A Tour Inside the Capella Offices (introductory video)
Chris Xaver, PhD
Capella Graduate 2008
Hi, I am Chris Xaver … I got my PhD from Capella University in 2008 … and the entire time I was working on my course work, I wondered who and what was on the other end of the internet and telephone lines.
Well, this is our chance to find out … we’re going to tour Capella headquarters right here in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
We’re in the lobby right now… but we’re going to move to Enrollment Services … because that’s where most learners get their start.
Eritrea Constantino
Enrollment Counselor
Thank you for calling Capella University, this is Eritrea, how can I help you?
I just had a tremendous phone call with a woman. And I started asking her, “What is it you want to do in the future and why do you want to get a PhD?” As we were talking, she finally said, “you know, you’re the first person who had ever asked me that. Other people from other schools I’ve spoken have told me, “Oh, well good, I’ll get you in there, let’s just get you started.” Whereas at Capella, we’re really encouraged to have learners ask themselves the tough questions. We’re not going to try to fit you into a program. The program has to be something that you really want to do.
Narrator
Enrollment advisors work closely with Financial Aid …
Enrollment counselor on phone
Hi, I have a learner on the phone that wants to talk to you about financial aid..
Narrator
… and they’re just a few steps away.
Financial aid advisor on phone
Absolutely, you can transfer him on through right now.
Narrator
For many learners, their academic advisor is the person they rely on the most.
Tim Meendering
Academic Advisor
Hi, Heiler, this is Tim your advisor calling from Capella.
Helping them get through some of the issues that come up. Some of the speed bumps that occur. Being a great encouragement for them that there is a great goal ahead of them.
Nakeela Hall
Academic Advisor
That’s when you get the emails that come in saying, “thank you so much for listening to me and thank you for helping me get to this next place or helping me graduate from my degree here at Capella, so it’s a very good feeling.
As you would expect – the IT department at Capella is pretty important. It’s vital to learners, faculty and staff that everything works together without interruption. Al Harkrader is one of the people who make it happen.
Al Harkrader
Principal Network Engineer
We monitor, every day, how well the system is performing from the user’s viewpoint. We monitor it from three different locations around the United States, so we can tell when something is not working right and fix it before the learners have a problem.
Narrator
At Capella, PhD learners and some master’s learners attend a 5 day long residency called colloquium.
Erin Sjoquist
Events Manager
We’re in the middle of two colloquium.
Narrator
A Capella employee I met at my first colloquium was Erin Sjoquist. We struck up a friendship and we still exchange emails. The events team not only handles colloquia, but graduation as well.
Erin Sjoquist
The positive energy the learners have, the appreciation, the stories, I can’t tell you how many times tears have come to my eyes, to hear people’s stories from where they’ve come from, where they started and where Capella has taken them? So, it’s a great place to be.
Narrator
You can’t walk through here without noticing every floor is filled with meeting rooms. Capella is all about collaboration and curriculum.
Sarah Hoegger
Course Developer
I take a lot of pride in setting up a course where I know learners can be successful.
Mike Miller, MBA
Associate Dean Undergraduate Studies
I love the fact that Capella brings on the best people they can regardless of where they live. We work here, we’re in the home office environment but our faculty and our faculty chairs work at home – anywhere around the country. And that brings in some interesting perspectives and some great people to the program.
Narrator
And Capella is all about creativity. On each floor, you’ll find what employees call “The Think Planks” – it’s where a lot of brainstorming takes place.
Mac Meade
Web Site Manager
It’s a good space, it’s a good place. It allows a little more creativity I think than a kind of traditional meeting room. It’s people coming together and trying to figure out the best way to provide a good education.
Loree Terry
Learner Advocacy Manager
It’s great to get away from your cube and come up with some new ideas.
Chris Xaver, PhD
Well, we’re back in the lobby … we have barely scratched the surface.
There are hundreds of people who work right here in this building and hundreds more around the country.
You may have noticed the learner and graduate pictures on the wall. They are all over the place. This is what it’s all about for all the people who work here.
I’m Dr. Chris Xaver … a proud Capella graduate … thanks for taking the tour.
Meet the Capella support services staff
Click on any of the portraits in this collage to learn more about the variety of support services that help set Capella's educational experience apart.
Connect with Capella today
Faculty
Lee Owens, PhD
Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies
This is absolutely the new tradition in higher ed., make no mistake about it. In this particular format, every learner has an opportunity to participate in the discussion, to participate in learning, to exchange with the faculty member, to exchange with their fellow learners. I do not know about you, but I have got experiences where the professor raises a question and while I am thinking on it, Susie Bright eyes, raises her hand in the middle instantly and answers a question. I said, I wanted to say that. Online, everybody has the chance to say that. They get their message out, they get feedback; they get response on it. They have an opportunity to find out where their strengths are, where the areas of development are, and enrich each of those areas. There is nothing like it in higher ed now.
