My Norwich University Experience : Commentary

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!

Add to:

Education Benefits for the Unemployed

WheelCipher — Tue, 12 May 2009 09:04:00 GMT

The Obama administration is doing some good things with education. In an economic downturn like the one we are in right now, people are seeking out opportunities to gain new skills and re-tool themselves for jobs that might become available in the future. People are also working to facilitate career changes while they are out of work. In order to make that happen, education is the key ingredient.

The president outlined a plan under which the Department of Education will provide legal guidance to schools encouraging them to increase financial aid packages for the unemployed so they can enroll in educational and training programs while keeping their unemployment benefits.

Current unemployment rules create a problem for the unemployed looking to go to school. In most cases, if a person is receiving unemployment benefits, they have to be actively looking for a job. If they want to get more education or training, they have to give up unemployment benefits. If people return to school, they do not qualify for federal education grants since, in most cases, the qualification is based on the previous year's income.

The unemployment benefits that are offered to people who have lost their job are intended to be a safety net of sorts so people can sustain themselves in between jobs. I believe that enhancing the program in the way I described above is a great move. I think this benefits a lot of people and society in general. I believe that most people would rather work than collect benefits. At the same time, this plan gives the unemployed the tools to succeed down the road.

An educated populous is the foundation of a successful republic.

For more information on this plan, see www.opportunity.gov

Add to:

Illegal Education

WheelCipher — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 01:26:00 GMT

Politics and education came to a head this week when The College Board released a report that cites a need for federal legislation that would open up in-state college tuition, financial aid and legal status to many illegal immigrants in the U.S.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/6383965.html

I am not against anyone going to school. I do not care what country a person comes from. If they choose to come to the United States and attend college, I am in favor of it. The only thing I would ask is that they come into the country legally or be in the process of becoming legal. That’s all.

There are people from all over the world in this country attending college. I do not claim to be the smartest person in the world. Perhaps I do not know all of the intricacies of immigration. Nonetheless, I do not think it is asking too much for students to be in this country legally. I also do not believe it is the job of the state or federal government to reward illegal immigration (illegal being the operative word here) with the opportunity.

An excerpt from this article made me ask some questions -

Since 2001, when the Dream Act was introduced in Congress, 10 states have passed laws allowing undocumented students who graduate from in-state high schools to qualify for in-state tuition rates. Advocates of the federal Dream Act, expecting a more friendly reception from President Obama and a strengthened Democratic congressional majority, are launching a new effort to pass the bill this year.

I am not sure why we are even talking about illegal immigrants going to school. Why are we not discussing (1) How to get a better control on immigration, and (2) How to help people become legal, productive members of our country.

We are an open society and welcome people from anywhere. Diversity is a good thing. I don’t think that insisting that people become “legal” by way of citizenship, visa, etc … in order to take advantage of our resources is not asking too much.

Add to:

Interview for SGS Today

WheelCipher — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 12:00:00 GMT

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.php

Here 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.

Add to:

The End is Near

WheelCipher — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:35:00 GMT

Every day I go to work at my new job, I realize one thing: My days of distance education are probably ending.

The biggest regret I have about leaving my old company is that it ran smoothly and I had a lot of “spare” time to get some participation in schoolwork, discussion forums, and other requirements. Now I guess I realize that I was probably not living in the “real” work world. However, the truth is that I needed to grow professionally and staying at the old company would prevent that from happening. With a higher position, more money and “real” work, there is a trade-off.

I just do not see myself doing homework from a hotel room two nights a week after working what could be a ten-hour day sometimes, or getting home after a long day and having to do more work, only to have school assignments hanging over my head. It’s an obligation I don’t think I can manage at this point.

I have about seven weeks left in my MBA program at Norwich. I will fly up to Vermont for graduation in June, and while I do not like to use the word “never”, I believe that is the end of my online education for a while. As much as I would love to get another Master’s degree or a PhD, I just do not see it happening. The burden is too great.

Distance education has been great for me. I now realize how lucky I was to have so much free time at my last job. If I had this job back then, the challenge would have been even greater. Moreover, if I had decided to go to school, online would be the only way I would be able to accomplish that. I now have a new-found respect for people who earn degrees online while maintaining a full time job and a family. Even though I did the same thing, my circumstances were quite different.

The great thing is that if this job works out for me, there are TONS of opportunities to apply what I have learned. This is especially true for the Norwich MBA program. Even in my assignments that I am doing now in the waning weeks of the last class, I cannot help but to compare some of the case studies to what my new company is trying to do. Therefore, with any luck, everything will work out in the end.

Perhaps I’ll re-evaluate the school thing in six months or a year. Only time will tell.

Add to: