Transcript

SBU Online Doctorate in Education Leadership Information Session

00:02

Thomas Nunes

Hello everybody and thank you so much for joining us here today on our information session where we will be discussing the online Doctorate of education in Educational Leadership Program here at St.

00:13

Thomas Nunes

Bonaventure University. We will go ahead and just give everybody about another minute or two to get all logged in and situated from the waiting room before we kick off. But certainly want to thank you all for spending your Saturday morning with us and our presentation will begin shortly.

01:00

Thomas Nunes

Thank you again to everybody who's joined us. Just wanted to let you all know we will be kicking off here in about another 30 seconds or so, just letting in some last minute people from the waiting room and we will be underway shortly. All right, well we will certainly kick things off here.

01:50

Thomas Nunes

So again, today we're going to be discussing the online Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership Program here at St. Bonaventure University. Again, I want to thank you all for spending your Saturday mornings here with us today to learn more about the program, as well as St.

02:03

Thomas Nunes

Bonaventure University as a whole. So as we kick things off here, some quick housekeeping items. So this event is being recorded for future viewing. So at the conclusion of our information session today, you will receive an email with a link to this recording to view at your own leisure as needed.

02:19

Thomas Nunes

All attendees are muted so you can hear us, but we cannot hear you. So that being said, if you do have any questions, please feel free to type them in the Q& A box at the bottom of your screen. And we have allotted time at the end of our presentation today to make sure that we can address any questions that are presented.

02:35

Thomas Nunes

We hope you enjoy the presentation. My name is Thomas Nunez and I'm an enrollment advisor here with St. Bonaventure University. And then joining us on the call today is Ranissa Scott, the Lead Advisor for the online Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership Program.

02:51

Thomas Nunes

Our agenda today will be covering a little bit about St. Bonaventure University, discussing the online EdD in Educational Leadership overview. And you may hear us refer to this as EdD or EDD, but that is all one and the same in regards to the Doctorate of Education.

03:07

Thomas Nunes

We will also be discussing the three unique dissertation options, ways to finance your education, admissions requirements and next steps, as well as that aforementioned Q& A section at the very end of our presentation here.

03:22

Thomas Nunes

And with that being said, I'll pass it over to Ranissa. We'll kind of dive in and learn a little bit about St. Bonaventure University.

03:29

Ranissa Scott

Thank you Tom. And thank you to everyone who could make it on a Saturday morning, or afternoon. I'd like to share a little bit more about our mission and values. St. Bonaventure was our patron and he taught us that there is no knowledge without love.

03:45

Ranissa Scott

So in this spirit we aim to educate the whole student, both mind and heart, preparing them to positively impact their communities. So we are a nurturing community that values compassion for all, continually seeking wisdom and integrity in all that we do.

04:03

Ranissa Scott

So these are principles that we integrate into our EDD program and that are also integral. This also reflects that transformative impact of a Catholic education in the Franciscan tradition, that St.

04:18

Ranissa Scott

Bonaventure University can allow you to experience. And as you'll see in our next slide, we are a well-established institution that's dedicated to this mission. As you can see, we were founded in 1858 in Olean, New York and St.

04:35

Ranissa Scott

Bonaventure is the nation's first Catholic Franciscan University. We are accredited by the middle states commission on higher education, so we do prioritize academic integrity and excellence.

04:48

Ranissa Scott

And since 2013, we have offered online graduate programs that truly cater to the needs of today's learners, really providing them that flexibility and that supportive environment.

05:00

Ranissa Scott

Our small class size also promotes a close faculty interaction, enhancing that educational experience. And with a network of over 31, 000 alumni worldwide, you can connect with professionals dedicated to making a positive impact.

05:16

Ranissa Scott

And as you can see, as of 2024, we are recognized by US News and World Report in various categories. For number six, best school value, 14 and most innovative school, 17 and best regional university in the north.

05:33

Ranissa Scott

And yeah, St. Bonaventure stands as a respected institution that does embody the values of Franciscan education. So Tom and I truly invite you to explore your future here and become a part of our Bonas community as we share a little bit more in regards to the details of our program.

05:51

Ranissa Scott

As we go over those key details, you'll see that our online Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership, we're proud to be a member of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate, so that's CPED.

06:04

Ranissa Scott

So some key benefits include opportunities in networking, collaboration with like-minded innovative thinkers and leaders, as well as insights from best practices. A little bit more is that we are a cohort model, so it is a set curriculum.

