Interview: Preston DuBose, Distance Education, Texas A&M University
September 13th, 2007
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Preston DuBose from the Office of Distance Education at Texas A&M University joins us today to discuss distance education.
Tell us about the distance learning programs offered at Texas A&M University.
Texas A&M offers 20 graduate degrees and 3 graduate certificate programs by distance education. The entire list of degrees and certificates can be found at by Clicking Here.
What is the typical duration of each of your programs?
Distance programs at Texas A&M follow the same format and requirements as on-campus graduate programs, consequently the durations are roughly the same. Figure 2 to 3 years for a master’s degree and longer for a doctoral degree.
What would you say makes Texas A&M University programs different and better than other comparable online programs?
As a major research university, Texas A&M attracts world-renowned experts as a part of our faculty. The degree programs by distance education are taught by the same award-winning faculty who teach on our campus. The faculty at Texas A&M includes winners of the Nobel Prize, National Medal of Science, Pulitzer Prize, World Food Prize and Wolf Prize, with 26 holding membership in the prestigious National Academy of Sciences or the National Academy of Engineering.
How important would you say accreditation is when choosing an online college?
Accreditation should be extremely important. These days there are many accredited online colleges from which to choose. Even if you’re just taking a class for the knowledge and never expect to transfer the credit somewhere else, you’re still safer choosing an accredited college. For one thing, you never know when circumstances will change and you’ll need those college credits after all. If the college isn’t accredited, you’d be out of luck.
There is some debate as to whether or not online degrees are as worthwhile as traditional degrees. What steps does Texas A&M University take to ensure that online students are receiving the same education that they’d receive in a classroom?
In many if not most cases, at Texas A&M the syllabus for on-campus and online courses is identical. In fact, some online courses are provided with streaming video from Texas A&M’s on-campus sections. Both sets of students then have the opportunity to mingle and ask questions in online class forums. Furthermore, each program undergoes periodic, rigorous review, and online courses are treated to the exact same standards as on-campus classes. Finally, Texas A&M’s accrediting body has outlined the expectation that on-campus and online courses provide the same education, so it is something we must do to stay accredited.
What would you say are some of the benefits of earning a degree online rather than in a traditional classroom?
Online degrees generally offer the convenience of reviewing course materials at a time that best fits your schedule. Online degrees are great for working adults who can not quit their jobs and possibly even move their families near a campus. Instead you can keep working your 8-5 job, put the kids to bed at night, then log into your class and watching a lecture or read your assignments.
Another fringe benefit is that online classes can actually be better structured than their classroom counterparts. We’ve all probably had a least one classroom professor who always showed up at the last minute and lectured off the cuff with no clear teaching goal. However, teaching online requires that the lessons be prepared in advance.
If a student enrolled in one of your programs was interested in finding an internship in their field in their area, do you have any means of assisting them in acquiring an internship position?
While faculty can help our students find internships in their fields, most of the distance students enrolled in Texas A&M’s graduate programs are already employed. In many cases, their employer is actually helping to defray the cost of their educations.
Does Texas A&M University offer any job placement services to your students and graduates?
Texas A&M’s Career Center serves all students at Texas A&M, regardless of whether or not they can come to the Career Center. The Career Center offers advising by e-mail, an electronic portfolio, and a web-based Aggie job board with positions posted by employers from all over the world.
Is financial aid available to students in your programs?
Yes. In most ways, at Texas A&M distance students are treated the same as on-campus students and financial aid is no exception.
Do you have any advice for students enrolling in online classes for the first time?
You will need strong time management skills. Schedule a certain time of day—even if it’s 10 PM—to work on your class material. If you don’t block out the time and treat it just like classroom time, you’ll find other activities crowding out your study time.
To Request more information about the distance learning programs available through Texas A&M University, Go here to visit them online.
Thank you Preston, for sharing and participating in this piece for Online Degrees 2.0
That concludes our interview!
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February 4th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
A FEW WORDS ABOUT DISSERTATIONS AND DISTANCE LEARNING
The most rigorous part of the dissertation includes the
Methods Section
Study Design
Research questions and hypothesis formulation
Development of instrumentation
Describing the independent and dependent variables
Writing the data analysis plan
Performing a Power Analysis to justify the sample size and writing about it
Results Section
Performing the Data Analysis
Understanding the analysis results
Reporting the results.
When you enter this phase of the program, you are nearing the end of the journey. Given the difficulty of this phase, one often wishes they had previewed what was to come.
Many Ph.D candidates seem to hit a brick wall and feel disarmed when called upon to work on the methods and results section of their dissertation.
This is the point where many students diligently search for help calling on their advisor, peers, university assistance and even Google.
This is also the time when the student asks themselves the question” HOW MUCH HELP IS TOO MUCH”.
Surely no one will deny that having your dissertation written for you is very wrong.
On the other hand, it is not unusual for doctoral students to get help on specific aspects of their dissertation.(e.g. APA formating and editing) It also is not unusual for advisors to encourage students to seek outside help.
If you are a distance learning student it is almost essential you seek outside assistance for the methods and results section of your dissertation. The very nature of distance learning suggest the need for not only outside help but help from someone gifted in explaining highly technical concepts in understandible language by telephone and e-mail.
Distance learning, and the avaiability of programs, has increased exponetially over the last few years with some of the most respected institutions (Columbia University, Engineering; Boston University and others) offering a Ph.D in a variety of fields. If you are enrolled in a distance learning program, or considering one, you will be interested in reviewing the reference sites listed at the bottom of this page.
As stated above, many students hit their dissertation “brick wall” when they encounter the statistics section. Frequently, a student will struggle for months with that section before they seek a consultant to help them. This often leads to additional tuition costs and missed graduation dates.
If I were to name a single reason why a PhD candidate gets off track in their program it is the statistics and their fear of statistics.
So, the question is whether or not it is ethical to get help at all. If so, how much help is too much.
I don’t know if there has ever been a survey of dissertation committee members who were asked this question, however, I know many advisors take the following position when they suggest or approve outside help:
To a large extent the process is self controlling. If the student relies too much on a consultant, the product may look good, however, the student will be unable to defend his/her dissertation.
It takes a committed effort on the part of the student and the consultant (resulting in a collaborative/teaching exchange) to have the student responsible for the data and thoroughly understand the statistics. The day the student walks in front of the committee to defend, there should be no question as to his/her understanding of statistics.
When their defense is successful, the question of “was the help too much” is answered.
If you are a Ph.D candidate and would like additional information, you may email me at:
Boyd
boyd67@comcast.net
Reference sites:
http://www.usdla.org/
http://www.cgsnet.org/
http://www.statisticallysignificantconsulting.com/