Texas A

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Texas A M Corpus ChristiEducational
Administration and Research DepartmentEducational
Leadership Doctoral Program

Dr. Eric Yeager Graduated 2005
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Dear New Member of the Educational Leadership
Community

• Welcome to one of the greatest and most
• challenging adventures of your life. This
• presentation covers the major issues in doctoral
• study. I caution you not to get overwhelmed with
  
• the information. During your first year,
  concentrate
• on refining your study habits and getting to know
• your peers and the department faculty.
• By the time you are ready for exams or for
• dissertation study, you will know what you need
  to
• know. It is not critical for you to remember all
  of the
• elements in this presentation at this point.

• During Fall 2007, you should register for
• EDLD 6390 Professional Development
• Seminar. This is a new required course
• that serves as an orientation to doctoral
• study, scholarly writing, responsible
• research conduct and other protocols for
• making a success of this major
• commitment to doctoral study.
• In the meantime, if you are confused or
• need assistance, feel free to contact me,
• or any of our department professors
• via phone, email, or make an
• appointment and come in.
• I am always available to students and look
• forward to working with you.
• Caroline

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Educational Administration and Research Faculty

• Dr. Caroline Sherritt, Chair
• Fields International Adult, Higher and
• Distance Education
• Caroline.sherritt_at_tamucc.edu
• 361 825 2438
• Dr. Kamiar Kouzekanani
• Fields Research Methods and Statistics
• Kamiar.Kouzekanai_at_tamucc.edu
• 361 825 2318
• Dr. Ann Matula
• Fields Community College Administration
• Higher Education Finance
• Dr. Raul Prezas
• Fields Public School Administration
• Raul.Prezas_at_tamucc.edu
• 361 825 2165

• Dr. Gilda Ramirez
• Fields Student Affairs in Higher Education
• Gilda.Ramirez_at_tamucc.edu
• 361 825 3062
• Dr. Richard Shepperd, Regents Professor
• Fields Occupational Training and
• Development, International Education
• Richard.shepperd_at_tamucc.edu.
• Dr. Audra Skukauskaite
• Fields Qualitative Research Methods
• Audra.Sku_at_tamucc.edu

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Navigating the ProgramSkip the EE

• You are not in a
• DOC TOR- EE -AL
• program!
• A surprising number of applicants dont
  know this.
• It is a DOC-TOR-AL program.

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Three Phases to a Doctoral Program
Doctoral Study Three Phases
Plus, all of the extras that
help to build your professional
identify scholarship,
networking, internships
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Three Phases to a Doctoral Program

• Doctoral study includes taking courses (69
  credits in our program)
• Completing comprehensive written and oral exams
  when 42 credits of core classes (all but cognate)
  are completed.
• Conducting original research for writing a
  Dissertation (dissertations are all published).
• You can immensely enhance your program
  and future opportunities by going the extra mile
  publishing in journals, seeking scholarships,
  attending and presenting at conferences, doing
  quality internships to gain skill and expand your
  professional network, and so forth.

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Navigating the ProgramFAQS
How do we get out of here?
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FAQs Contents

• FAQ Numbers
• Program of Study
• Degree Plans
• Filing Degree Plans
• Classes (general)
• Planning the Cognate
• Comprehensive Exams
• Dissertations
• Choosing a Dissertation Chair
• Dissertation Committees

• Dissertation Research Topics
• Research Core Classes
• About Grades
• Classes (planning a schedule
• and Recommended Three Year
• course schedule)
• Grading Policies
• Independent Studies
• Filing Complaints
• Academic Honesty

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Navigating the ProgramFAQS 1

• Who do I talk with about my degree plan (program
  of study)?
• Any professor in the department can assist
  you with your degree plan. Since our students
  are almost all part time, they tend to ask
  questions of faculty before and after classes.
  In other words, they choose individuals who are
  accessible at convenient times and this is okay.
  All of our professors do a lot of advising
  before, after, and even during classes. On the
  other hand, most students eventually gravitate
  toward one or two professors with whom they have
  shared professional interests, particularly when
  theyve completed several classes and their
  course selection and research interests become
  more specialized.
• All faculty maintain office hours all
  make appointments beyond their office hours all
  are student friendly and accessible by phone and
  email. THIS IS A HIGHLY STUDENT FRIENDLY FACULTY.

