Thinking about dropping out of my online PhD.

IMHO, if you're going to earn the degree, I would go for a RA degree over one that is not. In the long run, it's worth it in my eyes. Forgive me if I overlooked the specific degree you're going for (I see PhD in progress in your sig, but not the area), it seems as though business and education are your two main fields. Have you looked into a program such as Northeastern or UF's EdD's, or the like? In my experience, online programs offered by traditional universities with strong reputations seem to be regarded well, and in many cases, fairly reasonably priced.

I recently graduated from Nova with an EdD (completed online), and I hold an MBA and a master's in education. I'm currently teaching at 3 colleges, 2 of which I started at after earning the EdD. 1 of the new schools is local, and I'll be going full time this fall, with most classes on campus, but some online as well. The other 2 colleges are quite reputable institutions that are traditional universities that also offer online programs. In my particular situation, my salary will remain about the same as when I was employed full-time as an administrator in higher education and adjuncting at 2 colleges, but the amount of hours that I'm working has substantially decreased and my quality of life has substantially increased. If I had to go back and do it all over, I would do the online EdD. I believe that it's been an advantage thus far in terms of obtaining employment, particularly in terms of teaching online courses. I would, however, consider a program such as UF or Northeastern, as they did not exist when I began working on my EdD.

Sadly, I believe that certain individuals in higher education are quite set in their traditional ways, are threatened by online education, and will be anti-online education until they retire (hopefully soon). More and more frequently, the administrators I've spoken with at reputable institutions are advocates of online education. It takes a few years to build up your reputation as an online educator, but once you've done so, I believe that the RA doctorate is well worth the investment.

 

That's very good insight, thank you. I think Nova is one of the very best DL schools out there. It's not surprising that your degree is honored. Too bad Nova is so expensive. It would have been my first choice.

Also, wouldn't you say that your acceptance is partly due to your good reputation and your previous experience in higher ed? It might not be the same for a Jr. high teacher, such as myself.

 

If you recall, I had made various post about what school I wanted to transfer after realizing that Chancellor University was not the school for me. I was dead set on starting with National University's MS in Accounting program and very impressed with their service. It was not until I had the opportunity to speak with one of the Lead Faculty at the school. Based on my situation and what direction I wanted to go, he actually talked me out of going to NU. I truly appreciated his candor and gave me a better sense of direction. I ended up going to Davenport University for my MBA because of the amount of graduate credits (21) within their specialization, and working on building more industry credentials.

One of the items I mentioned to the professor was wanting the opportunity to teach at the university, especially National University since it's close to my home. He immediately said that if I wanted to teach at NU, I would have to get my degree at another school because they are trying to limit the amount of NU graduates teaching at the school. I remember reading something about schools trying to minimize the amount of their graduates teaching in same school, but can't recall where I read this.

 

You can teach with no degree and just job experience on the Con Ed / Community education side and you can teach with a Bachelor's degree in most curriculum programs that are non-transfer such as AAS, AOS or certificate programs. With a masters you can teach in college transfer programs and if you have enough experience they can waive the subject area requirements if they want. I would think you should be able to teach in any education based programs and you may be able to teach some Gen Ed subject matter. It would depend on the school and state policies. Now given your current background you may be perfect for teaching in a lot of new early college programs. Most states have gone to a format of offering college classes and in some cases early degrees to high school students. That may blend both areas into one and be a perfect fit for you. We have two different programs here, one, dual enrollment, the students attend a few classes a day at the CC and the rest at their HS, then when they graduate HS, they already have some of their gen ed college credits done. Then we have an early college program where the students enroll as HS freshman and attend all their classes on the CC campus at the end of 5 years they graduate with their HS diploma and their associates degree. These are growing in popularity in most states as a way to increase HS graduation rates and increase the number of college grads and because of your current teaching background and master's degree you may be a shoe in for this type of program. I would just start looking at the jobs available and apply for anything that interests you. Like I tell my students a job ad is someones ultimate wish list, if they don't get any perfect applicants or you wow them at an interview it won't matter what they originally wanted. I also find CC's are very good about finding a fit for you and letting you try different options. If you are a good teacher and well liked they will usually work to give you more classes and help you expand your teaching base. Good luck! Keep me posted!

 

Oh you don't hate to say it, you've been chomping at the bit to say it! Seriously though, thanks for that!