Secondary Video: Adult Learners
Mike Miller, MBA
Associate Dean, Undergraduate StudiesI really truly enjoy the fact that these are adult learners who are bringing something special of their own experiences. They’re adult learners in the sense that they want, they want something out of it besides just the credits. They want something – they want to know why this course? Why this content? What is it about my learning or how can you get me something out of this so that I can apply it or that it can prepare me for capstone going forward. They want to know how it fits into the bigger picture of our curriculum design, which reinforces learning outcomes at a broader level, not just course competencies. And that’s what I like. There’s an attitude and there’s a demand on the part of learners in terms of, “help me get what I want out of this course. I have learning goals here, and I need the content, I need my classmates, but I need you too, faculty member, instructor, I need you to validate me and keep point me in the right direction.”
Secondary video: Moving Up and Forward
Lee Owens, PhD
Associate Dean, Undergraduate StudiesWe have learners who have tremendous skills and abilities and are not able to move forward. They are place-bound, not only in their position but in their companies. I can well imagine that there is an assistant, a supervisor, a director in a department who has trained three of her bosses and she cannot move into that position of supervisor because she lacks the credential, she has all the skills. We are able to allow her to take her skills and abilities, show them in the course room, gain the academic credit that allows her to achieve the degree and move forward and receive the promotions that she is eligible for. That is a wonderful opportunity.
Secondary video: Mentor to Peer to Friend
Sal Nunez, Capella learner and professor of health science, City College of San Francisco:
In my experience having been to, done a Masters Degree in a brick and mortar school, where I would go to school and then leave, here it felt like the relationships were more meaningful.Jeff Leichter, Capella faculty, Harold Abel School of Psychology:
I think it is probably a mistake to think that, that relationships that exist over the Internet are somehow less intense or less meaningful. When I see students who have been in courses for two years and never actually met faculty and they meet face-to-face they are hugging, it is like old friends meeting.Sal Nunez:
I have heard a lot of wonderful things about my mentor and they are all true. As far as the availability, the compassion, the being present, the guidance, and just the support, it has been great.Jeff Leichter:
He just one of the most respectful and self-effacing, considerate people I have ever met, student or not.Jeff has been Sal's Capella mentor for five years.
Jeff Leichter:
Whenever he would call or email for help, he always made a point of saying thank you and how much he appreciated that. So, of course I just wanted to do more, because he felt so committed to the process.Sal Nunez:
His spirit is very full of love and compassion and that as a result he was able to do that for me in the way that I understood, more than through books and through conversations, but just the presence of him being there for me.Jeff Leichter:
Sal is the lowest maintenance learner I have ever had, because he did almost the whole thing on his own and all I did was just get out of the way and he did it on his own with just me there kind of taking some of the obstacles out of the way.Sal Nunez:
He is the man, he is the man. Jeff has been very patient to help me through when I needed it the most and has given me that push. So, you have been a very strong foundation for me, Jeff, to get through this program. It has been very complicated and I know that you have made it a lot easier than it would have been if you would have not been there, so thank you so much.Jeff Leichter:
Yeah, you are welcome.It would definitely be like my own son graduating, because I am very invested in Sal and his future and what he will do to serve his community. As we knew that he would be graduating, what will be our relationship afterward? I said friends and colleagues is my hope, not any more mentor and student, but colleagues.
Sal-Nunez:
It is going to be exciting, it is going to be joyful and it is going to be sad in a certain way, because I will be crossing to the side where I will be joining the group, at the same time in my own mind not wanting to lose the guidance that Jeff has provided. So, still the way I will be seeing you as my mentor. It will be great to have my wife and my daughter there to see this and witness it as well.But it is going to be great, it will be wonderful, with a lot of different emotions.
Jeff Leichter:
It is definitely a very powerful experience to walk across the stage, and you move from being a student to being a part of the profession just in that short walk. So, I will be on the other side saying, well, welcome, and now you are one of us.
Secondary video: Experienced Mentors, New Leaders
Phil Corkill, Faculty, School of Education: I had had her in class, I had watched her grow at Capella and grow in her profession. And I went up to her and said you know I would like to be your mentor if possible. And she sort of smiled and said yeah I would like that.
Charisse Redditt, Elementary School Assistant Principal: People need to know that Capella University is a very prestigious organization. It has a network of supportive faculty, staff, and everybody, everybody is supportive at Capella.
MC (at the podium speaking, February 25, 2006 Smyrna, Georgia graduation party): I will never be able to place in print or speech just how proud we all are of you tonight. Dr. Charisse Redditt.
Charisse walks into room to applause.
Charisse (hugging family, friends): I could not have done this without the support of my husband and my son encouraging me, and all of my family members throughout my childhood, always being there for me, letting me know that I could do everything, and that positive force, that village. I am the village child; I was raised by the village.
Charisse (gets up to hug Phil): I am so glad you are here!
Charisse's husband, Melvin Redditt (interview): She called him Dr. Phil, you know. We would laugh and joke about it. I would say is that Dr. Phil as in Phil and Oprah. We would laugh about that. Whenever she had a question or problem she would e-mail Dr. Phil, calling him, Dr. Phil would be great about getting a response back to her in a timely manner.
Charisse (at podium): I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul for each of you who made it here … Now I am going to start with my grandmother, so I am going to ask her to come up here.
Her grandmother, a single mother, finished 6th grade.
Charisse (at podium): It says grandmother, or grandma, thanks for your support, love Dr. Redditt.
Her mother, a single mother, finished high school.
Charisse's mother (at podium): I just want to let you know I am so very proud of Charisse, so very proud.
