Virginia University of Lynchburg - #1 Ranked Online DHA Program (Forbes)

Not my field but I saw some of the discussion of VUL's DHA Program and looked it up. Apparently, Forbes magazine ranked their DHA program the #1 Ranked Online DHA program in the nation (2024).

Note that is #1 online DHA program not #1 DHA program.

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/education/healthcare/best-online-phd-healthcare-administration/

 

For all of the valid criticism I levy against VUL, this is one of the highlights! They needed some good press.

 

Again, not my field but are these programs in general useful or are they a cash cow for schools. Does a DHA serve as a credential for a specific point in someone's career? There seem to be a number of these degrees (like DNP). Is there something a DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) can do that a Masters level Nurse Practitioner cannot?

When I look at Wikipedia pages about certain professions, there are a number of countries where the entry degree is a Bachelor's or Masters and in the US it is a doctorate (sometimes with different privileges). For instance, Podiatrists. In the UK veterinarians are moving in the direction of the US and in the last couple of years have been allowed to call themselves "Dr." Law is another one where some countries are moving to the US model (JD).

 

Look at the methodology and tell us whether VUL is at the top.

1. Programmatic accreditation - VUL doesn't have it

2. Median earnings 10 years after graduation - VUL's program is not even 10 years old

3. Overall graduation rate - This one has a question mark. Every website is reporting a very low graduation rate, except for College Scorecard. Out of 445 students, VUL is reporting to the federal government that they have a 94% graduation rate. That might be true for the DHA since many finish in one year, and the culminating practica practically consist of doing nothing. We also know that almost all of their students are now in the DHA program while the rest of their programs die.

My conclusion is that this is paid advertising, which is consistent with VUL's crooked administration.

 

If Forbes carries a substantive weight in this realm, do not forget TECH University, the best online university in the world, according to Forbes.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/22835845.forbes-highlighted-tech-technological-university-the-best-online-university-world/

 

One VUL alumnus had a LinkedIn post stating the same:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/rankings-racket-dr-eric-fishon-dha-mba-mdiv-mts-msol-ianie/

 

Yes, and they have a top trustpilot score... no, wait... https://www.trustpilot.com/review/techtitute.com

 

Having a DNP allows me to

• Debate that using ‘Dr.’ does not violate the sacred Wabi-Sabi of humility.
• Obtain a higher Ikigai by enduring more sleepless nights of dissertation writing, perfecting the Wabi-Sabi of Medical Charting
• Employ Hara Hachi Bu by knowing when to stop arguing with someone who obtained their Doctorate from TikTok /Facebook University

But what do I know? Im just a nurse

 

I've always enjoyed your contributions to this board. True Ikigai lies in showing up for patients, not proving ourselves to skeptics.

 

Looks like VUL is no longer even ranked on the list of the best Healthcare Administration doctoral programs, and a true list has been released for 2025.

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/education/healthcare/best-online-phd-healthcare-administration/

 

I can't even find a full list of schools they ranked, just their 10 best out of 250 otherwise-unspecified programs. I wouldn't take them disappearing from the rankings as proof of anything except that Forbes rankings are arbitrary.

 

So, is it fair to say that when they put VUL number 1 in 2024, it was arbitrary and should be disregarded, since a full review of every program in healthcare administration was not published? This seems more realistic of a ranking in my opinion. Now, should they release the full list of 250? Sure, I think it would be a good idea.

 

Agree, I only accept law school rankings for tier 1 schools lol.

 

I mean, yes? Not being number one in the nation doesn't mean that it is suddenly an unaccredited diploma mill with no value. VUL and this DHA have legitimate criticisms and those who share those criticisms should attend schools with better recognition, a more rigorous program, or stronger accreditation.

 

The only serious rankings Forbes has for higher education are for business schools. The rest are promotional.

Obviously, I have a different stance on rankings than most here. You might not agree with them, but they are correlated with real world reputation, and reputation does affect job opportunities and salaries. The main problem with U.S. News rankings is that schools try to game the system, and they sometimes flat out lie. But why would they go through all the effort to do this? Because people pay attention to U.S. News rankings. The rank of an accounting program can determine whether you'll get hired by one of the major accounting firms straight out of college. The rank of a JD program will determine whether you'll get hired by a major law firm.

People reject this reality because it makes them uncomfortable. They want to believe that they will be the outlier. They want to believe that they can earn a healthcare doctorate at University of Phoenix, Capella, or Walden and get a tenure-track position at Johns Hopkins. There's almost no chance of that happening. They can get a tenure-track position at a podunk college or unranked program, but almost never at a top 10 or top 20 program.

I once thought I saw an exception at Michigan State University, which is ranked in criminology. A man was listed as an assistant professor, and he had a doctorate from Capella. It turns out that Michigan State University calls everyone with a doctorate a professor, and this guy was a part-time, online professor. I have an acquaintance who riles people up every time she says that doctorates from for-profit universities are not taken seriously in academia. One lady tried to prove her wrong by claiming that her business doctorate from Walden got her a full-time professorship at an Ivy League. Well, she did have a full-time job, but she was not tenure-track, and her school was not even close to being Ivy League. It was a public university that wasn't even ranked in the top 100. Now, I'm questioning the quality of her business education. I can understand mistakenly believing that Stanford is Ivy League, but not a mid-tier public university. LOL.

Not everyone strives to work at a top university as a tenure-track professor, and that is okay. Many people are happy with having a full-time job anywhere in academia, which isn't always easy to get - tenure-track or non-tenure-track. But when someone constantly argues that reality isn't reality, it shows insecurity in their school choice.

 

A handful of schools have a national reputation. Some have regional reputations, and the rest have local reputations (or none at all).

Most people graduate from schools you've never heard of. It's a perfectly normal thing.

But, as you point out, it would be naive to think reputation doesn't matter. It can.

You can get an education anywhere, but you go to a university or college to get a degree. The source of that degree can matter.

 

I would say that a few dozen schools have a national reputation with the general public. That would include the Ivy Plus schools, some military academies, and large state universities. However, the general public isn't in a position to hire. Within professional fields, hiring managers are aware of which schools have the best reputation within that field, and some of those schools your average person on the street wouldn't be familiar with. Before U.S. News even had a criminology ranking, Sam Houston State University was known as one of the best schools for criminal justice so much so that my world geography teacher knew this, and he neither majored in criminal nor worked a day in the criminal justice field.