06:19

Ranissa Scott

It's a hundred percent online and you do have access to expert faculty who do provide that continuity of one-to-one communication and support from day one. This program is open to all master's degrees and it is designed to complete in about 2.

06:35

Ranissa Scott

7 to three years. We do have a thoughtfully planned embedded problem of practice-based dissertation with support from open dialogue for that conceptualization to completion beginning day one.

06:48

Ranissa Scott

So we actually won't wait until the end. That way you can be present in all of your courses and not have to anticipate what's to come. And there's no need for you to actually have your problem of practice all figured out, or worry about that, because you do have that support from the onset.

07:06

Ranissa Scott

Courses that we do provide have relevant regional and global practical exposure that can be applied in real time. The fall terms are 15 weeks. Spring terms are also 15 weeks, with summer at 14.

07:22

Ranissa Scott

Then you do experience regular breaks in between so that you have good life-school balance. You're taking two courses simultaneously with six credit hours per term.

07:34

Ranissa Scott

This does include summers, so you have a total of 16 courses across eight terms. What that looks like for you is the first two years are 18 credits each, and then the last term is going to be 12.

07:49

Ranissa Scott

But I'll hand it back over to Tom to review additional details about our EDD program.

07:56

Thomas Nunes

Excellent, thank you so much Ranissa. So looking at the overview, this program is designed for students who want to solve large institutional issues and drive transformational change within organizations.

08:08

Thomas Nunes

So as you can see some of these sample roles listed here below, there is a very big place within the educational landscape for this degree. So it could be university faculty member K-12 school leader, educational consultant, educational researcher, policymaker.

08:26

Thomas Nunes

It could also be used to facilitate your career trajectory towards the principal level, superintendent, chancellor, dean, provost, etc. But there is also a large place for this outside of the educational sphere as well.

08:41

Thomas Nunes

So you'll see corporate trainer is one role that's listed there, but you do also see this degree highly pursued by students with business backgrounds in terms of moving into areas such as employee development, human resource leadership, C-level suite and opportunities there.

08:58

Thomas Nunes

There's a place in non-profit leadership, for-profit leadership. This degree is also very highly pursued by students working in such areas such as mental health and social work, human services, healthcare, arts and humanities, etc.

09:13

Thomas Nunes

So there are a lot of career options for you. And really the versatility of this degree is what is making it such a highly sought-after option for a lot of students at the postgraduate level.

09:25

Thomas Nunes

This is a practitioner-focused degree. So what that really means is compared to a PhD program that is highly research-based, this program does have a significant research component, but it is really focused on the practitioner being very much hands-on in implementing whether it's a process, a process change, a process improvement, whatever that looks like.

09:49

Thomas Nunes

It is a very hands-on degree, which again is why it is so very highly sought after and pursued. By not only students but as well as employers alike. And we will discuss more about the dissertation here in the next couple of slides, but there are highly individual study options to create your own dissertation emphasis.

10:08

Thomas Nunes

And you'll also see another clear example of the individualized study options showcased here in the elective courses. We offer 16 elective course options and students would take a total of three elective courses during their time in the program.

10:26

Thomas Nunes

So for some students they do really want to stay within the education background. So you're looking at options such as school law, school finance, or things like that as well. But we also do have analytics based electives.

10:39

Thomas Nunes

We have communication based electives, leadership based electives, to learn more about the business side of things, that maybe potentially was not implemented in your graduate program. So it is a really nice option here for students to be able to identify what are the specific skill sets that I'm missing, what are specific skills that I know that I'm going to need to pursue the next step or next several steps in terms of my career trajectory?

11:04

Thomas Nunes

Or maybe what are some concepts that I've been exposed to but I don't really have a mastery of yet? It gives you that option as a student to really customize the curriculum to align with your specific needs and goals.

11:15

Thomas Nunes

We also do have a directed study option, which would allow you to collaborate closely with our faculty, if for any reason you feel that our elective courses don't line up with your needs or don't align with what your goals are.

11:27

Thomas Nunes

So the directed study in that case would be a great option. And then as you'll see above here as Ranissa kind of touched on, this will be a 48 credit hour program. 38 credits will be your core courses and then 10 credits will be your problem based dissertation.

11:44

Thomas Nunes

So what's really nice about the dissertation, again as Ranissa touched on earlier, is that it is woven into our program via credited coursework. It's not something that you're doing off to the side or in the background. You are actively working on it within our program.