Charisse (interview): I have beat all the odds, all the things that people say against society about young students and single mothers, and all those types of things, minorities, I have broken through all those barriers.
Charisse (with Melvin at podium): From the bottom of my heart, I love you and thank you.
You hear audience go "aaawww" and they hug.
Melvin (at podium): She is thanking me and I should be thanking her because I have learned a lot. I have grown a lot. I have to say, Capella, and Charisse and I know, Capella has been good to us.
After presenting gifts to family, there was one more.
Charisse (at podium): I have one more gift. Dr. Corkill? … He was very supportive and I appreciate it. So, from the bottom on my heart to yours, thank you so much.
Applause
Charisse (at podium): On the bag it says dream. There are no limits to what we dream no boundaries to what we can achieve. And he helped me achieve a dream of mine.
Phil (at podium): The first time I sat down with her I asked who are you and what do you want to do with your life and she said without missing a beat, I want to be Secretary of Education of the United States.
Applause
Melvin: And they just had a great working relationship that you know I told him thank you for making it a lot easier for my wife.
Phil (interview): It is people like this that are going to be my legacy. And that is how I view Charisse. I look for great things from Charisse Redditt and some of the other learners that I have been privileged to work with.
Charisse: Knowledge is commitment. Because once you have the knowledge, you have to give it away. Knowledge gives you opportunity, confidence, success, motivation, discipline. All the things that you have to have to be a successful Capella learner.
Phil (interview): I am very proud of you and its been an honor working with you and this will not end here. Our relationship will not end here.
Resources: Faculty Beyond the Courseroom
Capella's faculty members are leaders in their fields who combine top academic credentials with real-world experience.
- Capella Faculty.
- Blog: Public Safety Signals.
- Blog: Organizational Perspectives.
- Blog: The Other 85 Percent.
Enrollment Counseling
Sandra Rieger
Senior Enrollment Counselor
My job is very consultative. So, I love to ask questions and have prospective learners tell me what they are looking for and what they are searching for, what they need, what their ultimate goals are. If we have a good match over all grades, we will help them move forward, if not, then we have various resources that we can lead them to.
Secondary video: Listening to your goals
Travis Morehead Enrollment Counselor
I think the big thing that separates really Capella from a lot other competitors is the fact that we do listen. A lot of times, learners are a little unsure exactly what that next step will kind of look and feel like. So, it is important as an enrollment counselor to kind of understand and uncover, what are some of the things that you want to accomplish, what are some of your concerns, what are some of the things that are really wanting you to take to that next level? So, it is interesting to just like start to understand what is it that you are looking for, is it something that we can help provide for you in terms of making sure that it is a worthwhile experience, making so that it is flexible for you schedule, but something that is going to be marketable and something that is going to ultimately that lead to career opportunities.
Secondary video: Financial Aid Made Easy
Cheryl Best, Special Education Teacher: My job: I am a collaborative teacher, which means I am the support teacher for kids that have special needs or learning disabilities.
Cheryl wanted a PhD, but was not sure she could afford it.
Her first e-mail to Capella went to Enrollment Counselor Stuart Finkelson.
Cheryl: Stuart is the greatest. I e-mailed him, and I checked my e-mail a couple of hours later, he had responded, had me on the right track, everything I needed was laid out before me.
Stuart Finkelson, Enrollment Counselor: Well, an enrollment counselor's job is to work with potential learners and educate them on Capella University, what Capella University is all about.
Cheryl: I was nervous about financial aid. What do I do next? What forms do I fill out? When do I fill them out?
Stuart: I was able to transfer her to a financial aid counselor that I had a lot of experience with. She is very very good.
Alyssa Mason, Financial Aid Counselor: What I remember about Cheryl is that she was definitely driven. She liked to get everything done in a very timely manner. And, she had a lot of really great questions. And, we spent a lot of time on the phone.
Cheryl: If I thought about it, she was already on the phone calling me. She was already on the line calling me or e-mailing me with everything I needed to know to get the job done. It was simple.
Alyssa: They are asking questions, like: Do I have to have good credit to be eligible? Does my income matter? How much is this going to cost me? How long is it going to take me to repay these loans?
Many learners think they earn too much, or too little… but more than 70% of Capella learners receive financial aid.
Cheryl: You will send an email to someone if you need financial aid support, if you have a question about what to do next. Everything from beginning to end is outlined for you.
Stuart: The relationship financial aid counselors have with enrollment counselors really ensures that learners get the best possible experience while applying for financial aid.
Alyssa: You know, I still get phone calls and e-mails from learners that I spoke to two years ago, and they are really happy, and they are, like, I am graduating, I am getting my degree, what do I do now?
Cheryl is getting closer to her PhD.
Cheryl: Ah, Dr. Cheryl Best. That just sends chills through my body.
Stuart: It makes the job that we do here at Capella extremely meaningful. It is a wonderful feeling.
Call 1-888-227-2736 to learn more about your financial aid options.
Resources: Find the Right Program
Capella offers more than 124 specializations ranging from undergraduate to doctoral levels for the advancement in the fields of business management, education, health care, human capital management, information technology, mental health, public administration, and public safety.
