Is NCU inferior to Capella or Walden?

I prefer 24 hours also but I teach also so I understand if someone takes a day off or provides 48 hour turnaround with quality feedback. If you are just going to say "good work" don't make me wait but if you are going to provide some quality feedback I can learn from I will wait the extra day or two.

 

You can find out what school will best meet your needs by asking the sales representative how many students have been admitted to each of the programs from the inception of the program and divide that number into the number of graduates.

If the ratio is low, such as 500 / 5000, then you probably should keep looking for a program.

You probably want to find a program that has admitted a small number of students and then graduated a large percentage of those students. A small number of students could indicate some intent to screen the students based on ability to complete the program. A large percentage of graduates could indicate some intent to train and develop students into graduates.

If the school says they don't publish the number of admitted students and graduates, then it is probably not a selling feature of the school, and once again you have your answer...

 

That's a good idea, Dave. I wonder how many schools would give you that info? Might be worth a try. I know NCU didn't give me any trouble getting in. But neither did Walden, Capella or UOP; I applied and was accepted to all of them. (Lost a few application fees in the process, too!) Not sure what that means; either they liked what they saw or they didn't care as long as you can pay. But the process was the same for all four schools.

 

Oh dear, statistics is a weak point for me anyway. How long ago did you take stats? Could it have improved since then? Did you notice that they are now offering online tutoring in many subjects, stats being one of them? Haven't tried it yet, but I'm sure I'll need the help with stats. It's an outside service and it appears to be pretty good.

 

I took it like 2 years ago. Sounds like some improvements were made.

 

As many of us have stated regularly on Degreeinfo, a DL doctorate tends not to be the route to a full-time tenure-track faculty position at a B&M university, however, it has utility for many other settings (including existing faculty who want a degree for promotion or salary increase).

Regarding the Capella vs. Walden vs. NCU discussion, it really is apples and oranges, as Cory has shown above. Walden has been around the longest, so it is the most established of the three. Capella currently graduates the most PhDs, so there are quite a few in the market. NCU is the newest, so it has the least name recognition. NCU's program is the most "independent study" of the three. Capella tend to require quite a few courses, while Walden uses a "knowledge area module" approach, with large projects. All three are RA, all three are DL and all three are legit. I have colleagues who have pursued their doctorates from all three (with good results).

 

Disclaimer: The following is merely an opinion of the poster. YMMV.

For some, NCU might make the most sense. Not only is it less expensive, it offers a very independent approach to one's learning, both in terms of collaboration with other students and pace of work. Some people want to be left alone, and some people need to restrict costs as much as possible. NCU provides opportunities for both.

I've completed a highly interactive independent study Ph.D. (Union). I once also completed the bulk of a highly independent, non-residential curriculum where one interacted with the faculty only when one chose--in everything else (except feedback on assignments) the student was left alone. It made the NCU experience look downright collaborative.

 

The stature of the school does not have to mean much if you pursue professional excellence in your field of work. Write and successfully publish; present at conference; become perceived as the expert; it will not matter where your degree came from, if you want to be a professor, someone will want you because of your expertise. NCU is RA and more affordable.

 

Dr. P, it seems like we can depend on you to give the best and most informed answer. This one is right on, as well.

 

You people are the bomb! Thanks so much for the insight. Think I'll give NCU a try. It's not perfect, I see, but it seems like a good fit for me.

 

Good for you. No school is perfect. You will find good and bad aspects of every program. I have been a doctoral student at NCU and there are some aspects of NCU that I prefer over UMD. The same goes for other doctoral programs I have been in with Dakota State University and George Washington University. My perfect program would be the combination of the best practices from all four of these programs. However, no such beast exists so you take the good with the bad. NCU is RA and legitimate so, unless your purpose behind earning a doctorate is to break into academia, a degree from NCU is as good as any other DL doctoral degree.