A Qualitative Case Study of All-but-Dissertation Students at Risk for Dissertation Noncompletion: A New Model for Supporting Candidates to Doctoral Completion

This study identified emergent themes from the interview data of at-risk-for-completion doctoral candidates ( N = 13; 59%), from a diverse demographic, who participated in a successful dissertation completion intervention program. The findings revealed four major themes including extrinsic factors, socioemotional, formal structures of the program, and personal development. The findings highlight the need for conscious processes used by vital leaders to develop program design in four key areas of leadership within a framework of open vital systems. Vital leadership acts as proxy agents to influence development of formal structures in the university leading to equity in educational opportunity for all students. Conclusions and parsimonious explicit implications are provided for doctoral program redesign focused on improving graduate student retention and completion rates for diverse student populations.

Transformation of the Dissertation

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.

Ways to Improve the Efficiency of Doctoral Education

The current process of doctoral education, as well as its results, remain the target of severe criticism despite the adoption of a system of measures aimed at improving the quality of dissertation review including ubiquitous plagiarism checks, reduction of the number of defenses of substandard dissertations and a stricter code of practice for dissertation committees. The article identifies potential ways to improve dissertation quality, drawing on an analysis of the dynamics of indicators pertaining to the training of contemporary Russian doctoral students and the activity of their academic supervisors. The authors give special consideration to justified recommendations concerning the following issues: improvement of the quality of doctoral student body; increase in scholarship provision in conjunction with the creation of financial incentives for dissertation completion and defense; development of mechanisms to improve the performance of academic supervisors; refinement of the procedure of dissertation results examination in each of three interconnected stages: student performance review, dissertation defense and dissertation review by the expert board of the State Commissions for Academic Degrees and Titles.

Interdisciplinary Dissertation Research Among Public Health Doctoral Trainees, 2003-2015

Objectives: Given the call for more interdisciplinary research in public health, the objectives of this study were to (1) examine the correlates of interdisciplinary dissertation completion and (2) identify secondary fields most common among interdisciplinary public health graduates. Methods: We analyzed pooled cross-sectional data from 11 120 doctoral graduates in the Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2003-2015. The primary outcome was interdisciplinary dissertation completion. Covariates included primary public health field, sociodemographic characteristics, and institutional attributes. Results: From 2003 to 2015, a total of 4005 of 11 120 (36.0%) doctoral graduates in public health reported interdisciplinary dissertations, with significant increases observed in recent years. Compared with general public health graduates, graduates of environmental health (odds ratio [OR] = 1.74; P < .001) and health services administration (OR = 1.38; P < .001) doctoral programs were significantly more likely to report completing interdisciplinary dissertation work, whereas graduates from biostatistics (OR = 0.51; P < .001) and epidemiology (OR = 0.76; P < .001) were less likely to do so. Completing an interdisciplinary dissertation was associated with being male, a non-US citizen, a graduate of a private institution, and a graduate of an institution with high but not the highest level of research activity. Many secondary dissertation fields reported by interdisciplinary graduates included other public health fields. Conclusion: Although interdisciplinary dissertation research among doctoral graduates in public health has increased in recent years, such work is bounded in certain fields of public health and certain types of graduates and institutions. Academic administrators and other stakeholders may use these results to inform greater interdisciplinary activity during doctoral training and to evaluate current and future collaborations across departments or schools.

Social Presence in Online Dissertation Classes

This chapter reports on the results of a study that explored doctoral learners' perceptions of social presence in online dissertation courses. Seven doctoral graduates were interviewed to understand how social presence functions in online dissertation courses, whether social presence influences their dissertation completion, and how technological tools help improve social presence in the dissertation courses. The results of this study indicate that social presence plays an important role in online dissertation courses. Students' course satisfaction and learning outcome were associated with the degree of social presence. The use of emoticons, emails, and phone calls in online dissertation courses increased students' sense of social presence. Students were more satisfied with instructors who interacted with them frequently and who provided detailed and constructive feedback in a timely manner. Recommendations for further research are included.

Creating an EdD Structure, Program, and Process Fulfilling the Needs of Doctoral Candidates and the Communities They Will Serve

This chapter describes the program redesign, development and essential components of Loyola University Chicago's EdD principal preparation program for the Chicago Leadership Collaborative (CLC) providing a pipeline of candidates to be transformational principals within the Chicago Public Schools. This redesigned EdD focuses on creating communities of positive practice comprised of scholar- practitioners who create disciplines of inquiry that positively impact student, faculty, parent, and community outcomes while contributing to the knowledge base of preparing future educational leaders. In its third year of implementation with 30 candidates in the program, lessons learned from this program redesign will be detailed. Using the foundational principles from this new program redesign process, in conjunction with dissertation completion and graduate outcome data from Loyola's traditional EdD program, this article will explore next steps in the EdD program development process within the reality of rising expectations and continuous legislative change within the state of Illinois.

Dissertation Completion: Higher Education’s Invisible Problem

Researchers agree that one in two doctoral students will not complete their degree, but there is little agreement on how to support and encourage these students in their scholarship. A qualitative inquiry was used to examine the reasons for delayed or expedited dissertation completion by doctoral students in an educational leadership program at a Midwestern university. Identified challenges of the dissertation process included imposter syndrome, writing anxiety, and overall productivity. Also identified were supports for the dissertation process, including the cohort model and strong mentorship. Findings indicated that doctoral candidates were highly influenced by personal or environmental factors and the perceived value of institutional support. Additionally, once delayed completers overcame their barriers and engaged in the dissertation process, their behaviors and strategies mirrored expedited completers.