Academic Advising
Nakeela Hall
Academic Advisor
As an academic advisor, what I do is help learners through their program. They come in with the enrollment counselor, do the admissions process, once that’s complete, then they come through to me. I help learners through from beginning their coursework, all the way through to graduation.
Secondary Video: Your voice throughout the program
Steve Pope, Senior Academic Advisor
I am the person that they can call at any point. I am their connection point to Capella. I guess the important role that I play is I am their advocate. So, I advocate for learners, if they ever come in to a problem or a policy they are having problems with, I am their voice to help them persist through their program.
Steve Pope, Senior Academic Advisor
When learners first start at Capella, they are little bit nervous about starting online; it is new to most learners. So, it is just making sure they feel comfortable and in navigating the course room and the online environment. The first conversation is really me finding out what their goals are, not only for the program but for when they graduate. So, I would like to know what they do in terms of what are your goals, not only two years from now when you graduate, but five years from now, ten years from now, because I want to make sure this program is going to be the best fit for you.
Resources: Help Up To Graduation and Beyond
Your advisor helps you build a strong foundation, choose courses, and plan to complete your degree.
Financial Aid
Mai Moua
Financial Aid Representative
My job is to assist learners with pretty much the whole application process to becoming a learner and how they can finance their education. So, that can range from when they first start out as an applicant and they need help with the documents or simply an explanation of the documents that they need to apply to even be aware of financial aid to when they are fully immersed in their courses and they were just like to have some peace of mind knowing when their financial aid come in to even pay for their tuition, all the way to the end when a learner is done with their studies and would like to just go over some options they have to pay their student loans.
Secondary Video: The Financial Aid Application Process
Alyssa Mason
Financial Aid SupervisorI love being able to help learners. I find a lot of satisfaction in actually helping get someone through the application process and then talk to them after they’ve graduated and let, help them find solutions on how to wrap up their student loans, how to get on the track to successful payments and you know, now that they’ve graduated and they’re finding a job how do they manage their finances and that’s what we’re here for.
Secondary video: Financial Aid Made Easy
Cheryl Best, Special Education Teacher: My job: I am a collaborative teacher, which means I am the support teacher for kids that have special needs or learning disabilities.
Cheryl wanted a PhD, but was not sure she could afford it.
Her first e-mail to Capella went to Enrollment Counselor Stuart Finkelson.
Cheryl: Stuart is the greatest. I e-mailed him, and I checked my e-mail a couple of hours later, he had responded, had me on the right track, everything I needed was laid out before me.
Stuart Finkelson, Enrollment Counselor: Well, an enrollment counselor's job is to work with potential learners and educate them on Capella University, what Capella University is all about.
Cheryl: I was nervous about financial aid. What do I do next? What forms do I fill out? When do I fill them out?
Stuart: I was able to transfer her to a financial aid counselor that I had a lot of experience with. She is very very good.
Alyssa Mason, Financial Aid Counselor: What I remember about Cheryl is that she was definitely driven. She liked to get everything done in a very timely manner. And, she had a lot of really great questions. And, we spent a lot of time on the phone.
Cheryl: If I thought about it, she was already on the phone calling me. She was already on the line calling me or e-mailing me with everything I needed to know to get the job done. It was simple.
Alyssa: They are asking questions, like: Do I have to have good credit to be eligible? Does my income matter? How much is this going to cost me? How long is it going to take me to repay these loans?
Many learners think they earn too much, or too little… but more than 70% of Capella learners receive financial aid.
Cheryl: You will send an email to someone if you need financial aid support, if you have a question about what to do next. Everything from beginning to end is outlined for you.
Stuart: The relationship financial aid counselors have with enrollment counselors really ensures that learners get the best possible experience while applying for financial aid.
Alyssa: You know, I still get phone calls and e-mails from learners that I spoke to two years ago, and they are really happy, and they are, like, I am graduating, I am getting my degree, what do I do now?
Cheryl is getting closer to her PhD.
Cheryl: Ah, Dr. Cheryl Best. That just sends chills through my body.
Stuart: It makes the job that we do here at Capella extremely meaningful. It is a wonderful feeling.
Call 1-888-227-2736 to learn more about your financial aid options.
Resources: Education Financing Options
Whatever you need to know about financing your education, Capella's financial aid staff is here to help.
Learner Support
Chris Beal
Learner Support Associate
I like to be an advocate for the learner. I like to be someone they are comfortable coming to and talking to and that, that, they have the confidence that I will be able to help them resolve their issue. I like being that go-to guy.
Secondary video: University Support
Jeana Koenig
University Support AssociateUniversities support helps with—I like to think of helping with anything that is non-billing related. So, anything related to Colloquia, registering for courses, how do I find this, where is this located, anything related to dissertation, contacting faculty members. We are kind of the group to go to on, how do I find this, how do I do this, where are best resources?
Resources: Learner Support and Advocacy
Get the resources and support you need to stay on track and achieve your goals.
Alumni Association
Jen Swanson
Alumni Director
Capella really has some significant services and benefits available to alumni. Our intention is to really have a life-long relationship with our learners. So, the relationship doesn’t end at graduation. We continue to offer benefits like the alumni library, there are opportunities to volunteer to influence the lives of current learners through e-mentoring, through a program called the ambassador’s program where alumni can talk to prospects, volunteering at events like commencement and colloquia, so there really is a rich offering of these benefits and services that keep alumni coming back to Capella and really engage our successful graduates to help more graduates become successful.
