A Joint Venture: Universities, Students and Other Stakeholders Achieving High Quality Doctoral Education The American Association for the Advancement of Science The 3rd Annual AGEP Evaluation Capacity Building Meeting on Designing an Evaluation Framework for Retaining Students in STEM PhD Programs San Juan, Puerto Rico February 1, 2007 by Catherine M. Millett, Ph.D. Policy Evaluation & Research, ETS : A Joint Venture: Universities, Students and Other Stakeholders Achieving High Quality Doctoral Education The American Association for the Advancement of Science The 3rd Annual AGEP Evaluation Capacity Building Meeting on Designing an Evaluation Framework for Retaining Students in STEM PhD Programs San Juan, Puerto Rico February 1, 2007 by Catherine M. Millett, Ph.D. Policy Evaluation & Research, ETS Copyrighted (C) 2004 by Educational Testing Service. All rights reserved. The ETS logo is a registered trademark of Educational Testing Service (ETS).
Doctoral Facts The National Picture : Doctoral Facts The National Picture Approximately 1.2% of the U.S. adult population age 25 and over has a doctoral degree.
The United States awarded approximately 43,354 doctoral degrees in 2005.
Of the 1,999 engineering Ph.D.s awarded to US citizens in 2005
73 (3.6%) were awarded to Hispanics (Puerto Rican, Mexican, Other Hispanic)
85 (4.2%) to Black, Non-Hispanics
Fall 2001 full-time instructional faculty (617,868),
Black, Non-Hispanic – 31,681 (5%)
Hispanic – 18,514 (3%)
American Indian/Alaskan Native – 2775 (<1)
Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements Three Stage Sampling Plan : Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements Three Stage Sampling Plan Stage 1 - selected 21 diverse doctoral granting universities
Stage 2 - selected 11 fields of study
Stage 3 - selected a stratified sample of 13,160 doctoral students who completed at least one year of study and who were taking at least 6 credit hours in the fall term 1996
9,036 students completed surveys (70% response rate) Source: Nettles & Millett, Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements
Participating Institutions : Participating Institutions Clark Atlanta University
City University of New York
Columbia University
Harvard University
Howard University
Indiana University
New York University
Ohio State University
Princeton University
Rutgers University
Stanford University
Teachers College Temple University
University of California at Berkeley
University of California at Los Angeles
University of Maryland
University of Michigan
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
University of Texas
University of Wisconsin
Vanderbilt University Source: Nettles & Millett, Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements
5 Fields of Study : 5 Fields of Study Science & Math - biology, chemistry, physics, math
Social Sciences - economics, political science, psychology, sociology
Humanities - English, history
Education
Engineering - chemical, electrical, mechanical Source: Nettles & Millett, Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements
Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences & Achievements (28 page survey) : Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences & Achievements (28 page survey) Application & enrollment
Current doctoral program experience
Attendance patterns Financing doctoral education
Future plans
Undergraduate experiences
Background Source: Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements.
Research Questions about Doctoral Students : Research Questions about Doctoral Students What are the quality of performance, experiences, and professional training and development?
How do indebtedness and financial assistance relate to the success?
How do academic and personal background relate to support, experiences, achievements? And
How do graduate institutions ensure Student success?
Doctoral Student Experience Conceptual Model : Doctoral Student Experience Conceptual Model Background Characteristics
- Gender
Race
Parent SES
Married/
domestic partner
Household Income
Have kids under 18
Age Admissions Criteria
- GRE Scores (V,Q,A)
- Selectivity of Undergrad C/U Outcomes
Funding
Mentoring
Research Productivity
Degree Completion Doctoral Program Experiences
Private graduate school
Had a fellowship
Served as research assistant
Served as teaching assistant
Have a mentor
Always full-time
Time in program (years)
Expect 1st job - faculty/postdoc Source: Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements
Funding Our Working Definitions : Funding Our Working Definitions Fellowships:
monies and/or tuition and fee waivers given to students with no expectation of repayment or of services to be rendered.
Research Assistantships
monies (tuition/fees and/or a stipend) given to students with the expectation of research services to be rendered.
Teaching Assistantships
monies (tuition/fees and/or a stipend) given to students with the expectation of teaching services to be rendered.
