Degree candidates demonstrate professional competence
Objective
Professional Competence In Literacy Field
Students will demonstrate professional competence in the field of literacy.
Indicator
Comprehensive Exams
Students will successfully complete comprehensive exams at the end of the coursework. Comprehensive exams are administered in two parts: Part A is a take home exam completed over a one week time period and focuses on knowledge of research. Part B is an oral comprehensive exams completed on campus with faculty members present. Written exams are scored holistically as pass or fail and are scored by five faculty members who base their holistic score on their knowledge of and research in the field of literacy. The oral exam is scored by participating faculty using a common rubric which evaluates knowledge of the material, supporting research, and clarity of response.
Criterion
Comprehensive Exams Success
Students ready for the comprehensive exam will successfully demonstrate mastery in the field of literacy, participate in reassessment if necessary, or exit from the program.
Finding
Comprehensive Exams Results
This finding will be posted in September after the conclusion of the comprehensive process.
Indicator
Dissertation Proposal Defense
All students currently enrolled in the proposal class, RDG 832, will successfully defend proposals for dissertation before their committee of four faculty members.
Criterion
Proposal Defense
100% of the students enrolled in the proposal class will successfully defend their proposals before the committee members.
Finding
Progress Towards Dissertation
To date 50% of all those students enrolled in the proposal class have successfully defended their proposals with the other 50% scheduled to defend this summer. One weakness of the process that emerged is that students need a better sense of the time it takes to move from proposal defense to dissertation defense.
Action
Research Timelines
In future proposal classes, faculty will assist students in developing a reasonable timeline outlining the phases of their dissertation studies to aid them in setting a realistic timeline for completing the research.
Action
Comprehensive Exams
Seven students successfully passed comprehensive oral and written exams. Three passed with a high pass, four with a pass.
Goal
Scholarly Activity
Degree candidates engage in research, publication, and presentations.
Objective
Student Scholarly Activity
Students in the Doctoral Program in Reading will display working knowledge of the literature of the field in papers they are required to produce to submit to journals and conferences.
Indicator
Student Presentations And Publications
All students are required to submit journal and/or conference papers (depending on where they are in the program of study), for reviewer screening and selection. (Papers may be submitted for publication or presentation in cooperation with doctoral faculty.) Assessment of students' knowledge will be based upon acceptance of paper by Journal or Conference or upon the journal/conference reviewers' notes about rejected paper submissions.
Criterion
Student Publications And Presentations
Paper acceptance or reviewer notes indicating a paper's viability are considered positive evidence of knowledge. Doctoral student, over the course of their program of study (approximately 3.5 years) are required to submit two conference proposals and at least one paper for journal publication consideration beginning in their second year of study.
Finding
Presentations And Publications
Of the nineteen doctoral students enrolled in at least the second year of their program of study, 60% have submitted papers for publication, four have publications in press, three are still in review, and five received feedback but were rejected or received revise an resubmit results. Of the thirty doctoral students still enrolled in the program, 52% have submitted and been accepted to present or have already presented at state, national and/or international conferences.
Action
Student Scholarly Activity
Those students receiving revise and resubmit or rejection letters on papers and/or proposals are meeting with a faculty member/co-author to determine what steps need to be taken to revise and resubmit or how to address reviewer concerns so that papers can be submitted elsewhere.