Transcript Chapter 27 Advancing Professionally Through Doctoral Education

Chapter 27Advancing Professionally
Through Doctoral Education
EDHE 6730
Organization & Administration
of Student Services
Dr. Baier
Fall 2008
Submitted by: Dayanna Carson
Chapter 27 Key Focus Points
• The nature of doctoral preparation for
student affairs administrative, teaching, and
research positions
• The growth and specialization of
perspectives of doctoral programs in higher
education and student affairs administration
Chapter 27 Key Focal Points
• This chapter will focus on the following:
curricular focus, degree requirements, faculty,
acquiring a Ph.D or Ed.D degrees, criteria and
process for admission, financing doctoral study,
and alternative preparation routes
• Observations on evaluating the appropriateness of
a doctoral program
• Self assessment and program review
• Steps to transition into a doctoral program
• Future issues in doctoral preparation
Doctorates For Career Success
• A doctorate may assist with advancement and
credibility in student affairs
• A professional may be effective and acquire
promotions and lateral mobility from within
without acquiring a doctorate
• Most career advancements for mid-management
and upper management require the doctoral
credential
• Prospective doctoral students without prior
experience may not be able to obtain an
administrative position in higher education with
the doctoral alone
Characteristics of An Effective
Doctoral Program
An Effective Program Offers:
• Formal Opportunities For Building
Additional Competencies & Skills
Regardless of the Student’s Chosen Career
Path (ex: faculty, research, leadership role)
Doctorate Statistics According to
NASPA Data
• Doctorates are common among senior student
affairs officers in all types of institutions
• Doctorates were the highest degree earned in all
categories with the exception of community and
two-year colleges
• Doctorates were held by 52.4% of senior student
affairs officers in a college survey
• Doctorates are clearly common at public
universities and that exception increases with the
institution’s size
Doctorate Statistics According to
NASPA Data
• The doctorate appears less essential for
departmental head positions
• The masters is the terminal degree for
64.1% of the 1,148 directors and doctorates
were weld by only 22.5% of positions such
as directors of student life, student services,
and student development according to a
1998 survey
Doctoral Statistics
• Studies nearly two decades ago found that 13% of
all administrators with doctorates in four-year
colleges and universities have their degree in
higher education
• The student affairs field needs more information
on degrees held by department heads and SSAO’s
at four-year institutions
• Doctorates in higher education are common in
two-year colleges
Doctoral Statistics
• In a study of 716 presidents, and vice presidents of
academic and student affairs, in various types of
institutions indicated that approximately one third of the
presidents had obtained doctorates
• Presidents and vice presidents of academic affairs are
unlikely to prefer the higher education degree for their role
• Vice presidents of student affairs are more likely to value
their degree
Doctoral Statistics
• Nearly half of the respondents of the survey indicated that they
believed that the degree is more beneficial than one in an academic
discipline for a vice president of student affairs
• 23% of the respondents think that it is less desirable
• Presidents seemed to be neutral and student affairs vice presidents
were highly supportive
• The doctorate is clearly valued for student affairs and institutional
management positions in all types of institutions
• The higher education degree is more useful for those seeking career
advancement in lower-tier institutions than those in Level I
institutions, particularly for positions in academic administration
• According to researchers, obtaining a doctorate may be the means for
prospective students to simply hold their current positions, rather than
to advance
Specializing In Studying Higher
Education and Student Affairs
• Just as college Student Personnel (CSP) is a
field that begins professional study a the
graduate level, entry-level preparation
receives a great deal of attention in the
student affairs literature
• Many studies have been published in
student affairs and far less attention has
been paid to doctoral preparation research
Specializing In Studying Higher
Education and Student Affairs
• The latest Directory of Graduate Preparation Programs in
College Student Personnel, sponsored by ACPA
Commission XII, lists over 80 institutions that offer
master’s or doctoral studies in student affairs
• No accreditation agencies for higher education or student
affairs doctoral programs are offered
• The directory indicates which programs meet minimum
criteria set by the commission
• The Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and
Related Educational Programs (CACREP) which is
associated with the American Counseling Association
• ( ACA) has historically been the only accreditation route
for graduate programs in student affairs
Specializing In Studying Higher
Education and Student Affairs
• No standards for doctoral preparation in
student affairs or higher education exists
• Prospective doctoral students might explore
either a generalist degree of higher
education or a specialized degree in student
affairs administration with various
emphasis.
Perspectives on Doctoral
Programs in Higher Education or
Student Affairs Administration
• According to Dressel and Mayhew there are three
groups of higher education programs assessment
that applies to student affairs graduate programs.
• These programs are classified as follows:
programs with a national perspective, programs
with a local or regional perspective, and programs
designed that serve a local need
Perspectives on Doctoral
Programs in Higher Education or
Student Affairs Administration
• National Perspective- based upon research and the
professional activity of their faculty, their graduate
placement, and their student applicants
• Local/Regional Perspective- frequently composed
of part-time students or administrators from area
institutions
• Local Need- has little or no formal structure and
courses serve a local need often geared to
community college personnel
Perspectives on Doctoral
Programs in Higher Education or
Student Affairs Administration
• Many problems exist with ranking or listing
exemplary national programs
• Some reviews measure the following: faculty-tostudent ratios, size, number of faculty, and courses
offered
• Some programs are distinguished by qualitative
rather than quantitative factors and have more
cosmopolitan and active faculty and students
Curricular Focus
• Doctoral programs offer specialization options.
• The two specializations that generally exist are
student affairs administration and management.
