The obligatory I’m done thread, with statistics

Finished the NCU DBA today 12/9/2008.

I kept a spreadsheet, in total it took me 3,090 hours and 29 months to complete 51 credits having transferred in 30 from my MBA. That comes down to 60.59 hours per credit, although there is more time weighted to the research and dissertation than the classes. It averaged to 3.55 hours per day, every day, for 29 months. My GPA was 3.96 as I got one A-.

All in it costs me $27,165 dollars, which I paid myself, not counting the fee to publish the dissertation with ProQuest or the costs of books and subscriptions, which I’m estimating was probably around another $3,000.

All in all, I enjoyed every step of the process; the staff was always very responsive and great to work with. The instructors were a mixed bag, but seemed to get better as time went on, I think as the school geared up for ACBSP. My chair, Dr. John House, was stellar, and I learned more from him through the research and dissertation process than I have ever in any other setting.

With NCU it is all up to you, no class mates, forum word counts, cohorts where you divvy up the work. You either do it or you don’t. I loved it and can’t believe I’m done. I went as fast as I think it is possible to go. The dissertation process is wonderful, hard, and you have to address the views of a lot of people, but when I look at the end product, it is scholarly, relevant, and interesting. NCU requires you to publish it, so it will be on ProQuest in a couple weeks.

 

Dave,

Congratulations! Sooooo...What's next?

 

Congratulations Dave! Are you planning on attending the graduation ceremony?

 

Congradulations Dr. Lady!

It cost me 21k, but my employer reimbursed half of it, so I only paid 10k. It's an all around good financial deal.

Much agreed. It is 100% up to the student. They either do it -- or they don't!!! There's no waffling!

 

>>

OUTSTANDING!!! You have motivated me to keep stats on my progress as well. What was your dissertation on?

 

Dude, seriously, let me bask in the glow of finishing this! I am pretty done with taking classes for a while. I’ve just submitted an article on Knowledge Management and am working on a case study concerning Green engineering process and if they really save money. My focus for the next 2 years will be scholarly publications.

 

Yes, June 6, 2009. Although having just visited NCU in Prescott I’m going to plan on staying in Phoenix when I go out.

 

Good deal all the way around. I tried UOP classes, but hated the cohorts, and AMU makes you post on a forum on a schedule. The NCU format (which was the same format Aspen used), where you get the syllabus, the book, and access to an instructor within a time box, was the best for me.

 

Keeping statistics was one of the things that kept me going, I would estimate how much time I had left, how many hours of work, costs, bla bla just so I could always see progress.

My dissertation was titled: “Exploring Innovative Characteristics of Technology in Nonprofit Trade Associations: A Multi-Case Study”

 

Congrats! It is really impressive that you managed to finish your DBA in 29 months, well done.

I am now finishing the 1st year of my DProf and I am about to present my proposal, I am keeping my finger crossed!

I totally agree on this one; I trust that the peculiarity of the DL in general is that there is nobody there to tell you what to do and when to do it, it is entirely up to you to manage you time and effort.

 

Awesome, Congratulations!

 

Keep it up, it is a lot of work but worth it.

To the DL format, many schools try many things to emulate the classroom. In my experiences only a few do it the way Aspen and NCU do!

 

Thanks! Vinipink

 

Congratulations David! I'm sure there will be a group of people who will want to hear all the details of your experience. Just out of curiosity, would you mind telling us a tiny bit about your dissertation? I hope that you have a vacation planned in the near future.

 

ABSTRACT

Exploring Innovative Characteristics of Technology in Nonprofit Trade Associations: A Multi-Case Study

by
David E. Lady
Northcentral University, December 2008

The purpose of the descriptive qualitative study was to search for technological innovation within trade associations, searching for a repeatable characteristic that could be identified for the betterment of other industries. The participants consisted of trade associations CEOs and select senior members of their staff. The author used a researcher developed web based survey and a series of focus group case studies with volunteer CEOs and their association staff. The findings of the study revealed that while there did not exist past technological innovations that had repeatable characteristics that could be carried to other industries, there were many potential opportunities identified that could be directly applied for the betterment of the examined trade association industry. These included cost sharing of common technology needs and organization of market data so that it could be shared and analyzed to extend the reach of the individual CEOs trade associations.

 

Congratulations! Any post-doc plans?

 

Congratulations. As many schools used to say, perhaps still do, at doctoral commencements, "Welcome to the fellowship of honorable men and women."

It sounds as if your "I am pretty done with taking classes for a while" suggests that your DA "in progress" at the College of the Humanities and Sciences is on hold, or have you finished all the classes?

 

Congratulations, Dr. Lady! You are indeed an all-around great guy. I hope I'm not disrupting your basking in the glow of your recent accomplishment, but how is that Doctor of Arts at Harrison Middleton University coming?

 

Tip of the hat, Dr. Lady, from this peanut gallery member, on a job well done!

 

Congrats Dr. Lady!

Shawn