ED PHd...Capella/Abroad?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by ehb23, Feb 25, 2002.

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  1. ehb23

    ehb23 New Member

    Greetings...I have been reading messages on this board for a few months now and found it very interesting. I am considering dong a Phd in Education. I currently have a associate professors position teaching EFL in a small Japanese private university, got the job about 4 years after finishing an MEd in English..had the job for 5 years now. Its a good job but a PHd would help with job mobility if I want to move in Japan or back to the states some day. Presently we're in Japan for a while anyway. The masters was tough, took about 3 years traveling to Osaka once or twice a week and swore that I would not do any further study that way again. The do have a Phd program that takes 5 years at this university (Temple University Osaka out of Penn.)

    This summer a friend mentioned that her mother got a PHd from Union many years ago in 2 years..that got me thinking about the possibility of doing a PHd distance. At first I looked at Union and Walden..and they seem good if you have a clear vision of what you want to start writing your dissertation on. Capella seems like it gives you a bit more support with general classes first. I think that suits me. The comments are generally positive on the boards except about price and 2 class at a time system.

    I have also read the threads on English and Australian schools. I'm 47 now and spending 4-6 years on a PhD is a bit long..I also pick up from the threads that it may be difficult to finish..the writing and research requirements sound tough. But, here in Japan an Australian or English PhD is going to be very respected..a friend involved with hiring here says that the degree mill problem is big here so an unknown private school, although RA, may still be suspect. The price of Capella and Union is pretty high, though that is not my main concern. Time, is potentially a problem. Some posts have said that the 2 classes at one time Capella schedule is 10-20 hours a week. I have a family, a full-time job but a lot of train time facilitating study..and a 2-3 months off each year when I could get a lot done...but also a couple of hobbies that I would be loath to give up entirely...10-12 hours per week sounds about right. Maintaining a healthy balanced life while doing a PHd, is it possible?

    I feel motivated by both practical concerns and a more general desire to focus my studies. I have written papers and a textbook or two over the past years but a Phd is a very tangible goal. I feel like I could be ready to focus for 3-4 years or so to get one done. I'm really rambling here..are first post always like this?

    My concrete questions for anyone still with me are:

    1) any recommendations for Ed PHds...particular schools etc., I would consider abroad..not S. Africa, Philipines

    2) anyone know of a Japanese school that I could do a Phd (hakase) at?

    3) About Capella..could you do it at 10-12 hours a week..?

    Thanks my best wishes to all
     
  2. Leslie

    Leslie New Member

    Capella requires residencies each year -- will you be able to manage that? Also the tuition is the same whether you take one course or more. And when you are in your research and writing phase you continue to pay quarterly tuition regardless of how long it takes.

    For me that was too steep. I could see 2 years full time but never 3-5 part time at that price.

    Same age same situation here -- I'm going for the Aussie degree :) I don't like mickey mouse coursework and if you have teaching and writing experience already as we both do -- you'll find the courses are a total waste of valuable time.

    I was accepted (no big deal -- their marketing is awesome and I was accepted within the first 10 minutes of the phone call) and started 2 courses the very next day and dropped the third day. I had TAUGHT the stuff they were requiring me to LEARN.

    Not a chance am I doing coursework. It is too restrictive. Capella offers the option of individualizing your courses. I looked into that too and the process itself was a waste of valuable learning time before you ever got to the actual learning what you wanted to learn part.

    I'm sure Capella is fine for those who don't have the teaching and writing and research experience and don't mind jumping through hoops and "learning" what someone else thinks is important.

    That's not for me though :) I design and teach personalized online and f2f courses and I expect to be able to learn that way as well.

    Leslie *who is a long-time proponent of personalized education and cannot understand why learners are rarely allowed responsibility for their own learning at the doctoral level*
     
  3. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Re: Re: ED PHd...Capella/Abroad?

    Leslie,

    Which Aussie school? What is your proposed dissertation topic? I'm very interested in the research doctorate in Internet Studies program at Curtin University of Technology in Perth. I'm also considering Touro for a slightly different direction, but with extensive coursework. Hence, my interest in your comments. Please feel free to write me offline.

