I am interested in attending Concord for several reasons to include time and money. My ultimate goal is to teach college courses and I see that Concord has an EJD as well. Are either the JD or EJD acceptable? Concord is DETC and since it's part of Kaplan, I understand it is regionally accredited as well from what I understand. Most schools require a regionally accreditied terminal degree such as a Phd or Doctorate. Any information is appreciated.
Keep in mind that academics is its own little world and you have to know how it works.
You can teach at a junior college with a master's degree, but those jobs are rare. I have heard from a juco president that if you get a masters in math or english, you can get a job easily. Other subjects? You sorta have to be lucky enough to be there when the guy who has the job now dies.
The terminal degree for a teaching credential is a Ph.D. or an Ed.D, or some variant thereof. A JD is not really considered on-par with those degrees. People make a grave error when they think that a JD is considered the academic equivalent of a Ph.D. Yes, you can teach in a college of law... provided you went to a top 14, and preferably to 3 school and made law review.
The best degree you could get would be a Ph.D. in criminology or something related to the field you want to teach. A J.D. can teach law. that's pretty much it. Every once in a while, a college hires a JD to teach business law, but at most schools, you'd be lucky to see ONE JD in the school of business. Maybe in the Crim Justice classes, you see a JD here or there, but that brings up the next problem or set of problems.
People who put in the work to do something the right way are generally not receptive to people who take shortcuts and try to get the same benefits. An online EJD? Okay, that's a problem. Put yourself in the shoes of somebody with a JD who makes this hiring decision. Yes, he might hire somebody with an EJD, but only after those who got real JDs were not available. As you may have gathered, there is no shortage of JDs in the country. Plus, a lot of them aren't suited to a career in the law and would love nothing more than a 9 month job with full-time pay and benefits where they teach 4 classes a semester.
You're trying to work a shortcut and it will be seen as such. Perhaps your other credentials are so impressive they'll overcome a degree that simply screams "lazy and not particularly intelligent", but if that is the case, why get the EJD.
If you want to teach, get a real master's. An EJD? I'd think somebody with an online EJD was mentally ill. why the hell would any sane person get that degree?
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