Increasing Doctoral Student Persistence: Strategies for Fostering Community Amanda J. Rockinson-Szapkiw, LPC, Ed.D. Lucinda S. Spaulding, Ph.D. School of Education Liberty University

About Us Amanda J. Rockinson-Szapkiw – B.S. in Elementary Education; M.A. in Community Counseling; Ed.D. in Distance Education – Chair of Doctoral Research & Assistant Professor, Educational Technology and School Counseling at Liberty University Lucinda S. Spaulding – B.S. in Elementary Education; M.Ed. in Special Education; Ph.D. in Special Education & Educational Psychology – Assistant Professor, Instructional Design and Graduate Research at Liberty University

Purpose Discuss findings of study examining factors associated with doctoral persistence. Present 5 practical strategies for improving doctoral persistence. Model specific practices that can improve doctoral programs. Discuss technologies and practices that can be used to improve programs.

Increasing Doctoral Student Persistence: Strategies for Fostering Community 1.Introduction 2.Factors Related to Persistence and Attrition 3.How to Increase Persistence 4.Tools for Increasing Persistence 5.Reflection and Discussion 6.Conclusion

Four Factors of Persistence Personal Attributes Social integration into the university Program structure Program resources and services

Perceived Sense of Community Developing a sense of community can improve students’ sense of satisfaction, learning, and persistence. Doctoral Students currently express low perceived levels of community, resulting in increased attrition rates.

Perceived Sense of Community In traditional settings, doctoral attrition rates are 40 – 60% In online settings, the attrition rate is 10 – 50% higher among doctoral students. A strong sense of community in either setting can lead to higher levels of persistence among doctoral students.

Improving Community Social Presence Projecting personal characteristics in order to be presented as a real person Cognitive Presence Constructing meaning through sustained communication Teaching Presence Design and facilitation that guides cognitive and social processes to achieve learning outcomes (Garrison et al., 2000, p. 89).

Using Social Presence To Increase Persistence Leverage technology – Wikis – FaceBook – Twitter – LinkedIn – Ning Adopt a cohort model

Using Cognitive Presence to Increase Persistence Modeling – Critical Thinking – Reflective Processes – Organization – Summation techniques – Goal setting Frameworks (templates)

Using Teaching Presence to Increase Persistence Communicate, communicate, communicate Provide timely feedback that is personable, yet academically challenging E-conferencing systems for check-ins and manuscript reviews Audio feedback

Increasing Persistence Opportunities to develop relationships with faculty. Peer relationships and connectedness Cohort models Opportunities for critical reflection and evaluation. Course opportunities with relevant content

Fostering Community with Technology SharePoint – Administration – Candidate – Committee E-Conferencing – Skype – Illuminate Audio – Audacity

The Dissertation Portal

The Administration Portal Master Lists’ Communication Records Forms and Templates

My Dissertation Portal Document Libraries Task List Discussion Forum

The Committee Portal Document Libraries Discussion Forum Discussion Forum

Reflection & Conclusion Fostering community in a doctoral program through practices is likely to lead to persistence. This presentation will assist faculty and administrators in identifying how they can encourage doctoral persistence and completion through practices that increase community.

References Brandes, L. (2006). Graduate student centers: Building community and involving students. New Directions for Student Services, 115, Carr, S. (2000). As distance education comes of age, the challenge is keeping the students. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 46(23), A39-A41. Galbraith, M. W. (2003). The adult education professor as mentor: A means to enhance teaching and learning. Perspectives: The New York.Journal of Adult Learning, 1(1), Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2001). Critical thinking, cognitive presence, and computer conferencing in distance education. American Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), Holsinger, J. W. (2008), Situational leadership applied to the dissertation process. Anatomical Sciences Education, 1(5), 194–198. doi: /ase.37 Norris, C. J., & Barnett, B. (1994). Cultivating a new leadership paradigm: From cohorts to communities. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the University Council of Educational Administration, Philadelphia, PA, October 1994.(ERIC Document Reproduction Service No.ED387877) Rockinson-Szapkiw, A., J., & Spaulding, L. S. (2011, under review). Factors that contribute to the successful completion of educational doctorates: How the universities can increase completion rates. The Review of Higher Education. Rovai, A. P. (2002). Sense of community, perceived cognitive learning and persistence in asynchronous learning networks. Internet and Higher Education, 5(4), (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ663074) (doi: /S (02) ) Seagram B., Gould J.& Pyke S. (1998) An investigation of gender and other variables on time to completion of doctoral degrees. Research in Higher Education 39 (3), 319–335. Smallwood, S. (2004). Doctor dropout. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 50(2) Terrell, S. R., Snyder, M. M., & Dringus, L. P. (2009). The development, validation, and application of the Doctoral Student Connectedness Scale. Higher Education and the Internet, 12(2), Retrieved from Wighting, M., Nisbet, D., & Spaulding, L. S. (2009). Relationships between sense of community and academic achievement: A comparison among high school students. The International Journal of the Humanities, 7(3),

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