Touro International vs. Capella

This is my first post in this forum!

I am interested in pursuing a PhD at a distance to further career prospects. I travel a lot, and have a tough job--so I need something that works well with my schedule.

I originally enrolled at TGSA, now Capella, but dropped out during last job change and relocation. Then, I tried the Nova Southestern DBA program--but found myself attending class on weekends after returning to overseas travel. (Plus--Nova to me often seemed like a disorganized mess...but that's another story.)

In any case, I want to get back into it, and I want an online format--so I am considering re-enrolling with Capella, or trying Touro International. The way I see it--both have their pluses & minues. Touro is associated with a major school (perhaps loosely associated--except for the accreditation), Capella is a true "e-institution"--but seems to be very high quality. Either look like they could do the job.

Comments are appreciated!

Jim Marion

MBA Heriot-Watt University, June 1998
BSEET Grantham College of Engineering Dec. 1994

 

IMHO, either really could do the job--you've picked two excellent schools.

I had reservations about TUI early on because it's probably the first time a University International has offered degrees as a branch of a College rather than vice versa, but having learned more about Touro College's exemplary history, I now see this as an insignificant point.

And Capella, of course, is a trailblazer in the field of nontraditional education, establishing and following through with new quality control standards, getting a little better on a seemingly daily basis.

I would rate Capella slightly higher than Touro when it comes to doctorates, but both schools are a credit to the U.S. higher education system.


Cheers,

------------------
Tom Head
www.tomhead.net

 

Is Touro considered a major school back east? My guess is that here in the west not 1 person in a 100 (1000? 10,000?) would have even heard of either Touro or its branch campus.


Tom Nixon

 

My vote would go to Capella. First, its accreditation is its own, as opposed to Touro International, which draws its accreditation from being under the umbrella of its East Coast partner. (I agree with Tom that Touro College does not exactly fit the definition of a major university; no one's really heard of it.) Second, Capella offers a wider curriculum. Third, Capella is making contributions to the field of higher education beyond its degree offerings. Fourth, Capella is well-established and funded. Finally, Capella offers greater flexibility regarding course completion (independent study and/or computer-based).

Rich Douglas

 

Touro College is very well respected within the Orthodox Jewish community, has suitably accredited schools of law and osteopathic medicine, and has about a half dozen international campuses. It's a relatively small school (10,000 to 15,000 students), but its reputation is solid (though probably not particularly far-reaching).

Peace,

------------------
Tom Head
www.tomhead.net

 

Who the H*** has heard of Capella outside of the DL community? I haven't found anyone.

 

Jim, I am a doctoral student with Capella. I hope to be defending my dissertation in December of this year. I have had a series of very positive experiences with Capella, from valuable interaction with other learners, to my two week summer session, to my terrific learning experiences.

I chose to do the two week summer session one week at a time. I did not find taking a week a year of annual leave for the last two years any problem and found my two week "on campus" stint to be a valuable galvanizing experience. Networking with other learners and professors helped broaden the context of my program and personal experiences.

I am sure there are other good choices out there. For me, closing in on the final round of my program, Capella has been just what I needed.

Paul C.

 

Paul - You are knocking on the door! Congrats and keep pressing on to December!

Barry Foster

 

I was accepted in both Capella and Touro, ended up choosing the latter.

Never regret it. What attracted me most is the fact that there are no adjunct faculty members, all faculty are live-in full timers.

Other reasons:

1. Touro College is not new. It has been a leading educational institution
for 30 years with a student body of more than 12,000. Whatever the case, I know that my Diploma clearly mentions the brick and mortar Touro College. Always prefer to associate with a brick and mortar institution.

2. The TUI MBA and Ph.D. degrees meet the highest standards (the same
standards as the top universities in the world). In addition, the TUI Ph.D.
degree is a true research degree (as opposed to those degree that do not
require a rigorous dissertation). In addition, the TUI Ph.D. degree offers
a unique course - Effective University Teaching - that I found it to be quite attractive to academic circles. This is not confirmed, but I corresponded with numerous Ph.D. graduates from Capella and none of them confirmed to me that there is an oral defence. At TUI, all faculty members are invited to attend two oral defences (proposal and final defence).

3. Capella's distance learning is essentially e-mail exchange (as is the case with most Internet programs) while TUI has created the true Cyber Classroom. When compared to other quality institutions, TUI has a very favorable cost per
credit.

4. I am inclined to go with not-for-profit academic institutions which is not the case with Capella.

Eli

 

Richard,

I agree that Capella offers wider curriculum in comparison to Touro. On the other hand, the comparison between the two is unfair because Capella has been operating for more than 8 years while TUI (as branch campus) for nearly 3 years only. No doubt TUI is improving at a great pace. On December 3 new degree programs (B.S. in Computer Science, B.S. in
Information Tech Mgt, and M.S. in Inf. Tech. Mgt.) are added to its curriculum.

Eli

 

First, let me make clear that I think you made a good choice for yourself and will benefit from a great learning oportunity. There ar a few points in your post about which I wish to offer a diffferent perspective.


What attracted me most is the fact that there are no adjunct faculty members, all faculty are live-in full timers.

This from Touro's web site:

"The TUI College of Business Administration is seeking full and adjunct faculty to teach at the Bachelor, Masters, and Ph.D. levels."

Like everyone else, Touro uses adjuncts. There is nothing inherently wrong with it and many things very good about it.



2. The TUI MBA and Ph.D. degrees meet the highest standards (the same
standards as the top universities in the world). In addition, the TUI Ph.D.
degree is a true research degree (as opposed to those degree that do not
require a rigorous dissertation). In addition, the TUI Ph.D. degree offers
a unique course - Effective University Teaching - that I found it to be quite attractive to academic circles. This is not confirmed, but I corresponded with numerous Ph.D. graduates from Capella and none of them confirmed to me that there is an oral defence. At TUI, all faculty members are invited to attend two oral defences (proposal and final defence).

