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[whitneyac]

Hello! I am currently applying for the Ed.D in Community College Leadership on-line program through Morgan State University for this upcoming Fall 2012 semester. I am excited, yet nervous because of the debt I may be in in the future. Is it normal for me to feel that way?

I plan on earning it on-line while currently working as Program Manager of an academic program, so I am gaining work experience and coursework. Some people tell me it is too soon because I just started this position last month (January 2012) and some tell me I am too young at 26 years old but I don't want to wait too long. Plus I am also always yearning for experience and knowledge.

I would try to do evening courses and apply at the university where I work, but my job has it to where I may be working evenings as well as traveling, and I want to be in class.

I am now hoping to become Director or Dean of Student Affairs.

Any advice?

Thanks!

[strangelyamused]

DO. NOT. DO. IT. Find any other program, anywhere, and you will likely have a better experience. My colleague is in the program and it has been a disaster almost from the beginning.  Unqualified faculty, incompetent administration, outdated syllabi, students left to fend for themselves with no guidance from the instructors...  There are people like you being admitted into the cohorts who do not have the requisite background or years of experience to be in a doctoral program. You would do better to work a couple of years, gain the knowledge which will allow you to meaningfully contribute, and then apply to a more rigorous program.  If you set on starting in the fall and are out of state, take a look at UMUC which offers the same program. Although I don't know anyone in the Community College Program there, I have three coworkers who are completing other degrees at UMUC and they have no complaints about their experiences.   

[whitneyac]

I am glad you spoke on that. I am so glad I haven't paid the application fee yet.
I am also thinking of possibly starting next year to a school within my city. I am still weighing my options, but something told me not to pay the application fee.

[msparticularity]

The first thing you need to realize--before you even consider any other programs--is that the degree alone will not qualify you for the kind of upper-level professional position in this field that you aspire to. Most of all, an online degree is not going to equip you to be a dean or a program director. Before you go any farther, spend some time looking at the overall qualifications of the people occupying these positions at your own institution and others as well. Pay attention not only to their degrees, but to their relevant experiences in postsecondary settings.