Carolina University Ph.D. in Leadership

I know that Ph.D.'s in leadership are practically a dime a dozen these days, but I found Carolina University's explanation of their program to be pretty well considered. They say that there are tracks in Healthcare Administration, Justice, Ministry Administration and general/no concentration, although it isn't entirely clear for all the tracks from the curriculum posted what the courses are.

There's a required residency (only a week, but better than nothing, and not a months long one either) and the tuition is a not too outrageous $570/credit hour.

They're accredited by TRACS through 2030, which I see as a bit of a drawback (though less than it used to be) and their accreditation page interestingly says, "CU has additional accreditation in mind as part of our strategic plan for the future."

The name of the university is pretty good too.

 

Wish them well on their path of accreditation. Hope that statement doesn’t create issues for them. Some accreditors don’t look kindly on institutions hinting in marketing at future accreditation.

 

Honestly, why's not the school have decent history and regional accreditation? The University of the Cumberlands is a good choice, which the tuition ($375 per credit) is cheaper than Carolina University. While if you are a First Responder and Military, Liberty University offers only $300.00 per credit.

 

Traditionally, the PhD is the entry credential for scholarly work. While we certainly see many PhD grads working in other environments (ahem), they're usually from regionally accredited schools.

From a scholarly standpoint, I don't see the utility of a PhD from a TRACS-accredited school unless that's the environment you're fine being limited to.

From a practice standpoint, who cares? No one will notice or check anyway.

 

Accreditors don't like being named. You can't market yourself as a candidate or an applicant for accreditation with DEAC, for example. But there are many, many instances of schools seeming to do just fine with more vague statements about "actively pursuing accreditation." This one seemed hedged well also with the "we have accreditation in mind." This does not imply that they are actively seeking it. They could be just aligning their work to accreditation standards without pulling the accreditation trigger. I doubt it would cause them a problem.

 

Well, what I liked specifically about this program was that compared to the University of Cumberlands program it seemed better thought through as a coherent intellectual project.

Cumberlands goes on and on about how it's a degree in leading educational institutions and then says that it applies to all these other institutions as well.

Here, leadership as a coherent topic of study seems to be foregrounded. But not everyone needs to like what I like!

I noted myself that the accreditation is less desirable.

 

Is this mostly true for institutional accreditors? I often see schools stating that their program is seeking accreditation from the necessary accrediting agency. It usually reads something like, "Our PsyD in Clinical Psychology is not APA accredited. However, we will apply for accreditation as soon as we are eligible to do so... or in Fall 2023."

 

No accreditor wants people giving the impression some school is affiliated or accredited by them when they are not OR that accreditation is inevitable. So in a situation like you mentioned I'd say that if they actually apply to APA, one of APA's first orders of business would probably be to tell them to take that off of their website. That said, some accreditors have a different program. If they have a formal candidacy status then that can often be advertised. "We're going to apply!" is a pretty useless statement to make. It's done to try to establish legitimacy but, in doing so, they are trying to establish that legitimacy using the accreditor's name despite not having been evaluated by said accreditor.

 

For a little background on this program from what I've followed over the years: this was originally Tennessee Temple U's program that migrated to Piedmont International U when TTU merged with PIU. PIU fairly recently renamed itself Carolina University. Carolina U is now seeking regional accreditation. I have never attended any version of this program but I did consider applying many years ago and generally perceived it favorably. Good luck finding a program that works for you.

 

NB: DEAC doesn't have a candidacy for accreditation status. All the more reason why Neuhaus' point is spot-on.

 

It is true, but why would you want to attend a school that has accreditation in question. Especially, Carolina University has so many mergers and reorganizations making it seems not stabilized. If you look at Touro University International was a branch of Touro College, then sold to become TUI University, then Trident University International, and now is Trident at American InterContinental University.

 

"CU’s program is built in line with CACREP’s standards to ensure graduates meet national standards and have greater chances of employment across States and across settings. The program will seek CACREP accreditation in the near future."

 

I miss the old days when schools would regularly parade around their application and/or pending status and even use the logo of the accreditor they applied to while doing it. The only reason I miss it is because of the crash and burn that would result when a school's accreditation got denied.

 

I've been in this field since "the old days" and that doesn't jibe with my memories at all. Which schools did this? Real schools, that is.

 

Comparing Carolina University to TUI is not a fair comparison. Carolina, previously (as noted) Piedmont International, merged Tennessee Temple into itself. I also think it's reasonably fair to assume that the name change to Carolina University is because it is more marketable and relatable than Piedmont International University. In short, Carolina absorbed a failing school and changed its name. That's it.

Having said that, though, I don't like their accreditation touting (whether allowable or not).

 

Hahaha! What if Carolina University is going to be acquired by Duke University becomes Duke University at Winston-Salem.

 

Oh, Rich. It all happened the day before you started. You know that's how it works.

Seriously though, as I remember it only happening with a few schools (relatively speaking in terms of the whole landscape at least), "regularly" was meant in relation to the ones that did it regularly, not that a lot of schools were doing it. Some of them were discussed here years ago and I'd have to search as I don't remember the names, but I don't recall any of them being any good. Recently, I saw an unaccredited school based in Virginia using a DEAC logo, only claiming to have applied or being in the process of applying for DEAC accreditation. The school was discussed here but I can't remember the name so I'd have to search for that, too.

 

You're forgetting a lot lately, Max. Better get that cabeza checked

 

Triad Today Interview With Carolina University President, Dr. Charles Petitt

"We had something like a 40% growth. So, it was the best year in our history, for the enrollment side of things."

https://news.carolinau.edu/2021/07/19/triad-today-interview-with-carolina-university-president-dr-charles-petitt/

 

That interview leaves me with more questions than confidence in the school…