Capella requires three defense processes. The first is the defense of one's Orals, the second is the defense of one's dissertation proposal, and the third is the defense of the dissertation itself. Since these defense processes are, in large measure, facilitated by ones program mentor, there may be variance due to specific individual predilections. However, as an institutional requirement, there is most certainly a defense.


3. Capella's distance learning is essentially e-mail exchange (as is the case with most Internet programs) while TUI has created the true Cyber Classroom. When compared to other quality institutions, TUI has a very favorable cost per
credit.


Capella's distance learning model is not based on email exchange. Capella uses a robust CourseRoom interactive environment for its online classes. This environment provides for group discussion, peer to peer and learner to fsculty interaction. It contains all the features one would expect of an online education provider.

You may be thinking of those that choose to do their program as directed study, one on one, with Capella faculty. In this case, much of the interaction naturally occurs via email. However, for those that make the choice of taking class work online, there is a full featured, very robust online CourseRoom environment.

I am glad you are happy with your choice of Touro. It is undoubtedly a sound decision for you and many others.


Paul C.

 

Thank you Paul and I stand corrected on Capella's Courseroom interactive environment.

I tried to find the excerpt (Touro's site) that mentioned "adjunct" to no avail. Please pass on the URL and thanks. As we stand today, I do not know of any adjunct instructors in the College of Business Administration.

As for the oral defence at Capella, I quote the email received from Capella's Admin. It is self explanatory:
------------------- Email sent by Capella -------
Dear Eli,

Thank you for your interest in Capella University. I wanted to introduce
myself and discuss your interest in our program. My name is Tanya Erdos and
I am the Enrollment Services Advisor for the School of Business. I work
with PhD candidates and I think it is important to follow up with potential
learners, such as yourself.

Because of the unique nature of our program, I try to contact people on an
individual basis to discuss how our program might best work for you. I also
wanted to see if you have any questions about the program that I could help
you with.

As you may know, Capella University offers innovative distance learning
programs that will provide learners with an accessible and quality
educational experience.

You asked about the length of the PhD program. Our average doctoral learner
has been completing the PhD program within about 3 years. You are able to
transfer up to 36 semester hours from your MBA program, providing it is from
a regionally accredited University and the coursework was at a letter grade
of "B" or better. If you have this maximum transfer credit, your program
would consist of 12 courses, a comprehensive paper and a dissertation.
There is no oral defense of the dissertation and you do not have to be in
attendance to present your dissertation. This is a distance learning
program and we try to make the required residencies as minimal as possible.
We currently have 4 you must attend. One 2 week summer session and 3 (1
1/2days) focused seminars.

My goal is to help you make an informed decision about your future
educational plans. Please contact me so I am able to update your record and
better assist you. I can be reached by phone at 800-987-1133 x 234 or by
e-mail at [email protected]. I look forward to working with you on an
educational plan that will help you reach your goals.

Sincerely,
Tanya Erdos
Enrollment Services Advisor
School of Business

Capella University
330 Second Ave. S., Suite 550
Minneapolis, MN 55401

800-987-1133, ext. 234
Fax: 612-339-8022
[email protected] http://www.capellauniversity.edu
---------- End of email -------------

Good luck with you Ph.D.

Eli

 

Not to fuss, but what exactly makes the comparison "unfair"? The difference noted is true, nothing more. This does not diminish what Touro University International has done since its inception. But it makes clear that Capella has a more varied curriculum.

BTW: Much of Capella's curriculum was in place after three years of operation, and this was while it was going through the accreditation process; a process Touro did not have to face. (No doubt it will be included in Touro College's reaccreditation evaluation, whenever that takes place.)

Rich Douglas

 

Eli,

I see now where you got your understanding about the dissertation defense. Unfortunately, I think the Capella advisor is involved in semantics.

A "Completion Conference", the term used by Capella, is a presentation of the dissertation via conference call with the members of the Dissertation Committee. The dissertation will not be given final acceptance without this oral "presentation". I can tell you, having gone through a Comp "presentation", it is clearly a "defense" of ones written submission.

Here is the URL for the Touro related adjunct info I posted earlier:
http://www.tourouniversity.edu/Jobs/JobsMain.htm

 

I wrote the MSACHE last year to ask, in effect, whether they had already looked at TUI's program offerings and officially (rather than provisionally) included them under Touro College's accreditation; if memory serves, the response I received indicated rather explicitly that they had, and even made mention of a few online programs (one of them being a Ph.D. in health sciences) that TUI had not yet announced at the time.


Peace,

------------------
Tom Head
www.tomhead.net

 

Tom is correct.
Margaret Robbins <[email protected]> of Middle States confirms that all Touro University International Ph.D. programs are accredited. This took place on June 21st, 2000.

Allow me to expand for new reader and say that TUI (CA) is a branch campus of TC (NY) but it is physically located in another state. Most branch campuses of other universities are located in the same state as the parent campus.

Under California law, TUI must be authorized by California (not New York)
to award degrees. Thus, there is a legal requirement for TUI to award its own degrees. Middle States ([email protected]) thoroughly reviewed and approve this relationship.

Eli

 

Could you point me to information about the MS in IT Mgt.? I can't find any information about these new programs on their web site.

Thanks.

 

The mentioned programs will be introduced on Dec. 3rd, 2001

Eli

 

Ah, sorry, I thought you meant that they would begin in the December term, so I thought that they would already have information available. Will the programs first be offered in the March term then?

Thanks.