repututation - Walden, Capella or NCU?

Hello, all! I was hoping for some frank thoughts about a decision I am trying to make - I have narrowed down my choices for a business PhD to Walden, Capella and NCU. NCU is very attractive due to price and the no residency requirement, but I could live with having to attend residences and higher tuition if the program is generally better.

My question is this - in terms of future career options, which school will look best on my CV? I am currently a professor in Europe at a B&M and a part time adjunct for a US university, but I want to make sure I make the best choice in the event I decide to return to the US one day to live. How will universities view a PhD from each of these schools if I am trying to apply for regular tenure-track positions? Would one hold more esteem than the others?

 

Speaking for myself, I do not think any of the three would benefit you over a regular B&M program if you were applying for tenure-track in the US. Regardless of any differences in rigor and reputation among the three, they are likely to get lumped into the same category (round file) versus a candidate with PhD from a B&M for tenure-track. For adjunct work, I do not think it is such a critical distinction.

Just my perspective as a former NCU DBA student who transfered to a B&M program for the future utility aspects of my chosen degree.

 

Of the three you've listed I would go with Walden for "best reputation" as it has been around the longest and is involved with a number of different doctoral level degree programs in diverse specializations.

 

For what it's worth - I have presented at 4 academic conferences and the issue of my Capella studies has never come up. In fact, I usually get the question, "Where's Capella University." I then explain that it is a DL school. Most people have been supportive.

While I won't deny that it will be easier for you to get a tenure track position with a B&M doctorate, if you have a track record of being published, that will certainly help.

Shawn

 

Over the past seven years, I have posted on this topic many times on Degreeinfo. Let me give you the "Readers' Digest" version:

For full-time tenure-track positions at B&M universities, a doctorate from a totally virtual university still has an extremely low rate of acceptance. Can you find faculty members with such degrees? Of course, but if you do some investigating, you will find that most of these either 1) teach in departments that did not require faculty with doctorates or 2) were hired with masters degrees and completed their doctorates years later.

Having said that, I have over a dozen friends and colleagues with doctorates from Capella and Walden who have rewarding careers in higher education (I also know three who are currently completing doctorates at NCU). In every instance, they are mid-career professionals with solid work experience. I have recently served on a dissertation committee for a Capella Ph.D. learner (who did a great job) and received a promotion.

As Kizmet states, Walden is the oldest and most established of the three, NCU is the newest and least established. Capella is currently awarding the highest number of doctorates. For those interested in a academic career, a Walden, Capella or NCU doctorate would be most advantageous for someone who is currently employed as a full-time assistant professor and needs the doctorate for tenure & promotion to associate professor or someone seeking employment as:

• a full-time faculty member at a virtual university
• a full-time community college faculty
• a K-12 teacher
• an administrative or staff position at a university, community college or K-12 school/district
• an adjunct university or community college faculty

Now, you are likely asking, "Well, what qualifications does this guy have to make such pronouncements?" And well you should!

Here goes:

• 21 years in my field (instructional technology and distance learning)
• Faculty and administrator at K-12, Community College & University levels (Currently, I am an academic dean for a six-campus university/college system)
• On the hiring boards of several faculty and administrators
• Past-President of the Division of Distance Learning for an international professional association (AECT)
• Editorial Board member of a scholarly journal in distance learning
• Board member of an educational foundation
• 100 professional conference presentations and over a dozen and a half publications

**Gee, sounds like the guy has written his obituary**

All the best in your doctoral quest...it will be worth it.

Tony

 

Yes, it definitely opens doors. NCU is relatively new and I was questioned about whether it was spelled as North Central University (which is a RA Pentecostal university) or as Northcentral University (which is a 100% online RA university). The impression that she gave was that she had never heard of the latter. However, my foot is already in the door as a proven... Anyways, the point is that if you have a RA doctorate, it opens financial doors.

 

Since you are in Europe, I would suggest for UK or French schools with external research programs. It is more likely that you find a regular full time tenure track position with an external degree from a reputable European School than from an American Virtual School. As Tony explained, these PhDs are for people that are already established and require the doctorate for a pay bump or a promotion but not so much for people looking to get a first job. You have reputable schools with external doctoral programs such as University of Manchester, Grenoble, Henley Management College and Aston among others. If you insist on virtual American Schools, from the ones you mentioned I think Walden has the most number of graduates working as full time tenure track faculty but it might be that most of these individuals were already working as faculty and used the doctorate only to secure a better salary and position.