Resources: Support Beyond Graduation
As a Capella graduate you will be able to network with a community of more than 17,000 accomplished graduates around the country.
Commencement and Events
Barbara Pappenfus
Learner Preparedness Manager
The best part of my job is working with the learners. It’s that face to face connection – it’s hearing their stories – and what they are doing is just amazing so it makes me want to do amazing things here at Capella to help them. (16sec) But it also gives me the confidence that, hey, I can do this, look what these people are doing: working, taking care of their children, all the committees, on boards, millions of things these people have on their plates and yet these people have found time to complete a PhD program. So it’s very inspirational to me and it’s fun to see them at the colloquium, it’s fun to see them at commencement as they’re walking across that stage.
Secondary video: Commencement Moments
Commencement - August 2006, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Tina Locascio, BS graduate, School of Undergraduate Studies:
I am happier than the day I got married. To be honest with you, I am so proud of myself, I really am. I am proud of myself that I did this and that I just woke up one day and said I am going back to school. It’s never too late.I think Capella was a great university. I have had lots of experience with different universities and I think that this has just been a really good program.
I really appreciate the fact that Capella was so serious, you know, it wasn’t just an online experience.
Corey Gilbert, PhD graduate, School of Psychology:
It is that feeling of accomplishment, I never thought I could make it. It is just one of those feelings of, I don’t know, exuberance, I cannot think of another word.Kelly Gilbert, wife of PhD graduate Corey Gilbert:
I was really proud of him, how much work he put into it and sacrifices over the past few years, and I am very proud of him.Robin Bundy, BS graduate, School of Undergraduate Studies:
I didn’t even go to my high school graduation, I do not remember why I did not go, so this is really the first graduation that I have ever been to and I am getting teary eyed again about it. It’s so wonderful. I just can’t put words.Sherry Spencer, PhD graduate, School of Education:
When we went to our first colloquium, the statement that I heard several times was Capella is education through nurturing, not torturing, and they really lived up to it.Standlee Spencer, PhD graduate, School of Education:
It is a very nurturing experience, I highly recommend it, it is the only way to go.Amanda Nellis, PhD graduate, School of Psychology:
We are buddies, friends; we started together, we started the program together, we did our first residency together in 2002, and went all the way through. We were in the same cohort all year. And the residency program was great, wasn’t it?Jill Lampela, PhD graduate, School of Psychology:
Absolutely. We really bonded. We were able to work out some issues, like for instance internship and practicum thing and stuff like that. So, we were able to really kind of feel each other’s pain.Dr. Carolyn Rogers, Capella mentor:
It’s like the beginning really, not the end, the beginning of what they really strive for. I am just so proud of them. They have worked really hard.MaryJane Kirby, PhD graduate, School of Education:
You know, I got kind of teary. My mom and dad passed and they weren’t here to see it, so I was a little teary.Fred Moore, PhD graduate, School of Education:
It was a great feeling. I was able to achieve one of my educational goals that I have set. I lost my mother in this process who supported me in everything that I did. Walking across that stage brought back memories of her, and that was the height of my education.Marilyn Bennett, PhD graduate, School of Education:
Capella has been wonderful to me. Phil Corkill was my mentor and I also worked with Dr. Rogers, and you just meet so many wonderful people and you support each other and that is why I love Capella. It has been a wonderful learning experience.Maria Williams, PhD graduate, School of Education:
My mentor Dr. Rogers has been wonderful, she has been there from the beginning, she supported me, she has guided me and she has been everything that I need. The push that I needed when I felt like I had given up, she said no, you got to do this. So, she has been very, very good and helpful for the process and Capella is wonderful. I love Capella.Dr. Carolyn Rogers, Capella mentor:
Just to see them walk across the stage is like a mother, and like my children are all coming across and have reached the height of an experience, the end of just a journey, but the beginning of the real life experience. I am so proud of everyone.
Resources: The Prize You Earn
When you have accomplished your goal of finishing your program, you will experience the reward and pride of graduation.
Registrar
Brian Knutson
Registrar’s Office Manager
I think we’re successful with the learners when we don’t hear from them. If things are going smoothly we know we’re doing our jobs correctly but when w do hear from them, we’re very quick to take action and figure out what needs to be done to help them out so they can continue – and the biggest success for us is every time a learner graduates – when they can actually persist from the very beginning, not matter what hurdles or hardships they face, when they finally graduate it’s a thrill for all of us because we know we’ve done something to help them reach that point.
Resources: Keeping Your Records Straight
We aim to keep all of our processes as efficient as possible, to keep you free of "red tape."
Capella Library
Susan Skrien
Library Services Manager
The librarians at Capella offer a wide variety of services. So it might be something really simple like just pointing someone in the right direction to click on a link in their course room that will take them into a full text article, or we can set up an appointment where they’ll call us when they’re available on the phone and have a 45 minute in-depth conversation about the best resources to look for seminal works in the particular field they’re in or – you know I’ve tried this search strategy a couple times but I’m coming up with nothing but I know there’ s a lot out there and so we’ll walk through that with them step by step.