Slide11 : Source: Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements. Receiving a Research Assistantship During Doctoral Varies by Field of Study
African American & Hispanic students ever having a research assistantship is significantly different from Whites overall.
African American students differ from White students in all field except Humanities.
Within field, Hispanic students did not differ from White students.
What Predicts Being a Research Assistant? : What Predicts Being a Research Assistant? Negative signs = less likely to have been an RA. Positive signs = more likely to have been an RA. Source: Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements. African American students were less likely to be RAs in engineering and science/math.
In engineering & science/math, having a fellowship was a negative predictor of being an RA.
Being a TA was a positive predictor of being an RA in all fields except engineering.
Being a Research Assistant Can Influence Other Doctoral Experiences : Being a Research Assistant Can Influence Other Doctoral Experiences Ever Research Assistant
Influences *
Acquiring debt during program
Ever receiving a fellowship
Ever being a teaching assistant
Social interaction with peers
Academic interactions with faculty
Interactions with faculty advisor
Presenting a paper at a conference
Publishing an article
Overall research productivity
Stopping out of a doctoral program
Rate of progress in program
Degree completion
No Influences
Student – faculty social interactions
Satisfaction with doctoral program
Time to Degree * Note: Influences may not be in all fields Source: Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements.
Mentoring : Mentoring “Mentors, unlike advisors, cannot be assigned to specific students. Advisors may be mentors, but many advisor-advisee relationships never evolve to the mentor-protégé relationship”
(Willie, Grady & Hope, 1991, p. 72)
Faculty Advisor (B-6) : Faculty Advisor (B-6) A faculty or research advisor is a person assigned by your department/program to act in an official capacity in such ways as discussing and approving your coursework, or signing registration forms. Please note that your faculty or research advisor may not be your mentor. Do you have a faculty member who serves as your advisor?
_____ 1. Yes
_____ 2. No (If ‘NO,’ GO TO B-9)
Source: Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements.
Mentor Question (B-9) : Mentor Question (B-9) Many doctoral students have someone on the faculty to whom they turn for advice, to review a paper, or for general support and encouragement. This person may be thought of as a mentor. If you have more than one mentor, please comment on the one with whom you work most closely. Do you have a faculty member who serves as your mentor?
_____ 1. Yes
_____ 2. No (If ‘NO,’ GO TO B-13)
Source: Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements.
Slide17 : African American students having a faculty mentor is significantly different from White students overall and in Science & Math.
Hispanic students do not differ from White students in the overall or within fields. Source: Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements. Nearly 70% of Doctoral Students Have a Mentor
What admission characteristics predict having a mentor? : What admission characteristics predict having a mentor? Negative signs = less likely to have been had a faculty mentor.
Positive signs = more likely to have had a faculty mentor. Source: Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements. In engineering, race/ethnicity, parental socio-economic status and performance on the Verbal section of the GRE influence the odds of having a mentor.
In science/mathematics, race/ethnicity, parental socio-economic status, performance on the Verbal section of the GRE and the type of graduate school influence the odds of having a mentor.
Having a Mentor Can Influence Other Doctoral Experiences : Having a Mentor Can Influence Other Doctoral Experiences Have a Faculty Mentor
Influences *
Student-faculty social interactions
Academic interaction with faculty
Interactions with faculty advisor
Presenting a paper at a conference
Publishing an article
Overall research productivity
Rate of progress in program
Degree completion
Time to Degree
No Influences
Satisfaction with doctoral program
Stopping out of doctoral program * Note: Influences may not be in all fields Source: Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements.
What is the Research Productivity of Today’s Doctoral Students? : What is the Research Productivity of Today’s Doctoral Students? Individual Measures: (joint or sole authored)
Presented a paper
Published a chapter
Published a refereed article
Published a book
Composite Measure:
Some research productivity
Doctoral Students Reports of Achieving An Individual Measure at Least Once : Doctoral Students Reports of Achieving An Individual Measure at Least Once Source: Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements. Individual Measures Composite Measure Created a composite measure that captures whether a student achieved at least one of the individual measures once.
