool people on my dissertation committee. Only one gave me slight hell and I had to go back an add and redo after all committee members minus this person had approved it. In my field (counseling besides teaching), I am already reaping some rewards. People expect to pay more. I stand out among other psychotherapists by having that doctorate versus only a Masters degree. People also respect my opinion more when they see my diploma on the wall. At one of the sites I work at besides my own, the doctors gave me a standing ovation and gave me a shirt with the my name and "Dr." in from of it. That was cool.

I'm glad I went to Capella. It gets better and better.

 

That just about sums it up...I was enrolled for ONE class...then beat feet to NSU.

It's not scientific...but the people I have met with Capella doctorates were not impressive...including one we just interviewed (and that was the group opinion).

YMMV

Jim Morgan

 

If the corporate university has staff with doctorates - you should check out their credentials. If they tend to have B&M credentials...that might be a consideration.

 

I like the degrees at both UNL and NMSU. I know graduate of both programs. They are less expensive and probaly will meet your needs

 

Re: Re: Capella University PhD programs

Guess the cirriculm was a little too tough for you? Of course the only thing that would be less impressive would be to spend months criticzing the for-profit model of education while taking a paycheck from the University of Phoenix on the side - right Jim?

 

Steve,
So you are judging an entire model upon your experiences in what one or two FP schools? Guess with this type of reasoning I should assume that when your Ford turns out to be a piece of sh?t you will revert back to your bicycle (or your horse and buggy)?

 

Re: Re: Re: Capella University PhD programs

Actually...no...quite the opposite. As an academic credentials are taken somewhat seriously.

You will note I don't take advantage of the UoP tuition break either.

YMMV

Jim Morgan

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Capella University PhD programs

But you do cash the check?

 

I've worked on both sides of the fence and don't see that much difference. My wife has completed all coursework and finishing her thesis on an RA Masters in HR from a respected regional liberal arts college. She has never taken an online course in her life, and never a course from a declared "for profit".

She complains incessantly that the value of her degree is seriously diminished by the half a dozen students in cohort that have significant difficulties putting a paragraph together of cogent thought with proper grammar. The cohort process at this school requires students to peer review other student’s papers and she was close to giving up half way through the program from frustration over how some of her peers were getting A's and B's from the sloppy work they did.

The bottom line to this, and a thousand other stories just like it in the world of adult education, is that adult programs at established B&Ms are far more like adult programs at “for profits” than they are different.

Private “for profit” and “not for profit” are similar in one over-riding key area...it is about cash flow for both. This does not diminish the good work done by both and the valid and valued service provided by both.

Here’s what I know about Capella: some very good quality programs; some very high quality faculty; a whole lot of dedicated, intelligent, experienced adult learners; and a few less than stellar of all of the above – just about what one would find at most other institutions of higher learning that cater to adult learners.

Dedicate a week of research on comparing dissertations from a dozen mid-level state universities in your part of the country to someone like Capella and that may well serve to level the playing field of thought on just how inherently superior a state B&M is over some “for profit” institutions.

On average, people are people, and that is the common denominator in all this. The people at Touro or NCU or Capella are the same people that used to be at UNM and Kent State and Pepperdine. They don’t change in quality and opinion on governance just because they left one RA employer and moved to another.

 

What's the point?

I have to side with Paul here ...

What's the point of continuing this debate?

If you removed the online/B&M labels and just saw the degree, would you be as critical?

OK, so the couple of dozen active posters on this forum know that Capella is an online school and you have issues with that.

What if you interviewed/encountered a graduate from your state's university and found that person to be an utter moron? Would you now discount the skills and abilities of every graduate of that university?
Of state universities in general?
Of all public universities?

The bottom line is that the individual is as much a factor in the his/her success as any educational program s/he may have graduated from.

I have taught at a large metropolitan university, an adult-targeted college in the same city, and two online programs sponsored by B&M universities.

Obviously, there were major variants in student ability in those populations. But of those institutions, the adult ed college was the one that made me the most uncomfortable with its "off-the-shelf" curricular mandates and course/program designs that seemed more focused on creating the least amount of disruption to the student's life and not so much on actually having them learn anything.

But, know what? Upon completing of any of those programs, the student will graduate with a degree. And, I guarantee you that if s/he left the metro area (where someone might know something about the college), the adult ed graduate would have no one debating the validity of the degree.

I earned my Master's at a satellite campus of a B&M school and found my Capella work much more engaging and challenging. With my Capella course work, I won an award at my practicum site and was better prepared for my internship site than one of my B&M colleagues.

There are too many variables at play to base a unilateral decision on online v. B&M, non-profit v. for-profit, etc.

 

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Capella University PhD programs

Absolutely!