Resources: Librarians Help Find What You Need
Our librarians have the online expertise and tools you need to optimize your educational research.
Academic Success
Kathe Pelletier
Director of University Learning Resources
We really try to help you reflect on what are you doing here as a learner at Capella, and what’s important to you and how can you make yourself successful. What resources can we connect you with in the vast range of network at Capella and I think that it’s tricky sometimes to be so individually focused but I feel like Capella is really committed to helping you as an individual find your own path and be successful – even if you’re going to – we know you’re going to hit obstacles so how can we help you understand where that might be and find a resource to get past it.
Resources: Academic Success
Capella gives you the tools and skills you need to be a successful learner.
Armed Forces and Veterans Support
John Hayes
Armed Forces Advisor
Well, military friendliness is our ultimate goal. The mission of Armed Forces and Veteran Support is to really drive, not just military friendliness but what the definition of military friendliness is throughout higher education. So we have to ask ourselves what they even mean? We’ve come up with a definition – more of a formula – for all of our internal partners to make Capella a military friendly institution. And that’s to understand, support and advocate – and obviously that’s an equation that goes in one direction. Before you can support you have to understand, before you can advocate you need to support. So really in the understanding we try to make sure that everyone understands what makes this learner population so different. And in terms of support, to be able to use that understanding to really drive the support structure we have in place – and not just that, not just to accept the support structure we have but to advocate for more support now and in the future. And that’s really the kind of military friendliness we envision and we strive for – and it’s one of the reason that Military Advanced Education has named us a top military friendly institution for two years in a row.
Secondary video: Recognizing High Potential
Janet Salmons, Faculty, School of Business and Technology: I feel honored when I see someone take what they have learned in the courses and put it into use in their own lives.
Wesam Mahmoud, MBA, Class of 2006: Her class was about leadership and how to lead. And it was my first time to actually have a class in leadership other than what I had in the Marine Corps. I was a translator. Very much, all I did.
Wesam Mahmoud enlisted in the Marines after 9/11. A native Arabic speaker, he was a front-line translator in Iraq.
Captain Art Decotiss, Wesam's Commander in Iraq: Very good at what he did, very intelligent, on top of that he had a real strong work ethic that made him excel above those around him. In Mahmoud's case, he was definitely a team player.
One day on patrol, his Humvee hit a mine.
Staff Sergeant Simon Phillips, Wesam's Sergeant in Iraq: I guess one of the tires went off the road and hit the IED. Lifted the Humvee up, spun it about 180 degrees.
Wesam (showing scars): You see the scar right here … When I started the MBA program I was going in for my first surgery.
Jenny Mahmoud (Wesam's wife): When Wesam was going through rehab for 30 days, he could not walk, he could not take a shower, he could not get up to make any food to do anything.
Wesam: But I was still able to get my laptop and put it on my leg and do all my schoolwork.
Wesam (with Janet): She taught me the first class I had with at Capella, when I was sick.
Janet: I think it takes enormous focus to be able to do any kind of job and also pursue a higher education degree. So, in a situation like this, certainly the kind of focus he showed is remarkable.
Wesam: I loved it so much. Leadership is one of the subjects that I adore so much right now.
Janet: And over and over again, he said this is a matter of life and death. A successful leader will bring his troops home alive.
Wesam: This is what the marine corps is all about. You are a leader. You have 4 or 5 marines, 10 marines. And you have to teach them how to be a part of one team to be successful … and come back to your base and then come back home alive.
Janet: He was able to take from our readings and our discussions ideas that he could use … for these kinds of situations where leadership and teamwork is really put to the test.
Janet is working with Wesam to publish some of his papers.
Wesam: I want to publish some of my papers. And she directed me through the whole process, she reviewed the paper twice. One for the course purposes, and one for the publications purposes, which was awesome.
Honorably discharged, Wesam is now a translator for a federal agency.
Wesam: They require at least a BA. And you have to have a secret clearance for that. Now if you want to go higher than a secret clearance you have to have either a master's degree or a PhD.
Jenny: I know a friend of his trying to get into the same field and they would not even consider him because he does not have the degree.
Wesam: How to be a good leader and have everybody on your team follow you. In the Marine Corps, this is very important. Same thing I think is with the Capella team. They all have one goal, one mission to accomplish, which is help that learner get an answer, finish his degree, and be successful in his career.
Resources: Dedicated Military Support
We are proud to offer active duty and veteran service members knowledgeable educational support and advocacy.
Career Center
Nona Haller
Career Counselor
Here at Capella we have a career center that provides lifetime career support, so even after you graduate, you are still eligible to come back to the career center. On I Guide we house all of our materials, all of our great resources, as well as an “Ask a Career Counselor” – you click on the button you fill out a web form and the request comes into us and then we can give you individual time and attention.
Resources: Career Guidance and Support
Achieve your professional goals with the help of Capella's Career Center.
Colloquia Support
Erin Sjoquist
Events Manager
Colloquium is a face-to-face component that our PhD learners and some of our master learners have to complete. They are residencies that are put on all over the country in various states and locations. We have anywhere from 400 to 800 learners in attendance at of these. Our department helps to put these residencies on. We do all the logistics for it, the hotel, the transportation, and helping the faculty get there, since our faculty come from all over country as well. What we do hear over and over from our learners is, that first residency is so important and they love it after they have been there. So, they are very anxious to get to the second one. Sometimes, we hear from learners, Gosh! I wish I would have gotten here sooner.
