Ohio University will begin in the fall another cycle of a program that has been helping professors and administrators at OU and other universities in the region improve their skills for 20 years.
About 140 students have completed the Executive Ph.D. Program in Higher Education at OU since 1983, including OU Dean of Students Terry Hogan and Residence Life Director Joseph Burke, said Robert Young, professor of higher education.
"The program is geared toward people who are already working in administrative positions in higher education and want to further their credentials and further their education," said Joy Rodgers, public affairs coordinator for the dean of the College of Education.
The students progress through their coursework over nine quarters by meeting every other weekend at the OU Athens or Lancaster campuses. Throughout that time, they remain with the same "cohort," a group of about 20 other students.
"It's an advantage that they can put in a full week of work and then get together," Young said. "They've told me that they couldn't do it otherwise."
Working with peers with similar jobs at other schools is also a key element, Young said. Students in the seventh cycle, which is now in its last quarter, include faculty members from OU as well as schools such as the University of Dayton, Xavier University, Ohio Dominican University and Columbus State Community College, Young said.
"The personal contact every other week has a positive impact on people staying in the program," he said. "It also enables everyone to get an idea of how someone else's organization works."
Leigh Trapp, director of the OU Pickerington Center, a part of the Lancaster branch, is a member of the cohort that is now in its last quarter. She said she finds her work toward a doctorate has already had an impact on her career.
"Going through the process for me has been like a mentorship, because everything I've done has been immediately applicable to my job," she said. "It's help in strengthening both the program at the Pickerington Center and the quality of support we can give our students."
The courses in the program focus on a range of areas relevant to higher education. One example that Young pointed out is finance and budgeting in higher education.
"Today's financial situation is a major concern to all of us," he said. "Not only are students looking at the general principles, but applying them toward the question, 'How do I make my budget work?'"
Young has organized informational meetings throughout southern Ohio for the next cycle, which begins Fall Quarter. The first of the remaining five is today at the Muskingum Area Technical College in Zanesville. The final information meeting is in Athens at 7 p.m. on March 6 in McCracken Hall.
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