12:00

Thomas Nunes

And I think having that support, that guidance and really having that ability to implement that within the curriculum is a very big bonus and really a big positive for a lot of students working through that dissertation process.

12:16

Thomas Nunes

So looking at our core curriculum here over on the left. I won't read all of the courses, but I definitely will highlight a few of these courses here. One course would be Introduction to Applied Resource in Educational Leadership.

12:30

Thomas Nunes

In this course, participants are learning to design and conduct rigorous studies that address real-world challenges, while navigating ethical considerations in research. So this is going to allow you as a student to engage deeply with contemporary leadership theories.

12:46

Thomas Nunes

It allows you to explore the role that educational leaders play in identifying and guiding systemic change. We also do have Analyzing Diversity Policy and Practices in Education, where you're examining current strategies for fostering equitable practices in educational organizations.

13:05

Thomas Nunes

You also do have Educational Assessment and Accountability is another option in our core curriculum, where you're developing the ability to leverage data for informed decision-making. So ultimately the program is very carefully put together and is very much a scaffolded program.

13:21

Thomas Nunes

Where as you're working through the program, every class is building upon the class before it, as you do work ultimately towards your goal of your dissertation. So as you'll see on the left under core curriculum, this will encompass every single core course in the program, including your electives at the bottom.

13:41

Thomas Nunes

The only options that are not highlighted in this core curriculum would be your dissertation based courses. And then before I do pass it back over to Ranissa, I did just want to highlight this quote here from Dr.

13:53

Thomas Nunes

Jason Margolis, our Program Director, Dr. Margolis is very hands-on, very student-focused and really I think a great ambassador for not only St. Bonaventure as well as our online Doctorate of Education program.

14:06

Thomas Nunes

I think what's really nice too is he also teaches courses within the program. So as the program director, you're going to be exposed to working directly with him and having that direct line of communication.

14:18

Thomas Nunes

If you have questions, if you need guidance, if you need mentorship. So I think having him as really a face of the program and out in front is a huge positive for students, especially as they get started here.

14:31

Thomas Nunes

And I will pass it back over to Ranissa to dive into our dissertation.

14:35

Ranissa Scott

Thank you, Tom. So what really differentiates our EDD program is our three pathways for you to choose from. So as you really think about what your problem of practice will be, you're not going to have, I guess the weight on your shoulders to implement and analyze when it comes to your problem of practice, because we give you three pathways.

15:02

Ranissa Scott

If you are looking at more research and you want to be able to have that latitude and really shining a light on a problem of practice that is relevant, this is where you'll identify that issue.

15:14

Ranissa Scott

You're going to review relevant literature, collect local data, and create research-based proposal. Where the final product is detailed, it's research backed for policy or practice changes.

15:27

Ranissa Scott

So you don't necessarily have to be as immersive as a dissertation in practice, where you're actually taking your problem of practice within your sphere of influence. You're implementing that study, you're changing and improving conditions, analyzing those results and developing that change plan that's crucial for future practice and research.

15:50

Ranissa Scott

Practice is more theory-based and where dissertation and practice is more for future practice and research, this is more for practical application. So in regards to implementation for your problem of practice, the two courses that would help you with the science of implementation would be the DEL 860 and 870.

16:15

Ranissa Scott

So those are going to really delve into the more quanted qual. And then in the event that you do need a more detailed opportunity to implement the problem of practice and the science and procedure that goes into that, that would really be more of a directed study.

16:32

Ranissa Scott

So that directed study, you do work closer with your faculty and your professors to ensure that you have what you need in order to be successful in your journey here towards your problem of practice and dissertation completion.

16:45

Ranissa Scott

So yeah, I think that with our problem of practice, it does allow you to be able to have the latitude of those three pathways and also that continued one-to-one conversation with our professors and faculty.

17:00

Ranissa Scott

And I know that considering the journey ahead, it's also important to discuss your funding options to support your education. So we do understand that that is a significant consideration. The program is mid-priced, offering high quality education at $ 820 per credit hour, along with very minimal fees.

17:19

Ranissa Scott

So you can explore these options such as FAFSA or even private loans. We do have payment plans on a per-term, per-semester billing, and you can split that up to five installments if needed.

