Date of Award
1992
Document Type
Dissertation - NSU Access Only
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Abraham S. Fischler College of Education
Advisor
Peter K. Mills
Keywords
Admins
Abstract
Since 1976, Nova University’s Programs for Higher Education have awarded more than 1800 Ed.D.’s to working professionals in various areas of higher education. One of the main problems facing Nova University’s Programs for Higher Education has been its continued ability to attract, admit, and enroll students, who will successfully complete the program, in a changing and increasingly competitive environment. Name recognition, lack of knowledge about the quality of the program, as well as continued misconceptions about the validity of an external degree frequently cause enrollment problems. Also, the program has not comprehensively reviewed its on going promotional activities in several years.
The outcome of this major applied research project has been the evaluation of current activities as well as the development of a comprehensive promotional program that should significantly enhance the effectiveness of recruiting for Nova University's Programs for Higher Education (PHE). This major applied research paper was achieved by conducting a comprehensive search of the current literature, a situational analysis of the program, identification of promotional goals, identification of the most appropriate methods, and the development of an action plan for implementation.
Research questions addressed in this study include analysis of traditional elements of promotional plans in higher education; relevant literature on this subject; PHE’s current promotional activities as well at their effectiveness; the involvement of clusters in promotional activities: examples of promotional activities that would hold the most promise for the Programs for Higher Education; and the selection of basic elements of successful promotional plans that might have applicability for the Programs for Higher Education.
The presentation of results include responses to the 1991 Summer Institute survey, as well as basic research on the five accredited field based doctoral programs (the Adult Education Guided Independent Study Program at Teachers College/Columbia University, The Union Institute. The Fielding Institute, Walden University, and the Programs for Higher Education at Nova University). The study also includes the review of catalogs and or program descriptions for the five accredited field based doctoral programs surveyed and the summation of interviews with personnel from each of the programs previously listed. The final part of this study comprises the interpretations, conclusions as well as the recommendations that came about as a result of this study.