My Norwich University Experience : Distance Education

My Final Post to the Norwich Blog

WheelCipher — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:47:00 GMT

Today marks the end of my postings on the Norwich University blog at eLearners. In the next few days, I will begin my new blog that will focus on my next “adventure in education” as I earn my Doctor of Business Administration at Walden University. I have already enrolled and begin classes on June 29. As I write this, that is a mere six hours away. Even though I have not done any work, there is already a lot to write.

I want to close out this final post on my Norwich blog with the following statement:

When I decided to go to graduate school, the word “Norwich” had never crossed my mind or my lips. Living a few thousand miles away from Vermont, I believe that I have a valid excuse. I already had my choice of schools narrowed down to three and Norwich was not one of them.

Then I received an email informing be about Norwich. After doing some investigating, I signed up for the MBA program. Being a school that was nearly 200 years old, I knew the education I would receive would be of high quality. I was not disappointed. The 18 months I spent in that program was more challenging than four years of undergraduate work. Moreover, the residency program at the end was an event that made it all worth it.

During this adventure, I met some of the most interesting people and learned things that I do not know that I would have been exposed to at another institution. Everyone on the faculty, administration, student body and ever nook and cranny of Norwich has been a pleasure to work with.

The visit to Vermont was something I will never forget! I have lived in the city and in the country. I have seen mountains and desert. Nevertheless, I can honestly say that Vermont is unique in a way that I cannot explain. It is a beautiful, humble place that I will visit in the future.

Now I am on to other challenges. Of the three schools I will have attended when I graduate with my D.B.A., I will only wear the Norwich ring. I will look back at Norwich as my most memorable experience.

Norwich Forever!

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Narrowed Down to Two

WheelCipher — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:47:00 GMT

It has only been a week since I walked across the stage and received my diploma from Norwich University. In that short time, I am itching to get back in the game. I said in my last post that I would have a decision about the next step in my journey soon. But it will not be in this post, unfortunately.

I spent the better part of the day looking at my options. After weeding out a lot of those, I have narrowed them down to the D.B.A. (Doctor of Business Administration) from Walden University and the M.A. in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University.

I spent a lot of time on the phone today with the nice folks at Capella University and Walden. I got a lot of information about the programs. I really think that I have completely abandoned the PhD idea. The cost (no matter where you go) is huge. On top of that, I am looking at another four years to complete it. While I do want to go back to school, I do not want to do four more years. Three is my maximum at this point.

Both the D.B.A. from Walden and the M.A. from Gonzaga both have objectives that really appeal to me in a big way. Moreover, the Walden option has textbooks built into the cost. I know that seems somewhat trivial to some, but knowing that I do not have to go purchase books on my own is a big plus. That is the way it was at Kaplan and Norwich. It is what I am used to.

I will be making a decision by Monday. I believe both programs have start dates that grow closer by the day. I do not recall the research and decisions about my MBA being this difficult. But maybe I have a short memory.

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Something About Gonzaga

WheelCipher — Sun, 24 May 2009 23:01:00 GMT

I have been thinking a lot about what to do next (if anything) in regards to education now that I am just about done with the MBA program at Norwich. The obvious choices are to go get another Master’s degree or a PhD.

There are two drawbacks to the PhD. One deterrent is obviously the cost of the program. An online PhD will run me about the same as my undergrad and my MBA combined. A lot of that will be handled with student aid, but this would also require me to chip in a lot. I do not mind doing that, but in an uncertain economy, it is a gamble.

The other concern is the time it would take. It will probably take me about four years. That is a huge addition to the six years I have already invested. I need to ask myself if I really want to invest that much time.

One thing that attracts me to a second Master’s degree is the “servant leadership” focus with the Master's in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University. Gonzaga's liberal arts tradition lies in its core curriculum, which integrates philosophy, religious studies, mathematics, literature, natural and social sciences, and extensive writing in each major discipline.

Servant-leadership emphasizes the leader's role as steward of the resources (human, financial and otherwise) provided by the organization. It encourages leaders to serve others while staying focused on achieving results in line with the organization's values and integrity.

I have spoken to one of the program coordinators at Gonzaga and this program runs about $27,000 and lasts two years. Furthermore, the topic of leadership is something I am very interested in from a management perspective. In my many years of being a manager, there is a lot of stuff I know. But I suspect that this program will enlighten me to more than I ever suspected (much like the MBA program at Norwich).

I am in “personal development” mode right now and this looks interesting to say the least.

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The Final Exam

WheelCipher — Mon, 11 May 2009 02:35:00 GMT

A tremendous milestone was accomplished this weekend. Graduation is one step closer.

In order to graduate from the Norwich MBA program, all students have to take a comprehensive exam. It was kind of a surprise when it was announced we had to take one. We were not sure what to study. Since I was able to evaluate my strengths and weaknesses, I focused on studying the finance part of the course. I am glad I did.

The test took three hours and had a ton of questions. The focus was primarily on finance, numbers, formulas, etc. There was some management theory mixed in for good measure, but the “numbers” part was the most prominent section. I am not sure it was a “comprehensive” exam. I wished it had more strategic management and marketing. But it is what it is. In the end, I passed.

Right now, I am working on the final assignment. It is due at the end of the week. After that, I only wait for graduation. It has been a very challenging year and a half. Looking back, I have no regrets picking Norwich for my graduate education.

In my copious spare time, I continue to look for a job where I can apply the knowledge I have gained through school and many years of experience. But I have to admit, having time off is a lot more fun than I thought it would be. When people lose their job, there is usually some sense of concern (and rightfully so). I have been a full time employee and full time student for the last six years. I have no regrets taking some time off. It feels good.

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More Fan Mail From Viking

WheelCipher — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:00:00 GMT

It is I again. Since you are in Texas, I was wondering which graduate business school is generally viewed as more favorable by the people down there. University of Houston or the University of Texas? In addition, when I refer to UT, I do not mean the McCombs School Business at UT Austin, but rather the MBA programs at the other UT campuses, such as Arlington. I like both online programs, although I am leaning toward UT because one of the required courses at UH is Calculus and I really want to avoid taking Calculus if I can. In addition, do you think going to a Texas school makes sense if I plan to work in NYC or DC?

These are good questions. First, in Texas, if you go to an accredited school, you should not have any problems. Obviously, UT Austin is the big fish in this pond, but it is not the only good school in the state. I looked at the business programs at many Texas schools at some point and was not turned off by any of them.

If you are looking for an on-campus experience, I would be fine attending any school in Texas myself. If you are looking for an online experience, I know that the University of Houston at Victoria, University of Dallas and others offer that. I also know that UT Dallas offers the MBA program. It is not a cheap program, either. It was about $50k last time I checked. Moreover, that was for in-state residents. Things may have changed since the last time I checked. Do some homework and find out which one works for you.

Overall, I cannot tell you NOT to go to any of the Texas schools. Working in NYC or DC should not matter at all. It should have no bearing on the situation. People all over the country and world get their degrees from one geographical location and move to another for the purpose of work. You just need to see which one works for you and meets your needs.

I hope this helps.

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