SUPPORTING SUCCESS:THE IMPLEMENTATION OF GENERIC ACADEMIC SUPPORT FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS

Christina Herrera, M.A.Coordinator for Graduate Student ServicesLearning CenterUniversity of North Texas

BACKGROUND

Background

• Graduate students comprised approximately 18% of the UNT population in Fall 2014

– 967 Post-Bac

– 3,646 Masters

– 1,785 Doctoral

– 43 Special Professional

• Historically, student services at UNT focused heavily on undergraduate students

• Identified need to increase persistence and retention in the graduate student population

Institutional Needs

Assessment

• In the 2012-2013 academic year, Toulouse Graduate School, Student Affairs, and The Office of Institutional Research & Effectiveness collaborated on a graduate student needs assessment focusing on 4 key areas:

– Housing and Dining Options

– Child Care

– Health Insurance

– Academic Needs

Institutional Needs

Assessment

• Master’s Students

1. Oral communication skills

2. Travel funding for conferences/symposia

3. Written communication skills

4. Connection to academic service opportunities

5. Research abilities

6. Instructional/teaching abilities

Institutional Needs

Assessment

• Doctoral Students

1. Travel funding for conferences/symposia

2. Research abilities

3. Written communication skills

4. Oral communication skills

5. Instructional/teaching abilities

6. Connection to academic service opportunities

LEARNING CENTER

SERVICES

Stats 101 • Goal: Provide a basic review of important statistical concepts and SPSS instruction

• 5-week session

• Conceptual Review

• Hands-on SPSS instruction

– Real-world, large scale data sets

Research Skills

Series

• Goal: Help graduate students develop important research skills

• Topics:

– Finding Balance

– Developing Research Topics & Questions

– Critiquing Literature

– Summarizing, Organizing, and Synthesizing Information

Academic Coaching

• Individualized assistance program

• Provide tools and resources specific to student needs

• Meeting frequency decided by the student

• Topics have included:

– Thesis/dissertation planning and editing

– Time & project management

– Stats support

Grad School

Prep

• Grad School: The Guide to Getting In

• Test Prep Workshops

– GRE

– GMAT

• Academic Coaching

• Online Resources

• Academic Resource Library

What about

distance learners?

• No problem!

– All graduate and grad prep workshops are available in a live webinar format as well

CHALLENGE & SUCCESS

Challenges • Attendance

• Commitment

• Adapting across disciplines

• Assessment of online workshops

Success! • Stats on Stats 101

• Academic Coaching

• GMAT Boot Camp

• Reducing anxiety about the GRE & GMAT

RESEARCHER DEVELOPMENT

FRAMEWORK

What is it? • A framework developed to advance the research profession

– 4 domains

• Developed in response to government concerns and policies regarding the quality of researcher education and development in the UK

• “sets out the wide-ranging knowledge, intellectual abilities, techniques and professional standards expected to do research, as well as the personal qualities, knowledge and skills to work with others and ensure the wider impact of research. Within each of the domains there are three sub-domains and associated descriptors.” (Vitae, 2015)

Subject knowledge, theoretical knowledge of research methods, practical implications of research methods, information seeking, information literacy and management, languages, academic literacy and numeracy

Analyzing, synthesizing, critical thinking, evaluating, problem solving

Inquiring mind, intellectual insight, innovation, argument construction, intellectual risk

Career management, continuing professional development, responsiveness to opportunities, networking, reputation and esteem

Preparation and prioritization, commitment to research, time management, responsiveness to change, work-life balance

Enthusiasm, perseverance, integrity, self-confidence, self-reflection, responsibility

Income and funding generation, financial management, infrastructure and resources

Research strategy, project planning and delivery, risk management

Health and safety, ethics, principles of sustainability, legal requirements, IPR and

copyright, respect and confidentiality, attribution and co-authorship, appropriate

practice

Teaching, public engagement, enterprise, policy, society and culture, global

citizenship

Communication methods, communication media, publication

Collegiality, team working, people in management, supervision, mentoring, influence and leadership, collaboration, equality and

diversity

THOUGHTS FOR THE FUTURE

Marketing • Possibly re-branding Research Skills Series as professional development

• More personalized outreach

– Class and student organization visits

• Communicate the benefit of participation

– Especially for alt-ac students

Improvements

• Adding more interactive elements to the Research Skills Workshops

• Hands-On personal statement workshop

• Adjusting Research Skills presentations to ensure they are applicable across disciplines

• Collaborate with other offices on campus to provide expanded services

Flexibility • Offer more flexible options for in-person and distance learners

– On-demand workshops

– SPSS tutorial videos

– Stats 101 options

HOW CAN YOUR INSTITUTION

USE THIS?

First, think about your students…

• Who are they?

• What do they need?

• What to they want?

• What do they perceive as important?

What do your

infrastructure and

resources look like?

• Do you have a centralized graduate school or are functions spread out across the institution?

• How will you create buy-in across departments?

• Who is in the best position to develop services?

Think Holistically

• How will resources and programs you develop benefit students seeking both academic and alt-ac careers?

• How will you adapt resources and programs to function equally well across disciplines?

– Or will you develop area-specific programs and resources?

QUESTIONS?

Resources Carter, S. & Laurs, D. (Eds.). (2014). Developing Generic Support for Doctoral Students: Practice and Pedagogy. New York, NY: Routledge.

Vitae. (2015). The Vitae Researcher Development Framework. Retrieved from https://www.vitae.ac.uk/researchers-professional-development/about-the-vitae-researcher-development-framework/developing-the-vitae-researcher-development-framework