GRAD STUDENT POLICIES
Candidate Dissertation Registration Policy Proposal
Doctoral Candidacy Policy Proposal
Candidate Dissertation Registration Policy Proposal
1. Preamble
The focus of doctoral degree granting institutions should be on quality doctoral degree production and not the revenue stream generated by doctoral student tuition. Strong graduate programs are extremely important to the academic environment of the university and play a central role in developing and maintaining an outstanding research enterprise.
The Carnegie Foundation presently categorizes doctoral research institutions solely on the number of doctoral degrees awarded across disciplines. Achieving a prominent categorization requires substantial doctoral degree production each year (50 degrees awarded each year within 15 disciplines). The Carnegie Foundation will set new classification standard in 2005 with a focus on a series of distinct classification schemes as well as customizable classifications. Drexel's 2004-2009 Strategic Plan calls for a doctoral degree production goal that will reach 200 annually. In order to maintain the doctoral research extensive Carnegie classification, be well positioned for the new and future classification standards, and achieve stated goals, doctoral degree production at Drexel University must be a priority.
Nationally and at Drexel, there is a 40 to 60% attrition rate for doctoral students. Although several elements affect attrition, a recent Carnegie Foundation study showed that financial factors contribute to a significant percentage of the attrition rate, and the post-candidacy period is often a significant point of departure for doctoral students. While tuition for courses taken should be assessed, reducing tuition costs for dissertation work in the post-candidacy period would contribute to doctoral degree student retention and increased annual degree production. This is a request to modify the credit and tuition requirements for doctoral students.
Drexel University currently has a continuous registration policy that requires all doctoral candidates to maintain continuous registration of at least 3 credits per quarter until all degree requirements are completed with the minimum number of credits required for a doctoral degree set at 90 credits post-baccalaureate (45 credits post-masters). Course work requirements are frequently completed in the first two years of graduate studies and usually satisfy the majority of these credit hour requirements. Subsequently, dissertation registration at 3 credits per quarter can lead to less than 90 hours for students who finish efficiently and more than 90 hours for those who are delayed for one reason or another. The typical time to degree for doctoral students is five years post-baccalaureate, the equivalent of 20 terms.
Students who have achieved doctoral candidacy are typically completing their dissertation utilizing minimal university resources. Many universities provide dissertation tuition or doctoral registration tuition for doctoral candidates at a reduced rate to maintain an active status and continuous registration in the university. Locally, the University of Pennsylvania has a doctoral registration rate of $1064 annually and Lehigh University has a doctoral registration rate of $1840 annually. The graduate tuition policy at Drexel is not uniform. Drexel doctoral candidate's annual tuition is between $4860 and $6300, except for doctoral programs at Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions where tuition is not charged for registration for thesis and dissertation credits. Grants often are limited in the amount of tuition that can be covered and various cost sharing arrangements are often made.
It is proposed that Drexel reduce its full-time post-candidacy dissertation credit requirement to one credit hour for each term for the regular school year (fall, winter and spring quarters). Besides involvement in research during the post-candidacy period, students may take other courses offered at no additional charge. This policy will result in a loss of 6 credit hours/dissertation student/year, or roughly $512,400, at the current student census since students currently are registered for 3 credits/quarter plus tuition for courses taken. We note that tuition will still be paid for first two years, the pre-candidacy period (currently ~$25K/yr). In the current scheme, while revenue is booked for Ph.D. tuition, most if not all of these tuition charges are paid by tuition remission provided to TAs in their respective departments and some RAs in conjunction with grant tuition remission policies in the Office of Research. Reduction in revenue from TAs results in no loss of real dollars.
With respect to RAs, the high cost of student tuition and stipend results in researchers funding postdoctoral fellows rather than graduate students from grant funds since the cost of a postdoctoral fellow is less expensive than a doctoral student and a postdoctoral fellow does not require the same level of training before becoming productive. Reducing tuition post-candidacy should, therefore, result in an increase in the number of doctoral students funded by grant funds since students will then become cost-effective. This change in tuition should, thus, result in an increase in the number of doctoral students, a significant reduction in the rate of attrition, and an increase research productivity that will potentially lead to increased extramural funding.
11. Proposal Process
During the summer of 2003, the Associate Deans met with Ken Blank, Senior Associate Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Studies to discuss several graduate issues. The group recognized the need to restructure the doctoral student registration and tuition model and recommended a reduction in doctoral student tuition during candidacy for retention and production purposes.
