Nova Southeastern University

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by tcnixon, Apr 25, 2001.

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  1. tcnixon

    tcnixon Active Member

    It must be one of those synergistic things, but in the past 48 hours I've been asked about Nova Southeastern 3 times. Since it has been a while since anyone has commented on the programs available (and Nova has lots!), I thought I'd give graduates/current students (Dr. Wetsch, are you out there?) the opportunity to spout off.

    So what's it like already?


    Tom Nixon
     
  2. drwetsch

    drwetsch New Member

    Thanks Tom.

    I'll start off with a brief post. I graduated from NSU from the School for Computer & Information Sciences (SCIS) with a Ph.D. in Information Systems. I started the program in January of 1991 and graduated in November of 1994.

    When I started the program there were many changes at Nova while I was there. The school merged with Southwestern and became Nova Southwestern. The degree to be earned was the Doctor of Science and in my last year the school had just adopted the Ph.D. and gave us a choice between the two degrees. Almost everyone I knew opted for the Ph.D. The students in the program, at the time, ranged from people with mid-level to upper-level positons in industry, senior military officers (I met a lot of Colonels), and a few academics who were teaching at colleges and needed to get their doctorate.

    The program was rigorous and of high quality. I worked within the boundries of the cluster format and went to campus every 3 months for lectures and exams. For many programs the cluster sessions are held in regional locations throughout the country. For me this entailed two years of coursework and about 18 months of work on the dissertation. I found faculty to be of high quality, interactive, and very good to work with.

    Upon graduation the Nova degree opened a lot of doors. I received a substantial salary increase and new responsibilities from my employer -- a major government contractor. I was able to get my book published based in part on my dissertation work, and easily fell into the adjunct role in North Carolina for North Carolina Wesleyan College, Wake Technical Community College, and North Carolina State University. In addition I have been involved with teaching online courses for a couple of universities.

    Over the years I have seen the Nova program expand. In North Carolina there are over 600 alumni and from NSU the alumni are well over 30K in number. I would suggest anyone looking for indepth detail on Nova's history to look at their online "Fact Book" which provides good information. Including information on degrees awarded and their statistical breakdown. http:\\www.nova.edu

    NSU is of course not an Ivy League school and was a pioneer in DL. I found the program to be very worthwhile and have not had a problem with its acceptance.

    If anyone has any speciic questions on NSU feel free to e-mail me at

    [email protected]

    Best,

    John



    ------------------
    John R. Wetsch, Ph.D.
    B.S. '84 Excelsior College (USNY/Regents)
    M.A. '89 Antioch University, The McGregor School
    Ph.D. '94 Nova Southeastern University
     
  3. Ike

    Ike New Member

    Hi Dr. Wetsch,
    I think you meant to say "The school merged with Southeastern University and became Nova Southeastern University".

    Ike Okonkwo
    ABD (Information Systems), Nova Southeastern University
     
  4. Andy Borchers

    Andy Borchers New Member

    Tom - You are correct in saying Nova has "lots" of programs. With 17,000 university students in a variety of on-campus and off-campus program, NSU's growth has been truly amazing. NSU also operates well regarded K-12 programs as well.

    In the traditional realm, NSU has a law school, health sciences (DO, PharmD, OD, etc.), psychology (PsyD and PhD), family counseling, oceanography and undergraduate programs. These are traditional on-ground programs with a few exceptions. As noted in an earlier post the law school has an on-line summer program for pre-law students. The PharmD program does some distance learning using streaming video.

    With respect to DE, business, computer science and education are all heavily distanced based. John has commented about the computer science area. Education is a huge area with 4000+ graduate students. NSU produces a large number of doctorates in education, with a significant number of minority graduates.

    My experience is in the business school. I started a DBA in May of 1992 and finished in August of 1996. The program enabled me to switch from industry to an academic position. I found the program to be a perfect match for me. Classes are offered in satellite locations and on-campus. Because they have a sizable enrollment, one can specialize in marketing, finance, accounting, HRM, IT, etc. NSU has a significant full-time faculty and augments this with some good adjuncts from other schools. The dissertation process is well defined and challenging. I've served on a couple of committees since I've graduated and the quality of the work has been good.

    NSU's campus in Broward County is growing rapidly. They are building a new business building. Also, NSU has worked with the county to build a new, state of the art library facility.

    How do I evaluate NSU? The school is so varied it is hard to categorize it. The traditional on-ground programs are solid, albeit not world beaters.

    The on-line programs make graduate education accessible for folks. In the past five years, however, a number of new competitors have cropped up. If I were making a choice today, for example, I'd give UMUC and Case Western a good look. I do believe, however, that NSU is a step ahead of its "for profit" virtual competitors - such as Sarasota, Walden, etc. NSU's investment in full-time faculty and facilities is one reason.

