Northcentral University PhD Business

I agree, the PhD at NCU can be a good alternative for adults looking to enhance their knowledge but it has its limitations.

It seems that in the US you have plenty of choices for different markets, but also the differences between the best and the worst are quite remarkable.

I believe that in the future we will have "harvard" type of universities in the online business. There is no reason why not to have quality and flexibility at the same time. The main issue is that online universities are more interested in attracting the established professional willing to pay high tuition fees than the "poor" academic that is looking for cheap and strong programs.

A lot students here are opting for South African degrees. I believe this to be a much more stronger option than NCU for those intested in academia. However, the University is not the only important element when it comes to teaching opportunities. It is amazing the number of university teachers that find opportunities without the minimum qualifications. Sometimes is more important "who do you know?" to "Where did you graduated from?".

Sometimes people don't bother to look at the name of the University and NCU or other will do it for you if your resume can back you up. On the other hand, the market is getting quite competitive and you want to have best education you can have.



Thanks for the chat and have a great weekend!!

 

JLV - I wouldn't say that "sucess is in no way related to the University we graduate from". I would simply say - that the schools we graduate from aren't the only factor that determines success.

Case in point - Compare the career success and earnings of Harvard Business School MBA grads versus any of the DL outfits we talk about here. Want to guess which group on average earns more and has risen further?

That's not to say that aren't some turkeys that have come out of Harvard - or that there aren't some very successful folks that have come out of DL schools.

Regards - Andy

 

Andy,

You seem to refer to DL schools as if all of them were at the same level. I personally find that Capella, Walden and Nova have much more stronger programs than NCU.

Walden has an good program in management sciences that I believe is at the same level of many respected universities. Capella has a good program in Management of Information Technology that is also at a good level.

Can we say that for the general public, all the DL schools carry the same value?

 

RFVALUE - I'm sure there are differences in the various DL programs.

But my point was that the preparation one receives at Harvard (or Stanford, etc.) is probably superior to the DL programs we talk about here. Harvard grads are likely to be more successful, on average, for a lot of reasons - the education they receive, the connections they make and the raw intellect they possess.

This doesn't mean that one can't benefit from completing a DL MBA. But I can't buy the idea that there is no difference between a top flight MBA and a low end DL MBA.

Regards - Andy

 

Regardless of the education quality, connections and intellect, having the Harvard name on your resume already opens more doors by itself.

-S

 

Andy,

Yes, there is no doubt about the advantages and benefits associated to having the name of Harvard in one’s resume. I was just referring to something else, to a comment you made several days ago, in which you mentioned what universities look at when hiring someone. Besides, since doctoral work is mostly an independent task, it is then up to the individual to determine with his/her effort and talent what he or she gets out of it. Success is a very relative term, having a different meaning for most people. I’d be happy if I could significantly raise my intellectual level to be the best I can be. That’s all.

 

NCU is the least expensive RA PhD that I was able to find. It is far less expensive than Capella and all the others. Capella would have cost me around 15 to 17 thousand more dollars more than NCU. I presume that NCU is inexpensive because it is new and it is trying to get established. I calculated that I will barely be able to foot the bill for NCU, but Capella and the others were financially out of my reach. I really like the programs that are outlined at Capella and Touro, but they are financially beyond my reach. I refuse to take loans for an education because I am a pay-as-you-go person. I pay cash.

Another option was the PhD program at the local state university. However, they expect the student to be full-time for a full year, which is out-of-the-question for a working adult who has to support himself. If I don't work, then I don't eat. We were also told that their attrition rate was approximately 50%, which didn't exactly flame the desires to enroll in that particular program.

 

Me Again;


You don’t have to explain your decisions to no one in this board. NCU is a legitimate, regionally accredited school, and its degrees are as good as other similar universities like Touro International, Nova or Capella. I don’t think you should pay too much attention to some of the criticism poured here regarding this institution as it was based on nothing more than speculation and fallacies (e.g. to attribute undergraduate level to a course that most American Universities offered in their graduate catalogs and from there to conclude that this specific PhD program and its graduates are deficient…That is snobbism, and shows just a rachitic mentality). This is a Business Administration program, and as such, the level of quantitative methods is at the social science level, like hundreds of other programs across the nation and the world.

I wish you the best. I might join you soon (Engineering Management specialization) if I can’t get hooked up here in Europe. I hope you publish a lot through the next years (that'll keep them quiet) and that, in general, it is a great educational experience for you. Please keep us posted!

 

Me Again,

I understand that a degree is always better than no-degree. NCU has its limitations but is better than no degree at all. At least, it will make you satisfy the minimum requirements for some jobs.

I believe they will work on the level of course work once they have enough students to cover their cost.

 

If you call snobbism quality of education this is fine.

Hey! why not to make doctors every creature in this world so we can all be equal.

Thanks for calling me a snob and someone with rachitic mentality. This only shows what you pretend to have "Education"

 

JLV wrote:

JLV,

Although some of the negative comments about NCU might not be all that accurate, it is fair to say that you should be a bit cautious with NCU at this time. Don't get me wrong, NCU is RA and so far shows promise, but quite a few students (not just from this forum) have made frequent complaints about the classes not being challenging enough for the money the paid. I just hope that they brought them to the school's attention.