 

Tony,

Thank you for posting a very fair critique of the utility of an online Ph.D.

Shawn

 

You're welcome. At my institution, two administrators are completing doctorates at NCU and one at Capella. Their degrees and opportunities for advanced study will benefit both them and our university (which it why the university is helping to pay for tuition). I am just about to hire an additional instructional designer for my department to assist in the development of online courses and training. In my evaluation criteria, those who have an online degree are actually rated higher than those with all B&M degrees.

 

Tony, does a school get "extra points" (for lack of a better term) from their accreditor for the more administrators/faculty who have a RA doctorate?

If so, does that apply to adjuncts also?

 

Another Answer

As the resident NSU grad, I'll put a plug in for NSU.

I share Tony's sentiments about hiring - I do some of it too and DL doctorates end up in a different bracket in most hiring decisions.

A couple of points that I think will move Nova Southeastern up a notch above the DL programs listed in this thread:

1. NSU is serious about AACSB and (knock on wood!) should be there in the next couple of years. When that happens, I definitely believe they'll stand a step above the DL crowd.

2. NSU is significantly raising the quality of their entering class. After hitting a peak of 500-600 students in the DBA program in the 1990's, they are aiming for enrollment of 100 students. Selectivity is on the rise.

Regards - Andy

 

Here is an interesting article about Walden. I was not able to afford Walden. No matter which school you choose, it's the dissertation that will be the final factor.

 

Thanks for the article me again. I wouldn't have thought that they were the biggest provider of education degrees. It's probably because they are seen as being a national school as opposed to a local B&M school that has online MEd degrees. Beyond that the only arguement I'd make with the article is that they specifically described Walden as being "affordable" while I consider their programs to be on the expensive side. If I was in that market I would prefer to get my MEd from UMass than Walden. Not only is it more affordable, it has a very good local reputation.

 

BTW, Nova University (now NSU) was offering short-residency, cohort-based doctoral programs before Walden or NCU or Capella were even accredited.

I'm biased towards a school with a B&M reputation, in general, even though I didn't go take my Ph.D. from one myself. (But I think there are a lot of other, more compelling reasons for taking the doctorate, some of which might make the others better choices for any particular individual.)

 

ok... DL US PhD or UK B&M?

I am learning so much by following the progress of this discussion. And, to be honest, I had not really investigated NSU at all - I will spend some time looking at that option as well.

I am interested in everyone's thoughts about having a DL PhD from an RA US school (could I get any more shorthand into that sentence-lol). I am American and do plan on returning to the US one day, but I am in Europe for the foreseeable future so have easy access to British schools should I decide to pursue a program there. Cost is a big factor with the British schools though - they ain't cheap!

Bearing in mind I would likely never want to work for nor be hired by a top tier US school, is there a difference between a US RA DL PhD and a British PhD from a B&M?

Thanks so much for everyone's input. Not only is this thread helpful to me personally in my search at the moment, but I am finding it fascinating just hearing the different schools of thought!

 

I have a question about that. If Northcentral is all one word then why do people refer to it as NCU as if it were North Central University? Shouldn't it be NU?

 

It was originally North Central University and, as such, people were calling it NCU. Then the other North Central University complained that the name of their school shouldn't be duplicated, so North Central University changed it's name to Northcentral University. However, the term NCU seems to have stuck. Confused yet? LOL

 

National University, Northwestern University, Northeastern University, Niagra University, and Norwich University probably wouldn't appreciate the competition.

 

I figured that it was something like that. I just didn't know the history.

 

Yes...well...sort of. What the accreditors look for in a unviersity is number of faculty with terminal degrees in their field. While the doctoral is the usual terminal degree in most fields at a university, some disciplines carry terminal masters degrees (e.g. MSW-social work, MFA-fine arts, MDiv-dvinity). A higher percentage of faculty with terminal degrees tends to be recognized by accrediting teams.