    Thanks - Andy Borchers
    DBA NSU 1996



    ------------------
    Andy Borchers, DBA
    NSU (1996)
     
  5. drwetsch

    drwetsch New Member

     
  6. Ike

    Ike New Member

    In addition to what Dr. Wetsch and Dr. Borchers have said, I will also add that Nova Graduate School of Education has expanded considerably in the last couple of years. Two years ago, the graduate school of education in partnership with National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) introduced national master's degree in education in six states (Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, and Arizona). http://www.nova.edu/cwis/ia/pubaffairs/news/partner.html
    I also wish to add that most of the doctoral degrees awarded to minorities at Nova are in education. In the School of Computer and Information Sciences, we (minorities) number less than 8% and only about half of that number usually graduate.

    Ike Okonkwo
     
  7. rbourg

    rbourg New Member

    What is really interesting about NSU is that despite their beautiful,modern and extensive campus and the numerous accreditations from verious associations and agencies that they hold, they never seem to climb in the US News rankings. Nsu has 18,000 students and is the largest private university in FL.
     
  8. Guest

    Guest Guest

    Could it be that US News has a bias toward distance education in general? This bias does indeed exist among many within academia, e.g., among the good old boy's club. However, we have seen the evolution of distance education as it is being incorporated into mainstream academia. And rightfully so!

    Russell
     
  9. Ike

    Ike New Member

    I think the reason for US news low ranking of Nova's undergraduate programs is not unconnected with the fact that Nova is one of the pioneers of distance education.
    I believe that most of the people that participate in the ranking process still look down on distance education and this may account for low ranking that Nova's undergraduate programs over the years. There are other factors too. For example, I understand that Nova does not provide most of the documents that could help to improve its ranking. I also understand that Nova graduates do not make enough donation to the university and this is one of the factors that is considered in the ranking.
    It is important to note that Nova has traditional undergraduate programs and the programs are as good and as traditional as any in-class model and many critics are ignorant of this fact.

    Ike Okonkwo
     
  10. drwetsch

    drwetsch New Member

    I fully agree with a previous post that Nova Southeastern's programs are varied. Just a couple of years ago NSU opened up a new dental school the first dental school in the U.S. in several decades and last I heard it is going strong.

    If you want to see what NSU has been up to you can read their press releases at: http://www.nova.edu/cwis/ia/pubaffairs/news/index.html

    The fact book I previosuly mentioned (in my first post on this thread) is at: http://www.nova.edu/cwis/urp/urp-factbook.htm

    And, one of the physicians at the South Pole, he replaced Dr. Jerry Nielson who was evacuated was a Nova D.O. http://www.nova.edu/cwis/ia/alumni/alumni-network/alumni-network-feature-story.html#south_pole

    Overall, I think NSU holds it own very well.

    John
     
  11. drwetsch

    drwetsch New Member

  12. rbourg

    rbourg New Member

    You're probably right.It's interesting that Union Institute seems to do much better in the rankings
     
  13. Jeffrey Levine

    Jeffrey Levine New Member

    Okay, I'll put in my two cents. I graduated Nova Southeastern University in 1996 with a Ed.D. in Child and Youth Studies. My bachelor's, master's and two post-master's degrees were all earned traditionaly at well-respected regional schools.

    I had my doubts when I first entered Nova. I was told by several people that NSU was viewed quite negatively in both the academic (confirmed by US News & World Reports) and professional worlds and that I would most likely have to forever "defend" my degree. Ironically, the same people indirectly acknowledged the validity of the degree by adding "after all your hard work..." to their warning. I was also told that the former New York City Board of Education Schools Chancellor was asked (ordered?) not to use the title "doctor" because he graduated from Nova.

    I raised several concerns at the Ed.D. program orientation without receiving satisfactory answers. Still skeptical, I nevertheless proceeded with my first course. I am glad that I did.

    I can honestly say that I never had to work as hard as I did at NSU. The work was challenging and practical. I am sure that many others in my cluster probably did not put as much effort into their work as I did and nevetheless graduated. From what I could tell, the quality of work fluctuated significantly, but isn't that true in all schools?

    The doctorate that I earned has opened up several opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable to me. I am sure that my NSU degree has also held me back in certain circumstances, but I am otherwise pleased.

    My biggest issue with NSU at this point is that I feel the school makes little effort to improve its image. With schools of law, medicine, business, education, etc., and degrees ranging from bachelor's to doctorate/professional, I feel Nova could do a better job marketing itself. (Recently the school proudly announced on their web-site that they were rated the best (?) landscaped campus in Florida---were they serious?)

    I understand that the wide-range of specialty areas does not necessarily make NSU "good", but I do think that the extensive programs offered does make the university more than what the traditionalists perceive. How many universities offer nursery-school through doctorate education?

