Carolina University - PhDs with 50% transfer credit limit

Carolina University is accredited by TRACS. I didn't see any programmatic accreditations. They have three online PhD programs that are exactly the same except for nine credits. The PhD in Educational Administration has a 9-credit concentration in educational administration, and the PhD in Organizational Management has a 9-credit concentration in organizational management. The PhD in Leadership is the base for the other two programs, but it offers 9-credit concentrations in healthcare administration, ministry, justice, technology, politics, international relations, innovation, sociology, communications, business, and public administration. Students can also opt to not have a concentration and choose 9 credits from multiple areas. If you choose a concentration, your dissertation must be related to that area of study.

This is a pretty long program with 73 semester hours. Students may transfer in up to 50% of the credits; 37 credits must be completed at Carolina University. There is a one-week residency. The residency fee is $795 and includes room and board on campus.

https://leadership.carolinau.edu/program/doctor-philosophy/leadership

 

Some of their concentrations offer a good number of interesting courses. It would better serve their students if they eliminated some of the leadership and research courses and allowed them to complete an 18-credit concentration for teaching purposes. It would also help them with federal government jobs because I don't think a 9-credit concentration is going to be enough for a PhD to be considered related to a particular job.

 

Earning a PhD from a TRACS school fails on one count and might on a second.

First, it fails because a PhD’s purpose is to advance scholarship. This is hard if the school in question is not considered part of the academy. Its research and researchers—faculty and students—might not be considered and, therefore, there work would not actually advance scholarship.

Second, earning a PhD from such a school pretty much limits you to places where degrees from such schools are recognized and accepted.

As with all such things, it is wise to determine to the maximum extent possible the ability of the degree being contemplated to meet your present and future needs.

 

Interesting name choice which has the advantage of market/Google confusion… considering Carolina is essentially how the University of North a Carolina - Chapel Hill, is referred to. Always a benefit to sound similar to a market/ranking power house.

Never heard of the school but a bit of Googling and wow… name changes and mergers every few years. Not necessarily bad, but also not necessarily a good thing. Also some interesting verbiage regarding their history, incarnation references, and their recent merger/acquisition.

 

That's a sharp eye you have there, Vonnegut. Good Googling! Convincing cautionary statement.

 

Am I missing something? Where does it state the Ph.D. program at Carolina is not designed to advance scholarship?

 

It does not, but if a Doctorate degree from TRACS and DEAC might have a tough time finding a job as a scholar.

 

I remember this school. The University President got an honorary doctorate from the school the same year it merged with Piedmont (now Carolina) and he ascended to the Presidency.

https://www.degreeinfo.com/index.php?threads/carolina-university-ph-d-in-leadership.60731/page-2#post-563364

 

I covered this in my post.

A school accredited by TRACS (or DEAC) might not be considered part of the academy. It's a grey area, certainly, but one must wonder if the PhD graduate's work would be cited elsewhere? Would it even be available? Would that person participate in other fora used to advance scholarship? Would other scholars consider it a credible source?

Maybe all of that is a "yes." My concern, however, is that it might often be a "no."

 

What exactly is a scholar job? Anyone with research skills can conduct research and publish. They don't need a particular job title to do so.

 

But those who graduate from such schools can still produce good quality scholarship, even better than some who's gone to R1 schools. If they can publish in impactful journals, I don't see how their Ph.D. institution will be relevant.

I've had three peer-reviewed publications since I earned my Ph.D. Just got approval from IRB for another study. You think anyone will care where I earned my Ph.D. if my research is impactful?

 

And if it doesn’t bring Chapel Hill to mind, it would lead you to South Carolina, we call the Columbia campus Carolina down here by reflex.

 

Where you earned your degree may impact the kind of job you can get, which may impact your ability to publish. Or not. Whatever.

 

I wonder what the attraction is to a non-accredited school for this? Is it lower cost? There are several online Leadership PhD programs (Gonzaga, Indiana Tech, Tiffin are three I've seen).

 

I wonder how evidence for this would even look.

 

I don't really think so. I was able to find a price for Doctoral Study there of $12,555 annually - tuition and recurring fees. This is supposed to be a four-year program, so that's almost exactly $50K. Not high-end, but not exactly small change. either.

The school isn't exactly "non-accredited." It is TRACS-accredited, which is National Accreditation. However, it may be considered by many to be insufficient accreditation for their needs, with this type of program. And a degree that does not meet one's needs is no bargain at ANY price.

Even if it's practically free - you put four years of your life into a program - you want to be sure it will work for you - as per your expectations.

 

Cost, time to degree, specific curricula. Agreement with a school's ideological bend. A buddy went there. An applicant knows a faculty member. Buildings/grounds/trees on campus are pretty. School colors are pretty.
Would I pick this program? Probably not. But it in all likelihood has its applicants, and can help a few people with their current and future needs. And to be clear: TRACS is no regional accreditation, but not "unaccredited" either.

 

I think broad generalizations can be made safely. But it is really important to remember that individual choices for individual situations individuals find themselves in are hard to extrapolate to the bigger question.

 

I'll join the chorus to remind people that TRACS accreditation is a recognized form of institutional accreditation. Whether or not it has limitations or benefits is a highly individual matter, but the mere fact that this must be considered should cause some pause.