In the summer of 2004, the Research and Graduate Studies Subcommittee of Strategic Plan Implementation Committee supported this effort to revise the doctoral student tuition model. The committee documented the following statement:
"The committee concurs with general goal of expanding the number of Ph.D.s awarded, provided there is an equal emphasis on quality. To this end, it is absolutely critical that Ph.D. programs be re-conceptualized as research enhancing rather than tuition generating. The committee recognizes that the wide variety of doctoral programs in the University precludes a single formula that will work well for each program. Moreover, we also recognize that moving toward a model of student support that is consistent with other world class doctoral institutions will take time."
With the approval of the Provost, implementation of a new registration policy for doctoral candidates was effective fall term, 2004 with the reduction of doctoral candidate registration from 3 credits to 1 credit each term.
However, implementation of the credit reduction for doctoral candidates will reduce the total cumulative credits earned by each student during their academic tenure. As a consequence, most doctoral student will not meet the current minimum credits for degree required by the university. However, it must be noted that all doctoral students will meet the curricular requirements set by each department and college in addition to university requirements for degree other than the credit requirement. The following policy is requested for review and approval from the Faculty Senate:
III. Proposed Policy
However, implementation of the credit reduction for doctoral candidates will reduce the total cumulative credits earned by each student during their academic tenure. As a consequence, most doctoral student will not meet the current minimum credits for degree required by the university. However, it must be noted that all doctoral students will meet the curricular requirements set by each department and college in addition to university requirements for degree other than the credit requirement. The following policy is requested for review and approval from the Faculty Senate:
Doctoral dissertation candidates are post-baccalaureate students who have successfully passed Departmental candidacy examinations, have completed all Departmental core course requirements, and primarily work on doctoral dissertations. These students must maintain continuous registration by registering for a minimum of 1 credit for fall, winter and spring quarters until all doctoral degree requirements are completed. Additional required courses taken during the post-candidacy period will incur no additional charges. The minimum credit hours required by the University for the Doctoral degree is 60 credits post-baccalaureate and 30 credits post-masters.
Doctoral Candidate
Below is a request to update and change the regulation on Candidacy Examinations. The Associate Deans along with the Office of Research and Graduate Policy recommend the following (highlighted) change to the candidacy examination policy to manage and regulate the time to degree for doctoral students. Historically, the candidacy examination policy suggested the exam take place after one year of doctoral study without any recommendation of a time limit for candidacy examination completion. The change to the policy puts a reasonable deadline of two years after matriculation into a doctroal program for candidacy examination completion. This deadline is necessary to have doctoral students complete all doctoral degree requirements in the required time to degree limit of 5 years post-masters and 7 years post-bacculaureate.
Current Doctoral Candidate Regulation
Candidacy Examinations
A graduate student does not become a doctoral candidate until he or she has passed the candidacy exams. If it is deemed appropriate by the program faculty and the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies, the candidacy exams may be attempted twice. In general, it is expected that the student will take these exams after successful completion of at least one year of graduate work at Drexel. The purposes of the candidacy exams are to determine the student's ability and achievement at this point, particularly with regard to leadership and self-motivation; to ascertain his or her understanding of the fundamental concepts and ideas pertinent to the field of endeavor; and to detect any deficiencies of background that may need further attention. Responsibility for the exams lies with the Candidacy Examining Committee, which must be approved by the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies. Once a student passes the candidacy examination, he or she must be continuously enrolled until all degree requirements are fulfilled, including the filing of an approved dissertation in the library. The University mandates specific membership of the Candidacy Examining Committee. Please refer to the policies stated in the Ph.D. Forms Booklet for specific requirements.
Proposed Doctoral Candidacy Regulation
A graduate student advances to doctoral candidacy when he or she has passed Departmental/Program candidacy exams. If it is deemed appropriate by the program faculty and the Senior Vice Provost for Research and Dean of Graduate Policy, the candidacy exams may be attempted twice. In general, it is expected that the student will initially take candidacy exams after successful completion of at least one year of graduate work at Drexel but prior to the end of the second year of matriculation in a doctoral program. The purposes of the candidacy exams are to determine the student's ability and achievement at this point, particularly with regard to leadership and self-motivation; to ascertain his or her understanding of the fundamental concepts and ideas pertinent to the field of endeavor; and to detect any deficiencies of background that may need further attention. Responsibility for endorsement of candidacy lies with the student's Candidacy Examining Committee, which must be approved by the Senior Vice Provost for Research and Dean of Graduate Policy. Once a student passes the candidacy examination, he or she must be continuously enrolled at the University until all degree requirements are fulfilled, including the filing of an approved dissertation in the library. The University mandates specific membership of a Candidacy Examining Committee. The Committee must consist of five members, three of whom must be currently tenure or tenure-track Drexel faculty members. At least two of the Committee members must be from outside the student's major area of study. At least one of the Committee members must be from outside the student's Department.
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