1. Ph. D. Completion and Attrition: Baseline Program Data Robert Sowell University of Georgia January 28-30, 2008

2. CGS Ph.D. Completion Project  Funding provided by Pfizer Inc and the Ford Foundation  29 Institutions received grants  25 Other institutions are currently participating in the project (unfunded)  Institutions participate in one or both project phases: Phase I (2004-2007) Phase II (2007-2010)

3. CGS Ph.D. Completion Project  Goals: To study doctoral student completion and attrition patterns at a specifically selected set of Partners institutions. To give deans context to lead conversations about what attrition and completion patterns actually are at their universities, and what practices could be implemented to improve these patterns. To empower graduate deans to develop interventions that are tailored to disciplines, departments, and programs at their universities.

4. Data Requirements  Completion and attrition data by program  Aggregate demographic completion data by broad field  Factor assessments for each institution and program  Student Exit Surveys

5. Categories of Potential Interventions  Selection/Matching  Mentoring and Advising  Financial Support and Structure  Program Environments  Research Experiences  Curricular and Administrative Processes and Procedures

6. New CGS Publication “Ph.D. Completion and Attrition: Analysis of Baseline Program Data from the Ph.D. Completion Project”

7. Number of Programs and Entering Students in Baseline Data # of Programs # of Entering Students Engineering549,496 Life Sciences666,925 Math & Physical Sciences7815,262 Social Sciences659,671 Humanities677,759 All Fields Total33049,113

8. Cohort Definitions for Baseline Data Analysis  A-Cohorts (10-year cohorts) Students enrolling in 1992-93; 1993-94; 1994-95 12,135 students (313 programs)  B-Cohorts (7-year cohorts) Students enrolling in 1995-96; 1996-97; 1997-98 11,697 students (320 programs)  C-Cohorts (4-year cohorts) Students enrolling in 1998-99; 1999-2000; 2000-01 12,125 students (323 programs)

9. Overall Ten-Year Completion Rates 4.5 10.5 22.5 36.1 45.5 50.9 54.6 56.6 0 20 40 60 Cumulative Completion Rate 345678910 Source: Council of Graduate Schools Completion and Attrition Program Data

10. Overall Ten-Year Attrition Rates 6.6 13.8 19.9 23.6 25.4 27 28.4 29.5 30.2 30.6 0 10 20 30 Cumulative Attrition Rate 12345678910 Source: Council of Graduate Schools Completion and Attrition Program Data

11. Ten-Year Completion Rates by Broad Field 56.8 53.7 48.2 40.9 29.3 63.6 62.9 55.9 54.7 49.3

12. Ten-year Attrition Rates by Broad Field

13. Ten-Year Completion Rates for Mathematics & Physical Science Disciplines

14. Ten-Year Attrition Rates for Mathematics & Physical Science Disciplines

15. By Year 10, Percentage of Continuing Students Plateaus in SEM, but Not SSH Fields

16. Ten-Year Completion Rates by Institution Type 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Cumulative Completion Rate 345678910 Year PrivatePublic Source: Council of Graduate Schools Completion and Attrition Program Data

17. Ten-Year Completion Rates by Cohort Size 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Cumulative Completion Rate 345678910 Year SmallMedium Large Source: Council of Graduate Schools Completion and Attrition Program Data Small: 1-7 Medium: 8-14 Large: 15+

18. Seven-Year Completion Rates Over Time: A- and B- Cohorts, SEM vs. SSH Fields 35.7 35.8 50.6 51.9 0102030405060 Cumulative Completion Rate SSH Fields SEM Fields NOTE: A-cohorts include all students entering 1992-93 through 1994-95 B-cohorts include all students entering 1995-96 through 1997-98 Source: Council of Graduate Schools Completion and Attrition Program Data A-cohortsB-cohorts

19. Comparison of Seven-Year Completion Rates between A- and B- Cohorts, by Broad Field Mathematics & Physical Sciences

20. Four-Year (Early) Attrition Rates Over Time: A-, B- and C-Cohorts 20.2 24.2 23.6 024681012141618202224 Attrition Rate NOTE: A-cohorts include all students entering 1992-93 through 1994-95 B-cohorts include all students entering 1995-96 through 1997-98 C-cohorts include all cohorts entering 1998-99 through 2000-01 Source: Council of Graduate Schools Completion and Attrition Program Data AB C

21. Four-Year Attrition Rates Over Time: A-, B- and C-Cohorts, SEM vs. SSH 21

22. Four-Year Continuing Rates Over Time: A-, B- and C-Cohorts 22

23. Trend of Decreasing Attrition and Increasing Continuing Student Rates at Four Years 23

24. Future Questions to be Addressed in the Ph.D. Completion Project  How do completion patterns vary by ethnicity, gender and citizenship?  Why do students say they complete (or not)? What are the perceptions about graduate school of completers and non-completers?  What is the impact of the six categories of interventions? How does efficacy vary across broad field and for which populations?  Can we project ultimate completion and time to degree from our completion and attrition data?

25. Future Ph.D. Completion Project Publications  Baseline demographic data (publication expected March 2008)  Student exit surveys (publication expected October 2008)  Promising practices, policies and activities (publication expected August 2008)  Publications based on 2007 and 2009 data submissions (2009-2010)  Final “Best Practices” report (2010)