HEFCE (2007) PhD research degrees Entry and completion January 2005/02 A Summary Part 1 Ornette Clennon Kevin Gallimore Trevor Brown

Presentation overview I.Factors which influence completion rates of PhDs / Research Degrees I.HEFCE (2007) PhD research degrees Entry and completion II.Research perspective II.Summary Factors which improve completion rates I.Factors which influence completion rates of PhDs / Research Degrees I.HEFCE (2007) PhD research degrees Entry and completion II.Research perspective II.Summary Factors which improve completion rates

1.1 HEFCE (2007) ‘PhD research degrees: Entry and completion The report examines the rates of completion for a cohort of UK HEI students who began on a doctorate degree mainly by research in academic year intended to inform discussion about the quality of supervision of postgraduate research time rate of PhD completion

Entry to PhD programmes HEFCE (2007)

The progress of students to HEFCE (2007) 18 % full- time change to part-time 11% part- time students change to full-time 11% FT and 28 % PT remain on programme 7 years later 10 % of students take a break min 1Y 4 % change institutions

Outcomes Definition of completion HEFCE (2007) A student is defined as completing when they have been awarded a PhD and the ‘qualification obtained’ has been returned through the individualised HESA student record. This will typically be up to a year after the student submitted their thesis for assessment. A student is defined as completing when they have been awarded a PhD and the ‘qualification obtained’ has been returned through the individualised HESA student record. This will typically be up to a year after the student submitted their thesis for assessment.

Completions HEFCE (2007) 5 years 57 % FT PhD 19 % PT PhD 7 Years 71 % FT PhD 34 % PT PhD 7 Years 5 % FT MPhil 3 % PT MPhil MPhil, PhD or both (7Y) 74 % FT37 % PT

Differences in completion rates between institutions full-time students Individual institutional and departments; Significant and material variation in PhD completion rates Individual institutional and departments; Significant and material variation in PhD completion rates Accounting for all other student and programme factors

Differences in completion rates between institutions Part Time HEFCE (2007) Institutional variation in PhD completion rates Variation is not materially different from random variations between individuals

Outcomes HEFCE (2007) part-time students have fewer of the characteristics associated with high completion = lower completion rates Students with financial backing Students from overseas Younger students Students following Natural Sciences Higher rates of completion

1.2 Research findings

Broad themes from educational leadership A qualitative multiple case study analysis four major themes: (1) quality of academic experiences(2) online learning environment(3) support and assistance(4) student self-motivation (Ivankova and Stick 2007)

Completion time In Economics PhDs NO DIFFERENCE in time-to-degree between – men and women, – married and single students, – older and younger students, – larger or smaller Ph.D. programs. NO DIFFERENCE in time-to-degree between – men and women, – married and single students, – older and younger students, – larger or smaller Ph.D. programs. Finish faster Supported by fellowships, Hold a prior Master's degree. Finish slower Take jobs before completing their degree, Have children (women not men) (Siegfried and Stock 2001)

Gender In applied fields Men, more likely to drop out for attractive jobs No overall gender difference completion male graduates were more satisfied with quality of supervision than females No overall gender difference TTC (Mastekaasa 2005) (Seagram, Gould et al. 1998)

Identity transformation problematic for women. Cultural expectations can cause tensions between women’s social relationships and academic performance. Cultural Expectations Academic Performance Values Assertiveness, Clear Communication -of Power Relationships. Confident Management- Women PassivityFamily Nurturance Subordination To Male (Symbolic) (Carter, Blumenstein et al. 2013)

Finance Financial Student Aid Students finish faster Does not affect the duration of study Increased probability of finishing successfully (Glocker 2011) See next slide

Financial support Improves completion rates and time to completion Slower completers received more years of support Faster completion Slower completion (Seagram, Gould et al. 1998) (Ehrenberg and Mavros 1995) Natural Sciences reported receiving more years of teaching assistantships and research assistantships than respondents from the other disciplines.

Student Ability Ability makes a difference But in science and engineering (once ability has been controlled for) – ethnic differences vanish – females only lag slightly behind males (Baker 1998)

Student self-sabotaging behaviours OvercommittingProcrastinationPerfectionism (Kearns, Gardiner et al. 2008

Student Factors Anxiety Procrastination Individual Peers, Supervisors Faculty Relational Program, Facilities, Annual Review Structural (Liechty, Liao et al. 2009)

Structure Progress Plan Commitment Goal Commitment Supervisor Support Time Commitment Structure (de Valero 2001)(Martinsuo and Turkulainen 2011)

Peer support & socialisation Progress Peer Support Supervisor Support Socialisation (Martinsuo and Turkulainen 2011)(de Valero 2001)

Early warning signs of problems with timely completion (Manathunga 2005) Constantly changing the topic or planned work, Avoiding all forms of communication with the supervisor Isolating themselves from the school and students Avoiding submitting work for review

2.Summary Factors which improve completion rates Financial backing - monitored and supported Support and assistance Socialisation - department, relationships, peers Structures- support, plans commitments, time guidance self- motivation, commitments Supervisor support Quality of academic experiences Online learning environment Culture and gender – conscious of the effects of cultural expectations PT - needs specific structure, support (internal and external) and socialisation Individualised inclusive experience

References Baker, J. G. (1998), "Gender, race and PhD completion in natural science and engineering." Economics of Education Review, Vol. 17 No. 2, pp Carter, S., M. Blumenstein, et al. (2013), "Different for women? The challenges of doctoral studies." Teaching In Higher Education, Vol. 18 No. 4, pp de Valero, Y. F. (2001), "Departmental factors affecting time-to-degree and completion rates of doctoral students at one land-grant research institution." Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 72 No. 3, pp Ehrenberg, R. G. and P. G. Mavros (1995), "DO DOCTORAL STUDENTS FINANCIAL-SUPPORT PATTERNS AFFECT THEIR TIMES-TO-DEGREE AND COMPLETION PROBABILITIES." Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 30 No. 3, pp Glocker, D. (2011), "The effect of student aid on the duration of study." Economics of Education Review, Vol. 30 No. 1, pp Ivankova, N. V. and S. L. Stick (2007), "Students' persistence in a distributed doctoral program in educational leadership in higher education: A mixed methods study." Research in Higher Education, Vol. 48 No. 1, pp Kearns, H., M. Gardiner, et al. (2008), "Innovation in PhD completion: the hardy shall succeed (and be happy!)." Higher Education Research & Development, Vol. 27 No. 1, pp Liechty, J. M., M. Liao, et al. (2009), "FACILITATING DISSERTATION COMPLETION AND SUCCESS AMONG DOCTORAL STUDENTS IN SOCIAL WORK." Journal of Social Work Education, Vol. 45 No. 3, pp Manathunga, C. (2005), "Early warning signs in postgraduate research education: a different approach to ensuring timely completions." Teaching In Higher Education, Vol. 10 No. 2, pp Martinsuo, M. and V. Turkulainen (2011), "Personal commitment, support and progress in doctoral studies." Studies In Higher Education, Vol. 36 No. 1, pp Mastekaasa, A. (2005), "Gender differences in educational attainment: the case of doctoral degrees in Norway." British Journal of Sociology of Education, Vol. 26 No. 3, pp Seagram, B. C., J. Gould, et al. (1998), "An investigation of gender and other variables on time to completion of doctoral degrees." Research in Higher Education, Vol. 39 No. 3, pp Siegfried, J. J. and W. A. Stock (2001), "So you want to earn a Ph.D. in economics? How long do you think it will take?" Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 36 No. 2, pp