Northcentral University

May 16

Age is Just a Number

For 73-Year-Old PhD Candidate Lorinda Eldredge, There Has Never Been a Better Time to Earn Her Doctorate – and She Looks Forward Towards a Future of Helping Children

At a time in her life when many of her contemporaries are retired, Lorinda (Cindy) Eldredge at 73-years-young is currently a Doctor of Philosophy candidate in General Psychology here at Northcentral University – and she just became a member of Golden Key, her fourth honor society! The Spring Hill, FL resident serves as vice president of her husband’s company, a tax services provider, and she also earned her Master’s Degree online, a MS in Addiction Counseling with high honors.

“I’ve been involved in online education for years,” notes Eldredge. “Still, earning my terminal degree online can be daunting, but I still learn something new every day.”

Eldredge earned her Bachelor’s in Psychology at Saint Leo University where she presented at the Florida Academy of Science and Psychology in 2008, but since then, she’s been active in the online arena because she has had to deal with some health issues, and she really enjoys the flexible scheduling options.

“Ultimately, I chose Northcentral because it’s regionally accredited and there are no physical residency requirements,” shares Eldredge. “I have enjoyed incredibly responsive faculty and they’re helping me to continually learn and refine my writing skills, while keeping me abreast of the latest research in my field.”

Eldredge has a passion for children, and she is taking courses geared at treating children and adolescents with behavioral, mental health and substance abuse issues. She is especially interested in schizophrenia, although rare in children, it exacts a heavy toll and symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions and social withdrawal make it difficult to manage everyday life. This topic may indeed become the topic of Eldredge’s dissertation.

“I really don’t want to travel for work, and the economy is still shaky,” notes Eldredge, “but I really want to counsel children here locally. I would love to become a part-time adjunct faculty member of a nearby college, and once I have my PhD, I’ll apply for opportunities here in our community.”

When she’s not studying, Lorinda enjoys spending time with her husband of 32 years; attending shows, dining out or just ‘chilling’ at home with her pets.

“My husband is an accountant, and being a former bookkeeper and finance manager, I am able to understand some of his frustrations with IRS rules and his clients!” smiles Eldredge.

Ever pragmatic, yet always optimistic, Eldredge also notes that once she has her PhD, it may take another 4,000 hours of clinical work to become certified in Florida. It’s a challenge she welcomes wholeheartedly.

Her advice to other Northcentral students:

“Keep a positive attitude, and read, read, read!!!”

Apr 10

MELANIE SHAW: A SENSE OF CALL THAT CAN’T BE QUIETED

We recently chatted with Melanie E. Shaw, Ph.D., Faculty Mentor at Northcentral University, to discuss education, teaching – and all points in between.

“Mel” is a military spouse, and she jokes that she has the second best job in the world – her husband is a jazz drummer in the Air force! The couple has a daughter currently studying at Georgia State University in Atlanta, as well as younger daughter who is a freshman in High School in Illinois.

“My kids have seen me as a lifelong learner, and I’m proud to say that they’re both amazing academics in their own right,” beams Shaw.

Dr. Melanie Shaw

Shaw has traveled a circuitous route to her present role at Northcentral, spending 13 years attaining her Bachelor’s Degree, while savoring life with a sense of wanderlust in the military; transforming herself from performance artist, to nursing school student, to healthcare administrator, and eventually enrolling at Northcentral while living in Germany to earn her Ph.D. in Education.

“Online education was truly a panacea for me,” notes Shaw. At the time, her father, who held a Ph.D. from Princeton, one of the most renowned universities in the world, even noted: “Online education is the wave of the future, in fact, I just had a friend who graduated while studying online at Yale!”

Shaw completed her Ph.D. in 2006 – the second person to complete the Doctoral program in Education at NCU – and the rest is history. Mel believes that she became a faculty mentor that very evening: Her chair was in Utah, her dissertation committee was in Florida and she was in Germany – and her life has NEVER been the same.

Today, Shaw interacts daily with the staff, faculty and students of NCU and she firmly believes that Northcentral is one of the premier online institutions in the world.

NCU

Congratulations on your latest honor! (http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/10/prweb8913141.htm)

Mel

Blush, blush – Ahhhhh, shucks!

NCU

What do you see as some current and upcoming trends in online education?

Mel

I think that we’re all life-long learners. We should all want to go to the next place intellectually, and the bright spot in this current economic downturn is that it forces us to reevaluate who we are and what we want to do. In crisis, we reflect on the trajectory of our life. It’s a chance to listen to that “little voice” inside to see if you’re really doing what you’re supposed to be doing.

The great thing about online education is that you DON’T have to stop what you’re currently doing. If you’re willing to dedicate time to advancing your education, you can continue to be a parent or a teacher or a bartender and get to the next place without leaving where you are currently. (Mel notes that her brother recently had to uproot his entire family in order to study at a bricks-and-mortar institution in Florida)

10 years ago, I think there was a stigma associated with online learning, but now, it’s an important modality. Going to school online is a great option – we are all pioneers in this amazing field (students, faculty, and staff) – and I am personally highly sought after. We’re making an impact on how education is delivered here at NCU.

