Is the Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A) a viable degree option for those wishing a career in academe? The D.B.A. degree is often considered to be a professional degree, in-tended for business practitioners, while the Doctor of... more
Is the Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A) a viable degree option for those wishing a career in academe? The D.B.A. degree is often considered to be a professional degree, in-tended for business practitioners, while the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is por-trayed as the degree for preparing college or university faculty. Conversely, many academic programs market their D.B.A. programs to future academicians. In this study, we investigat-ed whether the D.B.A. is, in fact, a viable faculty credential by gathering data from univer-sity catalogs and doctoral program websites and handbooks from 427 graduate business and management programs to analyze the terminal degrees held by 6159 faculty. The analysis indicated that 173 institutions (just over 40% of the total) employed 372 faculty whose ter-minal degree was the D.B.A. This constituted just over 6% of the total number of faculty. Additionally, the program and faculty qualification standards of the six regional accrediting agencies and the three programmatic accrediting agencies for business programs (AACSB, IACBE, and ACBSP) were analyzed. Results indicated that all these accrediting agencies treated the D.B.A. and Ph.D. in business identically and that the D.B.A. was universally considered to be a valid credential for teaching business at the university level. Suggestions for future research are also offered.
Purpose – Course management systems (CMS) have an increasing role in information technologies found in all schools and learning environments today. Commonly, the backbone for how faculty teach distance education, CMS also has a role in... more
Purpose – Course management systems (CMS) have an increasing role in information technologies found in all schools and learning environments today. Commonly, the backbone for how faculty teach distance education, CMS also has a role in classroom activities as faculty and instructors mount curriculum for students to consult and use at their own level and pace. Design/methodology/approach – This article
Employers are seeking candidates with uniquely human, or “soft” skills to survive and thrive in their future careers. This article aims to illuminate the soft skills gap of STEM undergraduate students by understanding the soft skills that... more
Employers are seeking candidates with uniquely human, or “soft” skills to survive and thrive in their future careers. This article aims to illuminate the soft skills gap of STEM undergraduate students by understanding the soft skills that will be needed in the future of work and the soft skills that students are currently missing. These skills include teamwork, collaboration, leadership, problem-solving, critical thinking, work ethic, persistence, emotional intelligence, organizational skills, creativity, interpersonal communication, and conflict resolution. To address this soft skills gap, this paper also explores various collaboration strategies between employers and academic institutions, such as working jointly on curriculum, raising awareness, establishing leadership support, and building communities of success. These can be implemented to enhance the soft skills capabilities of STEM undergraduate students entering the workforce. This qualitative research examined STEM employer...
Several strategies are presented that have been used in computer-literacy courses and been found to be successful for reducing computer anxiety and increasing computer confidence in preservice teachers: (1) give them an overview; (2)... more
Several strategies are presented that have been used in computer-literacy courses and been found to be successful for reducing computer anxiety and increasing computer confidence in preservice teachers: (1) give them an overview; (2) speak in their language; (3) find the friendliest computer system; (4) have them play; (5) make the computer fit them; (6) look under the hood to see what makes it tick; (7) give them a tour of the system; (8) tell them how it works; (9) start with simplicity and success; (10) teach self-regulated learning strategies; (11) use cooperative learning strategies; (12) keep their hands on the wheel; (13) let them know what computers can't do; (14) make their professional lives easier; (15) make their personal lives easier; (16) introduce them to the whole gang (different formats and software); (17) teach for both the artist and the scientist; (18) use the computer for quizzing; (19) take a drive along the information highway; (20) provide peers as lab as...
As enrollment of students in online courses has steadily increased over the last few decades, very little attention has been given to online instructor evaluation. This is an area of online education that needs additional research to... more
As enrollment of students in online courses has steadily increased over the last few decades, very little attention has been given to online instructor evaluation. This is an area of online education that needs additional research to better ascertain the current state of online instructor evaluation as well as discover ways to improve its effectiveness. The purpose of this study is to identify how institutions evaluate online instructors and why. Findings indicated that the post-secondary institutions studied utilized many types of evaluation including student evaluations, administrative evaluations, peer evaluations, self-evaluations, and metrics in their evaluations. Recommendations for the use of triangulation, course observation rubrics, formative evaluations, and metrics as part of an online instructor evaluation system are provided.
A research and development project was undertaken to document, analyze and report the effects of implementing a free/open educational resources (OER) initiative within Sullivan University’s College of Business Administration. The project... more
A research and development project was undertaken to document, analyze and report the effects of implementing a free/open educational resources (OER) initiative within Sullivan University’s College of Business Administration. The project involved the redesign of courses using no-cost textbooks and other educational resources, in place of resources costing students hundreds of dollars per course. Quantitative data were gathered from 311 students enrolled in sections of two widely-used undergraduate courses over four quarters. Qualitative data were gathered from interviews of faculty and instructional designers involved with the project. Results indicated that students in the OER courses were more satisfied with the cost and quality of the courses and the instructional materials and were more likely to recommend the course to others, compared to students in Pre-OER courses. The use of OER based on student learning outcomes was judged by faculty subject matter experts and instructional...
