University of Nebraska at Lincoln Ed.D.

I'm wondering if there's anyone who is enrolled in UNL's online Ed.D. I spoke with a professor in the program and was quite impressed with the program. There is an option to do a Ph.D (more research oriented) or an Ed.D. (more praxis oriented). One can concentrate on leadership or higher education. At $145.00 per credit for Nebraska residents and $217.00 for nonresidents, this is a great prospect. (If nothing else, so much for the notion that unaccredited programs are always more affordable).

The course work is done via lotus notes (provided by the university) and residency is no longer required. I am giving serious thought to this program and would welcome comments from anyone who has been or is involved with the program.

By the way, here is the link to the program:
University of Nebraska at Lincoln - Education Administration

 

UNL

David,

I have looked at this program too. I have a friend who is in it right now and his experience has been good so far. He has indicated, though, that they do "expect" him to attend the campus on occasion even though it is not "required."

Chris

 

Re: UNL

That's interesting since the website clearly indicates that no on campus residency is required. It could be his advisor is being a bit idiosyncratic. The price is right though and I would definitely hold them to the commitment of not expecting me to go to the campus. That's assuming I decide to do the program.

Any other concerns from your friend?

 

David,

I'll have to let you know. I'll be in touch with him sometime later this week or early next week.

Chris

 

I looked very closely at this program a few years ago and found Dr. Alan Seagren (then the program director) to be extremely helpful and encouraging. We had numerous e-mail and telephone conversations and it was tough for me to inform him that I decided to go elsewhere for my doctorate. At the time, I even took one of the Ph.D. classes and used it as transfer credit into my M.A. program. Unfortunately, the program was pretty young at the time and I was the only one enrolled in the course, so it was really more like a structured independent study. The Lotus Notes-based course material was substantive and well-organized and, despite the lack of student-student interaction, I was pleased with the experience.

Jason D. Baker
http://www.bakersguide.com

 

Ed.D via UNL

I see the problem being one of trying to complete the dissertation in what amounts to absentia. Although they can't or won't say what the statistics are for completion, my guess would be in the 40% to 50% range.

Personally, I would rather recommend a cohort-type of doctorate at a distance versus one like this.

 

Program has grown

I spoke with one of the advisors who told me that the program has grown by leaps and bounds and now has 290 students.

 

Re: Ed.D via UNL

Cogent, could you explain further what is meant by a cohort type of doctorate. Isn't the dissertation "in absentia" similar to what is required for Union, Walden or Capella?

 

Not knowing anything about UNL, it seems that it has a reputation as a solid, traditional university. I wonder if that rep transfers to the distance program grads. I mean, would a distance ed doctorate within a respected traditional univ like Nebraska make it more/less marketable than a residential doctorate at a 4th tier regional university?

What is more important from a hiring standpoint-where you got the degree, or the format?

 

I would be surprised if dissertation completion rates in Nebraska's program (or any other distance doctoral program) would differ significantly from residential campus programs. It's not unusual for ABDers, even residential ones, to complete their dissertation away from the host campus. In fact, many traditional doctoral programs in the social sciences and the humanities require the student to be resident during the coursework phase of the program but students are free to complete their dissertation from anywhere.

Although I haven't conducted any research into this issue, my personal hypothesis is that distance doctoral programs would have a greater dropout rate during the coursework but a higher dissertation completion rate than residential doctoral programs. It would seem that distance doctoral learners might struggle more with the coursework, particularly in the research courses, than their campus counterparts. We've found, for example, that many of our successful distance doctoral students would still have preferred to take research and statistics in a face-to-face environment. (This gap might close over time as distance courses become more robust and less textual.) Conversely, I would expect that distance learners who reach ABD status are more likely to have the necessary discipline, motivation, and project management skills to successfully navigate the dissertation process than their campus colleagues. Distance students lack many of the structural supports provided to campus students so by the time they reach the dissertation phase, I would expect that distance students would have already developed an academic support network and learned to operate successfully as independent learners.

Jason D. Baker
http://www.bakersguide.com

 

Cohort

A cohort program is where you enter with a group and pretty much take courses together. It is an excellent way to go through a graduate program. You end up knowing people. You have problems at the same time, too, and work together to solve them.

When I looked at the UNL program they could not give me figures on completion rates, which I found a bit odd. If they don't track that kind of thing they should. The head told me he guessed online students had a lower rate. The coursework is rarely the trouble. Trouble normally starts and ends with the dissertation. ABD's usually have great difficulty completing from a distance; that is why so often you hear committees urge their students not to leave the school until the dissertation is finished.

If UNL was a cohort program, I would be more inclined enroll. But the way it is now is pretty much you are on your own. That's a pretty rough way to do it. Time consuming and ultimately expensive.