NCU World Headquarters - 5 More Buildings

http://prescottdailycourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=40530&TM=26441.54

Hello all,

It's been awhile, but I thought I'd share this with you.

I came accross this artice on NCU, and I noticed that Dr. Hecht's plans are quite expansive. This became apparant when I read:

"The town has approved NCU's Master Plan proposal to build five additional buildings of equal size."

Now, NCU's new headquartes will be 50,000 sf, and the available land owned by the school is 25 acres. I've spoken to members of the school, and they are all rather secretive about the school's future. I am wondering why NCU needs 6 enormous buildings and 25 acres of land if all they intend on offering is online programs.

6 buildings that are each 50,000 sf would equal 300,000 sf of space! That seems like an awful lot of room to just have some servers sitting there...

 

The space is necessary to store the W.M.D.s; that is, Weapons of Mass Diploma.

Dave

 

Dave,

Are you referring to NoCentral or Northcentral?

 

It depends on whether the NoCentral shill is lurking about; in which case, I would be referring to NoCentral.

Dave

 

Makes sense.

 

I am wondering if NCU is planning to use some of this space to hold certain courses face-to-face, such as in Psychology, in order to meet residency requirements for state licensure in Psychology. I have heard that NCU is planning to initiate a masters degree in Clinical Psychology and it would interesting to see if this evolves sometime in the future to a doctoral program in this specialization area. Just a hunch.

 

I imagine NCU will try to lease out most of the space in the extra buildings until they need it for in-house courses etc. This is a common practice - my employer (a college) is doing the same - it is a good revenue generator. It is a smart strategy to hold onto good pieces of real estate and make a dollar off them until you need them. Cheers..

 

Dave Wagner,

You once called me a NCU shill and said that I have multiple user-names here at this forum.

 

Ah yes, it doesn't take long for the name calling and bickering to begin here at degree info. Now I remember why I don't visit so much...

 

That NoCentral shill is always trying to get something started. You can safely ignore it.

Dave

 

Dave Wagner,

I'm currently in the dissertation phase at NCU and, frankly, it's much more difficult than what I previously anticipated. In fact, it is completely different then the traditional coursework that leads up to a dissertation. I seriously doubt that coursework can adequately prepare a student for the dissertation phase, due to the dissimilarities of the two. However, while doing the coursework that leads up to a dissertation, if a student pays close attention to the various methodologies that are used in all of the journal articles that are read for the traditional coursework, then it can give an inkling of what to expect during the dissertation process -- and a very small inkling at that. Nonetheless, all those journal articles that I read simply didn't prepare me for the solo dissertation process. And believe me: it's a solo process. My brother, who is a tenured professor with a traditional B&M doctorate, said that the attrition rate for doctoral students is about 50 to 70%, once they get to the dissertation phase and his explanation was because the students were essentially on their own.

In my own case, I have absolutely no desire to become a tenured professor at a B&M university. None whatsoever -- I've never had that desire and I never will. My goal is twofold. First, it's to help me accomplish a secret dream. The operative word here is secret and if I disclose the secret to you, then I'll have to kill you afterwards. Just kidding. Secondly, I hope to make a little bit of money teaching online, but that was never a primary goal. I got that idea by reading this forum.

Regarding the utility of a 100% online doctorate, I agree that there is a stigma, probably from the early days of degree mills where one could purchase a degree without doing any coursework. The stigma probably associates online degrees with "no coursework." The stigma is there and the stigma is strong.

Dave Wagner, you still ardently proclaim that I am an "NCU shill" with multiple user-names at this forum? Could you please provide your definition of exactly what an "NCU shill" is?

 

It might be a smart move, but it is a gamble. If the vacancy rate creeps up, then they could have a millstone around their neck. I've seen several start-ups go down and a foiled dream of subleasing was a contributing factor.

Dave

 

Thanks for all the information posted here. Now you are really scaring me!!!

 

I think the secret is out.

 

Well, it's not easy -- that's for sure. However, if you can look at what someone else has done for each assignment, then it makes it easier. When you reach the dissertation process, then let me know and I'll send you my assignments as an outline for you to follow. That was done for me and it helps immensely. By looking at what someone else has done for the same assignment, it provides a general idea of what's expected. When you're ready, then email me at [email protected]

 

Thanks for the offer - you will hear from me.

 

For some reason, I was thinking you quit NCU.

 

Which time? I've quit twice.

Why did I stay? The coursework that leads up to a dissertation is a miserable marathon. Sure, you can clip through some of the courses pretty quick, but the work still has to be done; so if you clip through a class in 30 days, then you simply concentrated all that work into a 30 day window. In a nutshell: I was exhausted after I completed all the coursework that leads up to the dissertation.

Then I had to deal with starting a dissertation, which is unlike anything that I've ever done (you'll hear this complaint nationwide). Only 24 credits remained to complete a regionally accredited doctorate -- and how could I quit when only 24 college credits remained? I would kick myself for the rest of my life because I came SO CLOSE to getting a RA doctorate. And every other doctoral program is going to make a new student do all the coursework ALL OVER AGAIN, so I'm not going to be starting any second doctoral programs anytime soon (like never!!!). So with that in mind, I ultimately did not quit. I am going for the gold, even if it has the online stigma that so many people have talked about. But the work is there and the degree mill stigma that online schools have is unjustified IMO. If you ask anyone who has completed an online dissertation if it was easy, the unequivocal answer will be "no." I think that learning Greek would be easier.

For the people who "put down" online doctorates, it's very important to ask them where they got their doctorate from because in many instances, they don't have one and have never been a doctoral student. Just ask them point blank: Where did you get your doctorate from? That usually silences them.