Abstract:

In August 2008, the doctoral program (Ed. D.) in Distance Education at Athabasca University, Canada officially began. This is the first doctoral program of its kind in North America and is evidence of Athabasca University's continuing global leadership in distance education teaching, scholarship, and program innovation.

This presentation outlines the historical development, program design, and innovative features of this new program. Further, from the unique perspective of an AU doctoral student enrolled in the first cohort of this program, insights into students’ initial reactions and early experiences will be provided.

Keywords:

distance education (de), athabasca university (au), doctoral, online, cohort.