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Navigating the ProgramFAQS 2

• What exactly IS a Degree Plan (DP)?
• The degree plan is a form listing all of the
  courses you will take and when.
• These plans become your Program of Study.
• To complete a plan on your own and gain insight
  into how long it will take you to graduate, use
  the three year course calendar with a DP form
  list the semesters and years in which you plan to
  take each course check with a faculty member to
  ensure you have correctly completed the form.
• All core courses are filled into the DP forms,
  but blanks are left for your cognate and
  electives. Discuss your cognate with a faculty
  advisor.
• Students will complete Degree Plans as part of
  the required Professional Development Seminar in
  their first year of study.

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Navigating the ProgramFAQS 3

• How and when do I file degree plans?
• There are two iterations of the degree plan
  Preliminary and Final.
• Preliminary degree plans are filed in the
  department office after you are admitted even if
  you have not decided on a cognate certainly,
  submit this draft during the first year (at the
  latest, in conjunction with the Professional
  Development
• Seminar).
• ANY professor can approve this document or, if
  you dont need advice, you may simply turn it in
  for the Department Chair to review.
• Final degree plans are (typed) filed when you
  complete Comprehensive Exams these are approved
  by your advisor or Dissertation Chair (if you
  have one), and the Department Chair.
• Final degree plans are formalized with Graduate
  Studies and become your contract with the
  university.

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Guess who spends hours each week advising
students via email?
Dr. Sherritt, Department Chair Caroline.sherritt_at_t
amucc.edu
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Navigating the ProgramFAQs 4

• How do I know what classes to take?
• Most doctoral classes are independent of other
  classes however, there are some exceptions. If
  you are in doubt about what classes to register
  for, talk to a member of the faculty.
• Classes DO fill up dont wait until the last
  minute to register. Do plan smart and factor in
  that you may not always get the classes you want
  when you want them.

Dont bet the farm on getting precisely the
classes you want and need at the precise time you
want and need them. This is true not only here
at TAMUCC but at every research university in the
country. We try very had to meet student needs
but there are forces outside our control that
keep us from being 100 successful.
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Navigating the ProgramFAQs 5

• How do I plan my cognate?
• The cognates are 18 to 21 credits.
• Think of the cognate as your specialization or
  minor.
• Discuss this with a department professor before
  going off on an odyssey that
• might not work.
• Principal and Superintendent certificate courses
  do count as cognates, but also
• any critical mass of courses in a
  discipline that is cohesive, graduate level, and
• makes sense.
• Examples We have students with cognates in
  English, Educational Technology, Early
• Childhood, Special Education, Computer
  Science, Health Science, Nursing, and so
• forth.
• If you go outside the College of Education for a
  cognate, you will need permission of
• the appropriate department so far, this
  has not been a barrier for our students.

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Navigating the ProgramFAQs 5

• How do I plan my cognate?
• Do not take your decision about a cognate
  lightly you will live with this specialty for
  years.
• Think in terms of how you want to be perceived as
  a Professional Doctor of Educational Leadership
  with a Specialty in (your call).
• Once you have a cognate chosen, try to orient
  your course papers, research,
• dissertation, conference presentations,
  publications, workshops and so forth to
• that area. Hence, you are building
  aCAREER IDENTITY AND CLEAR
• RESEARCH AGENDA.

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Navigating the ProgramFAQs 6

• When can I take comprehensive exams?
• You are eligible for exams when youve completed
  the core and research classes- 42 credits. No
  exceptions are made to this policy. See the
  Handbook for more information.
• Comprehensive exams cover the theoretical and
  research courses you will have completed by the
  time you are eligible to sit for exams. Exams
  take two and a half days, or two questions per
  day (usually Thursday and Friday) and one
  question on the third day (Saturday).
• Students must pass the written portions (done on
  laptops) before going on to the Oral Defense of
  their responses (30 minutes). Once exams are
  passed, the student become a bonafide Doctoral
  Candidate (reflected on the transcript).
• The best preparation is to keep course materials
  together so that you can find what you need when
  you prepare for exams.

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Navigating the ProgramFAQs 7

• Whats a dissertation?
• A dissertation is an original research project on
  some educational topic.
• Dissertations have five chapters Introduction
  and Significance of the Study, Literature Review,
  Research Design, Findings, Conclusions.
• Dissertation research and writing are supervised
  by a committee of faculty members.
• Once dissertations are approved, they are
  published books and become part of an
  international searchable database of
  dissertations. You will be able to locate, for
  example, any dissertations that have relevance to
  your research and order them through Bell Library
  or, in many cases, simply download them from the
  library electronic database Digital
  Dissertations. Also, we keep copies of our
  student dissertations in the Student Office. Ask
  one of our assistants (Christina Martinez or
  Anita Garcia) to open the office for you and
  browse through the copies. (YOU ARE WELCOME TO
  USE THE STUDENT OFFICE.)

