Academic Leaders Use Innovative Doctoral Programs to Respond to Shortage of Business School Faculty

by Asila Safi and Darrell Norman Burrell.

As more universities create weekend, evening, and on-line master’s programs in business (MBA) in the United States, the shortage for university faculty in college business schools continues to grow, especially in Information Technology, Management, and Finance. If you review the USA university job search website http://www.higheredjobs.com/, you will see that there are plenty of high paying jobs for business school faculty around the country. These jobs require instructors to publish articles, work on research projects, make presentations at professional conferences, while teaching on average of only 3 classes a semester for full time salaries. Having a doctorate degree also provides some additional income opportunities beyond a base salary. Some universities are also paying as high is $1,500 a course for part time instructors to teach a six-week on-line course in business. Faculty members in the United States also have the flexibility to develop consulting businesses or assume other full time job opportunities because they are usually only required to be on campus on 2 or 3 days a week as a full time business school faculty member.

According an Associated Press article, “the total annual compensation for those new business school faculty hires can range from $100,000 to $180,000 dollars a year.”

Traditional universities and traditional doctoral programs are not producing graduates quick enough the meet the faculty demand with the growth of new programs and increased faculty retirements. As the business world becomes more culturally and racially diverse, traditional doctoral programs have not had much success in attracting and graduating students of color that have the cultural competence to teach and understand the issues of race in culture as they relate to business.

Being a business school faculty member can provide the right environment to engage in a variety of aspects of counseling and the development of future organizational leaders. The challenge is that these jobs require a completed doctorate degree.

There are several factors have combined to create the shortage of business school faculty at United States universities.

• Business schools are facing enormous amounts of retirements from their faculty, many of which are in their late 60s.

• More universities nationwide are offering weekend, evening, and on-line master’s programs and bachelor degree completion program in business for working professional students.

• Only 38% of those students that starts a traditional Ph.D. program in the United States ever complete the program because of the challenges of completing a doctoral dissertation. Many students drop out after completing everything but the dissertation and receive the academic label “ABD” or “all but dissertation.”

• The average time for doctoral completion is 7 ½ years for most traditional doctoral programs, so new graduates are not being produced fast enough to meet the demand.

Several accredited universities in the United States have developed executive or applied non-traditional doctoral programs in business areas that allow students to finish in 3 to 4 years, while working full time. These programs do not require a GMAT or GRE exam for admission. An executive or applied doctorate is not a Ph.D. These doctoral programs are very different from traditional Ph.D. programs because they provide a real-world approach to the program classes and applied research, which is not the case in traditional doctoral programs.

The Doctor of Management and the Doctor of Computer Science program at Colorado Technical University http://www.instituteforadvancedstudies.com/sec2.html are designed to develop senior level organizational leaders through the engagement in cutting edge course work in management, classmate collaboration, and applied research projects. Students must travel to Colorado Springs, three times a year, on weekends for 3 year program. Most of the courses are completed through the submission of on-line assignments. The cost of books and a laptop are included in the tuition price. What is unique about this program is that it does not have the traditional dissertation. Colorado Tech has replaced traditional dissertation with 4 applied research projects that could focus on solving real problems at a student’s place of employment. The Doctor of Computer Science is unique because many traditional universities do not offer traditional doctorate programs in Computer Science, while Colorado Tech offers a credible distance learning program.

The doctorate programs are Colorado Tech are different because students start as a group and go through the program together. This process allows students to develop a support system that will naturally improve their ability to complete the program. The advantage of going to Colorado Technical University is that it is not strictly an on-line university. There is a real campus where traditional students take courses. Having a real physical campus is very important because there are still business schools in the United States that are reluctant to hire doctoral graduates that have completed their degrees from totally on-line universities. No GMAT or GRE exam is required for admission but an essay with academic references is required.

The International Doctor of Business Administration (IDBA), http://www.ltu.edu/futurestudents/graduate/doctoral_programs.asp, at Lawrence Technological University, in Troy Michigan, was designed for professional who wish to better understand the critical impacts of international business growth, increased immigration, new communications technologies, and globalization on the business world. The program goal is to develop new leaders with advanced analytical skills in valuing cultural diversity, international finance, global marketing, international economics, and trade law. Lawrence Technological University also has a Doctor of Management in Information Technology, a Doctor of Engineering in Manufacturing Systems, and a weekend Doctor of Business Administration.

The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) offers a non-traditional Doctor of Management Degree (DM) http://www.umuc.edu/ that focuses on the critical importance of an interdisciplinary, intercultural, and international approach to leadership study. The program is designed for professional students with management and work experience. It is offered in a flexible combination of on-line course delivery with weekly residencies at the beginning of each semester in the three year program. The university has also expanded to offer their program for in a location for students in Taiwan. The curriculum and research focus on critical activities such as:

• Organizational productivity, leadership and change
• Human performance assessment and development
• Strategy formulation
• Operational planning
• Technology planning, acquisition, and integration

The doctoral degree program at UMUC offers students the unique opportunity to specialize in one of five areas:

· International Operations Management—Students examine how the complexity of operating within an international, global environment can affect any management topic.

· Organizational Processes Management—This area is centered on the way that organizations are designed and structured, as well as how individuals function within them.

· Technological Systems Management— This specialization explores the integration of technology in organizations and its ability to be a driving force for growth.

· Information Technology Management— Students study the management of information technology in various types of public, governmental, and corporate organizations.

• Security Management—This concentration provides an academic analysis of the management of organizational security and homeland security in enterprises.

The dissertation process involves a proposal, a concept/stakeholder paper, and the final dissertation. The dissertation is designed so that candidates also solicit and receive timely feedback from stakeholders on the concept paper and validation from professionals in the field. This is a presentation to top management of an organization or a special interest or stakeholders’ group. In the final phases, candidates produce an applied research project that contains the essence of a publishable paper. To accomplish this task, some committees may require candidates to present at a conference for additional feedback or prepare and submit a paper to a journal before finalizing the dissertation. Upon approval of the dissertation by the dissertation committee, candidates present their research at a graduate school colloquium involving the committee and members of the academic community.

These programs were developed with the understanding that fastest growing population of doctoral students are working adults. These professionals have families or job obligations that do not afford them the ability to attend a full time traditional doctoral program (Ellin 2000).

The Ph.D. is not the only viable doctoral degree to teach. Applied doctorates are frequently beneficial either prior to appointment or as part of an organized professional-development program. Particularly as it relates to the continuing professional development of staff, doctorates demonstrate the same commitment to life-long learning which is considered to be of the key aspects of a modern college education. The attainment of advanced degrees is one way to demonstrate the habits of mind which constitute an educated person able to make higher level contributions (Linkz 1999).

In considering the shortage of faculty, it is important to understand where the potential pipeline for new and diverse academic leaders and faculty members. In the United States, the two top producers of doctoral graduates of students of color are non-traditional programs. To meet the needs for Business School faculty there will need a tremendous increase of doctoral-trained professionals from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, countries, and experiences. Several non-traditional programs will play a major role in the education and development of business school faculty especially as many traditional doctoral programs limit their admissions and continue lack internationally and culturally diverse representations in their students and their faculties.