Making the Case for Graduate Student Learning Assistance Programs

Graduate Student Learning AssistanceThe University of Texas at San Antonio

Session Agenda

▪ Current graduate student population in the US– Non-traditional students and international students– Inherent challenges

▪ Graduate student preparedness– Attrition and time to completion rates

▪ Setting up your grad student LA program: best practice

▪ Questions

Current Trends

Source: The Condition of Education, U.S. Department of Education, 2012, p. 65

Changes in Graduate Education Trends

▪ From 1995-2005, earned MAs increased by 47%– Earned PhDs increased by 26%

▪ Increase in service providing industries that require advanced degrees– Health– Construction– Hospitality

▪ In 2006, 94% of 226 companies offered education assistance to employees (Wendler et al., 2012)

Challenges for Institutions of Higher Education

Traditional vs. Non-Traditional Students

Traditional

▪ Apply within a few years of exiting undergraduate program

▪ Under 30

▪ Single

▪ Moderate income w/ fewer financial responsibilities

Non-Traditional

▪ Older, 40 and older rapidly increasing

▪ Involved in work/family

▪ Use grad school to change or improve employment

▪ Married students take longer to complete degree

Source: Wendler et al., 2012

Challenges

▪ Increase in 1st generation students entering graduate school– “[Challenges faced by first-generation college students] are likely compounded

when they pursue graduate education” (Lunceford, 2011).– “First generation graduate students may not know where to get the information

that will help them succeed” (Lunceford, 2011).

▪ Over 40% of PhD candidates take 8-10 years or don’t finish (Wendler, 2012).– Non-fulltime students have a tougher time finishing in 10 years

▪ Impediments to completion – Relationship with advisor– Lack of campus involvement– Financial reasons– Graduate-level academic skills

▪ Issues are compounded for 1st gen, non-traditional, and international students

Population specific challenges

▪ Nontraditional students– Increase in these types of

students (Galardi, 2012)– Issues they face:▪ Digital scholarship▪ Research focus▪ Changing citation requirements

▪ International Students– Success in the American

classroom– Language barriers– Citation and writing issues

▪ 1st Generation– Unfamiliar with jargon,

resources– Little or no knowledge of

expectations– Difficulty adjusting

Recommendations

Issues to Tackle

▪ Improve completion rates

▪ Reduce the time to graduation for doctoral students

▪ Professional development for changing market– “Professional development programs at the university that

provide doctoral students with transferable skills valued by employers outside of the academy need to be considered” (Wendler et al., 2012).

▪ Improve global competitiveness

UTSA Graduate Student Learning Assistance

▪ Two full-time, professional academic coaches

▪ Counseling interns

▪ Programs– Academic Coaching– Workshops– Thesis/Dissertation Group– Writing Institute– Online Resources

▪ Focus areas: writing, research, academic and professional excellence

Academic Coaching

▪ One-on-one

▪ Identify academic strengths and weaknesses

▪ Personal plan

▪ Skills focused on:– Writing process– Balancing priorities/Time management– Graduate-level reading, note-taking, and study skills– Presentation skills– Thesis/Dissertation process

▪ By Appointment

Workshops

▪ Graduate Learner Series– In person and streams on Blackboard– Topics: Time Management, Writing a Literature Review, Preparing

for Comps/Quals, etc.

▪ Faculty Requests– In-class– Tailor workshop to assignment– Topics: Specific citation styles, Literature review, Synthesizing

Research, etc.

Thesis/Dissertation Group

▪ Fall/Spring semesters

▪ Six-week closed group, one hour per week

▪ Support through the process

▪ Strategies/issues students face with thesis, dissertation, or exit paper

▪ Topics covered:– Procrastination– Stress– Writing blocks– Working with committee members– Defense preparation

The Writing Institute

▪ Two offered-Spring Break and May minimester

▪ Aid graduate students in completing a large writing project– Thesis/Dissertation– Seminar paper– Paper for publication

▪ 4-days, 9am-5pm

▪ Morning instruction on grammar, citation, and organization, etc.

▪ Afternoon writing time and one-on-one writing consultations

▪ Nominal fee: Pocket Keys for Writers and Graduate Writing Institute Workbook included

Online Resources

▪ Blackboard– Recorded workshops: GLS– Handouts– Discussion boards– Links to external resources

▪ Website: www.utsa.edu/trcss/gsla– Additional materials

▪ Faceboo0k: facebook.com/utsagsla

▪ Twitter: @utsagsla

GSLA Services

▪ Offered at Main Campus and Downtown Campus

▪ NO ADDITIONAL COST TO STUDENTS

Graduate Enrollment at UTSA

Term

LevelMasters-Graduate

Doctoral-Graduate

Fall 2004 3,334 289Fall 2005 3,278 366Fall 2006 3,379 424Fall 2007 3,254 451Fall 2008 3,189 463Fall 2009 3,289 547Fall 2010 3,685 655Fall 2011 3,918 713Fall 2012 3,693 756Fall 2013 3,456 759Fall 2014 3,392 789