17:32

Ranissa Scott

And then additionally, you can check with your employer to see if they do provide tuition reimbursement or education benefits. Some students may also have benefits from military programs like post 9/ 11, GI Bill or the Yellow Ribbon program.

17:49

Ranissa Scott

But yeah, our dedicated financial aid team is here to assist you throughout that process. And now I'll hand it back over to Tom to discuss the rest of our steps in admissions.

17:59

Thomas Nunes

Thank you, Ranissa. Well, before we dive into the admissions requirements, I do want to just highlight both Ranissa and I's pictures here on the right hand of the screen. This is a very generalized conversation, kind of a high level overview of the program.

18:12

Thomas Nunes

Really your next step would be to connect with Ranissa or myself to discuss the program on a more individualized and personalized basis. What does this degree mean for you? What are your specific goals?

18:24

Thomas Nunes

What is your background, what is your career trajectory? So the next step, if you have not spoken or had a conversation with Ranissa or I yet, that would be your next step. So that way we can discuss the program. But most importantly, discuss the admissions, the next steps in the application process as we have highlighted here on the left hand of our screen.

18:42

Thomas Nunes

So for our admissions requirements, we do require a master's degree from an accredited institution. As Ranissa mentioned, this is open to all master's degree pathways, so there's not a specific master's degree that we are looking for, or a graduate program that we're looking for.

18:59

Thomas Nunes

So we have a lot of Masters of Education students in the program, but we also have MBA students, we have MPH, MHA students, we have SLP masters level students.

19:13

Thomas Nunes

So it's a really nice mixture of students with a lot of varied graduate backgrounds there as well. We do require official transcripts from all institutions attended. So at the postgraduate level this can potentially be daunting because you have certainly your graduate degree, you've got your undergraduate degree, maybe you've done a postmaster certification or some postgraduate work.

19:36

Thomas Nunes

Maybe you attended a community college to get some electives in your undergraduate career. Maybe you did summer school at some point. So we would unfortunately need all of those transcripts, but Ranissa and myself will be able to guide you and assist you in terms of requesting all of them, as well as where to get them sent once you do request them.

19:55

Thomas Nunes

Nowadays, most schools use electronic transcripts, which is about I would say two to three business days max. So it is a fairly expedited process. We also would require a statement of purpose, which is also known as an admissions essay.

20:09

Thomas Nunes

Two letters of recommendation, as well as a resume. And you'll see that it does save minimum of five years professional experience preferred. If you do fall very close to that five year mark, four years, 10 months, four years, nine months, something right in there.

20:27

Thomas Nunes

This is another great opportunity to connect with Ranissa and I to discuss your background and how you believe this degree will really be beneficial and kind of assist you in your career growth. Because again, it does say preferred, I would say more often than not the five years is going to be what they're looking for, but if you do find that you fall just below, I think that's at least worth exploring on our end with you as well.

20:52

Thomas Nunes

All right, as we move into the Q& A section of our presentation today, I definitely want to remind everybody to go ahead and type in of there are any questions they have, into the Q& A box, you'll see at the bottom of the screen and we'll make sure to get those addressed for you.

21:08

Thomas Nunes

I also wanted to take a moment before we do dive into our questions to highlight that if anybody is interested in the January 20th term, which is our spring 2025 term, we are still accepting applications.

21:20

Thomas Nunes

The deadline would be this upcoming Friday of November 15. So that is coming up soon, but there is plenty of time to get everything in place, especially if you make sure that your letters of recommendation are able to sign off on meeting that deadline on their end.

21:36

Thomas Nunes

So if you do want to be able to pursue the spring term, there is time and that would be our next step to connect with Ranissa or myself. All right, so our first question here, and I'll give this to Ranissa.

21:52

Thomas Nunes

Ranissa, what is the directed study that Tom mentioned during the elective portion? Can you give us more information?

22:00

Ranissa Scott

Yeah, so I'm happy to go over that and I think that you really laid the perfect groundwork for that early on. Directed study really allows you to further customize your journey in the event that the electives that we offer don't necessarily align and support the problem of practice that you have if it is more specific.

22:21

Ranissa Scott

This allows you to work closer with your faculty and allow you to help curate that material so that it is more meaningful. One thing that is of note, in the directed study, you're going to have the opportunity to work closer with faculty to where if it is something that you have questions about when it comes to implementation and the science of implementation in regards to your problem of practice, this would be a good opportunity to be more detailed in that.

