Contact:
Julia Kent, CGS
(202) 223-3791
jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Findings Suggest New Strategies for Improving Retention and Completion

Washington, DC — The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) today released findings from the Doctoral Initiative on Minority Attrition and Completion (DIMAC), a 3-year study that examined patterns of degree completion and attrition among underrepresented minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF #1138814), the project collected data from doctoral students at twenty-one universities in the United States, including universities affiliated with NSF’s Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) program.

The most recent project in a series of CGS research studies on doctoral completion trends, DIMAC has resulted in the most comprehensive account of STEM doctoral completion and attrition for underrepresented minorities (URM) in the U.S. In the context of the study, URM includes U.S. students and permanent residents who self-identify as American Indian/Alaska Native, Black/African-American, and Hispanic/Latino.

Completion Trends

The DIMAC report provides completion rates, attrition rates, times-to-degree and times-to-attrition of URM STEM doctoral students using data spanning academic years 1992/93 to 2011/12. There is some data to suggest that from the earliest cohort to the most recent, there have been slight improvements in completion outcomes.

A key finding of the data on student completion rates is that completion outcomes vary by student characteristics, with some of the most notable differences emerging in the analysis of race/ethnicity and field of study. Over a ten-year period, 54% of students completed a doctorate. Looking at ten-year completion data by student characteristics,

• doctoral students in the life sciences completed at 63%, while candidates in physical &mathematical sciences experienced a rate of 45%.
• Hispanic/Latinos completed at a rate of 58%, while Black/African Americans completed at a rate of50%.
• women completed at a rate of 56%, while the ten-year completion rate for men was 52%.
• ten-year completion was 57% for students with a prior master’s degree, and 52% for those withouta master’s.

More analysis of trend data by student characteristics can be found in Chapter 3 of the report.

Student Experiences

DIMAC also collected data on students’ experiences of their doctoral programs through a Doctoral Student Survey, conducted in fall 2012, and focus group interviews at 16 institutions conducted throughout 2013. While many respondents reported a positive sense of their peers, advisors, and their doctoral programs overall, a minority expressed uneasiness as they moved into the dissertation phase of study. Students in this advanced stage of study, for example, were more likely to report that faculty did not understand the challenges they were experiencing.

CGS President Suzanne Ortega remarked that the findings demonstrate the need to support underrepresented doctoral students at every stage of a doctoral program. “One of the striking lessons from this study is that the dissertation phase is a particularly critical time for students. Our country’s STEM workforce will lose a great deal of potential talent if we don’t help underrepresented doctoral students cross the finish line.”

Key Recommendations

The study also explored institutional practices that can help support underrepresented minorities working to complete STEM doctoral programs. Data sources shed light on the value of four particular elements: 1) conducting interventions throughout the entire doctoral process; 2) providing students with enhanced academic support; 3) monitoring and evaluating programs and interventions; and 4) cultivating a culture of diversity and inclusion.

Additional information about student experiences of program features and interventions (i.e., advising and mentoring, networking, research and professional development, and non-financial support) can be found in Chapter 4 of the report.

About the report

The DIMAC project collected and analyzed four main sources of data: student-level enrollment data provided by institutions; an inventory of institutional policies; responses to a student survey; and information obtained from focus group interviews with students and university personnel. Active participation from 21 institutions resulted in over 7,500 student records. Over 1,600 URM STEM doctoral students were surveyed and 320 URM STEM doctoral students (and as many or more faculty and administrators) participated in focus groups at 16 institutions.

Contact
Nate Thompson
nthompson@cgs.nche.edu
(202) 223-3791

Washington, D.C. — The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) today announced it has been awarded grants from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to advance national and local understandings of the career pathways of PhD holders. Over the next nine months, with input from a range of stakeholders in the higher education community, CGS will develop a survey instrument and guidelines for data collection across a broad range of fields. These guidelines will be designed to help universities gather long-term career information from their PhD students and alumni with the goal of improving PhD programs.

