I'll be brief... Is there an RA school that will accept a graduate student who has achieved ABD (All But Dissertation), leaving only the dissertation to be completed at the accepting university? Is this one of those hush-hush scenarios that is best left to be discussed between the potential student and the university itself? Any ideas? basrsu
You can ask NCU about it. You'll have to contact them and get your work evaluated. There are no guarantees, but yes, it's been done.
Yes. But don't expect success through the admissions department. If it can be done at all, it will be via a close relationship with the university. Having a sponsor from the inside would help, too.
While I suppose it is possible to find a school and department that will work with you, the vast majority of RA schools require that at least a small number of courses be taken "in residence" for an advanced degree. I doubt you will find too many that are willing to take all credits, and just leave the dissertation.
"There may be a rare exception..." That's what I was hoping to find from the learned members of this board. basrsu
Is this a rhetorical question or a real need? If a real need why not continue at the same university as your ABD studies?
Hi, Ian. I think you mean "hypothetical" rather than "rhetorical," so I'll answer based on what I think you meant to write, but if you meant something else, please let me know. The situation is a need; a friend of mine is in the final stages of an Ed.D. at a regionally accredited online university (Northcentral), and he is a bit disenfranchised. Mentors have left the institution, and right now, he just wants to make sure he weighs every option he has... basrsu
When I transferred from Argosy to NCU they only took 6 credits at the Doctoral level out 9 credits and according to them this was too much of a transferring, it seems that with the program I was pursuing(financial management then change to accounting) there was not much where to put this credits, so I lost 3 credits in the transferring. Sad, because the 3 credits lost were in the accounting specialization(I wanted those to transfer in particularly) and did not fit into the program. Hence, I would have 21 credits for this specialization 18 from one source and 3 from another. Consequently, in my case this fit(majority taken at the receiving place) that 45 out 51. I was fine with that, because when I left Argosy (A year ago), I had 51 credits to go. So more or less I got into the position that I had at Argosy. I would have been very bad and expensive if I would have left later. I am one class away to enter the research phase. I moved pretty quick in the core and specialization after I transferred from Argosy.
Prescott has a Ph.D. in Education which uses independant guided study (perhaps the ABD units could be applied to the independent study) http://www.prescott.edu/academics/phd/PhDHowItWorks.html [Prescott is in the same city as NCU.] If a RA school can't be found that will accept the ABD credits maybe a DETC school might be more flexible. Two schools offering an Ed.D. are: http://www.chumsci.edu/pages/degree/doctoreducation-coursework.asp http://www.taftu.edu/WHTU/edd.htm#Program%20Objectives
The exact same thing happened to me at NCU. I lost two committee members in the 9th inning, but I kept rolling with the punches. If he's come this far, then I highly recommend that he finish the process, by any means necessary. Remember, the attrition rate is 50 to 70% at the dissertation.
This could happen in any University and any time, it is worse when you don't have access to faculty information and bio(NCU gives you this), this way it will very hard to construct a committee with a good chair. Some mentors (AKA instructors) are for the short run and some are terrible, so expect changes. Always have a plan b, c, and d. The mentality from the point of no return is to finish no matter what, and this is how it would be accomplish(the rite of passage).
Mind you, I don't know that this is true but what I've told myself is that the "rare exception" would only occur if the student had a prior relationship with the school. Let's say that the student took her Masters degree from University A and then went on to University B for her doctoral degree. If things go poorly at University B she might find that she could return to University A to finish the doctoral degree as she has some prior relationship. They know her and her work and so they might make an offer that they wouldn't make to someone they didn't know. I've never known it to happen but then I don't travel in those circles and so I'm unlikely to hear such stories. Best of luck to your friend.
Jiu Thanks, Kizmet. I just talked to my friend on the phone earlier this afternoon. It seems that he called Jones International University this morning, and according to him, the "admissions counselor" (aka the person who answered the phone) said that the university has been (and is currently) looking at an ABD acceptance program and that the "counselor" would be in touch, taking down my friend's contact information. basrsu
That's great news. I hope it all moves forward. I'm sure there's others who would be interested in hearing how this works out.
If I hear anything further from my friend concerning Jones International, I will inform this board immediately! basrsu
I have a colleague at another university who had proposed an ABD completion program, but the dean of his college was too afraid of the negative publicity that it might engender. It's a pity, because anyone who could tap effectively into the vast ABD market with an accredited doctoral completion program could make a fortune!
