I was recently interviewed by Benjamin Newell, Web Editor at Norwich University. I believe this was for a featured story on SGS Today which is located at:
http://www.graduate.norwich.edu/about/sgs_today.phpHere is the interview:
1) You mentioned in a recent blog post that you have done three degrees in the past six years. I cannot remember for sure, but I seem to recall that all three degrees have been online. Is this correct? If so, what were your motivations for doing all online degrees?
Yes, I earned my A.A.S. in Information Systems and a B.S. in Management from Kaplan University. I was motivated to do this because I had been very fortunate in getting into a position as Manager of a Fortune 50 company by the time I was 30 years old. I realized that I was probably at my career ceiling without formal education. I felt that I had been very lucky and it was time to pay my dues.
In addition, I had a baby daughter on the way shortly after I started my online education and I needed to set a good example for her. These two things, without a doubt, were my motivating factors.
2) What do you see as the benefits of online education vs. a brick-and-mortar education? What do you see as potential drawbacks?
There are many benefits. One is that you can do school work anywhere and you are not tied to the same rigid schedule someone who attends brick-and-mortar institutions might be subjected to. One thing that bothers me is that online schools use "convenience" as a marketing tool. People who are not familiar with distance learning might interpret this to mean "easy". Any school worth their weight is not easy. Distance students get the same material and assignments as the on-campus students. None of it is easy. At the same time, you will get out of it what you put into it. If managed properly, distance education is more of an "opportunity".
The drawbacks are few, but significant. One thing I do miss is the interaction that normally takes place on-campus. We online students compensate by holding conference calls, online chats, and otherwise touching base as often as we can. There is a compromise that is made with distance learning and we as students have to compensate. I think the people I have gone to school with have done a pretty good job of it.
3) What do you see as the essential elements that make up a good online school vs. a bad one? How does Norwich meet this criteria, and - if you care to go into it - how, in your mind, does Norwich compare to other online schools?
The essential elements that make up an online school include accreditation, quality faculty, and a support system that facilitates the virtual learning environment. If one of these is missing, the school is failing the student. Faculty has to engage each student at a high level. They are responsible for making each class meaningful.
At both Kaplan and Norwich, there have been a (very) few instances where I wished the professor was more engaging. The message boards or discussion forums are a primary format where thoughts and ideas take root. If you have a professor who is not right in the middle of that rallying the team, it short-changes the whole class and promotes a negative image for the school. Both Kaplan and Norwich have professors that were engaging and brought out the best in the class. At the same time, some left me wondering why they were teaching. There is more to distance learning than telling a student to go read a chapter in a book and write an essay on it. Most instructors embrace this idea and a few do not.
Accreditation is also essential. I do not see a point in trying to earn a degree that is not accredited. Employers care about this. I did not get my MBA from Kaplan because they are only regionally accredited. I also wanted to try a new school. Being diverse in my willingness to learn different things in other institutions was a good thing. Being at Kaplan put me into a comfort zone that I was ready to break out of when it was all over. Norwich was certainly the solution to that problem.
As far as comparing to other schools, I only have Kaplan to compare and Norwich is on par with Kaplan. My needs are met, the level of communication from the administration has been sufficient, and I do not feel that I am lacking anything in that respect.
4) Why did you choose to do an MBA, and why did you pick Norwich for your MBA over other schools?
After completing my A.A.S. and my B.S., I felt like I had just got off a fun roller coaster ride. It was a great challenge and I felt very enlightened when I earned with those two degrees. I felt that I actually accomplished something. My mind was craving more, but at a higher level.
I had actually decided to apply at University of Dallas, Texas A&M-Commerce, or University of Houston-Victoria. A day or two before I was to send my applications off, I actually got a spam e-mail telling me about Norwich. I am not sure who sent that, but I have long since forgiven them. What appealed to me was the fact that I was able to combine my previous education (two degrees from Kaplan, one of those in Management) and my long history in the corporate world to be exempt from the first six months of the Norwich program. This made my total program a year and a half.
The other thing that appealed to me is that Norwich is almost 200 years old. This is nothing to sneeze at. The rich tradition the school has with the Corps of Cadets signifies dedication in everything the school does. I was sure that the distance learning programs would be top-notch. For the most part, I have not been disappointed.
5) How do you feel your MBA has prepared you for your new position at your new company?
I cannot compare my experience to other online MBA programs, but what I can say is that the Norwich program curriculum is amazing when you compare it to the day-to-day work environment in today’s bigger companies. I worked for Time Warner Cable for eight years and was able to apply many things from every class to what I did there. This is especially true when it comes to the leadership and strategy-type classes. It was amazing to me. For a school that is almost 200 years old, the curriculum is very modern and applicable to today’s corporate environment.
Just having the MBA stood out on my resume. My current employer focused a lot on that and I was able to speak intelligently about high-level topics during the interview process. As I move forward in this new position, there will be lots of reflection on what I learned in the program. Having the Norwich MBA also earned me a better title and a huge pay raise. So it has turned out to be a win-win situation.
6) You're very active in blogging - school experiences, photography, etc. - what value do you see in the internet for getting information out there, and what do you think is the key to keeping your message from being drowned out by the overwhelming flood of information on the web?
What would your life be like if the Internet did not exist? Think about it for a second. This question takes serious reflection to come up with an accurate answer. The truth is that the Internet has made the world smaller and flatter. It has brought cultures together and has brought education to the masses. Instead of people having to go out and forage for opportunity, it has delivered opportunity to the feet of millions of people. Now it is up to those people to take advantage of that. Still, some will ignore it. It is situations like this that create the haves and have-not’s of the world.
I am not worried about my message being drowned out by other media. My story and my experiences are just that. They are mine. Moreover, if I am afforded the opportunity to share them, I am more than happy to do so and hope that somewhere along the way I can help someone else succeed. If one person is influenced by my experiences (good or bad) I can only hope that I have armed them with the information to make an intelligent choice.