• Two-thirds offer a specialization in academic
administration or community college
administration
• Other focuses are: curriculum and instruction,
teaching, adult education, foundations, history,
philosophy of higher education, institutional
research, policy analysis, and finance
Curricular Focuses
• The core of doctoral programs in student
affairs should be competence in
research(Delworth and Hanson, 1989).
• The goal of doctoral programs in student
affairs should be to develop expert
practitioners, scholar-practitioners , and to
develop persons to assume faculty
positions(McEwen and Talbot, 1989).
Curricular Focuses
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
There are six general competence areas that students
should seek in a developmental framework for their
doctoral preparation(Beatty and Stamatakos, 1990).
They are as follows:
Theoretical competence
Scholarly competence
Functional competence
Transferal competence
Environmental competence
Human relations competence
Competencies
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Theoretical competence- an in-depth understanding of the historical,
philosophical, and theoretical foundations on which student affairs
administration is based
Scholarly competence- the development of scholarship through
inquiry, critical interpretation, writing, investigation, and research,
etc.
Functional competence- the development, maintence, and
enhancement of skills
Transferal competence- the ability to transfer theory into practice
Environmental competence- the ability to work and help people in
the environment in which student affairs administration exists
Human relations competence- the ability to communicate,
understand, and interact with colleagues and peers in a higher
education environment
Doctoral Degree Requirements
• Doctoral requirements include the following:
residency requirement, dissertation, course work
in higher education, statistics and research
requirements
• Student affairs doctoral programs require 3.7
research courses on average and an average of
18.1 courses beyond a masters degree(Keim,
1991).
Doctoral Degree Requirements
• Comprehensive Examinations- Most programs require
them to measure subject competence in the field
• Dissertation- The process is guided by a committee and
chaired by the student’s adviser. The committee generally
includes the following: a methodologist, someone from
outside of the host department/college, and a faculty
member from the program.
• The two components of the dissertation includes the
proposal and oral defense. The acceptance of the proposal
is often more intense than the defense.
Doctoral Degree Requirements
• Virtually everyone should pass the oral
defense.
• Students are advised to conduct their
proposal meeting before accepting or
assuming a new professional role.
Faculty
• Most higher education programs are small with a mean of
3.7 full-time faculty and 5.5 part-time affiliates.
• Over half of all higher education programs report more
than 20 students per full-time faculty member.
• In a national study of CAS and CACREP standards
concluded that the lack of staff is a major issue in trying to
meet standards of courses, supervision and advising.
• There are few minorities in higher education or student
affairs graduate programs.
• Women compose over half of all student affairs and higher
education doctoral enrollments yet women make up only
15% of all higher education faculty at all ranks.
Ph.D.Verses Ed.D.
• Most institutions offer both
• It is frequently possible to switch programs
• The Ph.D. is thought to reflect research and
the Ed.D. is thought to have a practioner
focus.
• In reality, reviews show little difference
between the two.
Criteria and Process for
Admission
• Credentials required may include the following:
letters of recommendation, a master’s degree,
English Proficiency, a satisfactory GRE score, and
a minimum GPA from both the bachelor’s and
master’s degree.
• Some programs require the following: career goal
statements, experience, biographical statements,
interviews.
• Students who do not meet the qualifications may
be admitted on a probationary status.
Financing Doctoral Study
• Assistants may be valuable and may serve
as financial support
• Doctoral students should consider
assistantships with research opportunities
for experience
Alternative Approaches
• A doctorate in counseling, counselor of education,
or counseling psychology
• A doctorate in alternative
disciplines(organizational behavior, social
psychology, law, etc.)
• External degree programs may consist of weekend
seminars, direct research, regular progress checks.
The disadvantage is the lack of interaction.
Institutes, Workshops, Extended
Study, and Professional
Development
• Continuous learning is essential even if a
doctoral degree is not a goal.
• CEU’s allow for professionals to continue
content knowledge.
Assessing a Doctoral Program- Is
It Right for You?
• Finding a match between personal needs
and program characteristics is important in
the decision making process.
• Make a self-assessment
• Decide upon part-time and full-time status
• Decide whether to work on or off campus
• Evaluate the time needed to acquire the
degree
Program Assessment
• Programs may be located via the classic Directory
of Graduate Preparation Programs in College
Student Personnel or via the ACPA web
page(http://www.acpa.nche.edu)
• NASPA has a graduate program website that may
be a valuable research tool. The address is as
follows: (http://www.naspa.org)
Program Assessment
Review the Following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Policies
Connections with Practice
Areas of Specialty
The Academic Experience
Teaching Modes
Ethics
Research and Dissertations
Financial Support
Student Completion
Succeeding in Doctoral Study
• Understand the stages of socialization and
transition
• Feldman describes a three-stage model of
socialization to an organization:
anticipatory socialization, accommodation,
and role management(Feldman, 1976).
Tips for Success
•
•
•
•
•
Get Organized
Negotiate Home Responsibilities
Establish Good Working Relationships
Stay Positive
Keep a Research Log
Future Content in Doctoral
Preparation
• The intentional outcome of doctoral
programs should be the development of
leadership perspectives, attitudes, and skills
in doctoral students.
• Programs should embrace diversity.
Chapter Summary
• Doctorates are essential for many positions in
various types of institutions.
• Prospective students desiring careers as
administrators, researchers, and faculty members
are encouraged to seek the doctorate.
• Requirements should be researched and individual
needs and goals considered.
• A challenge of the decade is to employ higher
education institutions with those who have
acquired graduate credentials.
References
Barr, M. , Desler, M., &
Associates,(2000).The Handbook of Student
Affairs Administration (Second
Edition).California: Jossey-Bass.