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Comparative Analysis Of 105 Higher Education Doctoral Programs In The United States

The mission types of 105 current doctoral programs in higher education and the extent to which their missions have changed since a similar study was conducted by Dressel and Mayhew in 1974 was studied. The curricula offerings of these programs by degree type (e.g., Ed.D. & Ph.D.) were compared with Fife’s 1991 findings. Finally, the study examined the various modes of instruction (e.g., classroom, online, cohort, blended) these programs utilize. The population was the 131 U.S. higher education doctoral program coordinators or directors who were identified using the ASHE Higher Education Program Directory. A total of 46 hosted Ed.D. programs and 59 hosted Ph.D. programs for a combined total of 105 doctoral programs. An electronic survey, developed by utilizing an expert panel and the cognitive interviewing technique, was sent to each participant. A total of 46 hosted Ed.D. programs and 59 hosted Ph.D. programs for a combined total of 105 doctoral programs. A total of 77 institutions (59%) returned usable questionnaires, and six other universities (5%) indicated their doctoral higher education programs no longer existed. Twenty-three of the responding institutions identified with a research-focused mission; 25 institutions identified with a practitioner-based mission; and 28 institutions identified with both types of missions. Pearson r correlation analysis revealed no statistically significant relationship between degree type and course offerings (r = .123, p = .05). However, ? 2 revealed that, compared to Ed.D. programs, Ph.D. programs enrolled significantly more full-time students (? 2 (3) = 14.504, p < .05). Through further analysis, a core of nine courses emerged for more than 75% of all higher education doctoral programs. Those courses are general administration of higher education, finance of higher education, legal studies, history of higher education, philosophy and theoretical foundations of higher education, teaching/learning in higher education, student affairs administration, college student research, and a dissertation seminar. Nearly 80% of all doctoral programs utilize some form of alternate delivery method (e.g., online, cohort, blended) in addition to traditional classroom instruction. Furthermore, Ph.D. programs employ larger full-time faculties, conduct more research, obtain more external funding, and publish more scholarship than Ed.D. programs.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc103404
Date12 1900
CreatorsValerin, Marcus P.
ContributorsBaier, John L., Whitson, Kathleen K., Hafer, Myra W.
PublisherUniversity of North Texas
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
FormatText
RightsPublic, Valerin, Marcus P., Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved.

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