Excellence in doctoral education: defining best practices

College Student Journal, June, 2007 by Marianne Di Pierro

Disciplines for which the study revealed protracted time to degree as a normative manifestation of their matriculation pattern must be aware of the manner in which time that rapidly approaches the 7-year time limit designated for program completion at WMU, negatively impacts students' ability to persist. It is not sufficient to cite protracted times to degree as being normative without also inquiring about factors that lend to protraction, and then exploring ways in which that time can be reduced while still preserving the quality and integrity of programs.

Our institution-specific study provided insight into various patterns of attrition here at WMU. For the purposes of this study, we established the following attrition patterns with the corresponding attrition rates for our institution: early stage attrition--the attrition that occurs within the first 2 years of doctoral study (58.8%); mid-stage attrition--the attrition that occurs after the first 2 years of doctoral study (41.2%); late-stage attrition--the attrition that occurs after 3 years of doctoral study (31.8%); end-stage attrition--the attrition that occurs after 5 years or more (17.3%). Ongoing research will focus on qualitative studies that address factors intrinsically related to early, mid-stage, late-stage, and end-stage attrition. Identification of these factors assists us in implementing strategies to stanch our doctoral attrition, especially significant when we consider the numbers of underrepresented students whose national attrition rates are not known but which are estimated to be above the national average of 50% (Lovitts, 2001, p. 2).

For example, the study revealed an attrition rate of 37.9% for African Americans; however, when we peeled back that rate to make it specific for African American males, the rate increased to 50%. Hispanic Americans attrited at a rate of 23.5% for the aggregate population; however, students classified as International and Others attrited at a rate of 53%, not insignificant considering the recent decline in applications from this particular group, as well as the fact that many of the disciplines classified as STEM fields are populated primarily, at least at WMU, by students in this category (Arnone, 2004). The study further revealed that as of June 2003, the end of the data collecting period, we had graduated proportionately fewer underrepresented students in the STEM fields, a fact that certainly bears upon heightened recruitment and retention efforts. Moreover, the findings indicate that for certain disciplines the attrition rates for all students far surpass the institutional aggregate attrition rate of 40.5% and indicate the need to track attrition not only on an aggregated level, but on the departmental level as well. Analysis of the factors that lend toward these high rates is necessary and certainly prompts awareness of the value of qualitative engagement with students via exit interviews.

The findings of this study yielded conclusions and recommendations that were disseminated within the university community in a top-down procedure, from university provost to deans, chairs, and faculty. As Chris M. Golde, nationally recognized researcher in graduate school attrition suggests, institutions must find a starting point, conduct research, and let the data tell the story (Smallwood, 2004). This is exactly what we did. These findings include the following: