A strange message from a covert NCU employee

Oh well. < shrugs shoulders >

I hope that NCU stays strong because I'll have a doctorate from them, hopefully sometime this year. This was my first (and last) bid for a doctorate. After I complete the dissertation, then I'm completely done with academics, except for part-time teaching gigs. Am I glad I did it? Yes. Would I do it again? No. Why not? Because completing a dissertation is too hard. Will NCU remain accredited? Sure. As long as Walden, UoP, Capella and all the others remain accredited, then NCU will too.

 

When I finally start mine, it will be like climbing Mount Everest; one chance, and if I don't make it to the summit then I'm never going back. Because of that, I want to make 100% certain that problems with the school later might make it look like I took a helicopter half-way up.

 

As I previously speculated, it appears that the reorganization of NCU was predicated exclusively on fiscal issues, with the intent of strengthening the financial integrity of the institution. You can watch a new 45 minute NCU video that corroborates this speculation by clicking here.

 

Was this video intended for public consumption?

 

Anytime someone knowingly stands in front of a rolling video camera to give a lecture, then it's made for exposure. Besides, it's not a bad thing. He did a remarkable job explaining the facts, as he sees them.

 

I did feel a slight bit of concern over the future marketing plans. While he did not outline any particular plan, my mind concocted all these visions of UoPxish type marketing schemes. The kind where when you think of the school you think of spam.

Bing

 

It can be done. I think that Walden promotes themselves in a mostly tasteful, restrained way. (Their tuition rates, however, are not quite so restrained.)

 

Clapper, I could not agree more with your statement. The way Walden conducted themselves and their reputation were the components that ultimately drew me to them. I think the added value of the residencies and the fair number that are conducted thoughtout the year could be a valid argument for the high tuiton.

 

I am looking at leaving NCU (PhD in BA with emphasis Computer and Information Security) and want to find a better program but am having a difficult time. I see you chose the Walden Program in Public policy, why did you choose it and can you shed some light on what it is like. Thanks,

Sean

 

Now this story has me concerned. I was going enter their DBA in Public Administration program. But with all of this going, it has me wondering... what's next?

 

What one might worry about most is NCU's solvency. They did make moves toward a better situation by letting employees go. I think that was a positive move. I was pleased they put the video on the NCU site for all to view. It seems they are not trying to hide anything. I'm always suspicious, though.

Personally, if you can find a better program you should do that. I would offer that advice even if you were looking at Iowa State University. If you found a better program than Iowa State you should do it.

I'm continuing with NCU because I'm getting close to finishing my coursework. I don't have the desire to start from scratch at a different school.

Bing

 

"Online" uncertainties?

My only concern with NCU is that it is online. I'll have a degree that is obviously online because NCU only offers online degrees.

I have a Masters degree that was done 100% the traditional way, so it's a legitimate degree from a legitimate university from a traditional perspective. Yet it hasn't help me -- not at all. Of course, I'm just a cop, so how's a degree going to help a cop? Answer: not at all!!! LOL

So anyways, my point-of-comparison is from a traditional perspective. I'm nothing but a cop with a traditional degree that certainly doesn't help in law enforcement, so why would I go out on a limb to get a regionally accredited doctorate that is 100% online??? The keyword here is "regionally accredited." Nonetheless, you might say that it's still an experiment in the 21st Century because nobody knows the future of online degrees.

We've relied for over a thousand years on "traditional" degrees and we've seen diploma mills (that many continue to mix-up with online degrees), so will regionally accredited doctoral degrees that are online eventually make a significant mark in academia that distinguishes them as legitimate? It depends on too many variables, but my personal inclination is "possibly yes." Sooooo it's an experiment in the making and it's contingent on how many successful (or unsuccessful?) graduates come out of online colleges and universities.

Additionally and on a side note, the deeper I get into academia, the more I wish I weren't because there are a lot of inflated egos in academia. You can trust me because I'm a cop. LOL

 

Actually, college educated police officers have proven to have much lower levels of citizen complaints lodged against them compared to non-college officers, especially in regards to use of excessive force.

 

Yes Bruce, I remember reading that. So if that's true, then having college educated cops definately helps the public.

 

That was a big reason why Massachusetts got the "Quinn Bill" (education incentive), as MA had the least-educated police officers in the country back then. We now have the highest-educated.

 

Well, as a learner there I watched the video. I like to think, at least, that I have some sense. I think this was staged to make the learners happy because the accrediting visit is next week and they timed it perfectly. The former president was on the board for years before she was brought in to start the school of education, and then she was promoted repeatedly. This is a place with one owner. THe board changed over frequently because the owner wanted one in place he could control-at least that is what I have been told by those still inside. Again heresay. They have three new people making huge salaries running the day to day-president, COO and provost. Why cut academics? Why not cut across the board? Seems bottom line is more valuable than student service. This tells me as a finance person that it is about profit, but also about politics. I heard from one of the chairs that the owner is scrambling to dump on the previous person -easy to do when you are in a panic that how you have been running the place is in direct conflict with what the accreditors want. Again, this is just what I have heard and what my take is on all of this. Reading some of the internal blogs, with people thanking god for the new president is a bit ridiculous. I am religious but I also am a business person. THis new guy is from a so so institution and his only experience in online was from a campus based manager position at Argosy. BUT he is a money person and lets's face it folks, he probably is making a generous salary along with a bonus. So, let's be realistic regarding motivation. I also heard through the proverbial grapevine that the new provost is just hacking the place apart and has grievances against him in HR. Not good. Why all this massive change? Cover up -but then again I am in homeland security-ha ha.

 

I was not overly impressed with the new President's video. The facial expressions of his audience seemed tense and concerned. It is curious that he only showed the few months in which deficit occured. This as any accountant knows could be a resulting of the matching principle (timing) for those months only. I would have liked to have seen the profit/loss for each month in 2007.

There was no prior position as provost at NCU. I think the money could have been better spent on continuing the writing support staff (who were terminated) rather than wasting it on his friend.

I believe that their re-affirmation process will not go smoothly. The registrar who has been at NCU almost from the start is no longer an employee. My understanding is that she was demoralized about the illegal things that NCU was doing with their academic record keeping.

The president also stated that he wanted NCU to be the best online university, but he didn't provide any details about how to get there or what constitutes the best online university.

 

As an alumnus of NCU, I was pleased to here the candor of Dr. Gardner in his presentation to the faculty and staff. Like all businesses, administrators of universities must make decisions that are sometimes unpleasant to segments of the population they serve. Since I am not involved in running NCU, I must defer to Dr. Gardner and staff to make reasonable decisions to maintain the viability of the university. The video presented through this forum provided a solid plan for the university's sustainability. It is only through the university's ability to function can it hope to meet the needs of the learners/students. I look forward to following this story as it evolves. Thank you for the discussion.

 

Whenever there is a meeting to discuss cuts you can be assured that there will be people in the audience who grimace, roll eyes, or look worried. I've been in that chair a time or two myself.

I agree that seeing the other months would be enlightening. This is why I say that those looking at NCU ought to pay particular attention to the school's solvency. How will a student know that with only a partial accounting shown? It is rather impossible with what we've seen but potential NCUers should put this into their decision process.

Does anyone have more information about the re-accreditation visit to come? When will it happen? Mathguy, since you made the comment that the visit will not go smoothly, what particulars might you offer to support such a statement?

Bing

 

I found this link interesting regarding NCU. If I had found this link in the beginning before I enrolled last year, I would never have applied.

http://www.dltruth.com/showthread.php?tid=134&page=1