A recently-completed CGS feasibility study also funded by the Sloan and Mellon Foundations found evidence that a lack of clear national standards for data collection is a major barrier to institutions seeking to understand the career pathways of their PhD alumni. In the project just announced, CGS will convene an advisory committee of graduate deans and other experts, which will advise CGS staff in developing a survey instrument and a framework document outlining methodological standards for data collection. This data collection instrument and framework document is intended to support universities’ collection and use of program-level PhD career information from matriculation through 15 years past graduation in STEM, social science, and humanities fields.

CGS will also convene two day-long workshops to develop partnerships and benefit from the expertise of stakeholder groups. One workshop will bring together higher education associations, disciplinary societies and federal agencies that use or collect career data on PhDs, while the other will convene graduate deans, provosts and other senior academic leaders. These workshops will provide occasions for these groups to share perspectives and expertise that will inform the work of the project.

CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega explained, “We have heard for many years, and from many sectors, that universities need a better understanding of the long-term career outcomes of their PhD graduates. This information is critical for helping graduate educators to develop curricula and professional development programs that better prepare students for the full range of careers they are likely to follow. We are delighted that the Alfred P. Sloan and Andrew W. Mellon Foundations are lending their support to CGS as we begin to address this important knowledge gap.”

Support for the CGS project is part of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s longstanding commitment to fostering improvement and innovation in STEM higher education. Past Sloan-supported efforts in this area include fostering college and university data collection on student entry and retention in STEM fields, the creation of the Professional Science Master’s degree, and the founding of eight University Centers of Exemplary Mentoring devoted to improving graduate education of underrepresented minorities in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering.

“Understanding the career pathways of doctoral recipients is absolutely essential to creating PhD programs that maximize value both to students and society as a whole, and CGS is very well-positioned to lead this initiative.” says Elizabeth S. Boylan, Program Director of the Sloan Foundation’s STEM Higher Education program.  “We are proud to be partnering with the Mellon Foundation in support of this vital effort to craft national data-collection standards and practices that have the potential to transform what we know about the careers of Ph.D. recipients and to improve the quality of programs for future students.”

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has long supported efforts to improve the intellectual and professional outcomes of doctoral education in the humanities. The Foundation assists universities and professional organizations in launching initiatives that broaden the preparation of PhD students for a variety of professional trajectories in as well as outside the academy. It also fosters collaborations within and among institutions that support disciplinary innovation.

“We are delighted to partner with the Sloan Foundation in supporting CGS in its initiative to make progress on this important issue,” stated Mariët Westermann, Vice President of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.  “We believe an approach that combines PhD career path tracking in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences is most likely to be successful across American universities.”

Results of the project will be shared with the higher education community in December 2015.

As the number of master of fine arts (MFA) programs in creative writing continues to proliferate and applications grow nationwide, literary luminaries are debating whether the MFA is a must-have credential for launching a writing career. Council of Graduate Schools dean-in-residence Jeannine Blackwell points out that many prospective students value graduate education because it opens doors to career advancement and higher quality of life.

Contacts:
Julia Kent, CGS
(202) 223-3791 / jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Washington, DC — The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has announced that Robert M. (Bob) Augustine, Dean of the Graduate School, Research and International Programs at Eastern Illinois University (EIU), has been appointed to a two-year term as the Council’s Senior Vice President. In addition to serving two terms as President of the Illinois Association of Graduate Schools, Augustine served on the CGS Board of Directors from 2011 to 2014 and held the position of Board Chair in 2013. He will join CGS on August 1, 2015.

The newly created Senior Vice President’s role will expand the services that CGS provides to master’s-focused institutions. Working with colleagues in CGS’s Best Practices division, Augustine will be responsible for developing an infrastructure for research on issues related to the master’s degree and for delivering programs relevant to the needs of master’s-focused institutions. He will also be responsible for the management and convening of the CGS Master’s Committee.

“For a number of years now, Bob Augustine has shared his deep knowledge of trends in master’s education with CGS members through board service and voluntary leadership roles in CGS meetings,” said CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega. “I am delighted that he will be extending his impact in this important area, and in graduate education more broadly, as a member of CGS’s leadership staff.”