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Navigating the ProgramFAQs 8

• How do I choose a Dissertation Chair?
• Most students need a little experience with the
  faculty and some research expertise before
  choosing a chair however, it is never too soon
  to begin thinking about this important
  association.
• Ideally, your chair will have some expertise in
  the area you want to study, although this is not
  always possible given that our students have
  widely divergent education interests and
  experiences.
• He/She will be someone with whom you believe you
  can work intensively over a period of time.
• When youve chosen a likely candidate, ask. The
  answer often depends on whether the individual
  has room in other words, is not loaded with
  students ready to graduate.
• You will need a Chair when you take EDLD 6335
  Quantitative Methods during the end of your
  second or beginning of your third year of study.

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Navigating the ProgramFAQs 9

• Whats a Dissertation Committee?
• Four professors (with graduate faculty standing)
  who supervise your dissertation Chair, plus
  three others, one of whom must be in Educational
  Administration and Research. In other words, two
  department faculty at least and one outside the
  department member at least.
• DO NOT ask people to serve on your committee
  until you have a Dissertation Chair and have
  discussed the committee with him/her.
• Outside experts (outside TAMUCC) may serve on
  your committee providing they meet requirements
  for graduate faculty status earned doctoral
  degree and a record of scholarship c.v. s must
  be submitted for outside members to be approved.

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Navigating the ProgramFAQs 10

• How do I choose a topic to research for my
  dissertation?
• The sooner you start thinking about this, the
  better, so that you may orient your class papers
  and projects to your topic and become a
  knowledgeable, recognized area in your field of
  choice.
• If you get an early start, even with a broad idea
  of the AREA you want to investigate, you are
  ahead of the game because you will effectively
  complete Chapter Two (literature review) of your
  dissertation doing class assignments and have
  sufficient knowledge to plan a viable
  dissertation study.
• It is important to have a genuine and abiding
  interest in the topic you choose to research.
  Dissertations require a lot of work and the more
  passionate you are about the topic, the more
  likely youll finish and enjoy the process.

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Navigating the ProgramFAQs 11

• What Do I Need to Know about the Research Core?
• Research and Statistics classes are the exception
  in terms of pre-requisites and sequence all but
  introductory statistics and qualitative methods
  have pre-requisites.
• It is a bad idea to take stat/research classes
  out of order and, in fact, when we catch such
  inappropriate enrollments, we ask students to
  drop the class.
• You must earn A or B in Statistical Reasoning
  before taking Advanced Statistics.
• Except in unusual circumstances, you must have
  successfully completed both Statistics classes
  before taking the Research Practicum (6335).

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The Research Core

• EDLD 6333 Applied Statistics I
• EDLD 6392 Applied Statistics II
• Pre-requisite B or higher in 6333
• EDLD 6335 Quantitative Research Methods
• Pre-requisite 6333 6392 (complete first
  draft of Chapter One of Dissertation in this
  class)
• EDLD 6384 Qualitative Methods
• No Pre-requisites
• EDLD 6397 Dissertation Research
• Pre-requisites All of above (complete
  dissertation proposal)
• Ideally, you will be ready to take exams and
  have a viable proposal draft by the time you
  complete 6397.

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Navigating the ProgramFAQs 12

• Will the Sky Fall if I Earn a B or C ?
• Get over the over-achieving doctoral students
  obsession with earning only A grades, although
  we expect all students at this level to strive
  for the best performance possible.
• Once you graduate, your gpa means nothing at the
  doctoral level no one will ever ask about your
  gpa therefore the difference between, say, a
  3.96 and 3.5 means little if you have earned a
  doctoral degree.
• B grades are not uncommon in doctoral programs
  but a lot of Bs may indicate a problem.
• One C grade will not keep you from graduating but
  it is a serious warning that something isnt
  working.

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And then I opened my grade report and the sky
started to fall!
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Navigating the ProgramFAQs 13

• How do I know what classes to take?
• The Department schedule of classes is on the Web
  site and on our bulletin board (by the reception
  desk). Use this, as we do, as a guide to plan
  your classes. However, understand that this is a
  planning tool and not a department policy or
  contract. Many exigencies require us to adjust
  schedules. We begin with the three year calendar
  but occasionally diverge from it. A good rule of
  thumb Use the calendar and Recommended Program
  of Study (following) to do some preliminary
  planning but do not invest your future in the
  schedule. Always have a fall back and be
  flexible. You may not always be able to get the
  classes you want when you want them its part of
  the game both here and at every other doctoral
  institution.