NCU

What do you see as the critical needs and expectations of people studying to become a teacher?

MEL

The pedagogical and andragogical practices of teaching are really the same online – great educators translate across all mediums. You need a PASSION for knowledge – you need to fall in love with the subject you teach and discover the beauty and magic that lies within. You also need to be DISCIPLINED to educate students. Great teachers really create a vision of where you want to go. They create a path, which was probably already inside of you, of where you need to be in order to become successful. Finally, you need a PERSONALITY that wants to make people listen. Online engagement means being available and providing quick and substantive feedback to overcome that sense of isolation that online learners sometimes experience.

NCU

Would the world change dramatically if teachers were paid like rock stars???

(Laughs) My brother that I mentioned who is currently in Florida is studying organizational behavior and he notices that people complain more than they compliment! I really don’t think that external factors like money make for great accomplishments. It really has to be a sense of call that can’t be quieted. You need to follow an authentic path – no matter what the reward.

As a teacher, it’s really about the exchange of ideas or the “A-Ha” moment when a student calls you two years after graduating to thank you for changing their life!!! It’s when a student asks you a question you can’t answer – and you have to research and dig to stretch your own mind. It’s joy from within.

NCU

What are you most proud of as it relates to your work at NCU?

I think that it is being a part of NCU as it finds its own identity – we went through our growing pains – and now, we have a sense of our vision and commitment to excellence.

NCU

Okay, to paraphrase David Letterman, let’s end with your “Top 10 Signs that You May be an Exceptional Educator!”

10) Flexibility

9) Passion

8) Commitment

7) Intellect

6) Motivation

5) Inquiring Mind

4) Desire to further the knowledge in the field

3) Visionary

2) Understanding of the foundations of education

1) And the number one sign that you may be an EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATOR: You have the ability to do it differently than anyone has done it before!

Apr 3

Hitting a Home Run While the Bases Are Loaded: Earning an Online Advanced Degree Maximizes Career Opportunities

Any good coach knows that to make the game-winning play, sometimes you have to switch it up. Perhaps one of the greatest advantages of an online education is the ability to acquire new skill sets while still working full time. A prime example is the online Master of Education in Athletic Coaching at Northcentral University. The program is designed specifically for education professionals who are seeking opportunities in athletic coaching or for coaches who would like to further develop and enhance their expertise.

The One-to-One faculty mentored approach at regionally accredited Northcentral University also means students have a full team to support them as they get in the game, or enroll in classes. Additionally, the online courses offered in the Athletic Coaching Specialization allow students to understand the issues facing athletes and how coaches can optimize their athletes’ performance.

Specialized courses include topics such as coaching psychology, sport nutrition and ethics. The Coaching Psychology course helps students identify best methods in athlete motivation and how to strengthen athletes’ performance both individually and in a team setting. The course also provides students with a solid background in the study of coaching psychology as a whole, using real-world examples from top athletes, musicians and other performers.

In the Sport Nutrition class, students explore the influence of nutrition at various stages of an athlete’s development, from engaging in an exercise program to training and recovery. Students also gain a greater understanding of the newest research and information regarding nutrition, exercising, carbohydrate and protein intake during training and other issues facing nutrition of athletes.

A look into sport ethics provides students with the opportunity to do in-depth analyses of issues facing interscholastic sports today. Students perform research and engage in a number of reflective writing assignments that will help enable them to develop the self-awareness necessary for effective, character-driven leadership.

These are just a smattering of the courses offered for the Athletic Coaching Specialization. If you would like to find out how you can make the game-changing play in your career, learn more about earning an online Master of Education degree with an Athletic Coaching Specialization here.

Mar 28

A Positive Performance Review

A seasoned expert in evaluating professional performance, Northcentral University Faculty Mentor Dr. Gene Fusch has carved a career in improving workplaces and individual work efficiency. However, Dr. Fusch doesn’t limit his work to studying the performance of others, he believes that consistent self-evaluation is crucial to becoming a valued education professional.

Dr. Fusch is the perfect proof of his practice and theory, having recently been nominated for the ACBSP Teaching Excellence Award. This prestigious honor by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs recognizes the influence teachers have in carrying out the mission of accredited degree-granting institutions like Northcentral University.

As a faculty mentor in Northcentral University’s School of Business and Technology Management, Fusch primarily works with students earning their online doctoral degrees in business, instructing students in human resource issues, writing skills, research methodology, and preparing them to teach others these topics.

“I enjoy working with motivated students, helping them to do their best. I want to provide guidance and instruction, while also remembering my own experiences and helping them to avoid problems and pitfalls,” Fusch said. “I take a critical look at teaching, and I wonder how I can help them enhance their teaching skills, and how I can perform better myself.”