Augustine will bring to CGS diverse experience in developing best practices for serving master’s degree students. During his tenure as graduate dean, EIU’s graduate school earned the ETS/Midwestern Association of Graduate School’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Education for the First Choice Graduate Programs Initiative. His institution was also awarded the ETS/CGS Award for Promoting Success in Graduate Education for developing the Integrative Graduate Studies Institute, as well as the CGS/TIAA-CREF Award for Enhancing Financial Literacy, which allowed EIU to launch a center devoted to Literacy in Financial Education.

Commenting on the appointment, Augustine said, “I am energized by this fantastic opportunity to contribute to the mission and values of the graduate community through the work of the Council of Graduate Schools. I look forward to advancing my new priorities as Senior Vice President.”

Augustine holds a PhD in communication sciences and disorders from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where he earned a Department Distinguished Alumni Award. Following clinical experience in speech-language pathology, he launched an early intervention language clinic focusing on integrative language strategies at EIU. Augustine guided expansion of the program, launched the first technology-enhanced courses, and developed the program’s first international outreach efforts before becoming Dean of the EIU Graduate School in 2000.

NatureJobs blog and podcast interviews CGS's Julia Kent for details about the Understanding Career Pathways project, the challenges graduate schools face in tracking career outcomes data, and how the CGS feasibility study is building the foundations for achieving comprehensive research on the career trajectories of doctorates. (CGS portion begins at the 10:50 mark.)

The Washington Post Express provides tips helping prospective students craft a successful application from graduate admissions experts, including CGS's Julia Kent.

Contacts:
Julia Kent, CGS: (202) 223-3791 / jkent@cgs.nche.edu
Barri Bronston, Tulane University:  504.314.7444 / bbronst@tulane.edu

New Orleans and Washington, DC — The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) has announced that Brian S. Mitchell, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Tulane University, has been named the Council of Graduate Schools/National Science Foundation Dean-in-Residence for 2015-16. Dr. Mitchell brings to the post significant experience leading graduate education at his home university, having served as Tulane’s Associate Provost for Graduate Studies and Research from 2006 to 2014. Mitchell will join CGS on February 1.

The Dean-in-Residence program was created by CGS and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support communications between senior graduate education leaders and the NSF. In this role, Mitchell will share with CGS and NSF the insights, perspectives, and practical experience of a senior administrator at a research university, while collaborating with program officers and senior administrators across NSF to help plan future NSF programs and activities.

“Dr. Mitchell’s experience in graduate education is both broad and deep,” said CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega. “His particular experience establishing interdisciplinary graduate programs, collaborating on international research projects, and overseeing the training of graduate teaching assistants are just a few of the areas where he will be able to facilitate communication between CGS member institutions and NSF.”

In accepting the appointment, Mitchell stated that he looks forward to collaborating with NSF and CGS on important issues in graduate education.

"NSF has not only been a leader in supporting graduate student training, but in shaping the content of those students' professional development,” Mitchell said. “From innovative training programs to international research experiences, their leadership has been a critical component of enhancing graduate education. Similarly, CGS is the established leader in evaluating trends in graduate education and advocating on its behalf. My goal as Dean-in-Residence is to not only support those ongoing activities, but to explore innovative ways to document and demonstrate the positive societal and global impact that graduate education has, not only in the STEM and related fields, but in all scholarly and creative disciplines."

After receiving his PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1991), Mitchell conducted research in numerous positions, including an NSF-NATO postdoctoral fellowship at the University Karlsruhe and Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowships at the German Aerospace Agency and the Max Planck Institute for Colloids and Interfaces. His primary research areas of interest are nanostructured materials and materials processing.

In addition to his research experience, Mitchell has been a national and international speaker on issues in research and graduate education. His public service in STEM education has included frequent presentations to Louisiana elementary school children through the state’s “Speaking of Science” program.

The Council of Graduate Schools is organizing a new effort to create a set of standards for information to collect about career outcomes of PhD's and how to collect it. The Chronicle of Higher Education examines the need for such data and the hurdles that have to be cleared to get it. 

Contact:

Nate Thompson
nthompson@cgs.nche.edu
(202) 223-3791

Washington, D.C. — The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), in collaboration with Hobsons, today announced a new initiative to better understand current holistic graduate application processes. With input from its member institutions, CGS will explore the implications of new technologies for achieving improvements in graduate admissions and student success rates.