In this article, a popular model for organizational development is utilized as a framework for assessing the organizational readiness and capacity of educational institutions whose leaders wish to establish or expand their online/distance... more
In this article, a popular model for organizational development is utilized as a framework for assessing the organizational readiness and capacity of educational institutions whose leaders wish to establish or expand their online/distance education programs. Examples of institutionalization factors to consider and alternative models for assessing readiness and capacity are also provided. Introduction Online/distance education is widely recognized as a way for higher education institutions to increase their student enrollment and graduation levels, and to provide flexibility for non-traditional students, whose employment, health, family or other circumstances are not conducive to a traditional academic schedule (Clinefelter & Aslanian, 2015). Throughout the new millennium, online education has been the fastest growing segment of higher education, even during recent years of historic declines in overall U.S. higher education enrollments (Allen, Seaman, Poulin, & Straut, 2016). A recen...
Amid the continued growth of online learning—and concerns about its quality—a number of different groups have moved to establish tools, such as rubrics and standards for online course quality. This paper highlights the development of the... more
Amid the continued growth of online learning—and concerns about its quality—a number of different groups have moved to establish tools, such as rubrics and standards for online course quality. This paper highlights the development of the Instructional Design Standards for Distance Learning by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology. AECT is the leading international professional association for the scholarly study and practice of instructional design. Also featured is a comparison with other popular tools and suggestions for use of the AECT Standards Introduction With approximately 30% of college and university students nationwide enrolled in one or more online courses, it is safe to say that distance learning has become fully institutionalized into the fabric of U.S. higher education (Piña, 2008; Seaman, Allen & Seaman, 2018). In spite of the national trend of decreased enrollments at colleges and universities during the past few years, enrollments in online c...
The anxiety or confidence that teachers display towards computers and other new technologies is a subject which should be of prime importance to teacher educators and educational technologists. Many teachers feel ill-prepared and resist... more
The anxiety or confidence that teachers display towards computers and other new technologies is a subject which should be of prime importance to teacher educators and educational technologists. Many teachers feel ill-prepared and resist the integration of computers and other technologies into their instruction. Since 1976 there has been a growing body of literature on the subject of teachers' attitudes towards computers, pointing out that teacher educators and teacher preparation programs could play a vital role in helping teachers become less anxious and more confident computer users. Many states now require an educational technology component in .reservice teacher training, most often taking the form of a basic applications or "computers in education" course. Eleven strategies that have been utilized successfully in teacher education courses at three universities are outlined. According to course evaluations and interviews with preservice teachers, these strategies h...
Employers are seeking candidates with uniquely human, or “soft” skills to survive and thrive in their future careers. This article aims to illuminate the soft skills gap of STEM undergraduate students by understanding the soft skills that... more
Employers are seeking candidates with uniquely human, or “soft” skills to survive and thrive in their future careers. This article aims to illuminate the soft skills gap of STEM undergraduate students by understanding the soft skills that will be needed in the future of work and the soft skills that students are currently missing. These skills include teamwork, collaboration, leadership, problem-solving, critical thinking, work ethic, persistence, emotional intelligence, organizational skills, creativity, interpersonal communication, and conflict resolution. To address this soft skills gap, this paper also explores various collaboration strategies between employers and academic institutions, such as working jointly on curriculum, raising awareness, establishing leadership support, and building communities of success. These can be implemented to enhance the soft skills capabilities of STEM undergraduate students entering the workforce. This qualitative research examined STEM employer...
Is the Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A) a viable degree option for those wishing a career in academe? The D.B.A. degree is often considered to be a professional degree, in-tended for business practitioners, while the Doctor of... more
Is the Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A) a viable degree option for those wishing a career in academe? The D.B.A. degree is often considered to be a professional degree, in-tended for business practitioners, while the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree is por-trayed as the degree for preparing college or university faculty. Conversely, many academic programs market their D.B.A. programs to future academicians. In this study, we investigat-ed whether the D.B.A. is, in fact, a viable faculty credential by gathering data from univer-sity catalogs and doctoral program websites and handbooks from 427 graduate business and management programs to analyze the terminal degrees held by 6159 faculty. The analysis indicated that 173 institutions (just over 40% of the total) employed 372 faculty whose ter-minal degree was the D.B.A. This constituted just over 6% of the total number of faculty. Additionally, the program and faculty qualification standards of the six regional accrediting ...
