Students Again: Faculty Pursue Doctor of Education

Photo provided by Rampage student photographer Elei Haynes.

In August, Rilla Cooper joined the inaugural class of BU’s online doctorate in education. She is one of five Bluefield employees and 21 total students enrolled in the first course of the Doctor of Education (EdD) program this semester.

“It’s one of the few programs I feel like I could do a doctoral level program and work full-time and have kids full-time and do it all together,” said Cooper, who serves as director of student success. She also teaches University Foundations classes, which replaced Career Pathways.

Bluefield University was approved as a level five institution in June, which allows it to offer up to three doctoral programs. Currently, the university offers the EdD Cooper is working toward, as well as a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA). Dr. Shellie Brown, who founded and teaches in the EdD program, said working toward doctoral programs was the primary motivation for Bluefield College changing its name to university in 2021.

“It says a lot about this institution that the name is not just a bragging right, but there’s constantly new programs being developed because of the university status,” said Wayne Pelts, assistant director of the Academic Center for Excellence and Careers (ACEC). “And I think that just speaks volumes.”

Teaching in the EdD program means helping students refine their research and writing in preparation for their dissertations, says Dr. Brown. She adds that she’s constantly learning from the doctoral students’ expertise and experience. The EdD is designed for working adults and is expected to take about three years to complete.

Some of the biggest challenges Cooper and other faculty members have faced are time management and meeting deadlines. Cooper has been working into the small hours of the morning – exactly what she encourages students not to do.

“I need to find a better balance of when to complete everything, but many of our students are in that same boat,” Cooper said. “They have athletics or work commitments or whatever else they have going on.”

Cooper says the doctoral coursework involves high-level thinking that requires time, focus, and concentration. As part of her doctoral research, she hopes to streamline and improve student support.

Assistant Professor of English Crystal Kieloch says taking the first class toward her doctorate is “a balancing act.”

“I know in the back of my mind, I’ve got to grade these papers, or I’ve got to do this, or I’ve got to do that,” Kieloch said.

She says the program gives her an opportunity to improve herself and her work, then hopefully improve others’ lives. She wants to learn how to enhance online learning and find a feasible way to teach with AI.

Emily Cook, assistant professor of education, is also pursuing the EdD.

“I really consider it an amazing God-given privilege that I get to help form the next generation of educators,” Cook said. “I just want to soak up as much knowledge and be able to pour into them as much as I can, so that they are the best teachers that they can be and . . . transform the lives of their students.”

Cook says she’s already a better teacher because of what she has learned in the past several weeks. Being a student again has given her a better perspective on what students are experiencing. Recently, Cook gave her students an annotated bibliography assignment. The next week, she had one herself.

“It’s interesting to be the one grading it and then to be the student doing it as well,” Cook said. “It keeps your mind fresh.”

The first class in the EdD program will end on Oct. 4, and more classes will begin the next day.