As graduate institutions focus increasing attention on identifying and developing talent, the process of “whole-file” or holistic review is becoming more important. Holistic review of individual applicants is a process by which programs consider a broad range of admissions criteria when selecting applicants, including non-cognitive and personal attributes.

At the Council of Graduate Schools’ Annual Meeting in Washington, DC today, CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega announced, “With this project, CGS reaffirms its commitment to enhancing the quality of graduate education from admissions to completion and into careers. Understanding the practices and value of holistic review will help graduate institutions develop a broader understanding of the applicant qualities that translate into student success.”

Many leaders in graduate education believe that some version of holistic review has the potential to help universities achieve a more appropriate match between programs and students, to improve access to graduate education, and to improve the success rates of students who enter graduate programs at the master’s and doctoral levels. A recurring discussion among graduate deans is how to encourage programs and departments to engage in the review of a broader range of admissions criteria, rather than focusing on a few indicators of potential student success.

“Core to our mission at Hobsons is the belief that we can help improve long-term student outcomes by helping academic institutions to more effectively and efficiently find right-fit applicants during the admissions process,” said Stephen M. Smith, President of Advising and Admissions Solutions at Hobsons.  “We’re proud to support the work of CGS to increase access to graduate education through improved matching of students to higher education options.”

The year-long project will include a survey of over 500 universities on their current practices and emerging needs in graduate application review, a white paper exploring the current state of holistic review processes and the value of using such approaches, and a two-day intensive workshop of researchers, graduate deans, admissions professionals and other experts on the subject of holistic application review.

Contact:
Julia Kent
(202) 223-3791
jkent@cgs.nche.edu

Three New Members to Join Board in 2015

Washington, DC – The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) Board of Directors has announced its officers for the 2015 term. CGS is governed by a 12-member Board of Directors drawn from member institutions. Board members serve for set terms.

Dr. Barbara Knuth, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School at Cornell University, as the 2015 Board Chair was announced at the conclusion of the 2014 CGS Annual Meeting. Serving in her role at Cornell since 2010, Knuth has enhanced her university’s professional development program for graduate students to focus on supporting students to work effectively with their graduate committees and to foster transferable skills relevant to academic and non-academic career paths. Since she became dean, all graduate degree programs have articulated specific learning outcomes and have implemented assessment plans focused on program improvement. Knuth joined the Cornell faculty in 1986 as an assistant professor of natural resource policy. She holds a bachelor of philosophy degree in interdisciplinary studies, a bachelor’s in zoology, and a master’s in environmental science, all from Miami University, and a PhD in fisheries and wildlife sciences from Virginia Tech.   

“In her role as graduate dean, Dr. Knuth has been at the forefront of the pressing issues graduate schools are facing today,” said CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega. “Her expertise and leadership will help CGS chart ambitious goals for meeting the evolving needs of our member institutions.”

The new Chair-elect is Mark J. T. Smith, Dean of the Graduate School at Purdue University. Dr. Smith will serve in this role in 2015 and will become the board chair at the conclusion of the 2015 Annual Meeting. A member of the faculty in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Smith was appointed graduate dean in 2009. His scholarly interests are in the area of digital signal processing. He is a Fellow of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), and is a former IEEE Distinguished Lecturer. He has authored many technical papers, six international standards publications, three textbooks, and two edited books, the most recent of which is the 2014 edited book GPS for Graduate School—Students Share Their Stories.

Beginning three-year terms on the board on January 1 are Maria Di Stefano, Associate Provost and Dean, Graduate Studies at Truman State University; Janet Rutledge, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and Christopher Sindt, Vice Provost, Graduate and Professional Studies at Saint Mary’s University of California.

James Wimbush, Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs and Dean of the University Graduate School at Indiana University, will remain on CGS’s Executive Committee for one year as immediate past chair.

“I am honored to have worked with Dr. Wimbush during his term as CGS Board Chair,” Ortega said. “He has contributed greatly to the success of graduate students at his institution and to the enterprise of graduate education worldwide.”