Assignment 2: Supporting Success In Doctoral Programs

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Supporting Success in Doctoral Programs
What if half of America’s workforce decides to just quit because they are frustrated and feel isolated every time they start a new job? Can you imagine the problems that we would face as a nation? This is only an exaggeration but surprisingly enough, this same problem is occurring on just about all major US college campuses when it comes to doctoral candidates. Developing a plan to keep students on track for completion should be a major objective for college organizations before we face a decline, incompetent scholars and professionals. Completing a doctoral in any subject can be hard work. Less than 50% of all graduate students that enter a doctoral program successfully complete it (Gardner 2009). Students
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Let us begin our discussion with academic success. Most esteem scholars equate academic success with grade point averages and the number of degrees a student has to receive. However, it is extremely hard to perceive a definition of academic success because it can also be based on culture. You have heard the familiar saying that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure; a similar statement can be made for the definition of academic success. Baker and Pifer (2011) relate academic success to the preparation and competency required to become a professor (). While this is a marker of success, some of the most brilliant minds of today do not have PHDs. Gardner (2009) stated the academic success comes from having the ability to stay the course or retention to complete the educational process to completion as a level of academic success(385p). True, this is a certain level of success but does this demonstrate academic success or endurance. Smith and Hatmaker (2015) found that academic success is a combination of things. Academic success is comprised of classroom training which enables students to apply knowledge gained to actual research projects (551 p). If truth be …show more content…
Students require much more than classes, if that were the case everyone would be walking around with advanced degrees. Instead, Smith and Hatmaker (2015) determined that positive interactions between faculty and students had a huge effect on the development and proactivity of students they interviewed in a doctoral program. Students discussed how close interactions with professors, role models and mentors served different purposes in their doctoral success(560p). In addition, it is not only interactions between faculty and students but the culture of a discipline as well. Gardner (2009) observed the success rates of candidates in seven discipline over a 20-year span at one university. She interviewed faculty to determine if there were commonalities that differed between the disciplines that lead to success for one group and failure for the other. The research demonstrated that faculty that shared supportive, concern toward their students as well as their craft had the highest graduating rates. Likewise, faculty members with the lowest rate were consumed with their own personal success and thought it a privilege for students to be at the institution. They were concern that students had to demonstrate high intelligence as well as discipline to be successful in their area (391-393). Finally, Baker and Pifer (2011) discovered that not only did students