    Ironically, although Nova has become known as a distance learning institute (thanks in part to its own advertising), most of NSU's programs are campus-based or at least require substantial classroom instruction.
    I understand that the Nova concept emphasizing adult education and providing educational opportunities at convenient off-campus learning centers was radical in the past. It is in many ways, however, common place today. Again, I feel that NSU has failed to clarify these issues and has chosen to proceed, for whatever reason, status quo.

    So in sum, I believe that my NSU doctorate has provided me with many opportunities I would otherwise not have had. In general, I do not believe that the quality of work of Nova students is in the same class as Harvard. I do, however, feel that the quality is similar to that of many second and third tier schools. I cannot understand why Nova has not taken the issue of image more seriously. I am particularly concerned with the school's lack of communicating the extensive programs offered and its insistance upon marketing itself as i it were a cyber university.

    Regards,

    Jeffrey
     
  14. Lewchuk

    Lewchuk member

    I think Nova stands out in the areas of IT and Education in the sense that it provides legitimate opportunities to people in areas which may not be otherwise available. However, I fail to see why anyone would pursue a DL business credential through them (i.e. have looked into both MBA & DBA... unimpressive).


     
  15. rbourg

    rbourg New Member

    Perhaps Nova is still paying the price for having been the first distance PhD program to gain accreditation and then to be re-accreditated. Too bad, since I agree that in many ways they are now quite mainstream and their programs are good.
    They do seem "content" to be viewed as a third rate institution (at least outside of Florida)This is too bad, but only they can set about changing this situation by changing their marketing strategy.
    Asking to be left out of Bear's Guide is not going to do it, now that many of the very finest schools are now listed.
     
  16. rbourg

    rbourg New Member

    I was looking at the Nova site. With Wayne Huizenga and Dave Thomas on the Board of Trustees, they should have their marketing down to perfection. What gives?
     
  17. Andy Borchers

    Andy Borchers New Member

    Two points to add to this discussion:

    1. At the MBA level - I have to agree with you.

    2. The reason I pursued a DL business credential (DBA) through NSU is that in 1992 it was the only viable program I could locate. Further, I see only a few additional viable choices today. In the state of Michigan there were (and are) only two doctoral programs in business (MSU and UoM) and both of these are full-time. I could have gone out of field (a PhD in education at Wayne State for example), but I wanted to study business. There were some other DL programs around (Union, Walden, etc.), but these seemed no better than NSU. Further, I preferred NSU's coursework and the fact that they employ a corp of full-time campus faculty in my field. NSU provided a viable, RA alternative then and does so today.

    There are some more options available today -Case Western, NJIT and UMUC for example - that I would certainly consider if I had it to do over. I wouldn't touch cyber only or for-profit options (such as UoP, Walden, Touro, Sarasota, Capella, etc.), however, as their reputations are certainly no better and may be worse than NSU.

    3. I agree that NSU needs to improve its image. Overcoming a history of being "looked down on" will be tough.
    Do note, however, that the U.S. News Rankings have their limitations. For one, they are a function of the school's undergraduate offering - not its graduate offerings.

    Thanks - Andy



    ------------------
    Andy Borchers, DBA
    NSU (1996)
     
  18. Andy Borchers

    Andy Borchers New Member

    NSU certainly does look like a 4th tier National University in the U.S. News ranking. But here is a question - what other DL oriented institution (other than Union which is also 4th tier) is even rated by U.S. News and World Report? I don't find Walden, Capella, Touro or UoP even listed in their rankings.

    Would NSU be ahead if they weren't rated at all? Would Capella, Walden or Touro be criticized if they were rated and showed up in the fourth tier?

    Thanks - Andy



    ------------------
    Andy Borchers, DBA
    NSU (1996)
     
  19. rbourg

    rbourg New Member

    My point is that they have a 235 acre main campus on which are housed accredited medical, dental, law etc.programs, they're building a 1.4 million book library, They have 18,000 students and they only seem to promote the image of being a distance ed alternative.

    Somehow, Nova shouldn't need to compete image-wise with Sarasota or Walden or City U. Not that those schools don't offer decent programs, but they don't seem to be in Nova's league.
    I think there is far greater value in Nova marketing itself as a credible alternative to U of Miami, or Auburn as well as Union and Fielding. Nova's competion should be the highly ranked "traditional" universities as well as those offering the best in "quality" distance ed programs.
     
  20. Lewchuk

    Lewchuk member

    I can't commment on the alternatives available in 1992, but today I think their are better alternatives to NSU or the others you mentioned.

    Charles Sturt DBA... 100% non-resident, traditional public school with great DL expertise, very inexpensive. Not exactly prestigious but great value for money.

    Henley Management College... a DBA from a top-tier school. Requires some trips to the UK but the final bill could still be competitive with NSU.

    University of Glasgow... 100% non-resident DBA, top-tier school, competitively priced.

    I would much rather have either Henley or Glasgow on my resume than NSU... or Charles Sturt on my resume with a lot of extra money in my bank account.


     

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