MS in Leadership- Transfer credit, course length, delivery

I have been browsing all of the programs I have looked at over the last few years and think I may have to open myself up to a few more options. I currently have 15 credits (06 from Liberty University that Duquesne accepted) toward a 36 hour MS in Leadership from Duquesne University. In my current position (enlisted in the military) I have been able to complete any and all coursework regardless of the format. I am moving in to a new role as a junior officer in the military and will be onboard a ship that will have a schedule of being gone for around 2 months at a time with 2 months in port. On top of that, the job load of a junior officer along with two young children at home will definitely hamper my available time for education.

Preferably I would stick with Duquesne but with their schedule of 2 month long classes (nothing accelerated with the exception of their summer semester) it isn't going to be ideal. I am looking in to schools that have a graduate degree in org leadership or management with a liberal transfer policy, different term lengths, and course work that can be completed with little time online such as turning in term papers without discussion boards.

The best option I have found so far is unfortunately DETC in Columbia Southern. I would prefer RA but could consider other options. There are several UK schools that because of my coursework I think I could get advanced placement in but not sure how that would work and where might be the best option for the coursework that I am looking for.

Thanks for any ideas or advice.....

 

Two month classes at the graduate level are actually an accelerated format. You would be better off-slowing down your pace at Duquesne and finishing there. You would undoubtedly lose out and extend your time frame if you were to transfer anywhere else.

Whatever you do - please do not transfer to a DETC school from an RA one. Some on this board will tell you how a DETC degree is on par with a RA one in terms if quality, etc. - this is absolutely not true and you will regret the downgrade at some point in the future.

My advice - stick it out where you are at. You will be done before you know it even if you have to slow your pace. If you absolutely need to go somewhere else, there are numerous RA options out there that you should explore to maximize your transfer credit. Do not take the DETC path of least resistance.

 

I hear ya truckie. Unfortunately, slowing down at Duquesne would be stopping for no less than 18 months. With their use of discussion boards and the like it would be impossible to complete there in the short term.

I have found RA schools that accept 15 credits in transfer but have to dig deeper in to their course delivery methods. Also, I made a mistake in my initial post in that Duquesne course length is 15 weeks, not 2 months as mentioned. I have seen some schools that have much shorter graduate level courses.

 

That's a broad and incorrect statement. There are some pretty bad, inferior RA schools out there, and some pretty solid DETC schools. Perhaps you meant that RA is more widely accepted and recognized than the DETC, in which case I would completely agree.

 

No, sorry but I will stand by my points. You point is a straw-man argument. Of course there are crappy RA schools and programs out there, but that does not change the fact that RA as a whole is more recognized and acceptable than DETC.

My statement is intentionally broad but far from incorrect. DETC from RA is a downgrade. You are correct in that there are some lackluster RA schools out there, but in every case a degree from an RA school will trump a degree from a DETC one.

The OP is a military officer looking for a degree for future employment prospects - why would anyone try to convince him in this market that a degree with proven limitations in utility would be a worthwhile pursuit?

 

As I mentioned in my second post, impossible in the short term in my experience but we'll see. 15 week terms don't work because I will have limited to no connectivity underway and I won't have time to complete a term while in port. I have found several other RA colleges that will accept 15 credits in transfer I just haven't checked any deeper yet in to course delivery. UofO, CMU were two today that I found that will accept that many but neither one have the exact degree I am looking for and I am not sure of their delivery options.

 

Agree to disagree. I maintain the point that when someone points out that there are sub-par RA schools out there to distract from the fact that DETC degrees as a whole are inferior to RA degrees is a straw-man argument because it is actively misrepresenting the point - just because you can find a DETC degree that may be on par with a low-quality RA degree does not make DETC come close to the benefits provided by an RA degree. If you can provide evidence to the contrary, please do because no one had been able to do so since I have been a member of this community.

Either way - I have no dog in this fight. The OP has numerous RA options available that will provide maximum credit transfer and offer an accelerated format that will be be more workable for his/her situation. DETC options are also available, but someone making a career transition and not knowing exactly where he/she may end up should not pursue a degree with such demonstrated limitations.

 

how Reaganite!

 

Yes, that is exactly what I said. RA is more accepted and recognized. However, "accepted and recognized" has nothing to do with quality. Quality comes down to the school, and sometimes the program within a school, regardless of whether or not a school is accredited by one of the regional or national agencies, if accredited at all.

I chose RA for my AAS, BA and MS because RA is more accepted and recognized. However, I attended several NA and RA schools on the way to earning my degrees. There was no difference in quality or rigor. If anything, the most demanding school I attended was Briercrest, which is a Canadian college that is accredited by the ABHE.

In summary, one would be wise to go with RA because of the utility it brings, but it in no way ensures quality.

 

Ok - I think we are on the same page. The issue I have whenever this comes up is that someone inevitably brings up the "there are quality DETC programs out there that are better than several inferior RA ones" argument. That is true, no doubt about it but it is a distractor argument unless someone is specifically asking a question about specific school(s).

When was the last time someone came on here looking for a degree where quality was the only criteria? RA v. DETC is merely a fork in the road of the journey to pick the right degree. I will always advocate to take the RA route unless there is a very specific circumstance where only DETC will do (what that would be I have no idea). Once you take the RA branch of the road, there are a whole host of other forks in the road to take to push you in the quality direction.

I will say this - I know several people who chose to pursue NA degrees and had to subsequently go back to school and earn an RA degree because the NA one would not meet a criteria at some point in their careers. I do not know anyone who earned an RA degree that had to go back and earn an NA one for any reason.

 

I agree. However, I can think of at least a few circumstances where NA would makes sense:

1. Courses/programs are taken strictly for personal enrichment AND the NA school offers a superior price or a preferred curriculum, or format.

2. There are no RA programs available AND the student understands the limitations of the NA degree. This would be the case with online law schools that award the JD. One could argue that Concord is RA and is therefore a logical preference, but given that ABA is really the only accreditation that matters for law (in terms of utility), the RA in this case does not matter.

3. There is a significant cost difference between RA and NA schools and there is little or no added benefit in spending the extra cash for RA. There are so many reasonably priced RA degree options today that this one is quite rare, but to use law schools as the example again, Concord is RA but costs about $16,000 more than its NA competitors, but you get no added utility for the additional cash.

4. Some religious affiliations prefer ABHE or TRACS to regional accreditation (especially ABHE). At the graduate and post-grad levels, ATS is definitely the preferred accrediting body. This is why many Christian universities are accredited both regionally and nationally. In the case of ministry, a university that holds both RA and NA would be preferred, but there may be significant cost differences when compared to NA only. If so, you're back to #3 (price difference with no added utility).