22:54

Ranissa Scott

Otherwise your quant and qual in applied research, the 860 and the 870 is going to really cover that. What we're really proud of is that for individuals who may have just a little bit of trepidation when it comes to the research and implementation aspect for dissertation, I did just want to put the kudos out there to Dr.

23:19

Ranissa Scott

Bynoe. Dr. Bynoe is amazing and he's helped dozens of our doctoral programs. He is actually the go-to guy when it comes to your dissertation completion.

23:33

Ranissa Scott

So he's one of the committee chair in the program for our dissertation completion and he is just an expert within that field and he has over 20 years of full-time faculty experience in higher ed and leadership, and he's taught a lot in doctoral levels at two universities.

23:51

Ranissa Scott

So for anyone who feels that the dissertation or the implementation is a big ask, know that we have faculty in place where that is their expertise and they're happy to help.

24:05

Thomas Nunes

Fantastic. And then I know you spoke a bit about our dissertation options already, Ranissa, we did get a question, if you have any more information about the third option for dissertation. I believe that was the planning one if I'm not mistaken?

24:19

Ranissa Scott

Yes. So as far as the planning, that's going to allow you to be able to still have the latitude to choose your topic, and what you're looking for is an issue that has been prevalent within your practice.

24:35

Ranissa Scott

You want to be able to really provide that relevant literature and that data from your groundwork, what you've been seeing, and create that proposal to where you can actually have a final product that's super detailed, it's research backed, and you want to be able to create that solely for policy or practice changes.

25:00

Ranissa Scott

An example is, I've actually supported a student where they're looking at for their problem of practice over classification of individuals in special education. So she doesn't necessarily want to implement that in her space because she's not at that level, but she has over...

25:18

Ranissa Scott

I think she has like 15 years of experience, to where she has the local data, she has that relevant literature, she's got the numbers because of all of the groundwork that she's put in. So she's going to probably choose a dissertation in planning because it still empowers her to have a meaningful dissertation, but not the pressure of having to implement and analyze her problem of practice.

25:45

Thomas Nunes

Wonderful, wonderful. Great question, great answer. Thank you so much Ranissa. I will jump in here. We did get one, "Do I have to come to campus?" No, you don't. It is a hundred percent online. So there's no on-campus residency requirements or expectations that you do come to campus.

26:02

Thomas Nunes

What I will say though, for our local New York students, and I know that term local can be a bit loaded because some students are 20 minutes away from us, other students may be several hours away from us. But for our local students, if you do find value in coming to our campus for whatever reason, whether that is maybe to meet with a professor, maybe that's to meet with a study group, maybe you want to use any kind of resources that might be available on campus.

26:27

Thomas Nunes

Maybe you just want to tour the campus and just get a feel for the school that you're attending. You do have the same access to on-campus and the resources on-campus that our face-to-face students would.

26:38

Thomas Nunes

And I think that's a very unique thing because I think in a lot of programs online and on-campus can be very much segmented away from each other and treated and managed very differently. I think really a key feature here is that we look at our online population and our on-campus population as one and the same with the exact same support, the exact same resources and exact same program, et cetera in place for you there as well.

27:02

Thomas Nunes

And I also got another question. "Are classes synchronous or asynchronous?" So this program is designed for full-time working professionals. So about 95% of this program is going to be asynchronous.

27:17

Thomas Nunes

So there's no scheduled logon days or times. Your syllabus will walk you through, here's what's going to be covered this week, here are the outcomes, here are the concepts and the skill sets you should be comfortable in understanding after the conclusion of the week.

27:32

Thomas Nunes

And most importantly, what are the due dates for your assignments? So as long as you're able to meet those due dates for your assignments, then you're going to be in great shape there. What I also want to highlight though is that there's a lot of students that do find a lot of value in building that community within the classroom.

27:49

Thomas Nunes

So that could be opening up the lines of communication with their fellow students. It could be making sure they're able to have that direct line of communication to their professors. So what your professors will do is they'll schedule, we kind of refer to them affectionately as fireside chats.

28:07

Thomas Nunes

What they'll do is they'll schedule these 'fireside chats', these optional live sessions, usually once a week in the evenings. And it's a great opportunity to come together as a class and talk about the program, talk about the week, talk about specific concepts.

28:22

Thomas Nunes

And it's kind of a nice temperature check to see how is everybody feeling? Does everybody have what they need? Does anybody have any questions? So that synchronous component is great for students that find value in being able to have that real-time connection with their professors and their fellow peers.

