Program Experiences

Once in the doctoral program, participants described a variety of individual experiences, some of which influenced their ability to complete the doctorate and will be detailed later in this chapter. It is interesting, though, that the ten out of eleven people interviewed described their experience as being positive, enlightening, and worthwhile through the initial phases, particularly the coursework. Even considering the fact that their initial expectations were not always met, as described in the topic in this paper titled

Motivation, participants clearly saw value in the experience. Finally, regardless of whether or not the student actually completed the Ph.D., the findings that follow show that study participants generally found the initial phases of the doctoral program to be a good experience.

Overall impressions of the program. Four of the five non-completers saw the experience as a positive one, with the fifth non-completer having mixed reactions; while five out of six completers saw their overall experience as mixed. Following are comments from two non-completers describing their overall experience.

I think the overall program was a good experience. Primarily working with the different students and the ability to network in the community. That was probably the most positive aspect of my work there. (Lewis-NC) I think it was a good experience overall. I use the skill set I think I either developed or grew when I was in the program and in my research just being a researcher and I use it at work quite a bit here. (Franco-NC)

Completers’ reactions to the program were more reserved. They reported positive reactions at the beginning of the program, but experienced more challenges and stress

toward the end. For example, Linda-C described her experience toward the end of the program as stressful; yet called her early experience fun:

Mine was stressful, in the last year trying to get it done. That’s the main thing. The first part went well because I can do coursework, because I’ve done (the) undergrad degree, Master’s degree. The coursework was fun

because I had been out of school for like twenty-some years since I got my Master’s; and it was fun being back in school, because I love school.

Mike-C described his experience as being intense, calling it a marathon:

The experience was…it’s mixed. It’s a very intense program. It’s a Ph.D.; it’s designed to be intense. I feel like if you’re not crazy going into the Ph.D. program, you’re crazy by the time you come out...I think a Ph.D. is very much like a marathon. At mile twenty you want to stop, when your body begins to reject you. I don’t know if you’ve ever done a marathon, but it’s usually between miles eighteen and twenty that you find people on the side of the road getting sick. And that’s because their bodies, it’s depleted all of their stores of fuel, and it’s beginning to chew away at itself. So it’s that sort of transition. And I think we hit that transition in which we’re no longer in our Ph.D. program, feeding off the good stuff anymore. We’re chewing away at the stuff that makes us ‘us.’

The difference between the tone of the comments made by non-completers and those made by completers might be explained by the fact that completers have gone through what is generally considered the toughest phases of the program: the Prospectus and Dissertation. Case in point: three of the five non-completers had not completed their Comprehensive Exams. Only two had begun the Prospectus/Dissertation phase of the program, with one having completed all residency requirements. This means that non- completers, for the most part, had only finished their coursework—the phase in which completers were also most complimentary.

Coursework. The coursework itself was seen very favorably by both completers and non-completers. The one significant drawback mentioned was with scheduling

courses that were required or desired by participants. Several people indicated that classes they wanted were not offered on a timely basis. Others registered for some classes, only to have them cancelled because of low enrollment. This frustrated some students and sometimes slowed their progress, though it did not present an

insurmountable barrier to their forward progress. Comments like the following were expressed by Wanda-C, Carson-C and Jean-NC: “That was probably the most frustrating thing is some classes were offered every other year and I’m thinking, ‘How am I

supposed to take it two years from now when I need it now? (Wanda-C)’” and “There are courses that I would have wanted to do but were not being offered in a particular

semester. And yet I had to take something to fulfill my credits and get my funding and move towards attaining my minimum required course credits. So that was a major problem. (Carson-C)”

In spite of these challenges, the flexibility in course selection afforded by the program’s structure typically allowed participants to substitute courses for those that were not available, even if the student did not always end up with his or her first choice. In the end issues with course availability did not present a significant issue in completing the program.

Creating and maintaining viable committees. The College of Education at Eagle University requires students to select an Advisory Committee at some point before completing 27 hours of coursework. The purpose of that committee is to guide the student in their course selection, completion of residency requirements, and completion of the Comprehensive Exam. At this point, the student may continue with the same

committee members, but must add one additional person to form the Dissertation Committee. The student also has the option of changing one or even all of the Advisory Committee members in forming the Dissertation Committee. That final committee of four to five professors is responsible for guidance and direction during the Dissertation phase, which includes reviewing and approving the Prospectus and the Dissertation.

Both completers and non-completers were challenged by the need to form Advisory and Dissertation Committees. With a limited number of faculty in the IT department—especially early in the program’s existence—identifying and confirming viable committee members was especially difficult, though not insurmountable. In general, selection and management of a committee was a new experience for everyone, requiring a new set of skills.

I didn’t know anything about forming a committee. I knew there was a committee, but that was a challenge for me, finding a professor who should like your interest. (Jean-NC)

I just assumed that people were going to sign on and if I asked them to be on my committee they were going to be on my committee because they’re in my department and this is what you do. You’re a teacher. You help the students. I wasn’t prepared for their rejection. I had a decent amount of rejection from MSIT faculty, which is fine. I just wasn’t prepared for that. I didn’t know it was coming. It kind of blind-sided me. I got the feeling that people weren’t looking for more work. People had their students they were advisors of, and really weren’t particularly interested in getting on too many more committees—what I felt like was because of the work it entails. I can’t say that I blame them.

(Gary-C)

Most participants were able to move through this process and move on without it becoming a stumbling block to completion. For Jean and Lewis, forming and maintaining a committee represented an impossible barrier to completion.