I have to agree with RFValve that NCU's graduate education will eventually improve as more students pour in.

-S

 

The Dingo ate my baby

Sulla,

I accept fair, mature criticism regarding any conceivable topic. In fact, I encourage it in any possible way I can. I feel home at discussions and debates. In this specific case, I agree that NCU doesn’t have a long-term established program, and that it should be looked at in a relatively cautious manner.

Having said this, I don't think it is fair to discredit this institution per se, falling back on to childish, silly arguments to prove God knows what, which is against the spirit of this board, and, specially, the academic world he/she claims to belong to (??). How incredibly easy it would be to do the same to USQ! But, out of respect to people who put time, and enthusiasm into their educational goals at this university, I keep all comments to myself, and if I ever talk about it, I’ll do it in a courteous manner. That’s the type of behavior I would expect from someone who calls him/herself “professor”.

Respect to the critics about NCU not being hard enough for the money some students paid (how’s that, by the way! The more you pay, the more challenging a course should be?), I have heard similar reasoning about American state and private universities quite often. You should see how Europeans look at most American universities…. Please, take a look at what Me Again said about the University of South Florida regarding this issue, and the very interesting conclusions he drew. Let’s concede these critics the weight they actually have. I agree, this school is not Harvard, but neither is Touro, Capella, or USQ, which are all lower tier schools.

 

That same thought has crossed my mind. I should be able to easily handle the coursework that leads up to the dissertation process, but once the dissertation begins, I am deeply concerned that I will be pulling my hair out. But I have a thick head of hair, so I can afford to do that.

But that is a couple of years away.

 

I would like to point out..

that it realy wasn't all that long ago that the only course work attached to a phd was that which taught you to do research. The purpose of the phd is the research, not the coursework. Personnally, I think the growth of coursework with the phd has been to provide income to universities to support the program. In the past, the program supported itself by using the grad assistants as low or no paid instructors. However, with the advent of GA unions and part time phd students that has not been an option. Thus, the advent a paid coursework.

 

The coursework in the business doctoral program at NCU may appear easy to some, however from discussions with two friends who are currently attending this program, the dissertation process is intensive with high expectations being the norm.

 

Re: The Dingo ate my baby

Mr. JLV,

I believe that I never called names or have been disrespectful to you or others so I normally expect the same thing.

I just commented on your "and as an engineer I have to admit that the curriculum is very well designed".

I just provided arguments to this comment as I think that the program is not well designed as you stated at the beginning of this thread. Some students are looking here for many options and I would be very careful to recommend a program without backing up my recommendation.

In any case, I believe that respect is the key to keep a mature discussion in this board and personal attacks are not allowed.

I have never called myself a "professor" and only an instructor of university courses as this is what I do for a living. There is a big difference between "professor" and teaching university courses as you probably now.

As a student at USQ I must say that this University also has a lot of limitations and I will be happy to point them out in any other thread.





If someone doesn't

 

I'm sorry no more time for non-sense. You can spend more time defending your PhD from NCU once you graduated from there in this board or with someone else.

 

Finally, you have learnt some manners, and start addressing others by their names. This is the first time I see you doing that. I congratulate you for getting rid of such an annoying habit of yours, and strongly encourage you to keep up with your progress.

No one has called you any name and, yes, you have been disrespectful. Please be aware that your observations are not the word of God and thus are susceptible to be criticized.

No, you just provided a bunch of nonsense and prejudiced accusations based on nothing but your deliriums by mistaking your wishes, your perception with reality. The only thing you have shown beyond reasonable doubt is your inability to elaborate fair, well built arguments.

By my side, I haven’t recommended any program ever to anyone. I let that job to the specialists here or elsewhere. However, I do recommend you use some of that care as well. If NCU officials discover your insidious comments and decide you should defend the accusations you made (this program is just a joke, etc ,…) before a judge, you may end up paying big time your childish tantrums. This is a very popular board.

You are the one drifting to childish speculations, and prejudice. No personal attacks have been poured here. A rachitic mentality is a fair criticism to someone whose thoughts and mental activity seem to be not too sophisticated, (you should be adult enough to accept it), and it is far from what an adult would call a personal attack. In fact, I just used euphemisms. Wouldn't you agreee?

In your profile at www.DegreeInfo.com, at least until up to a couple of hours ago, you pompously called yourself “professor”. Hence, my sarcastic comments yesterday. Yes, I knew you couldn't be one.

I couldn’t care less. I’d just appreciate if you think about those limitations before unnecessarily trashing other institutions. Common sense, don’t you think, RFValve?

Should we leave it as it is?

 

Re: I would like to point out..

Good point! I have a BS in Business and an MBA. How many more stats courses do I really need?

I am putting NCU on hold. My decision has nothing to do with the alleged lack of quality at NCU. I believe the student also has responsibility for the quality of the educational experience. I just prefer Unisa at this point in time.

My research project will be based on a real-world client request. Could work out very well for me. Even if it doesn't I expect the Unisa experience to be rewarding.

Thanks all for the input

 

Maybe some PhD programs will offer a post-doctorate course titled "Defending your Doctorate Degree to Others".