28:39

Thomas Nunes

But also we understand that there may be some scheduling conflicts that might arise. So if that were to be the case, these are always going to be recorded and posted for you to go back and review at your own leisure.

28:51

Thomas Nunes

That way if you do find a lot of value in still being able to review what was covered, but you weren't able to be there live, you're certainly able to do so. All right, so great question so far.

29:05

Thomas Nunes

Ranissa, going back to you here. So for the dissertation topic, do you as a student get to pick that topic or does somebody pick that for you?

29:15

Ranissa Scott

You actually have the latitude to choose that. You're going to have a lot of support from our faculty in regards to communication with what that can look like, just to ensure that you have a topic that's substantive enough to be able to fulfill the requirements.

29:32

Ranissa Scott

So what that looks like as far as communication is that your professors, they'll share their direct mobile number so that you have that one-on-one, some of them have office hours. It's also embedded as a part of your weeks within your 14th or 15th weeks.

29:52

Ranissa Scott

There's that feedback, that one-to-one feedback or group feedback within the syllabi. So you'll be able to just as much as you're gleaning from our professors, they also want your feedback and glean from you.

30:04

Ranissa Scott

So communication with your faculty is one of many ways, because they do understand this is a professional population of individuals who are in varied landscapes. So they are very much open to either email, over the phone, a lot of them do Zooms so that you have that real-time interaction with them for questions.

30:28

Ranissa Scott

The dissertation topics that I've been hearing about, are one that I talked about in regards to over classifications of special ed. I've also heard about just ensuring access in marginalized communities and underserved.

30:47

Ranissa Scott

So that's a big topic. Another one that is a hot topic within our leadership, whether it's central office or assistant superintendent, et cetera, are more of being able to utilize technology in tandem with leadership, and understanding the needs of our educators or teachers within their perspective space so that he could assist in their growth and be able to promote from within in regards to continued leadership within education, that's a popular one.

31:26

Ranissa Scott

Another one that I can think of offhand is, just funding in general. Comparing that with charter schools versus state-funded schools. So there is a bit of a disparity there.

31:42

Ranissa Scott

We do have some students that are in charter schools already and they want to be able to compare that. So those are the dissertation topics offhand that I can think of. I hope that helps.

31:56

Thomas Nunes

Wonderful, wonderful. No, great stuff. And I'll dive in on this one, kind of similarly with your dissertation. The question we got is, am I allowed to pick my own electives? Yes. Essentially what you would do is you would have the ability to select your own electives.

32:10

Thomas Nunes

You'll work with your student support advisor. If there are any courses that might only be available in specific times of the year, once you get to that elective part, they'll help you put together a degree plan or an academic map to make sure that you're hitting the areas that you'd like to.

32:26

Thomas Nunes

But with your dissertation, like Ranissa mentioned, I would also looking at your electives and how you're building your curriculum, the skills that you would think you would need to have or you'd like to be exposed to.

32:38

Thomas Nunes

I would use your mentors in your professional setting at work. I would use your professors, I would use Dr. Margolis, I would use your faculty advisors that you'll be working with on your dissertation.

32:51

Thomas Nunes

I would really kind of pick their brains and get an idea of, hey, this is where I see myself. This is the role that I would like to have. This is my career trajectory. What would I need to really be fluent in or proficient in to get from here to here?

33:07

Thomas Nunes

And that's where you'll really be able to build that curriculum to kind of check the boxes that you really feel like you need to there. But what's really nice about the electives is you're going to have a full year in the program before you even start looking at your electives.

33:20

Thomas Nunes

So sometimes students will use their time in the program to help influence what those electives look like. Going through a lot of those applied research courses, maybe you feel like analytics is an area or a blind spot for you that you don't have.

33:34

Thomas Nunes

And hey, based on my experience, I really do think I need to learn more about analytics. So that's just an example of ways that students can come into the program and use their experience, and as they're going through the courses to inform what that's going to really look like there.

33:50

Thomas Nunes

Another question, and this is a great one, "So I am interested in applying for the spring term. I know you said the deadline is next Friday. How can I make sure that I meet the deadline?" So first step is to connect with Ranissa or myself to make sure that we have very consistent communication with you to put a plan in place, because it is possible.

