Review of Graduate Student Progress
Scenarios for Discussion
Scenario 1 (The Entry and Adjustment Phase)
Two graduate students are in a café:
Marcos:
Joe! I haven't seen you since orientation, and our first semester is almost over. How did the semester go for you?
Joe:
Well, I have to tell you, I really feel cheated.
Marcos:
Why? What's going on?
Joe:
Well, when I came here to visit last spring it was all "support" and "team-work", and I was really excited about working with Dr.
Marshall. In fact, I turned down a lot of other graduate schools on the east and west coasts to come here and work with him. So what do
I find out now that I've been accepted into his lab? He is on sabbatical for the next year!
Discuss:
Are unmet expectations based on the application and recruitment process an important factor in student academic progress and student retention?
What steps should have been taken with this new admit? Could student advising have avoided this situation?
Scenario 2 (The Development of Competency Phase)
Two faculty members have been discussing a class they will co-teach in the upcoming semester. They examine the class roster:
Dr. X:
I can't believe it. Cynthia is registered for this course!
Dr. Y:
Cynthia?
Dr. X:
Cynthia Michaels. She has been here forever. I was her adviser when she first started, seven or eight years ago. She never made any
progress with her research, and after three years I just had to say "enough". She worked with Dr. Z for a while, but I thought that was
over.
Dr. Y:
Then how can she still be a student in our department?
Dr. X:
Well, she always had excellent grades and she passed her quals easily... but I just can't imagine she will ever be able to complete her
degree. She seems to have no interest in research and I can't imagine anyone on our faculty would want to work with her.
Discuss:
Is there a fair definition of academic progress that might have prevented this student's current situation? In what circumstances (and what time frame) could lack of an advisor denote inadequate academic progress?
Should a department keep track of students who have parted ways with their adviser? Does the department have any responsibility toward the student who does not have an adviser?
Scenario 3 (The Research Phase)
You overhear the following conversation in the hallway outside your office:
Alicia:
Hey! Where have you been? I never see you around here any more!
Janet:
Well, I'm writing my dissertation so I never come in here anymore.
Alicia:
How's the writing going?
Janet:
Oh, I don't know. It's really pretty isolating. I can go the whole day without talking to anyone but my cat. Sometimes I think I spend
half the day just staring at the computer screen and trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing. I actually find myself missing
the days when I was just taking coursework, you know? I wonder if I'm really cut out for this kind of thing.
Discuss:
What kind of information do students receive about the dissertation process? When do they get it, how, and from whom?
What mechanisms for student-student or faculty-student support can be used at various stages throughout the dissertation process?
