Good news for a DegreeInfo Member

It was a joke.

 

Uhhh...got it

 

very cool!

 

I received a B+ in the Research Methods class, but negotiated an A- with some rework, we are having a similar experience. It makes my GPA something like 3.94, which I hope is good enough to get into the new honor society when I finish the comps stuff.

And, as I said, if you can believe it, the APA obsession gets worse in comps, and I understand it to get even worse in the dissertation.

 

I know this was a joke, but it freaked me out for a second.

I would say that in the world of business, given that many NA programs have fined tuned the approach to distance learning, there are elements of achieving an NA degree that provide greater utility than an RA degree, outside of the RA programs that emulate the basic NA delivery preemies.

And actually, I guess I don’t really mean NA with all of this, I mean DETC when it comes to DL.

The retention of course content, focus on writing, and individual interactions with instructors in the programs I have taken have been top shelf stuff, and have helped me out professionally by provide me with a business oriented tool set to apply to real world business issues and opportunities. And THAT my friends, is, IMHO, what education is supposed to do in the applied real world business environment.

 

To speak to one comment offered by dlady, when I began my doctoral program, I was given some very sage advice from a former Dean of the School of Education with the University of Massachusetts. He later found his way onto my dissertation committee.

When I began that journey, I was really pretty clueless as to what I was in for or what was going to be expected of me. He made very clear from almost my very first course that a doctoral program serves primarily to allow an individual the opportunity to prove they know how to plan, analyze, conduct, report, and defend research. That is the bottom line. You ultimately have to produce a cogent, well organized research report (dissertation) that conforms to standards that demonstrates validity and reliability in the research process, data collection, and data analysis.

APA is strictly adhered to for a pragmatic reason. It is one of the vehicles that keeps the product clear, concise, organized, standardized and makes assessment of the results easier for the reader.

I came to understand the depth of that simple advice and pass it on to others that decide to make the big jump, but find themselves in the same grey cloud I was in at the beginning of my journey.

There is really great simplicity in the expectation: significant rigor, but great simplicity.

 

Thanks for sharing. I am considering, however slight the possibility of doing it is, of giving a go at a DBA. I value the thoughts and observations of those that have gone or are going the route and report back to the rest of us. It does seem to be a daunting adventure!

 

These are sound insights from someone who has been there.

What is unexpected but dawns on you as you move through the process is that pursuing a doctorate is as much about learning HOW to be a scholar as it is about knowing a lot about a certain topic. Knowing a lot, and being an expert, as it turns out, is a distinction that is becoming clear to me on the journey.

 

When you get to that point, and you start to fret over the DBA or PhD in BA, I have some insights to offer.

While it is some work, I can honestly say that the journey is changing some of my understandings about many different elements, which is eye opening. I recommend it for anyone who has a spirit of adventure and seeks insights (and doesn’t mind a lot of typing). And had thick skin..

 

Thanks! Much appreciated. Whenever I think that my research skills are improving and I handle APA pretty good I read what you all at the DBA level are doing and I feel like saying "FORGET IT!"

Thanks to many on this board I still may give it a go. We shall see.

 

I have felt Aspen would do itself a great service by having a student/alumni board!

 

I am really encouraged!!

Congrats, and I really do mean that. I am even more so encouraged! I shall continue to work diligently so that I too might be as successful as you. Knock em dead!

 

I agree. They used to at least list their faculty and I think they used to have some testimonials or something up there. I exchanged a few e-mails with them, and they say updating the web site is on their list, maybe this year of early next year. I say the sooner the better, it has gotten just a little bit stale, and the information is being pulled off instead of put on.

I know they continue to do constant updating of their courses, so the content remains very good. I guess in some ways I have mixed feelings, as it is nice they are not compromising the site for marketing, but then I also want them to be bigtime. It is complicated I guess.

 

Good luck to you. I think we all should be much more open and vocal about professional successes we have and any DL tie ins that exist.

 

I would like to know how the DBA is perceived in the real-world. What do your business associates think of the DBA? Do they understand the differences between the DBA and the PhD. Do they think the DBA is more valuable in the real-world vs the PhD once they understand the differences?

 

No one has a clue as to what any of it really means, it is basically alphabet soup to them. As far as I can tell, the terms Doctorate and PhD are seen as synonyms in the real world. All that being said, what I like about the DBA is that it is a focus on being a practitioner, not a theorist. In the business world, there is a big understanding between those that can get the job done verse those that can discuss meaningful ways of looking at what it means to think about jobs.

 

I was at a real estate-related conference in Orlando last night. During a break I mentioned to some of the participants that I was thinking of pursuing a DBA. The blank stares by some and the "what in the world for" by others told me me alot about the perception of a doctorate in my business. The unanamous conclusion was that it is a waste of time and money.

Sometimes it is difficult to convince people that $$$ isn't everything.

 

I don’t know, a terminal degree provides you with a complete understanding of a field and / or a topic. I think degrees are more than simply a credential, this board treats everything as a commodity; way oversimplified IMHO. My humble suggestion would be to solicit input from other in your field that have advanced education, not those that have elected themselves not to achieve it. For me personally to date, the journey has been worth the cost in time and money and effort beyond the credential.