34:10

Thomas Nunes

I would say the application process, if you can make sure that your letters of recommendation are game and they're up for the task of understanding, they need to have it done by the deadline, realistically, you could get your application done in about two to three business days.

34:26

Thomas Nunes

So I would say the first thing to do would be to start your application, reach out to your recommenders and request your transcripts. At that point, everything is off of your plate as far as that goes.

34:39

Thomas Nunes

All that's left is to upload your resume and upload your admissions essay. And that really is that entire process there. So again, the deadline for spring is November 15th, so Friday.

34:51

Thomas Nunes

Plenty of time if that's still an interest for you and connect with Ranissa or myself and we'll certainly be able to guide you and support you through that process. Let's see here. Ranissa, we got this question, I'm not sure if we have any data about this.

35:06

Thomas Nunes

Do you have a feel for how many out-of-states we have in the program? I can say that as an advisor on the program, I've worked with students in Delaware, Massachusetts, Florida. I'm not sure if you have any feedback there as well?

35:22

Ranissa Scott

Yeah, while the majority of our students are New York. What we're seeing is that we're also getting students from Virginia, Texas, Connecticut, Ohio, New Jersey, Arizona.

35:37

Ranissa Scott

So those are the ones... Oh Texas, that's one. In regards to how many specifically, that I don't have. Remember too that our class size is very intimate, so anywhere from 16 to 22.

35:52

Ranissa Scott

So we really believe in having a meaningful journey where you have that access to professors, versus just a lot of students all at once to where you guys are vying for the attention and support for faculty.

36:09

Ranissa Scott

I hope that helps.

36:10

Thomas Nunes

No, I think that's great, yeah, absolutely. I know that what I always tell students it's a really net positive of the online option is that yes, you're exposed to a lot of students from the New York area or the Northeast, but you're also certainly exposed to students at other parts of the country.

36:25

Thomas Nunes

So when you're looking at the discussion, the conversation, learning from each other in that classroom setting, I think that's a really great takeaway is that you are exposed to students from so many different areas in the country, that may have a lot of similarities in their problems of practice, but also might see a lot of differences there as well.

36:43

Thomas Nunes

And this next question actually, I would love to answer this because a little bit a background about myself is I'm actually an online graduate student here, so I would love to share my experience. So the question we got is "What does the typical student faculty communication look like during asynchronous coursework?"

37:00

Thomas Nunes

So I can tell you from my experience, it is very, very smooth, very streamlined and very, very easy. And what I mean by that is, you'll have embedded within your Moodle where you access your course, you'll have a specific discussion board for any one-off questions you might have.

37:18

Thomas Nunes

So it could be, what day is the midterm going to be open? It could be, I am having problems accessing my be all these different types of questions. You'll be able to post those on that discussion board and your professor will then either email you directly or they'll respond to that thread.

37:36

Thomas Nunes

Maybe you have a longer form question or maybe something that you don't want to necessarily post in a public forum that you'd rather just get answered privately. That is as easy as emailing your professor directly and you'll get a very prompt response there.

37:50

Thomas Nunes

If you find value in having more of a face-to-face conversation via Zoom, that's as easy as just emailing your professor and saying, "I'd find value in us connecting here is my availability.

38:03

Thomas Nunes

I noticed you have your open office hours during this time. Is there a time that would work best?" And they'll be happy to schedule that with you. I can tell you from my experience, I've done this quite frequently and it's been very easy.

38:15

Thomas Nunes

It's been very prompt. They've been very responsive and I think that's where, as Ranissa mentioned, with our intimate class sizes, this allows your professors to be more than just paper graders or classroom moderators.

38:31

Thomas Nunes

This isn't somebody that's just here to regurgitate the syllabus back at you. They're very actively involved in the day-to-day goings on of the classroom. They're very visible, vocal, active participants that really do encourage a lot of collaboration and communication.

38:49

Thomas Nunes

I would say that as an online student, the number one skill set that you would need to have to be successful is having the confidence to be able to reach out and raise your hand if you have any questions. That's the biggest skill set you'd want to have, because your professors are there, your student service advisor is there, your faculty advisor is there, our help desk and our IT support team are there.

39:12

Thomas Nunes

All those different kind of bodies are there for you, or I should say departments is probably a better way to put it, are there to help you out with any questions that you have. To tie a bow on that question about faculty and student communication, those live sessions that I mentioned too, those optional live sessions are another great, because not only is it your professor talking things through with you, it's also the opportunity to hear what questions do my fellow classmates have.

