Ed.D. ACE vs ACU?

Discussion in 'Education, Teaching and related degrees' started by chrisjm18, Oct 15, 2015.

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  1. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    I am looking for some insights into which degree to choose. I am considering:
    - Doctor of Education in Leadership (Educational & Community Organization track) at the American College of Education (private, for-profit, regionally accredited) and
    - Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership (Conflict Resolution track) at the Abilene Christian University (private, non-profit, regionally accredited)

    I earned my bachelor's degree in criminal justice from a nationally accredited school, an MBA in General Management from an international university (private, non-profit, catholic university, degree has the equivalent of regional accreditation as determined by WES.)

    The major differences between the two schools are:
    American College of Education (ACE) is for-profit, while Abilene Christian University (ACU) is not-for-profit). ACE was founded in 2005 while ACU was founded in 1906. ACE total tuition is a few $$ under $24, 000 while ACU total tuition is a few $$ under $40, 000.

    My career goal is to become a police chief and an adjunct college faculty. Which would you choose if you had a similar career goal?
    Update: Admissions wise:
    ACE - 3.0 GPA regionally accredited masters or foreign equivalent, goal statement, CV or resume, interview with chair and $100 application fee.
    ACU - Bachelor's and master's degrees (no GPA specified), statement of interest, writing sample, 2 completed recommendation forms (online), CV or resume and $50 application fee.
     
  2. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Given your career goals, you might also want to consider the D.B.A. - Criminal Justice Administration program offered by Northcentral University;

    DBA in Criminal Justice Online | Northcentral University
     
  3. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    Thank you for your input.
     
  4. major56

    major56 Active Member

    Given the two re Ed.D. (American College of Education or Abilene Christian University) … IMO Abilene Christian hands-down… :smokin:

    Even so, Bruce offers a suggestion to additionally consider, e.g., the D.B.A. The D.B.A. would likely more so benefit your career goals over the Ed.D.
     
  5. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    Thanks for your input. The NCU DBA in CJ is a good degree choice but to pay almost 60k for a degree from a for-profit college isn't worth it.
     
  6. major56

    major56 Active Member

    My response was in re the the D.B.A. degree program in general ... not specific to Northcentral Univ. There are a number of distance D.B.A. options available. In example, here's one: Doctor of Business Administration DBA | Postgraduate study | Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh

    http://www.postgraduate.hw.ac.uk/prog/dba-doctor-of-business-administration/pdf/
     
  7. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

  8. major56

    major56 Active Member

  9. major56

    major56 Active Member

  10. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    You might also consider the PhD in Leadership from the University of the Cumberlands. At its base it's an educational leadership program, but it's customizable and would allow you to have an 18 credit concentration in Criminal Justice. At $24,750 total tuition, it's also much cheaper than schools like Northcentral. (And that's assuming you don't have any post-Master's credit to transfer in, in which case you'd pay even less.) I and a few others on this forum are in that program now and love it.
     
  11. major56

    major56 Active Member

    Your graduate degree university—Assam Don Bosco has a collaborative agreement via a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) re https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assam_Don_Bosco_University with the University of Chester (UK). You may want to consider its D.B.A. or D.Prof. degree program/s. Assam Don Bosco University also includes a MOU with the Asian Institute of Technology which too offers the D.B.A. There could be benefit in considering these two additional choices:

    Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) | University Of Chester

    Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) - AIT School of Management
    Academic Programs
     
  12. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    Thanks Steve. I looked at the PhD in Leadership but I don't intend on taking the GRE or MAT.
     
  13. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

  14. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

  15. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    Thanks. Unfortunately those are campus based programs.
     
  16. major56

    major56 Active Member

    It's regionally accredited (WASC), as well as national (DEAC); and its business programs are a candidate for accreditation through the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) Accredited Online Degrees | Accredited Online Degree - California Southern University. If the Cal Southern D.B.A. works for you personally and professionally ... go for it.
     
  17. TonyM

    TonyM Member

    An EdD is not good way to get a chief's job. It's preparation for a completely different career field. It might look like you had another career in mind and somehow found yourself in policing. If you're already in law enforcement then you should pour yourself into your work and seek promotion. In the big agencies it's the ones who get promoted early at each level and take on a wide variety of assignments who rise to the top. Each new assignment adds a line to their resume. If you've been in police work for some time you could find a chief or executive job now. The smaller town chief jobs (which sometimes pay less than urban patrol positions) are a good way to enter chiefdom. Many chiefs are on a type of circuit, where they start small and work their way up to the bigger jobs. If you're set on more education then go for something in CJ or public administration from a well-known local school. The adjunct jobs are not worth the extra expense of a doctorate, and you can get them with a master's anyway. If you become a chief it will help you get CJ adjunct jobs, anyway, which is a twofer. EdD would be great for jobs in law enforcement training, but not command. Maybe you'd meet both goals with a PhD in a leadership, which might sound good to chief hiring committees. Still, any doctorate seems like a major waste of time if the goal is to be a police commander.
     
  18. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

  19. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

    Thanks for your input.

    1. I'm only 23, I was a police officer for 3+ years in my native country. I am now a police recruit (academy) with a large city police department. My only love is law enforcement and I'm confident that I will make it to police chief.
    2. I'm aware that most departments prefer at least a master's degree such as MCJ or MPA and in some advertisements, I've seen MBA.
    3. Our current chief has a MCJ and his predecessor had a PhD in Urban Studies. The police academy commander is currently pursuing his PhD in the same discipline.
    4. For me, earning a doctoral degree isn't so much about becoming a chief, its more of a personal goal. I want to have a doctoral before I'm 30 and if I start next Summer as planned, I should do so by 28.
    5. I do intend on pursuing a second master's after I've earned the doctorate. I'm looking at the M.Sc. in Policing, Policy & Leadership at the University of Portsmouth in the UK. I would prefer to be an adjunct in CJ related courses as opposed to business/management.

    Finally, I know an Ed.D. will seem to be about education, however, the Leadership Ed.D. at American College of Education Online Doctorate in Educational Leadership | ACE.edu and the Organizational Leadership Ed.D. at Abilene Christian University Curriculum & Tracks | Doctor of Education | Abilene Christian University are NOT doctorate in education, they are in leadership.

    Excerpt from Earning a PhD vs. EdD vs. DBA – Part 2 by By Michael Berger, EdD
    Dean, College of Doctoral Studies - Grand Canyon University.

    "I described how GCU’s Doctor of Education (EdD) degree isn’t a doctorate IN education. It does not cover education content the way a Master of Education (MEd) program does. There are not classes on pedagogy, classroom management, educational policy, curriculum and instruction, etc.

    The degree content of our EdD is organizational leadership. The core courses of the program cover organizational leadership theories and application, change management, organizational culture, etc. Each EdD program emphasis is experienced through the lens of organizational leadership."
     
  20. MattS

    MattS New Member

    FWIW, I'm in law enforcement and I'm an ACE doctoral student. I have been welcomed warmly and I have found the curriculum to be relevant to leadership in my field. My proposed dissertation topic also deals with education and policing, making the Ed.D. a good choice.

    Also, FWIW, my chief has a doctorate in education (~160 person agency).
     

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