RE: Degree Programs

["Hauglie, Joe" <jhauglie -at- ti -dot- com>]

Two other good choices for a TW degree...

1) Michigan Tech University - just started a TW program and you should look
to see where the profs. got their degrees. Contact them for opinions, too.
(They HAVE to be in the know. It's part of their job.)

2) Consider doing a multidisciplinary program with elements of English or
your primary language (good communication starts with that), information
science (lots of neat stuff going on there) and the field in which you
believe you are most likely to be working in the next 5 to 10 years. Most
universities which are worth your $$ should be able to help you put
something like this together.

3) You should get in touch with several instructional leaders - go check out
recent issues of the STC publication (name escapes me at the moment) and see
who is being published. Contact them and ask for their advice.

Most of all, you should be sure to work with someone in a degree program who
meets the following criteria:

a) you have respect for him/her professionally
b) you share mutual professional and research interests (yes, you'll have to
have at least one or two of those)
c) he or she appreciates and respects your work experience and background

If you end up in a degree program working with someone who doesn't regard
the fact that you have been a working professional, you will end up quite
frustrated, despite the degree you are working toward. (IMHO, anyway.)

Joe Hauglie
Technical Editor, Texas Instruments - Tucson
jhauglie -at- ti -dot- com