Does anyone have any experience with the DBL (Doctor of Business Leadership) degree from UNISA? Would like to know how it has been accepted in the US. I am self employed and teach as an adjunct at local RA colleges. Do not really need a doctorate but would like one for my own personal reasons.
Are you looking for information on the University of South Africa or the University of Southern Australia?
I've heard that it's an extremely challenging research-based program, more akin to a Ph.D. in business administration than an executive DBA. John Craparo, the U.S. representative for UNISA, hangs out here and will probably be able to offer more useful advice. Good luck! Cheers,
Dr. Michael Esselen of IACI will help you with your application for the Doctor of Business Leadership. He will also provide you with a graduate school prospectus and general information on this program. Feel free to check out his web site and send him an email or call him if you have specific questions. http://www.iaci-canada.com/ UNISA is an internationally recognized university and is listed in the top 100 schools for distance learning programs.
I second Roy on UNISA's reputation; to my knowledge, it's the only DL-focused school that can boast two Nobel Laureates (Nelson Mandela, BA, 1945 and Desmond Tutu, BA, 1954) among its graduates. Cheers,
Thanks for the info. Good site http://www.iaci-canada.com/ I am concerned about the DETC situation. Will American schools consider all UNISA programs to be DETC? Will this hurt the doctorate. Wonder why UNISA would go DETC since it is considered below RA in USA. Sorry for so many questions but I really would like to go the UNISA route. Thanks!
It is likely that American schools will ignore the DETC accreditation. UNISA is a fully recognized, foreign university whose academic reputation stands on its own. NB: There's a lot of talk about UNISA on this board. But I don't know if there is anyone who posts here who is actually persuing a doctoral degree there.
The DBL is an extemely challenging program. As Tom states it is much closer to a PhD than an executive DBA. There are several lurkers here who are in Unisa doctoral programs, but to my knowledge no one is pursuing the DBL at this time. The School of Business Leadership at Unisa is fairly autonomous. In fact, it does not even sit on the same campus in Pretoria. The DBL is rigorous requiring research, on-site (in SA) colloquia, and extensive reading outside a learner's intended area of research. Each Faculty at Unisa sets its own rules within the governance of the Academic Senate. The SBL holds itself, teaching staff and learners to a very high standard. The proposal process is extensive also. Each person wishing to apply to Unisa for a research doctorate must supply a proposal before being fully accepted for study. This happens after an initial application process (which carries no cost) that is used to determine whether the individual is qualified to study for the research doctorate at Unisa. Unisa is not an Open University. The doctoral proposal required by most other doctoral programs at Unisa is approximately 15 pages long, the DBL program requires a proposal of 100 pages. This is basically an extensive literature review. The Faculty is very concerned that applicants are pre-qualified to do solid research and they are business experts. The reading list which I mentioned above consists of over 75 texts and monographs (most US originated) dating back to the 1930's. I think that Gert Potgeiter once talked about the South African vs. American HE system in terms of rigor. The South African system and local university governance requires extensive knowledge, ability, and dedication from students. It grounds its programs in theory first and application second. I have seen many US learners "wash out" of Unisa in my four years representing Unisa. To Rich Douglas' point, Unisa is considered one of the finest research universities in the world and its standing as a university authorized bv charter of the Republic of South Africa gives it standing that does not require validation by any accreditation agency in the USA. This; however, does not mean that any university or business in the US is required to recognize a Unisa graduate as equal to someone with a degree from a US Regionally Accredited school. Each person, in deciding to complete a foreign degree (or a domestic one for that matter) must look into whether the credential they plan to study for will qualify them for what they plan to do. Unisa cannot tell a US learner whether the degree earned there will qualify them for positions governed by US Federal or State laws. The potential applicant should research that before applying. As the agent for Unisa in the USA, I'd like to repeat what I said in a different post. Unisa has affiliated with the Distance Education and Training Council because this is one of the bodies recognized globally as a center of competency in Distance Learning. All Faculty areas at Unisa work closely with other institutions globally to constantly renew and advance the field of DL and its own offerings. One way to do that is to affiliate with other institutions and bodies dedicated to the same goal. Now, anyone here can argue that the DETC does not carry the weight or prestige of regional accreditation, but that is not the point. The affiliations that Unisa chooses are about advancing Distance Learning and the DETC has been dedicated to that aim for more than 75 years. Please feel to ask me questions here or send me an email at [email protected] if I can be of assistance with more specific questions. Good luck, John Craparo American International Higher Education Corporation US agent for the University of South Africa
Thanks John for the information. I'm sure that vical now has the information he needs to make an informed decision regarding the DBL program at UNISA. Just for the record, I am a DLitt et Phil candidate with the department of Sociology (Demography) at UNISA. Dr. Michael Esselen of IACI was my primary contact and he assisted me with my application and submission. Many thanks to Dr. Esselen.
Roy, Great to hear you are part of the program and Michael was a good resource for you. I am sure that many here would be anxious to learn of your progress. Please keep us informed. Thanks, John
Thanks all. Only problem I have with the DBL is the 4-6 required colloquia. That would require a lot of travel to RSA. John told me that UNISA is considering video conferencing but nothing concrete yet. There is also the possibility of the Industrial Psychology - DLitt et Phil program. With help from John Craparo I will figure this puzzle out! ________________ Alan V Flaten BS '84 USNY/Regents MBA '87 Nova (Southeastern) University
A couple of days ago I sent an e-mail to UNISA requesting information DLitt et Phil given by the Department of Industrial Psychology. I received the following reply edited for space: This is an auto-generated response designed to answer some of your questions and to direct you to the right e-mail address for your future queries. PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND DIRECTLY TO THIS MESSAGE, but use the correct e-mail addresses supplied below. Your e-mail has been forwarded to an advisor and you will be receiving an answer to your query in due course. >>>> CURRENT REGISTRATION FIGURES -- Please read The following are figures on the total number of requests that where sent to Unisa during the registration period: SOL (Students Online) requests - 54 822 E-mails to email addresses (below) - 35 785 Faxes to (012) 429-4150 - 17 925 Registrations forms - 147 637 TOTAL number of documents - 439 552 PLEASE DON'T send more than one e-mail, fax or SOL request per topic or send the same e-mails to more than one of the e-mail addresses given below. This practice leads to errors in the registration and/or incorrect information being sent to you. END Thought the stats were rather interesting.