Doctoral Students are Publishing Refereed Journal Articles (sole or joint authored) : Doctoral Students are Publishing Refereed Journal Articles (sole or joint authored) Source: Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements. African American & Hispanic students rates of publishing an article are significantly different from Whites in the total.
Within fields, African American students differ from White students in education, science & math, and the social sciences.
Within fields, Hispanic students do not differ from White students.
Being a Research Assistant and Mentoring Positively Influence Article Publication : Being a Research Assistant and Mentoring Positively Influence Article Publication Negative signs = less likely to have written a refereed journal article.
Positive signs = more likely to written a refereed journal article. Source: Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements.
Research Productivity Can Influence Other Doctoral Experiences : Research Productivity Can Influence Other Doctoral Experiences Research Productivity
Influences *
Rate of progress in program
Degree completion
No Influences
Time to Degree * Note: Influences may not be in all fields Source: Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements.
Pursuit of Ph.D. : Pursuit of Ph.D. Persistence/Retention
Progression and
Completion
Slide26 : African American & Hispanic students degree completion rates are significantly different from White students in the total.
Hispanic students differ from White students in engineering.
Afri. Amer. students differ from White students in engineering, science & math, & soc sci. Source: Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements. A Snapshot in Time: Doctoral Degree Completion by 2001 for Students Beyond the First Year
Completing a Doctoral Degree by 2001 : Completing a Doctoral Degree by 2001 Source: Nettles & Millett, Survey of Doctoral Student Finances, Experiences and Achievements. Negative signs = less likely to have completed their doctoral degrees.
Positive signs = more likely to have completed their doctoral degrees. Research productivity is a positive contributor in every field.
Being married/partner positively influences completion in engineering and science/math.
Hispanic and African American students differ from White students in engineering.
What did we learn? Difficult Challenges Controlling for Background, Preparation and Other Program Experiences Differences Exist: : What did we learn? Difficult Challenges Controlling for Background, Preparation and Other Program Experiences Differences Exist: Hispanic Student and White Student Differences:
Hispanic students in education were less likely to be RAs compared to White students.
Hispanic students in social sciences were less likely to write refereed journal articles compared to White students.
Hispanic students in engineering and the social sciences were less likely to have completed their degrees by 2001 compared to White students.
African American Student and White Student Differences:
African American students in education, engineering, and sciences and mathematics were less likely to be RAs compared to White students.
African American students in science and mathematics were less likely to have a mentor compared to White students.
African American students in education, sciences and mathematics, and social sciences were less likely to write refereed journal articles compared to White students.
African American students in engineering were less likely to have completed their doctoral degrees by 2001 compared to White students.
Questions for AAAS/NSF/AGEP and the Nation : Questions for AAAS/NSF/AGEP and the Nation What experiences should all engineering graduate students have?
What broad skill sets should graduates have and be able to use?
How well do we understand what entering graduate students expect from their graduate programs?
How can we exploit the differences they bring to improve their graduate experience?
A Doctoral Student’s World : A Doctoral Student’s World Student friends/peers grandparents Business Grad School
Admin Employers Media
The Holy Trinity What is the role today? What should the balance be? : The Holy Trinity What is the role today? What should the balance be? Research Teaching Service
Academic & Intellectual Challenges : Academic & Intellectual Challenges Faculty Advisor Issues:
Unexpected faculty departures
Sabbatical
Junior faculty member who is not tenured
Death of mentor
Conflicts with mentor (holding up dissertation, intellectual property).
Academic Issues
Difficulty in making the transition to independent scholar
Loss of confidence
Lose interest in dissertation topic
Change academic interests and current program does not meet their needs.
The Influence of Life on One’s Graduate Career : The Influence of Life on One’s Graduate Career Family Issues:
Birth of a child
Death of a family member
Personal health
Career opportunities:
Work at jobs
Fellowships
Travel
Needed a break from school
Slide34 : "Being a graduate student is like becoming all of the Seven Dwarves.
In the beginning you're Dopey and Bashful.
In the middle, you are usually sick (Sneezy), tired (Sleepy), and irritable (Grumpy).
But at the end, they call you Doc, and then you're Happy."
– Ronald T. Azuma
Policy Evaluation & Research Center cmillett@ets.org : Policy Evaluation & Research Center cmillett@ets.org