Fusch also explains that through the flexibility of Northcentral University’s online education, and the ability students have to study from any location, he has been able to mentor students in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, South America and throughout the United States. His scope of influence will soon expand beyond Northcentral University with the debut of his book, A Practical Approach to Performance Interventions and Analysis: 50 Models for Building a High-Performance Culture, which will be available this spring.

Northcentral University is proud to count Dr. Gene Fusch among its experienced faculty. To find out more about Northcentral University, its faculty mentored approach and earning an advanced degree online, please visit www.ncu.edu.

Mar 6

“Writing” the Technology Wave

It’s the night before your big paper is due. Hours—or possibly even days—of your hard work is ready for review by that experienced faculty member who’s a stickler for citation. Being the tech-savvy student that you are, you found current journal articles online to back up your thesis; you even found a legitimate report posted to Twitter. The last 20 years of innovations in technology has changed the way college students write, research and reference papers. Do you remember how Wikipedia used to look, with its primitive html? Online innovation is exciting, but for many students it can prove to be a stumbling block when it comes to the arduous task of properly citing others’ works. E-references, such as Dictionary.com (which draws from 15 reference sources), can be a saving grace for many students, but how do you cite these resources? And what about a Twitter or Facebook post? Can those be cited? Avoiding plagiarism and identifying sources accurately can be tricky in the online landscape, but here are a few helpful websites to help you navigate this precarious terrain:

Northcentral University Writing Center provides a step-by-step guide to referencing the different types of information. Since Northcentral University provides a fully online education, the Writing Center is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
APA Style Blog is written by APA Style experts who are ready to answer those tough citation questions you just can’t find answers to in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. They can even tell you how to cite social media.
Basics of APA Style Tutorial is an online tutorial provided by the American Psychological Association. It provides writers with the basic building blocks of proper referencing. The FAQ page is also a great place to begin researching your queries.
Grammar Girl offers grammar tips for common grammar mistakes, everything from its and it’s to who and whom.

The Internet provides an ocean of resources, and getting those references right will help protect others’ original work and help you sail toward that A-grade assignment.

Feb 28

Marketing…Polo! Discover your career with the Northcentral University Degree Finder

The tulle on your tutu has slowly disintegrated till only a few fibers remain, and the fireman hat pinches your ears from inadequate size. Your childhood dreams no longer fit your lifestyle, and have been replaced by daunting questions of “What next?” and “What am I supposed to do with my life?”

You understand the value of online education, and how earning an advanced degree from a regionally accredited institution will increase your eligibility for earning higher salaries and promotions in your chosen career path. But finding that path often proves to be the most elusive challenge.

Fortunately, Northcentral University provides for its prospective students a compass to point them in the right direction through the Degree Finder tool. This online tool is available from the Northcentral University home page. Within just a few steps, you can determine which online advanced degree is the right option for you to pursue:

Select which degree you are interested in pursuing, whether you are looking to advance in your current field with a postgraduate degree or seeking to launch a new career with a Bachelor’s degree.
Pick your field of choice. Evaluate the industries and businesses that interest you, consider the blogs you read and the articles that you are most drawn to in the newspaper.
From there, Northcentral University provides a list of the specializations and programs most suited to your preferences. Pick a few, research them more fully, examine the possible job opportunities and how you see yourself contributing to the respective industry.

Once the Degree Finder has honed in on the right road for you, talk to a Northcentral University Enrollment Advisor to learn more about getting started. Advisors can be reached at 1-866-776-0331 or admissions@ncu.edu.

Feb 21

Respite for the Weary Researcher

Even the most dedicated researcher can come unglued at the sight of yet another footnote or formatting quandary when completing an online Doctorate. To assist our dedicated Doctorate students, allow us to elucidate (and alliterate) on a few thesis aids Northcentral University offers.

Stuck on a sticky citation? Visit Northcentral University’s Writing Center, accessible through the Learner’s Portal. A self-directed resource, the Writing Center offers relief for tired eyes in the form of APA style guides or downloadable references on conducting research and interviewing strategies. Susan Krause, Writing Center Coordinator, is also available to field questions. She can be reached at writingcenter@ncu.edu.
Discouraged by delving into detailed data? The Dissertation Center provides a treasure trove of assistance such as researcher guidelines, formatting templates and instructions on how to collect and record various types of statistics.
Timid about tomes, tracts and treatises? Northcentral University boasts one of the best online libraries of any distance learning institution; it also includes a staff of trained librarians to assist Learners. Available through the Learner’s Portal, the library holds a wealth of peer-reviewed and scholarly journals for deep-dive research.

Armed with dissertation help, our Doctoral candidates can proceed undaunted toward their dissertation review committees. To learn more about Northcentral University’s online graduate degrees, visit www.ncu.edu.