 

I agree that Nova is a very good school; overall, I was impressed by the rigor and quality of education I received. 3-5 years ago, I was in quite a similar place to where you are now in terms of teaching. I was a high school teacher working on my doctorate, then started adjuncting online. The first job I obtained online was very much related to my high school teaching experience, and the department chair who hired me LOVED that I had the perspective of being an online student, in addition to traditional teaching experience. From there, I went full-time with that online university in an administrative position. I held that role while working on my doctorate, and am now going "back" to the traditional classroom in a traditional college. So far, so good.

Marianne has made a great point in that the RA degree would be a necessity for employment in higher education. When I started working on my doctorate, it was partially for myself to obtain a goal (my school district had generous tuition reimbursement, so I had almost no out of pocket expenses), and also to allow me to adjunct online. However, five years later, I've found that my career aspirations have changed quite a bit and I'me very glad that I went with the degree that I did.

It sounds as though we have similar backgrounds. Please feel free to PM me if I can be of assistance.

 

As a later life person myself, I can see your situation. The Doctorate may give you a good return at an earlier stage of life, but, as you get older, time and money assume a greater value. The things that you forgo to undertake study may not be available after study. The cost of higher education, in human terms, escalates, while the benefits may decrease.

My thoughts are as follows:

1. Consider the time and cost that you trading off in human terms.

Are you really willing to take so much out of your life at this time or is it more viable for you to consider another avenue to stroll down which does not require a degree? Perhaps something you can do something with your family. This can only be answered by you. If the PhD is for you, then may be item 2 has some relevance.

2. Reduce the monetary and human cost.

Perhaps a SA Research Degree which will not be recorded as an online degree. In the Brit Cwth, none of the PhDs are viewed as distance learning. You would merely have a SA Degree, no distinction is made between those earned oncampus or offcampus .

This would require a research topic and thesis, but it gives you the choice to choose a topic that you are interested in. More work perhaps, but then more interest. Your education costs are now greatly, greatly reduced and your motivation to undertake the work is increased by the choice of topic. Perhaps the topic can be something you can do with your family, why not?

Don't worry about the lack of coursework in this degree.The supervisor should support you by giving you readings and advice in more infomal manner. The advice will be tailormade to your topic area.

 

I've also heard of this, I believe someone referred to it as in-breeding in higher education. Typically, colleges limit/minimize the number of grads that they hire as faculty.

 

Yes, I know of this for a fact. National University is a really top notch operation too, they would be very concerned about such issues. Look at my sig line and you will see that I don't have a chance teaching at NU.

 

That's worth thinking about. Thanks.

 

Have you considered an EdS from Nova? They have an EdS in Brain-Based Teaching at only $380 a credit.. Check out these links
Fischler School of Education and Human Services - Degree Programs
BrainSMART - Graduate Education & Professional Development

 

That's a great offer. I was thinking of registering for the DBA anyways in the coming fall. The only hitch is that I am a Canadian citizen and resident. Lets see if they extend this offer to the 51st State.

 

Very interesting. I wonder if an EdS would be enough to qualify for the automatic raise. I'll look into that.

 

I'm very sorry to hear about your doubts. I have little to contribute to this topic, but it does kind of sound like a DETC route may be a great option for you! It fulfills your current identifiable objectives and your vanity in a cost-effective way . I think that may be better for somebody like you than dropping out. I think there's a good chance that if you dropped out you would just pick it up again later. I'm just guessing.

I wish you luck!

 

Don't forget about the oppotunity cost. Even a low tier doctorate should take about 10 hrs a week of work during 4 years. That is a minimum of 2000 hrs, it you get pay at least $30 an hour that is another $60K so you would need to make at least another 100K to break even.

 

This is an interesting one. Although Swiss management is not recognized by its home country, it is accredited in the US. Most Universities would want to see a foreign evaluation from places like WES in order to consider it equivalent to a doctorate degree in the US. Have you contacted WES or other foreign evaluator and ask if this doctorate would be considered equivalent to a US doctorate? If it is, then it could be a viable program for those wanting an accredited degree to adjunct in the US. At 2000 euros a year it seems like a good price and something worth considering.

 

Yikes, and that time could be spent doing something else important...like surfing! Seriously though, time spent with wife, daughter and friends; how can you put a price tag on that? Is pure vanity worth the sacrifice of that much time? When you are middle aged like myself, you begin to realize that your time is limited.

 

Not to start this up but SMC is not accredited in the US. The US Dept of ED no longer recognizes ACBSP. So it is an unaccredited degree, which will have little to no utility. With it not being recognized in their home country and no recognized US accreditation, it’s a big risk.
I would stick to an accredited program.

 

ACBSP is no longer recognized in the US?