39:39

Thomas Nunes

Because nine times out of 10, one person has the question, someone else is going to have that same question. So I think that's another great option as well. So certainly you'll have that direct line to faculty and to get that support that you need along the way, which I think again, especially at the grad and post-grad levels are very important and are really what a lot of students are looking for here as well.

40:02

Thomas Nunes

We are getting towards the end of our questions, so a lot of really great ones have come through here, so certainly keep them coming. This will kind of be one of our last calls here just to remind students to go ahead and type those in the Q& A box.

40:18

Thomas Nunes

Let's see, Ranissa, "Is there an interview requirement in the program?"

40:23

Ranissa Scott

So you'll have the opportunity to interview with Dr. Margolis, in the event that there is a more pressing, more detailed answer that you need in regards to the program.

40:36

Ranissa Scott

But otherwise, Tom and I work closely with our graduate committee selection team and they do trust us implicitly to have a meaningful conversation with you, if not attending these info sessions.

40:50

Ranissa Scott

To where they feel confident that the candidate that they get to review is really someone that truly aligns with the program and that you're going to have a meaningful experience as they assist you in that journey.

41:05

Ranissa Scott

But otherwise, just having that conversation with me or Tom, or even attending the info session is key. And then you're going to have that support along the way with us through the first week of classes.

41:18

Ranissa Scott

You'll have professors, faculty, your success coaches, IT. There's also individuals that can assist in regards to career preparation. So Molly's really amazing at that. And anything else that you need, if Tom and I don't have the answers, we have a team behind us that can assist us with those answers for you.

41:41

Thomas Nunes

And as we get to our last question here, I will pop over and just highlight again, there's the link if you'd like to learn more. Here is our contact information if you wanted to reach out to us.

41:54

Thomas Nunes

But again, if this is the right fit for you, I would certainly encourage you to connect with Ranissa or myself directly. As again, we'll be the advisors that'll be supporting you throughout that entire process there.

42:06

Thomas Nunes

Our final question is "What online platform do you use?" So we use a platform called Moodle, very user-friendly. I use it myself as a student and have felt extremely confident and comfortable on it my entire way through here.

42:19

Thomas Nunes

What is really nice though is that prior to classes getting started, you'll get access to a new student orientation module, which is essentially a guided walkthrough of how to navigate the online platform. It's how to access your Zoom account, how to access your email, how to submit a mock discussion post, how to submit a mock paper, how to access the library and the writing center.

42:41

Thomas Nunes

So for students, they have that sandbox environment that they'll be able to practice in leading up to classes getting started. And as far as your classes, those classes will open up for early access the Thursday before they kick off.

42:54

Thomas Nunes

So you'll have from Thursday through the weekend to really log into your course, take a look at the syllabus, look at your professors, get an idea of the lay of the land, so to speak. And most importantly, as you kind of progress through the program, get an idea of what colleagues and peers are, fellow students of yours in the program.

43:14

Thomas Nunes

It works in a cohort model in the sense that everybody follows the same flow of classes, but you're not following necessarily the exact same grouping as we do have additional sections for our students.

43:25

Thomas Nunes

So it'll be a good opportunity before classes. If you have made some professional relationships, maybe you've made some friends with your fellow classmates, it's a great idea to be able to get an idea of who's in this class with me and start to build that community.

43:38

Thomas Nunes

Which maybe it's an email chain, maybe it's a text message chain. Maybe it's any of the other number of ways that students are able to collaborate with each other as well. Well, with that being said, I don't see that we have had any more questions come through.

43:53

Thomas Nunes

I certainly want to thank you all so much for taking some time out of your Saturdays to spend learning more about our online Doctorate of Education program here at St. Bonaventure. Ranissa and I are here to assist you.

44:06

Thomas Nunes

Certainly we'll be getting this link over to you for your reference, but we are here to help if there's any questions that you have. Ranissa, any final thoughts?

44:14

Ranissa Scott

Yeah, I think that there are a lot of choices out there, and if you do want something that is more personalized and you can customize your journey here and have an experience where professors truly support and teach with intentionality, I feel that you would fit right in here at St.

44:32

Ranissa Scott

Bona's.

44:34

Thomas Nunes

Excellent. Well everybody, I want to wish you a very happy Saturday and a great rest of your weekend, and we do look forward to speaking with you in the future. Bye everybody.