The External Cooperative Doctoral Studies Program: A Model for Reducing the Shortage of Black Higher Education & Faculty & Administrators with Earned Doctorates.

To answer the need for more black teachers and administrators in institutions of higher education, Federal City College (FCC) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI & SU) planned and implemented a cooperative program to provide advanced graduate training to faculty and staff at FCC leading to the Doctor of Education degree. The program enabled faculty and staff unable to take a leave of absence to maintain their present position while participating in the program. Although each participant's plan of studies was individualized, certain elements of the program were shared: (1) a professional core of seminars and laboratory studies in higher education; (2) a series of institutes, tutorials, conferences, externships, and discussions with outside experts, agency heads, and other personnel; and (3) formal training in doctoral-level research and evaluation activities, including the design and outline of a dissertation. As a basis for designing the individual plans of study and research, each participant was required to pass a qualifying examination early in the program. Upon successful completion of the individual plan of study, exclusive of the dissertation, some students elected to receive a certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies and terminated their participation at that point. The program was termed a success by both the participants from FCC and the VPI & SU staff. (MM)