Locating a Position with an Online Degree

[drjazzie]

Can someone please recommend a solution?

I completed my Ph.D. via Capella University.  I worked extremely and my research was original.  I have been teaching online for five years as an adjunct.

Here is the problem, it appears that colleges view the value of my degree as nothing.  I interviewed at a college and was told that my mistake was going through Capella.

Can anyone advise options?  I am totally lost and in such a funk over this. 

I have had my CV reviewed by professionals -  I have checked the references and they are not a problem.   

Any recommendations or thoughts?

Thanks

[alsorun]

If you learned online, you can find a position teaching online.

Can someone please recommend a solution?

I completed my Ph.D. via Capella University.  I worked extremely and my research was original.  I have been teaching online for five years as an adjunct.

Here is the problem, it appears that colleges view the value of my degree as nothing.  I interviewed at a college and was told that my mistake was going through Capella.

Can anyone advise options?  I am totally lost and in such a funk over this. 

I have had my CV reviewed by professionals -  I have checked the references and they are not a problem.   

Any recommendations or thoughts?

Thanks

[mozman]

You can get a job at an online institution.  You MAY be able to gain a position at a comunity college or a low-tier university.  You will never get a job at a research university.  I doubt you would even get a job at a second-tier masters or bachelors-only institution.

Sucks, but them's the breaks.  Degrees from online institutions are not valued in academia, and are not seen to be of the same quality or rigor.  Doesn't matter how hard you worked.  You are screwed.

I would only recommend an online PhD if it is just needed to jump through a hoop - on online EdD, for a school principal for example.  NO one who wants a career in academia should get one.  You should have done your homework.

What can you do?  Nothing, except start over and get another degree at an accredited, brick-and-mortar school.  This is probably not an option for you, or you would have done it the first time.  Even if you did it, it would not neccessarally get you a job, as many discussions on this forum will tell.

mm

[yellowtractor]

Mozman put it cruelly, but he's right.  Yes, it's a prejudice.  Yes, I'm sure you worked hard.  No, it doesn't count, or won't, not in the eyes of most SC's at 4-year brick-and-mortar schools.

I suppose you could continue to teach on-line while building up your c.v. in other ways that matter, i.e. publications, professional activity (conferences and the like), etc.  This would take years, though, and in the end the source of your terminal degree might still be an issue.

And of course, as Mozman notes, even a Ph.D. from a prestigious brick-and-mortar school is no guarantee in today's job market.

[larryc]

An awesome set of publications can save you. Get to work.

[prytania3]

You can get a job at an online institution.  You MAY be able to gain a position at a comunity college or a low-tier university. 

Not likely at a cc either. Most cc's are hiring PhD's from brick and mortar schools since there is a surfeit of them floating around.

[zharkov]

An awesome set of publications can save you. Get to work.

Ditto on the pubs.

About adjuncting, do you have the equivalent of a year or two teaching experience in the classroom?  If not, keep at it.

Apply very widely.  If you are in management, you may have a shot, but apply for lots of jobs.  (Wild guess, you need to apply for something like 50 maybe 100 jobs.)  Apply to teaching oriented schools, including CCs; forget research oriented universities and tony liberal arts colleges. The high season for hiring is fall and winter.  In addition to looking for jobs at the Chron, look for job listings from your professional associations.

[mozman]

Mozman put it cruelly...

Well, I didn't mean to be cruel. But the OP needs a wake-up call.  If they were able to publish their way out of this mess (the only possible solution), they would have done it already and wouldn't be posting.  If they want to stay in academia, they need to focus on what they can do (online or low-tier teaching) and stop thinking about research universities etc...

Now, if the OP is open to leaving academia, that Capella PhD may come in handy.  Many people outside academia won't know or care about the difference.

Sorry to be blunt, but sugar-coating doesn't help anyone.

mm

[london1]

Have you tried the non-profit schools such as Phoenix, Kaplan and others?

[adhoc]

Well, I didn't mean to be cruel. But the OP needs a wake-up call.  If they were able to publish their way out of this mess (the only possible solution), they would have done it already and wouldn't be posting.

I didn't think that you were cruel.  Blunt, perhaps, but that's not the same thing.  As for whether the OP would have built up a publication list by now if he were able to, that may or may not be true.  It is not clear how long the OP has had the degree.

In any case, it is unfortunate that the OP did not asak these questions before choosing a school.  It is also curious that he points out that he did original research as part of meeting the degree requirements as if that wasn't given.  On the other hand it could just be an attempt to convince us (himself?) that the degree is as good any other.

[drjazzie]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.  I just completed the degree late last year.

Presently, I am working on publications and figured that was the only way to move forward.  I have five publications so far.

I applied for nonacademic positions and am currently interviewing with three offers on the table.  I have given up the dream of finding a faculty postion.   As someone posted, the business world is not concerned with the degree issue as long as it is from an accredited institution.

To think that I left a Ph.D. program in a traditional brick and mortar institution to pursue the degree at Capella (because they offered a focus in my specialization) makes me sick.  My professor at the brick and mortar school received his degree via the same school (Capella) and was department chair.   As the old saying goes - live and learn!   What a mess and dissapointment. 

Thank you for the advice and recommendations.




 

[ea15792]

I really think it depends on what your Ph.D. is in, and then your dissertation's focus.  Because I know a few people who earned their Ph.D.'s at online or other nontraditional institutions who found positions at bricks and mortar schools.  However, all of these people had a Ph.D. in business, but years of experience in industry and an MBA.

So I think if your Ph.D. is in business (or some other field that is in very high demand), and if you have significant industry experience, that you will be able to find a teaching position.  But, it will probably be in lowest-tier SLACs or a non-traditional institution.

[larryc]

DrJazzie, don't give up so quickly.  What is your field?  As others have said, if it is one of the more professionally-oriented fields (business, criminal justice, etc.) you might very well have a shot at teaching at a decent four-year school such as mine. If you are in the sciences or humanities the online degree is a negative, but five publications are pretty impressive. If you had some classroom teaching experience as well we might take a look at you.

Go ahead and take the job in industry. But if you want to keep the academic dream alive try to adjunct a course or two. Make it a classroom course to counter balance the online degree. Present at a conference each year and keep applying.

[georgia_guy]

I really think it depends on what your Ph.D. is in, and then your dissertation's focus.  Because I know a few people who earned their Ph.D.'s at online or other nontraditional institutions who found positions at bricks and mortar schools.  However, all of these people had a Ph.D. in business, but years of experience in industry and an MBA.

So I think if your Ph.D. is in business (or some other field that is in very high demand), and if you have significant industry experience, that you will be able to find a teaching position.  But, it will probably be in lowest-tier SLACs or a non-traditional institution.

Colleges of Business are not typically more accepting of the online university Ph.D.s. As far as I know, at this time, not one of the online Ph.D. programs is accredited by AACSB (or the other business accrediting bodies either). A Ph.D. from a non-AACSB school would be nothing but wallpaper at my college, and we are a master's granting University with no Ph.D. programs.

Now, as to people with years of profession experience, and an MBA from an AASCB school, we might be able to hire them as "Professionally Qualified". But if someone was in that situation, and also had a Ph.D. from a non-accredited (professionally) school, it would be made clear that they were not being hired for the degree.

Now, if the college is not AACSB accredited, and isn't seeking to become accredited, they may be more interested in that type of degree. Most likely, that would be a private, for profit college, regardless of whether it was online, or brick and mortar. Honestly, we'd be more likely to hire an someone with an accredited MBA and 18 hours in field, than a Ph.D. from a non-accredited school.

[tireman4]

An awesome set of publications can save you. Get to work.

Amen.