It's Comps Time!

Today is the official start date of my Doctoral Comprehensive Examinations! My four questions arrived yesterday, a day early, giving me a chance to review each one and select the first to address. I spent much of the evening doing some research, ending up with a dozen or so decent research articles. Not half bad.

The "comps" (as we so affectionately term the course at NCU) consists of four questions related to the student's dissertation specialization area. In my case, my questions are focused on "exceptional student education." No surprise there, special ed is my life. Each question is framed around one of four topic areas:

1. Theoretical and conceptual knowledge
2. Research methods and critique
3. Professional application
4. Ethical considerations

Each question requires a 10-15 page response, plus the references pages. While I have seven weeks to complete the questions, my goal is six or fewer. If I can continue on the pace I've already set, that should be no problem. Finishing (and passing!) is my Christmas present to myself this year. Hmmmmm....is that sad? Not sure.

Anyway, wish me luck! When these are over, I become an official Doctoral Candidate and will be considered ABD (All But Dissertation). Woohooooo....what a milestone!

NCU giveth, NCU taketh away

I worked my TAIL off this summer to secure the chair I really wanted for my dissertation committee. After several emails with my academic advisor and the potential-chair, it was all set. I got her!! What a HUGE sigh of relief.

Yesterday I received an email stating that I can't have her as a chair, her workload is too great. GRRRRRRRRRRR. I am advocating to keep what was already in place and agreed upon, but I'm not sure I will be successful. I am feeling a bit sick as I felt confident I had my greatest advocate in my corner. Now, I am feeling a bit alone again.

Nothing is certain.

Next steps

I am about to start my fourth, and last, Research course of my sequence. My two main goals during this course are to complete a dissertation concept paper and formulate my dissertation committee. The committee consists of a Chair and two members. The process for organizing the team is cumbersome and time consuming, and I've decided to get a head start on what I've heard to be a frustrating event. After emailing my advisor about potential candidates, he replied with the news I'd hoped to hear: that the mentor I really want as my Chair is available! Now I wait for her reply to my passionate query. Fingers crossed, I continue to think about my dissertation proposal in preparation for my August 1st course start date.

While I continue to close in on the dissertation process, it still feels so far away. Some learners are moving along at break-neck paces while others seem to be savoring every moment. I fall somewhere in the middle, enjoying what I can while using every moment I have to finish in a reasonable timeframe. My hope is that, around late December, to be ABD (all but dissertation). What a Christmas present that would be!

Ch..ch..ch..ch..changes.....

NCU has been undergoing a lot of changes lately. While many of them have resulted in chaos and confusion, at least initially, I can't help believe that what is happening will further strengthen the online programs that they offer. Online learning is pretty new, and sometimes gets a bad rap for a variety of reasons. Some people aren't familiar with online learning but have adopted a position of negativity based on ignorance...or fear...or both. Some have had online experiences that were poor, with respect to either content or framework. That's unfortunate, but it can occur within a traditionally designed program (i.e., bricks-and-mortar), as well. Some people believe it just can't be as rigorous as sitting in a classroom, but I am here to tell you it is MORE rigorous than sitting in a classroom. But, I digress.

Some prominent position staff changes have sure rocked the boat. New president, deans, provost, to name a few.....changes in academic advisors, financial folks....it's been hard to keep track of names lately. The incoming people seems to be extremely bright and intelligent, and are working hard to make needed changes to NCU.

In addition to faculty shake-up, NCU has been changing coursework content and sequence for virtually all of the program offerings. For those of us in the midst of our programs, this change has been tough. But reflecting on the old and the new, it seems readily apparent (to me, anyway), that the new is much, much better. It makes more sense, seems a bit more rigorous, and will help make NCU into a stronger online institution.

You know, a lot of schools operate on reputation. Not to pick on any college or university specifically, but you can think for yourself about some that you "just know" are good based on reputation. Does that make the education there that much better? Maybe, in some circumstances. But probably not in comparison with some other schools that just don't have that reputation. Reputation is important. It's hard to achieve, but once achieved, it just may stand the test of time. I see NCU posturing itself to start garnering a stellar reputation in the online learning community. They have the opportunity to be #1 in the nation....world, perhaps....and I am excited to be along for the ride.

My Courses

I decided to pursue a PhD in Education with an emphasis on Exceptional Student Education. While some of my graduate coursework did transfer, I need to complete a total of 54 credits (each course is worth 3 credits each). I am taking courses in three main "categories:" Fundamentals, Specialization, and Doctoral Research/Dissertation. The breakdown of courses is as follows:

FUNDAMENTALS

ED 5003 Philosophy of Education
ED 5001 Contemporary Issues in Education
ED 5020 Applied Statistics
EDR 7000 Educational Research Strategies

SPECIALIZATION

ESE 5000 Introduction to Special Education
ESE 5001 Exceptional Student Assessment
ESE 5002 Characteristics of Learning Disabled Students
ESE 5004 Teaching Methods for the Developmentally Disabled
ESE 5005 Special Education Law
ESE 5009 Transition Programs for Exceptional Students

DOCTORAL RESEARCH & DISSERTATION

RSH5981E Educational Research Design I
RSH 5982E Measurement of Constructs and Concept Paper
RSH 5983E Design, Statistics, and Data Analysis
RSH 5984E Research, Ethics, and Proposal
CMP8091E Doctoral Comprehensive Course - Education
DIS9007E Doctoral Dissertation - Proposal
DIS9017E Doctoral Dissertation - Data
DIS9027E Doctoral Dissertation Defense

I have successfully completed all Fundamentals and Specialization courses. I start my Dissertation sequence on February 1. Wish me luck!

A more detailed breakdown of the amount of time needed to complete each course will follow in a subsequent entry.

It's a Start

I have had hopes and dreams of pursuing a PhD since I was small. I found myself at the point where I was ready to tackle the quest for a terminal degree, but given my geographic location, my options were very limited. The online option had started to emerge and several online schools had emerged to the forefront. Intrigued with the possibility of fulfilling my educational goals in a new, technologically based format, I investigated several different online schools including Argosy, Walden, Northcentral, University of Phoenix, and Capella.

All of these schools appeared to offer high quality, online learning opportunities. After fully investigating the components and requirements associated with each, Northcentral rose to the top as the school that would best meet my needs. Unlike the others, Northcentral did not have a "residency requirement" - in other words, I really did NOT need to leave the comforts of my own home and laptop to complete my degree. There was no traveling to various locations around the state for a week at a time, on my dime. Because I travel extensively for work, this looked perfect.

I held my breath and submitted my application to Northcentral University in April 2007.