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Navigating the ProgramFAQs 13

• How do I know what classes to take?
• We advise new students to adhere to the following
  plan, although we realize that some may need to
  alter it because a) classes are full or b)
  professional or personal exigencies interfere for
  a semester. We are entirely understanding of our
  working adult students.
• The three year plan is the Best Scenario leading
  to graduation in
• three to four years. It requires
  loading up with an extra course
• for the first two summers, that is
  taking 5 courses during two summer
• sessions for two years.
• Hence, the suggested plan falls out as 9 classes
  a year for two years, with 5 classes during the
  third year.
• Remember that you will need to complete your
  residency requirement by earning 18 credits in a
  calendar year- either 9 credits for two
  semesters, or more commonly, two during fall, two
  during spring, two during summer.

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Recommended Program of Study Year One

• 6301 Philosophy of Ed.
• 6342 Community Leadership
• Cognate
• 6312 Clinical Leadership
• 6390 Professional Development Seminar (Taken the
  fall semester after admission)
• Cognate
• 6331 Innovations (Web)
• 6351 Multicultural Leadership (Web in summer)
• Cognate/ Elective

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Recommended Program of Study Year Two

• 6333 Applied Statistics I
• Cognate/ Elective
• 6392 Applied Statistics II
• 6311 Leadership Theories
• Cognate/ Elective
• 6384 Qualitative Methods (may be taken any time)
• 6335 Quantitative Methods (in summer, a 10 week
  course)
• 6324 Curriculum Theory (or substitute see
  advisor)
• 6303 Politics of Education

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Recommended Program of Study Year Three

• 6397 Quantitative Methods (10 weeks if in summer)
• 6313 Policy Development
• (Eligible for Exams at this point)
• Cognate
• Cognate (Best scenario, will propose dissertation
  study at this point).
• 6398 Dissertation in Progress
• 6398 Dissertation in Progress
• Graduate
• Only 3 credits of 6398 are required but it
  usually takes a student two semesters after the
  proposal is approved to complete their
  dissertation research and defend it.

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Navigating the ProgramFAQS 14

• Is there anything in particular I need to know
  about grading policies?
• Professors set their own grading criteria.
• The University requires all doctoral students to
  maintain a 3.0 gpa.
• C grades are not counted in our department
  degree plans.
• Incompletes are governed by university policy a)
  students who are passing a course but b) who for
  reasons beyond their control, c) cannot complete
  the course. Incomplete grades revert to F if
  not completed by the end of the semester
  following the assignment of Incomplete.
• IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF STUDENTS TO TAKE THE
  INITIATIVE TO COMPLETE THE WORK REQUIRED TO
  REMOVE AN INCOMPLETE ! ! ! Failure to do so
  generally causes the grade to default to F.

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Navigating the ProgramFAQS 15

• What is an Independent Study?
• Independent studies are contracted when a student
  has some particular area to study/research that
  a) will advance his/her academic goals and b) is
  not represented in the department curriculum.
• Most faculty are willing to discuss supervising
  an independent study providing the student has a
  good reason and the professor has time (we dont
  always).
• Independent studies are not to be used to replace
  attendance at regular classes.
• A good rule of thumb If you have a compelling
  argument for doing an independent study and are
  willing to put the work required into it, you can
  probably find a professor willing to work with
  you.

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Navigating the ProgramFAQS 16

• What do I do with a complaint (grievance)?
• The Department follows College of Education
  policy with regard to grievances and includes
  these steps (in order)
• 1) talk with the Department Chair who may ask you
  to submit a petition in writing 2) talk with the
  Associate Dean for College Graduate Studies 3)
  if 1 and 2 fail to meet your needs, talk with the
  Dean.
• In the rare case of a complaint that is
  particularly sensitive and you have good reason
  to want to bypass the department (harassment, for
  example), contact the Graduate Studies Dean.
• See TAMUCC Graduate Bulletin for more
  information.

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Academic Honesty (17)

• TAMUCC has specific guidelines regarding academic
  dishonesty. They can be found in the Graduate
  Bulletin under the section General Academic
  Policies and Regulations (available online).
• Our students are professionals with proven
  academic skill who rarely raise ethical issues
  for the department. However, occasionally a
  student gets sloppy about citing sources used in
  written course papers. Be meticulous about
  referencing. This issue, and others related to
  responsible conduct, are covered in depth in the
  Professional Development Seminar that students
  take during their first year of enrollment.