    Curious,

    Dave

     
  4. Leslie

    Leslie New Member

    Re: Re: Re: ED PHd...Capella/Abroad?

    Hi Dave -- I'm currently looking at the Deakin EdD program - I have some contacts there that might make the admissions process and communications a little smoother :) I really do like the program and the EdD would suit me just as well if not better than a PhD since I am very involved in the work that I'm doing and the EdD can be focused on my work.

    I am also interested in finding out more about Curtin's Internet Studies. Sounds like a possibility for me too. I just have such a difficult time wading through all the international info and getting a straight answer from anybody. Charles Sturt U gave me the run-around for about 3 months and I finally gave up on them.

    Re: dissertation topics -- well -- I'm torn between two totally different areas in which I do a lot of work. One is asynchronous communication in OLE's and the other is -- like I said totally different - school violence threat assessment and crisis response [I am currently in the process of researching and designing a program and could possibly use that if I were to go that route]. The computer mediated communication topic is one that goes very well with my online course design and instruction - I am scheduled for some national conference presentations on the CMC topic so that would work for a dissertation as well.

    I would be content doing either -- and which I choose will depend entirely on which program I end up doing. I'm so tired of dealing with universities - both US and international. I'm seriously considering just hanging it all up for now, doing my conferences and publishing papers and then going for a doctorate by publication in 5 years or so. *sigh*

    Leslie *who hates to waste time with the red tape and politics involved in doctoral programs*
     
  5. Jeffrey Ahrendt

    Jeffrey Ahrendt New Member

    One program you might want to look at is the online PhD/EdD degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The focus of the program is Educational Leadership and Higher Education. However, a fairly large number of courses are available, so you may be able to customize the degree to meet your needs. At least one on-campus experience is strongly recommended (though no longer specifically required) and can be comprised of a 3- or 5-week summer session. The cost of approx. $200/credit is very reasonable.

    The Universiy of South Australia offers a 3-year online EdD to a small number of overseas students each year. It is a strucured program, with a defined set of writing-intensive courses focusing on research and scholarship that can be completely tailored to your area of interest. In addition, the 30,000 word thesis that is required at the end of the program sounds respectable, but much less intimidating than the typical 100,000 word Aussie dissertation!
     
  6. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Footnote: the tuition for those of us outside of the State of Nebraska is approx. $350/credit. Still interesting though...

    http://www.unl.edu/StuAccts/tandf2002a.html

    Cheers,

    Dave
     
  7. Leslie

    Leslie New Member

    Nebraska-Lincoln also requires the GRE -- which I refuse to take. I am not a proponent of standardized testing and I simply will not spend the money or time or stress for a worthless numerical score on some test that does not reflect in any way whatsoever my educational accomplishments, career experience, or personal research and writing :) The same holds true, in my opinion, for SATS for undergrad college admissions. [Yes I did write to UNL and included research to back up my opinion. The Dean actually wrote back and agreed with me but said he could not do anything outside of the regular policy -- so what else is new!]

    Leslie *who thinks state mandated and designed standardized testing in public schools is one of the biggest scams in educational history and left public education for that very reason*
     
  8. Jeffrey Ahrendt

    Jeffrey Ahrendt New Member

    The actual figure for out-of-state students studyig via DL at UNL is $204/credit, plus $30 per course delivered by LotusNotes [http://edadone.unl.edu/distributed.nsf/pages/courses]. In-state students actually save $65/hour off of this already-reasonable rate!

    Policies regarding tuition and fees for online courses vary greatly from institution-to-institution. While some public universities, follow the same pricing structure as is found off-campus (i.e. relatively low rates for in-state students, much higher ones for others) many, such as UNL, do not. Some of the top graduate schools of education (Indiana U.-Bloomington, U of Missouri-Columbia) offer in-state tuition and fees to all students, regardless of residency. Others, such as the Michigan State University, charge a single higher rate for online courses, again regardless of residency. Some universities charge special online-course fees (U of Wyoming), others (Emporia State, U of Idaho) do not. One major private university, George Washington U., offers a significantly lower per-credit cost for online courses than it does for its residential offerings. In fact, a student living in Michigan and wishing to study online will pay siginificantly more to study at Michigan State than GWU!

