scholarly journals Who Are the Doctoral Students Who Drop Out? Factors Associated with the Rate of Doctoral Degree Completion in Universities

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Wollast ◽  
Gentiane Boudrenghien ◽  
Nicolas Van der Linden ◽  
Benoît Galand ◽  
Nathalie Roland ◽  
...  

The issue of considerable dropout rate in doctoral programs is well documented across a large number of countries. However, few studies address the factors associated with doctoral completion among Non-U.S. countries, multiple universities and fields of research. Nor do they investigate the interactions between these factors. The present paper aimed to overcome these limitations and analyzed the population of doctoral students in all disciplines of the two largest universities of the French-speaking Community of Belgium (N = 1509). Specifically, we focused on several factors: gender, nationality, marital status, master grade, whether students continued at the same university when transitioning to the doctoral degree, whether they continued in the same field, age at registration, research field and funding (i.e., type of funding and associated job requirements). Findings indicate that four factors (marital status, master grade, research field and funding) are directly associated with dropout rate when all factors are considered jointly in the same model. Furthermore, results indicate that some of these factors, such as the marital status and gender, interact. In addition, we found that an accumulation of risk factors leads to a massive increase in dropout rates. Finally, a time course analysis revealed that the highest dropout rate occurs during the first two years and is related to the absence of funding or scholarship. The results, limits and futures perspectives are discussed.

Author(s):  
Tiffany J. Cresswell-Yeager ◽  
Raymond J. Bandlow

To increase success and graduation rates, research shows that doctoral programs must adapt to changes in how instruction is managed and delivered, and must include options that recognize and facilitate discipline mastery without compromising their integrity or the quality of their degrees. This chapter explains a new path to doctoral degree completion, one that minimizes arbitrary time-frames and emphasizes discipline mastery through rigorous coursework and graduate-level research. The authors recommend a new model for successful completion of the dissertation within the Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) through evidence-based practice. This model implements structured mentoring and the transformation of dissertation research from an end-of-program destination to a program-embedded process. This chapter will provide a discussion of four evidence-based strategies for improved success for doctoral students following this type of pathway to dissertation completion.


Author(s):  
Hongryun Woo ◽  
Malik S. Henfield ◽  
Janice A. Byrd ◽  
Taryn Richardson

Although many doctoral students in counselor education (CE) programs successfully complete their programs and obtain a doctoral degree, some students drop out for a variety of reasons (Protivnak & Foss, 2009). Given the negative consequences that accompany doctoral student attrition for non-completers and their university (Willis & Carmichael, 2011), scholars have begun to explore students’ experiences in CE doctoral programs (Hoskins & Goldberg, 2005; Protivnak & Foss, 2009). Despite the growing body of literature on students’ program experiences in CE doctoral programs, in general, little emphasis has been placed on how programs prepare students for success. In particular, to date, the literature related to how CE-sponsored programming orients students for doctoral training in CE is largely unknown. Such knowledge has the potential to shed light on student attrition and retention and further professional development issues in students. As such, this study aimed to fill this void by exploring aspects of CE doctoral student orientations and students’ perceptions of the degree to which these orientations met their needs.


Author(s):  
Pamela Felder

This study examines the influence of faculty mentorship in the shaping of African American doctoral student success. A case analysis framework is used to investigate the belief systems that doctoral students held about their doctoral experience. Data collection involved a one-phase semi-structured interview protocol used to gather information about these experiences from a post-degree perspective. African American doctoral degree completion is addressed as a critical function of student success within an elite educational context. Results of the study demonstrate that the African American doctoral degree completion is complicated by students' perceptions of faculty advising, faculty behavior and the lack of diverse faculty leadership.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 1552-1563
Author(s):  
Denise A. Tucker ◽  
Mary V. Compton ◽  
Sarah J. Allen ◽  
Robert Mayo ◽  
Celia Hooper ◽  
...  

Purpose The intended purpose of this research note is to share the findings of a needs assessment online survey of speech and hearing professionals practicing in North Carolina to explore their interest in pursuing a research-focused PhD in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) and to document their perceptions of barriers to pursing a PhD in CSD. In view of the well-documented shortage of doctor of philosophy (PhD) faculty to attract, retain, and mentor doctoral students to advance research and to prepare future speech and hearing professionals, CSD faculty must assess the needs, perceptions, and barriers prospective students encounter when considering pursuing a doctoral research degree in CSD. Method The article describes the results of a survey of 242 speech and hearing professionals to investigate their interest in obtaining an academic research-focused PhD in CSD and to solicit their perceived barriers to pursuing a research doctoral degree in CSD. Results Two thirds of the respondents (63.6%) reported that they had considered pursuing a PhD in CSD. Desire for knowledge, desire to teach, and work advancement were the top reasons given for pursuing a PhD in CSD. Eighty-two percent of respondents had no interest in traditional full-time study. Forty-two percent of respondents indicated that they would be interested in part-time and distance doctoral study. The barriers of time, distance, and money emerged as those most frequently identified barriers by respondents. Conclusion The implications inform higher education faculty on how they can best address the needs of an untapped pool of prospective doctoral students in CSD.


