Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/56539
it's not the only way, say many educators. Organizations like AACSB want to raise the profile of the degree among governmental funding agencies, such as the National Science Foundation, to attract more financial support for business scholarship. To alleviate the high opportunity cost of the degree—a factor that can deter many promising students— some recommend aiding students with larger grants and shorter times to degree completion. Perhaps the biggest area of controversy is whether a doc- toral degree can be effectively delivered via part-time resi- dencies or online technologies. But Sorensen of the Pamplin College argues that the terms "part-time" and "online" do not necessarily exclude academically challenging doctoral courses of high quality. "U.S. schools shy away from the online model because it has been tainted by online programs that have taken a 'trade school' approach," Sorensen says. "But the schools that have offered online doctoral education have been innovative. We simply need more schools to use innovative delivery and do a quality job at it." If business schools intend to mitigate the impact of the doctoral shortage and produce research that continues to make significant contributions to the real world, he argues, they will have to develop more innovative approaches in their doctoral programs. Change on the Horizon Not everyone supports radical changes to the traditional model. After all, what happens to the rigor of scholarship if students aren't on campus full-time? What happens to the support that most doctoral candidates provide to their fac- ulty advisors? "To become skilled at scholarly thinking and writing requires an intensive amount of time," says Shapiro of the Smith School. "If students aren't focusing on their degrees full-time, they will not have the ability to engage with their studies. I just can't imagine that programs that make it easier to study for the PhD would be feasible." There is one point, however, on which most agree: Schools that invest in their post-graduate degrees have an incredible opportunity to raise the profile of their pro- grams and graduates. Some administrators hold that if business schools do not produce the number of doctorally qualified faculty they need to teach tomorrow's students, they will be forced to adjust their approaches. If the cur- rent climate is any indication, attention to doctoral educa- tion is likely to intensify, as schools adopt more innovative scholarship models, create more collaborative programs, invest more resources, and more fervently promote the value of doctoral education in business. ■ z Earned Excellence AACSB Accreditation: The mark of quality for business schools. Accomplished faculty, cutting- edge curricula, and a promise to strive for the best are hallmarks of AACSB-accredited institutions. Earned by less than fi ve percent of business schools worldwide, this achievement assures that students graduate with the knowledge and skills needed to handle tomorrow's challenges. Advancing Management Education Worldwide www.aacsb.edu Photo Credits: Austral University (left); Asian Institute of Management (right) BizEd MARCH/APRIL 2009 31