    In my own research, I have often found these contrasing policies confusing. I have usually found that the best way to determine the actual cost of online courses is to contact either the department offering the degree or the division of extended studies directly.
     
  9. Dave Wagner

    Dave Wagner Active Member

    Jeffrey,

    My bad! You are absolutely correct. My first mistake of the year... ;-)

    And this looks like a unique DL program from a State University for those who want the Ph.D. designation and to conduct research in Education Leadership. There are more Ed.D.s in Educational Leadership than one can shake a stick at...

    Cheers,

    Dave

     
  10. ehb23

    ehb23 New Member

    reply plus some details

    Hi...thanks for all of your replies...

    Leslie...thanks for your frank opinions on Capella..that you speak from some experience is important, though you seem to have a clearer view of where you are going than I do... Have you considered Union or Walden? They have been in the game for longer than Capella and don't deal in required courses per se... I was considering them more initially when I thoughtI knew what I wanted to do my dissertation on..
    you asked about residency...once or max twice a year would be ok for me short term as I visit the states every summer. Thanks for the tip on Deakin..they seem to be highly rated...I checked out the site..6 years part-time??? for me that doesn't sound ideal but not impossible either.

    Jeffery..thanks for the tip on U of Neb. Lincoln. I spoke with them on the phone a few months ago and we seemed to decide that their program wasn't really for me as I'm not interested in the Educational Leadership angle. My BA was in Psych, I have/had a K-12 teaching credential plus the MEd in English Education.. Mainly I am interested in curriculum and learning, motivation, designing self access schemes, etc.I will give Lincoln a call and talk to them again about your idea of being able to take elective courses that match my interests.
    Also, I checked out the U of S. Australia..I have heard Adalaide is a great town...again it is 6 years part-time on their website, I asked them for information on the 3 year course you mention.

    More and more I am leaning toward wanting to do a doctorate that is not doubted or scorned...I have worries about Capella in this regard that I don't have about a public school in the US or OZ.But there have been some posts on this b. board by a guy in Australia that pointed out how much trouble it might be to actually get your doctorate out of Australia. Sorry I don't remember his name. Money, sure I'd like to spend less but I guess you get it all back and more. Trying to get my priorities clear here. Thanks for the help.
     
  11. Leslie

    Leslie New Member

    Re: reply plus some details

    Yes I had considered Union and Walden but I just cannot afford the tuition. Both of our sons are full time college students and adding that huge doctoral tuition is a bit much at the moment LOL I am very impressed with both universities and the programs seem perfect for what I want (and probably you too). I will most likely be teaching in Walden's new MS ED program beginning this spring -- if a tuition reduction is a benefit --then I will very seriously consider Walden depending on the total tuition for the program under those circumstances.

    Any school that mentions 6 yrs part time I figure I can do in half -- you most likely can too :) The key is motivation and experience in research and writing - which we both have. It was always my impression that schools state the maximum part time period -- so 2-3 years is well within range.

    If you'd like to email me, please do. I'd like to continue the correspondence as we both make decisions over the next few months :)

    Leslie
    [email protected]
    http://elearning.homestead.com
     
  12. ehb23

    ehb23 New Member

    Opinion on Oz PhD

    Greetings

    In my first post I mentioned that I had seen other posts on this BB saying that Australian PHds are tough. I asked a similar question over at alt.education.distance and got the following reply which I will paste in, I hope this is not a breech of netiquite, but this fellow has said similar things here before and as he is in Australia, so I tend to think he knows what he is talking about. Of course I would like to hear other informed opinions.

    Peter French wrote:

    "An Oz PhD will take you 3-4 years full time or 6-8 otherwise. it is fully
    research based, and extremely rigorous. If your MEd does not have a thesis
    content - out here 2/3rds worth, you will possibly have to do a research and
    methodology unit before entry. Residency is ',most likely' although can be
    'negotiated'
    If you got your MEd in US, stick with a US PhD program."


    Bye for now
     

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