Resources: Residential Colloquiua
Connect face-to-face with staff, faculty and learners from around the world at PhD residential colloquia.
New Learner Experience
Carlie Gebauer
New Learner Experience Coordinator
One of the most rewarding parts of my job and knowing that I’ve helped a new learner is really when – even in that short week when I mostly interact with them in that orientation seminar, is when they’ve come in the door really nervous and they leave the orientation seminar saying, “Wow, that was a real phenomenal experience and I feel real prepared to start my course.”
Resources: Easing Stress For New Learners
Prepare for the exciting educational experience that lies ahead.
- Online Seminar: Making the Graduate School Decision.
- Online Seminar: Making the Undergraduate School Decision.
Research and Scholarship Center
Courtney Jarboe
Academic Assistant, IRB Support
My position is to assist doctoral learners through Milestone 6, which is the IRB application process. IRB stands for the Institutional Review Board. All dissertation research must go through that milestone in order to conduct their research study. What I do is I help them through the IRB application process, getting them used to the IRB net software that we use for the review, as well as completing the application, helping them with their faculty mentor in terms of what the mentor is required to do for that review, and then also assisting them for what do I do after IRB approval and help them through Milestone 7 which is their proposal conference call.
Resources: Research Assistance
Our librarians have the online expertise and tools you need to optimize your educational research.
Disability Services
Mark Gasche
Director of Specialized Services
What we really enjoy about Capella University is that we have any number of learners with disabilities that find us to be accessible from the standpoint of, we are giving them an opportunity to earn a degree that historically they might not otherwise have had access to and the online learning environment tends to be more accessible. So, if you have a visual impairment, or a hearing impairment, you can create your environment typically in your home with all of the assisted technology, the laptop, just the way you need it and want it, and we find that this environment is more comfortable, is more familiar. Ultimately, learners with disabilities are simply more successful.
Secondary video: Ability Not Disability
Greg Sealey, Capella learner, MS in IT Management specialization:
I have been wanting to do a Masters for quite a while, and just working all day and all that, I just couldn’t find myself with the time to go back to college. Being with a disability that would be a pretty big challenge for me to go back.Lisa Bromenshenkel, Capella disability services specialist:
He definitely has the ability there, ability to succeed in college, and we just look at what can we do to help him with those limitations so that he can succeed.Greg has muscular dystrophy.
Greg Sealey:
I am Greg Sealey. I am Manager of Credit Systems Support at the Home Depot, I mange a team of five other people. I got my Master’s Degree in a traditional campus top setting. I had to go to the class and carry my books and get the books out and all that, it was very challenging at times. Since then my strength and ability have declined in about 20 years, so the idea of going back to a traditional campus really would not work for me this time.Lisa Bromenshenkel:
We had an opportunity to speak about his particular health conditions and what his abilities were and also what his limitations were. He had a good knowledge of what he needed to be able to succeed in the online academic environment.Greg Sealey:
For me, I have to use my electronic keyboard from the display, I can use my mouse to point to the letters on the keyboard and type that way. That was a reply to me from one of the other learners. Working with the disability services group here at Capella, they have been able to help me get all of my books in electronic format, so I do not have to actually get a book and open it up and read it. Technology obviously has just helped tremendously for me to be able to succeed now.Lisa Bromenshenkel:
Each person has different abilities and different limitations, but what I have found in working with the 470 learners that we have right now, that all have the ability to succeed in an online environment.Greg Sealey:
They have just been a tremendous help in making sure this thing works like it should. I have been very pleased with the help that Lisa, specifically, has provided me.Lisa Bromenshenkel:
Really for some people this online environment at Capella University is their access to an education, and that is what is really exciting.
Resources: Disability Services at Capella
We are committed to providing access, accommodations, and advocacy for Capella learners with disabilities.
Advanced Learner Doctoral Advising Team
Laura Hutt
Advanced Learner Doctoral Advisor
The one thing about being an adviser that learners need to know is it’s okay to call us. In fact, sometimes what we can help learners do is relieve some of the stress – sometimes they’ve heard myths or they think they’ve really messed up and don’t know how to get back on or they’re behind – most of the time, it’s something that we can solve. Advisers, we know the workings, we understand what’s going on in the background of the dissertation. And there’s almost no problem that is insurmountable. So I would say the one thing: that we are there for learners and they should call us if they have any questions and not stress over things too much without calling an adviser.
Secondary video: A Team Through the Trenches
Tanya Debnam, PhD in Education, Class of 2008: No matter what your walk of life is, no matter what your career is, if you have a drive to complete your PhD, I really think you should go for it, and do not let any situation stop you.
Tanya is a special education teacher in Prince George's County, Maryland.
Lynn Riskedal, Academic Advisor: We really want to try to connect with each learner. Doing the check-in, how the course is going, to troubleshoot anything ahead of time before it blossoms into a bigger issue, to let the learner know that we are here.
Ilene Risley, Senior Enrollment Director: Tanya is a remarkable woman and she touched my heart … she will always be in my heart and I ca not wait to see her.
