ph. d. completion and attrition: baseline program data robert sowell cgs annual meeting december 7,...
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Ph. D. Completion and Attrition:
Baseline Program Data
Robert SowellCGS Annual Meeting
December 7, 2007
Ph.D. Completion Project Goals:
• To study doctoral student completion and attrition patterns at a specifically selected set of Research and Project 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.
Ph.D. Completion Project Funding provided by Pfizer Inc and the
Ford Foundation 29 Research Partner institutions received
grants 25 Project Partner institutions are
currently participating in various project aspects (unfunded)
Institutions participate in one or both project phases: • Phase I (2004-2007)• Phase II (2007-2010)
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
Categories of Potential Interventions
Selection/Matching Mentoring and Advising Financial Support and Structure Program Environments Research Experiences Curricular and Administrative
Processes and Procedures
New CGS Publication
“Ph.D. Completion and Attrition: Analysis of Baseline Program Data from the Ph.D. Completion Project”
Number of Programs and Entering Students in Baseline
Data# of
Programs
# of EnteringStudents
Engineering 54 9,496
Life Sciences 66 6,925
Math & Physical Sciences
78 15,262
Social Sciences 65 9,671
Humanities 67 7,759
All Fields Total 330 49,113
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)
Overall Ten-Year Completion Rates
4.5
10.5
22.5
36.1
45.5
50.9
54.656.6
020
4060
Cu
mu
lati
ve C
om
ple
tio
n R
ate
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Source: Council of Graduate SchoolsCompletion and Attrition Program Data
Overall Ten-Year Attrition Rates
6.6
13.8
19.9
23.6
25.4
2728.4
29.530.2 30.6
010
2030
Cu
mu
lati
ve A
ttri
tio
n R
ate
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Source: Council of Graduate SchoolsCompletion and Attrition Program Data
Ten-Year Completion Rates by Broad Field
010
2030
4050
6070
Cu
mu
lati
ve
Co
mp
leti
on
Ra
te
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Year
Engineering Life Sciences
Mathematics & Physical Sciences Social Sciences
Humanities
Source: Council of Graduate SchoolsCompletion and Attrition Program Data
56.8
53.7
48.2
40.9
29.3
63.662.9
55.954.7
49.3
Ten-year Attrition Rates by Broad Field
510
1520
2530
3540
Cu
mu
lati
ve A
ttri
tio
n R
ate
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Year
Engineering Life Sciences
Mathematics & Physical Sciences Social Sciences
Humanities
NOTE: 10-Year Attrition Rates include all cohorts entering 1992-93 through 1994-95
Source: Council of Graduate SchoolsCompletion and Attrition Program Data
020
4060
8010
0C
um
ula
tive
Rat
es %
STEM Fields Social Sciences & Humanities
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Note: 10-Year Cohorts include all cohorts entering 1992-93 through 1994-95
Source: Council of Graduate SchoolsCompletion and Attrition Program Data
Continuing Completion Attrition
By Year 10, Percentage of Continuing Students Plateaus in SEM, but Not SSH Fields
Ten-Year Completion Rates for Mathematics
& Physical Science Disciplines0
1020
3040
5060
70C
um
ula
tive
Co
mp
leti
on
Rat
e
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10year
Chemistry Computer and Information Sciences
Mathematics Physics and Astronomy
Source: Council of Graduate SchoolsCompletion and Attrition Program Data
Ten-Year Attrition Rates for Mathematics
& Physical Science Disciplines5
1015
2025
3035
4045
50C
um
ula
tive
Att
riti
on
Rat
e
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Year
Chemistry Computer and Information Sciences
Mathematics Physics and Astronomy
NOTE: 10-Year Attrition Rates include all cohorts entering 1992-93 through 1994-95
Source: Council of Graduate SchoolsCompletion and Attrition Program Data
Ten-Year Completion Rates by Institution Type
010
2030
4050
60C
um
ula
tive
Co
mp
leti
on
Rat
e
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Year
Private Public
Source: Council of Graduate SchoolsCompletion and Attrition Program Data
Ten-Year Completion Rates by Cohort Size
010
2030
4050
60C
um
ula
tive
Co
mp
leti
on
Rat
e
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Year
Small Medium
Large
Source: Council of Graduate SchoolsCompletion and Attrition Program Data
Small: 1-7Medium: 8-14Large: 15+
Seven-Year Completion Rates Over Time:
A- and B- Cohorts, SEM vs. SSH Fields
35.7
35.8
50.6
51.9
0 10 20 30 40 50 60Cumulative 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 SchoolsCompletion and Attrition Program Data
A-cohorts B-cohorts
Four-Year (Early) Attrition Rates Over Time:
A-, B- and C-Cohorts
20.2
24.2
23.6
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24Attrition 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 SchoolsCompletion and Attrition Program Data
A B
C
Four-Year Attrition Rates Over Time:
A-, B- and C-Cohorts, SEM vs. SSH
20
16.6
20.2
19.3
22.0
26.6
26.5
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24Attrition 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 C-cohorts include all cohorts entering 1998-99 through 2000-01
Source: Council of Graduate SchoolsCompletion and Attrition Program Data
A B
C
Four-Year Continuing Rates Over Time:
A-, B- and C-Cohorts
21
72.7 7.1 20.2
67.5 8.3 24.2
65.9 10.5 23.6
0 20 40 60 80 100Rates
C
B
A
Source: Council of Graduate SchoolsCompletion and Attrition Program Data
Continuing Completion Attrition
Trend of Decreasing Attrition and Increasing Continuing Student Rates at
Four Years
22
75 6.5 18.5
73 6.8 20.2
70.1 8.1 21.9
68.5 8.6 22.9
66.6 8.1 25.2
67.3 8.2 24.4
66.5 8.8 24.6
67.5 9 23.5
63.8 13.4 22.8
0 20 40 60 80 100Rates
2000-01
1999-2000
1998-99
1997-98
1996-97
1995-96
1994-95
1993-94
1992-93
Source: Council of Graduate SchoolsCompletion and Attrition Program Data
Continuing Completion Attrition
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?
Future Ph.D. Completion Project Publications
Baseline demographic data (publication expected March 2008)
Student exit surveys (publication expected late fall 2008)
Promising practices, policies and activities
Publications based on 2007 and 2009 data submissions (2008-2010)
Final “Best Practices” report (2010)