NSU vs NCU Ed.D. program

Hi all (after a long time!!),

Well, after deciding to pull out of my Ph.D. program at Capella (and use those credits to earn an M.S. instead), and further interesting and unexpected life developments, I find myself once again contemplating going back into the DL breach, so to speak. However, this time my focus for a doctorate has quite a bit more structure to it than before.

I am slowly but steadily working my way up in the HR field, and am enjoying this path so much that I no longer want to return to the world of academia . . . thus, issues of wanting a tenure-track position and such (and the effect of a DL doc on the same) do not apply. My career progression is in the field of training and development, so my goal for pursuing a doctorate would be more as a credential-enhancing one, either in a consulting role, or in more senior level managerial/executive positions (many that I have seen advertised, but am not ready for, yet, in my own career progression, have stated that a doc is desirable or preferred).

So. Given all the above, certainly returning to the DL world for my doc makes perfect sense, especially when coupled with the fact that I live in the Middle East, plan to do so for at least the next five years, and my fiance is from India, so more than likely I will continue to not be based in the U.S. for most of the rest of my working life.

Given my career focus, I have been researching online Ph.D. or Ed.D. programs in Organizational Leadership or Training and Development, and I have narrowed down the field to two: NSU's Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership (with a Human Resource Development Minor), or NCU's Ed.D. in Training and Development. As much as I enjoyed my time at Capella, and think their Ph.D. in T&D is attractive, one of my main factors this time is little to no residencies; Capella's three residency requirement is very expensive to do (in terms of both time and money), when you add in the international aspect of it!

So, I am dithering between NSU and NCU for a Fall 2007 start. NCU is much cheaper, at (tuition only) around $24,225 for their program, compared to NSU at $41,250. In addition, NCU has no residency requirement, whereas I'd have to visit Florida twice for NSU (one time I think I can time with an already planned visit to the US next year, the other I don't know).

However, NSU is more well-established, has a B&M presence, etc etc . . . those old arguments still ring in my mind, although I don't know if they have any validity whatsoever given my career goals! Also, it seems that if I allowed myself to go a little crazy, the NSU program could be completed in two years, since the dissertation components are done along the way with the coursework (or am I reading their course plan incorrectly?).

At this point, I haven't made up my mind as to which route would be best, and would love to get an outside view on this choice. I'd really appreciate any ideas, experiences, advice, opinions, etc from the sage members of this board on any or all of the above!

Cheers,
Adrienne

P.S. Happy late Thanksgiving to all!