Ilene (at the Atlanta Colloquium, starts yelling): This is Tanya Debnam, this is Tanya! Yay!
Tanya (at the Atlanta Colloquium): This is why I did not quit! I love her!
Tanya also serves in the National Guard. Her unit responded to Hurricane Katrina.
Tanya (walking down the street with Ilene): What we saw was not something that everyone would want to see, or need to or desire.
Tanya (interview): The balancing act for me is when I am on orders, active duty orders.
Ilene (interview): She actually was away from the classroom and did not get the things posted exactly the time that we recommend.
Tanya (on the street): Posting on Wednesday when you are in the water, seeing things that the American public does not want to see and it poses problems when you want to post and if the deadline to post is at 5:00 and you ca not because you are in the water…
Tanya (interview): I was ready to quit, I was ready to give up. I had no more will left to complete my education.
Ilene (interview): I did go to the mat for her, and I would have done more for her if needed, and I know that Capella would have backed me up.
Tanya: She was on the phone with me, midnight to 1 a.m or 2 a.m. just saying, you know, what can I do, what can I do?
Lynn: When we get communication from other folks in the department that there is an issue going on, we are there to advocate for the learner. And help get the situation resolved, and that is exactly what happened between the enrollment services folks, and the learner and the doctoral advisors.
Lynn: We are there to advocate for the learner and make things right.
Ilene: And they did it. They did it.
Tanya: We were in the trenches together. She got down there with me, and we talked through it, we walked through it, we crawled through it, and we made it through all the obstacles.
Lynn: When there is a concern or an issue that rises, Capella helps resolve it as best they can where other institutions you hear learners saying, boy I never got this kind of help when I was at, whatever institution.
Tanya: What I like is she is allowing me to serve, and be a student and a teacher and a mom at the same time. And it is humbling to know there really are those who really support the troops and educators, especially those of us who really want to get to our, that eagle soaring in the sky.
Tanya and Ilene hug
Resources: Doctoral Learner Stress Relief
Hear directly from Capella doctoral advisors about what it takes to complete a doctoral program.
Writing Program
Stone Shiflet
Coordinator, Writing Across the Curriculum
What I find is that there are very few people who can’t write. There are a lot of people who don’t have the skills to write in the academic genre. But you could say the same thing about algebra. If I tell you that I can teach you to do algebra, you believe me, because it seems to be something where there are steps that you can learn. Writing is the same way. But for whatever reason in our culture we don’t teach that and we don’t reinforce it in our schools. And that’s one of the major reasons as Writing Across the Curriculum coordinator – one of my first projects, and support again from all the schools and undergraduate studies at Capella, was to build a writing process, to define clearly what it would mean to be an academic writer, create the resources to teach you how to do that, and then to get that out.
Secondary video: Dissertation Writer's Retreat
Stone Shiflet, PhD, Writing Across the Curriculum Coordinator, Capella University
The Dissertation Writer’s Retreat is not a retreat just about writing because a dissertation is not just about writing.Robin Veal, Reference Librarian and Liaison to the School of Education, Capella Universit
When you are in that moment and you need that particular resource, when you could get the help that you need at that moment and it is just so much more significant and meaningful in your learning process. And, that is what part of the Writer’s Retreat is, is that you are in the moment and you are writing, and you are at that point in time where you need help and you get that help. And, the fact that you made this progress makes you even more excited to do more progress later on.Stone Shiflet, PhD, Writing Across the Curriculum Coordinator, Capella University
Would you tell us a little bit about what is going on with your research question?Student Speaker
As a technology person, I was having a hard time wrapping around composition courses, which my mentor had suggested as being an area that was of great need.Stone Shiflet, PhD, Writing Across the Curriculum Coordinator, Capella University
Coming to a Dissertation Writers' Retreat is that final moment before you enter the academy to stop and say, let me make sure this is who I want to be. Let me make sure I have said it the way I want to say it and then it accomplishes what I want for me, and what I think it is relevant for the field.Mary D. Richardson, Currently Pursuing a PhD in Oraganization and Management, Columbus, OH
We need the tools to go to the next step. In a writing program that they provide in the Dissertation Writing Retreat is the tools you need to become that doctor, whoever.David Magee, Currently Pursuing a PhD in Business and Technology, Jacksonville, FL
Because the mere word, Retreat, just registered in my mind as some relief.Mary D. Richardson, Currently Pursuing a PhD in Oraganization and Management, Columbus, OH
The tools get you motivated, the tools are here, they provide different techniques, they listen to you. They find out, they dig inside of you that you did not even know that exist, they motivate you. They push you, they tell you to relax.Robin Veal, Reference Librarian and Liaison to the School of Education, Capella University
The value of this is that if you just want to stay away from everybody and write for a whole period of time, you can do that. But, there is that option of having those resources available to you when you do get stuck right away to move you forward.Stone Shiflet, PhD, Writing Across the Curriculum Coordinator, Capella University
They have had an entire day to not only work on their dissertation but to not feel guilty about it. To feel like that is what they are supposed to be doing—and it is powerful.
Resources: Academic Writing Assistance
You will find support, strategies, and feedback for expanding your academic writing skills.