Education Commons^™

Perceptions Of Doctoral Students Regarding Factors Contributing To Student Success, Felice D. Billups, Stacey L. Kite

NERA Conference Proceedings 2010

This third and final phase of a sequential exploratory mixed method
design sought to investigate doctoral student perspectives regarding
support services that impede or assist in the completion of an Ed.D.
program at a small, northeast university. Qualitative methods included
individual interviews and qualitative reflections to probe student
perceptions regarding support program improvements, using their
'stories' to provide rich, descriptive details. Students emphasized the
need for better pre-enrollment preparation, a comprehensive orientation
and advising program, and ongoing academic support services including
writing assistance, research skills development, and networking and
mentoring. Tinto's (1987) integration theory provides the framework for
this study, …