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1and2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Uttam Kr. Baruah ◽  
Mrinmoy K. Sarma

Research findings consistently indentified the importance of inbound tourists shopping activities as contributor to local economy. This paper analyses the shopping expenditure of domestic tourists in the Northeast India. Previous studies show the associations of tourists trip typologies and demographic profiles, particularly, of the international tourists with shopping expenditures. A study was carried out in 2011 by employing a convenient method of sampling survey in Northeastern region of India comprising seven sister states to examine the association of trip typology, marital status and gender of domestic tourists with expenditure on shopping. The results indicate probable association of shopping expenditure with trip typology and gender while marital status does not seem to influence expenditure on shopping. Among tourists of different typologies, Rural and culture tourists scaled high reflecting maximum expenditure on shopping while Nature and parks tourists as well as Active outdoor tourists incurred least on shopping. Gender-wise segmentation indicates female tourists as high spender than male counterparts. It is advisable to retailers in destination areas to orient their products offerings attractive to the female tourists visiting to enjoy rural & cultural tourists and also those come with family members for leisure purposes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1029-1042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Na Zhang ◽  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Jing Wang

To expand the business ethics research field, and to increase society's understanding of Chinese insurance agents' business ethics, we investigated how gender differences are related to agents' business ethical sensitivity and whether or not these relationships are moderated by empathy. Through a regression analysis of the factors associated with the business ethical sensitivity of 417 Chinese insurance agents, we found that gender played an important role in affecting business ethical sensitivity, and empathy significantly affected business ethical sensitivity. Furthermore, empathy had a moderating effect on the relationship between gender and business ethical sensitivity. Both men and women with strong empathy scored high on business ethical sensitivity; however, men with strong empathy had higher levels of business ethical sensitivity than did women with little empathy. The findings add to the literature by providing insight into the mechanisms responsible for the benefits of empathy in increasing business ethical sensitivity.


Author(s):  
Yujin Kim

In the context of South Korea, characterized by increasing population aging and a changing family structure, this study examined differences in the risk of cognitive impairment by marital status and investigated whether this association differs by gender. The data were derived from the 2006–2018 Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging. The sample comprised 7,568 respondents aged 45 years or older, who contributed 30,414 person-year observations. Event history analysis was used to predict the odds of cognitive impairment by marital status and gender. Relative to their married counterparts, never-married and divorced people were the most disadvantaged in terms of cognitive health. In addition, the association between marital status and cognitive impairment was much stronger for men than for women. Further, gender-stratified analyses showed that, compared with married men, never-married men had a higher risk of cognitive impairment, but there were no significant effects of marital status for women.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 950-950
Author(s):  
Jamie Rincker ◽  
Jessica Wallis ◽  
Angela Fruik ◽  
Alyssa King ◽  
Kenlyn Young ◽  
...  

Abstract Recommendations for older adults to socially isolate during the COVID-19 pandemic will have lasting impacts on body weight and physical activity. Due to the pandemic, two in-person RCT weight-loss interventions in obese older adults with prediabetes, Veterans Achieving Weight Loss and Optimizing Resilience-Using Protein (VALOR-UP, n=12) and the Egg-Supplemented Pre-Diabetes Intervention Trial (EGGSPDITE, n=7), were converted to remote formats and weekly nutrition (EGGSPDITE and VALOR-UP) and exercise (VALOR-UP only) classes were delivered using synchronous videoconference technology (Webex); classes were accessed via tablet/desktop/laptop or smart phone. Steps taken to transition participants to remote formats included technology training, implementation of staff tech-support, and delivery of nutrition education, tablets, scales, and exercise bands. The time to successfully transition participants was 1 week for early adopters (n=10) and up to 4 weeks for those with significant technology barriers (n=9); their difficulties included internet access, camera and microphone access and use, and electronic submission of weight and food records. Even with these challenges, in the first 3 months of remote delivery, participant dropout rate was low (10.5%, n=2), attendance was high (87.6% nutrition class (n=19); 76.4% exercise class (VALOR-UP, n=12)), and weight loss was successful (>2.5% loss (n=13); >5% loss (n=8)), showing that lifestyle interventions can be successfully adapted for remote delivery. Remote interventions also have potential for use in non-pandemic times to reach underserved populations who often have high drop-out rates due to caretaker roles, transportation limitations, and work schedules. These barriers were significantly reduced using a virtual intervention platform.


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