Accessibility Matters: Universal Design and the Online Professional Practice Doctorate

Online doctoral programming geared toward working professionals can provide unprecedented flexibility in terms of time and place that affords greater access to a broader student demographic. At the same time, online learning poses its own unique set of challenges and limitations for students with and without disabilities. Universal Design (UD) is a framework built around the idea of proactively identifying and removing barriers to learning in the environment, pedagogical practices, and materials. In this essay, we highlight the necessity and relevance of UD to online doctoral programs and share insights related to its use in our program from faculty and student perspectives.

Summer Mentoring Experiences for Students in Online Doctoral Programs

University faculty created the Llano Estacado Writers' Alliance (LEWA) in response to improving the quality and rigor of online doctoral programs. The goal for LEWA was to promote meaningful academic writing and transform doctoral students' identities as agentic academic writers. After LEWA's inception, the authors incorporated the perspectives of their alumni and advanced doctoral students to help address students' needs. This chapter documents the four-year journey of forming LEWA and developing new approaches to mentoring online doctoral students. Specifically, the authors recount the evolution from the faculty-led, week-long summer intensives that addressed students' anxieties and uncertainties about the doctoral program to the writing intensives that were more student centered, responsive, and primarily focused on the mores of academic writing. Results demonstrated the benefits of professor-led and peer-led networks in developing students' sense of belonging, sense of accountability to their peers, and a sense of self-worth as capable academic writers.

Developing Dispositions of Collegiality and Professionalism in Online Doctoral Programs

In this chapter, the authors make the argument that online doctoral students need opportunities to develop scholarly dispositions, particularly dispositions associated with collegiality and professionalism. They make that argument by first defining what they mean by dispositions, then by making an argument for a dispositional standpoint of care and analysis, then by describing dispositions of collegiality and professionalism. They then articulate an understanding of how to support the accrual of these dispositions in online doctoral programs. They do this by attending to the hidden curriculum of graduate school, and then by arguing for making parts of that hidden curriculum more visible and explicit.

Design Considerations for Online (and On-Ground) Programs

This chapter examines design considerations for online doctoral programs. Although the methods of course delivery and interpersonal interactions are different, the rigor of the online programs must equal those of the on-ground programs. Interactions among classmates, fellow doctoral students, and the faculty members must be purposefully designed and supported in order to attain the same enhancements that those equivalent interactions in on-ground courses support. Support mechanisms for encouraging and facilitating beyond course experiences must be created and periodically assessed.

Online Doctoral Programs

This chapter examines the role of online education in removing the barriers that prevent women from entering, and ultimately successfully completing, doctoral programs. Three core questions guide this chapter as it examines this complex problem of practice: Do online doctoral programs mitigate access barriers specifically for women? What are the implications of access-based college choice decisions for women? How can increased access to online doctoral programs shrink the gap for women in fields where they are underrepresented? This chapter also includes solutions and recommendations for practice designed to support online programs in creating expanded access and opportunity for women, particularly those impacted by underrepresentation, in terms of entry into and completion of doctoral programs.

A Preliminary Examination of Doctoral Student Retention Factors in Private Online Workspaces

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this quantitative descriptive study is to provide a preliminary examination of students’ retention factors of engagement, communication, and isolation that may be affected by the introduction and use of online communities for dissertation development within an online doctoral program. Background: This research is a continuation of the university’s 5-year research initiative to address the high national rate of doctoral attrition by investigating whether private online workspaces provide a virtual platform to increase student interaction, enhance student communication, and reduce student perception of isolation. Methodology: A quantitative descriptive study of 698 doctoral students (n1 = 355, n2 = 179, n3 = 184) in the online environment across three survey periods over a span of 30 months. Contribution: In 30 months, student engagement increased, perceptions of effective communication by students with dissertation committees improved, and student perceptions of isolation remained unchanged. Findings: The implementation of online workspaces for doctoral students addressed factors experienced in online doctoral programs. The introduction of private doctoral workspaces significantly improved doctoral students’ perceptions of more effective communication with their dissertation committees. Perceptions of isolation remained unchanged with the introduction of the technology. Recommendations for Practitioners: Universities and faculty should make proactive efforts to utilize the online tools available to them to facilitate improved communication and reduce isolation within online doctoral programs. Recommendation for Researchers: The implementation of online workspaces appears to mitigate some factors associated with student attrition, but the extent of these changes is unknown. Future research should continue to examine the factors of retention as a pathway to reducing attrition within the online learning environment. Impact on Society: The implementation of private online workspaces appears to lessen factors associated with student attrition, providing opportunities for improved utilization of personal and university resources, improved professional standing for graduates, and an enhanced reputation for online learning programs. Future Research: Further examination is needed to determine to what extent various communication methods affect a student’s experience and increase connectivity between the student and the institution, as well as research to better understand the phenomenon of students’ perceptions of isolation within online environments.

Mentoring Dissertation Students in Online Doctoral Programs

Mentoring doctoral students in online programs can be even more challenging than mentoring in the face-to-face educational environment. Factors such as geographic and transactional distance can result in student isolation and attrition during the dissertation process. Students often are not prepared for the intensity of doctoral work and the discipline required to complete a dissertation. Effective mentoring techniques can decrease transactional distance boundaries to enhance the online dissertation process. Dissertation chairs must understand how mentoring can improve student learning. Rather than mentoring students based on personal beliefs or past experience, online dissertation chairs must familiarize themselves with best practices in mentoring throughout the dissertation process to provide a quality educational experience for their students, as well as to decrease attrition.