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In the fall of 2010, Jeffery Lesser, a math teacher at a prestigious high school in Port Washington, NY, became the first person to earn a doctoral degree from Concordia University Chicago through wholly online work.

The entire doctoral process was an exercise in distance learning, from coursework to dissertation to defense, with Lesser in New York, Concordia faculty in Chicago and Tennessee, and his classmates scattered across the US.

Lesser’s experience represents an important evolution in how Concordia University Chicago delivers coursework, vastly expanding its geographic reach and ability to create learning communities around the world.

“I was looking for the opportunity to get a doctorate, and I found that Concordia’s online program was just a perfect fit for me.” — Dr. Jeffery Lesser (Concordia, EdD, '10)

“Our mission is to serve students, nationally and internationally,” says Dr. Thomas Jandris, Dean of the College of Graduate and Innovative Studies. “We serve that mission though an expanding program of distance learning.”

The Evolution of Concordia's Online Doctoral Programs

This summer, some one hundred Concordia students across the country are doing doctoral dissertation work online. By the summer of 2012, the number is expected to double.

As of March 2011, Concordia’s masters and doctoral programs boasted students from 21 countries, with Chicago-based faculty teaching students directly in their home countries, from Vietnam to Brazil to Malaysia.

“We're breaking new ground with this online doctoral program.” — Dr. Margaret Trybus

Concordia University Chicago is building a world-class online graduate program by taking the best of its face-to-face doctoral programs and evolving it for the online world.

According to Dr. Margaret Trybus, Assistant Dean of Graduate Studies and a member of Lesser’s dissertation committee, Concordia’s programs have been thoughtfully constructed to meet student needs.

Dr. Trybus says the challenges in creating this program involved learning to mentor at a distance, communicating to create strong relationships, establishing infrastructure and adopting technology to conduct all coursework and the dissertation process online, and ensuring students have access to high-level academic expertise.

“We were breaking new ground with this online doctoral program,” says Dr. Trybus, “and we needed to ensure that the quality online matched the standards of our traditional, face-to-face programs.”

“Doctoral students are highly motivated, educated adult learners who are focused on the goal of a terminal degree,” says Dr. Amanda Maddocks, Associate Professor of Foundations, Social Policy and Research and the chair of Lesser’s dissertation committee. “Whether online or in a traditional classroom, we seek to create an environment of learner-centered engagement through instructors who guide, coach and mentor.”

Lesser presented his doctoral defense from New York through the web-conferencing software Adobe Connect. The members of his dissertation committee in Chicago and Tennessee were also connected, as were 20 students in Concordia’s online doctoral program, all scattered across the country.

After successfully defending his dissertation, Lesser made his first trip to the Concordia’s Chicago campus—to attend his graduation. It was also the first time he had met in person the members of his dissertation committee.

Dr. Trybus “felt such pride” to see Lesser graduate. “This happened through the team effort of a community of learners and educators in action.”

“By the time you reach this level in your education, you know your needs as a learner to accomplish your best work,” says the now Dr. Lesser. “I was looking for the opportunity to get a doctorate, and I found that Concordia’s online program was just a perfect fit for me.”