Source: UTSA OIR

Percent of the graduate population served

▪ 2010-2011: 53%

▪ 2011-2012: 60%

▪ 2012-2013: 38%

▪ 2013-2014: 24%

▪ Staff changes

▪ Reduction in staff

▪ Drop in graduate enrollment

Graduation Rates for Doctoral Students at UTSA

▪ Average time to degree at UTSA– 2011: 4.96 years– 2012: 5.24 years– 2013: 4.97 years

▪ National avg. across degrees was 7.7 years (2007-2008 PhD. Recipients)

  00-01

01-02

02-03

03-04

04-05

05-06

06-07

07-08

08-09

09-10

10-11

11-12

12-13

Entering Cohort

13100%

35100%

79100%

94100%

106100%

111100%

122100%

124100%

132100%

192100%

203100%

168100%

187100%

Graduated Within 10 Years

1077%

2571%

4962%

5559%

6460%

6659%

6553%

6351%

6146%

5227%

178%

11%

00% 

Graduated in Over 10 Years

00%

00%

11%

11%

00%

00%

00%

00%

00%

00%

00%

00%

00%

Still Enrolled

00%

00%

11%

11%

55%

65%

1411%

1512%

2922%

8142%

12361%

13178%

14879% 

Not Enrolled, Did Not Graduate

323%

1029%

2835%

3739%

3735%

3935%

4335%

4637%

4232%

5931%

6331%

3621%

3921%

Academic Year Entered

Doctoral Level Overall Summary. Source: UTSA OIR

Graduation Rates for Master’s Students at UTSA

  2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Entering Cohort

1,324100%

1,516100%

1,679100%

1,617100%

1,420100%

Grad w/in 3 yrs(Same)

66550%

78051%

89353%

44928%

232%

Grad w/in 3 yrs (Other)

312%

362%

443%

161%

00%

Grad Over 3 yrs(Same)

15912%

1107%

00%

00%

00%

Grad Over 3 yrs(Other)

151%

81%

00%

00%

00%

Enrolled (Same)

312%

876%

20512%

69243%

1,09677%

Enrolled (Other)

40%

151%

251%

382%

383%

Not Graduate/Not Enrolled

41932%

48032%

51230%

42226%

26319%

Source: UTSA OIR

Creating your own GSLA program

▪ Focus on transferrable skills– Academic and Professional careers– Examples: Writing, Reading, Time Management, Presentation Skills, etc.

▪ Targeted at graduate students

▪ Professional staff or doctoral candidates (assistantship)

▪ Work within Graduate School or closely with them

▪ Funding for program

▪ Campus stakeholder buy-in

▪ Data collection and reporting– Numbers served– Testimonials– Letters/emails of appreciation from faculty

Learning Assistance Needs for Specific Populations

▪ Non-traditional– Technology/digital scholarship assistance– Writing process– Reading strategies– Time management

▪ International– Writing process– Citation use and creation– Study strategies

▪ 1st Generation– Time management– Guidance and accountability– Study skills

Other Types of Programs

▪ Writing Centers

▪ Tutoring services

▪ Graduate schools– Workshops– Thesis/Dissertation formatting

▪ Grant writing

▪ Career centers

▪ Services geared toward minorities/students with disabilities

References

▪ Aud, S., Wilkinson-Flicker, S., Kristapovich, P., Rathbun, A., Wang, X., & Zhang, J. (2013). The Condition of Education 2013 (NCES 2013-037). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch

▪ Galardi, K. M. (2012) Importance of support services for on- and off- campus graduate students. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ERIC. (Accession no. ED544149)

▪ Gonzales, L. M., Allum, J. R., & Sowell, R. S. (2013). Graduate enrollment and degrees: 2002 to 2012. Washington, DC: Council of Graduate Schools. Retrieved from https://www.cgsnet.org/ckfinder/userfiles/files/GEDReport_2012.pdf

▪ Hoffer, T. B., & Welch, Jr., V. (2006). Time to degree of U.S. research doctorate recipients (NSF Publication No. 06-312). National Science Foundation. Retrieved from www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf06312/

▪ Kang, K. (2012). Graduate enrollment in science and engineering grew substantially in the past decade but slowed in 2010 (NSF 12-317). National Science Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf12317/#fn1

▪ Weisblat, G., & Sell, C. (2012). An exemplar in mentoring and professional development: Teaching graduate students transferable skills beyond the discipline. Journal of Research Administration, 43(1), 60-84. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

▪ Wendler, C., Bridgeman, B., Cline, F., Millett, C., Rock, J., Bell, N., & McAllister, P. (2010). The Path Forward: The Future of Graduate Education in the United States. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service. Retrieved from http://www.fgereport.org/rsc/pdf/CFGE_report.pdf

Contact Information

Emma Hashman

Emma.Hashman@utsa.edu

(210) 458-6863

QUESTIONS?