Designing an Evaluation Framework for Retaining Students in STEM PhD Programs

The 3rd Annual Alliance for Graduate Education & the Professoriate (AGEP) Capacity Building Meeting

February 1-3, 2007 | San Juan, Puerto Rico

The objectives of the meeting are to:

1. Identify strategies and develop a framework to help graduate school administrators improve the retention of students, particularly underrepresented minority students, in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) PhD Programs. This framework will be research-based and include indicators that will help with early detection of students who are facing academic, psychosocial, and cultural challenges in pursuit of a STEM PhD. Information will be included about departmental practices and suggested graduate student interventions.

2. Discuss methods for conducting retention studies and measuring graduate student progression towards the PhD. In addition, we are interested in understanding infrastructure challenges related to collecting a common set of data across departments and offices within institutions, systems, and Alliances and working with Alliances to develop ways of meeting these challenges.

Information gathered from this meeting will be used to develop a guide that will include a framework for improving retention; community generated retention strategies and suggestions for evaluating those strategies; and tips on conducting retention and longitudinal studies of students in STEM PhD programs.

Presentations will focus on lessons learned from student retention or longitudinal studies at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. These presentations will inform the design of an evaluation framework to improve student retention in STEM PhD programs, including identifying:

• Indicators that can be collected; rationale for collecting the data; and a timeframe for collection of the data. Ideally, indicators should be linked to requirements for earning the PhD and monitoring of timely progression towards earning the PhD.
• Methods for data collection and rationale for selecting methods.
• Departmental practices and strategies for retaining students in STEM PhD programs and suggestions for evaluating those practices and strategies.

Presenters will be asked to briefly describe their studies, including:

• What research informed the design of the study?
• What type of data was collected? What was the rationale for deciding to collect this data?
• What type of methods were used? What was the rationale for selecting methods used?
• What recommendations would they make in regards to designing a data collection system to improve retention in STEM PhD Programs, particularly retention of underrepresented minority students?
• What are challenges of implementing a campus based data collection system to improve retention in STEM PhD programs, particularly retention of underrepresented minority students?

Pre-assignment questions and small and large group discussions will be utilized to gain input from the AGEP community.

In addition, the meeting will include a poster session for AGEP and other related projects to share program strategies and progress. Several sessions will include NSF Program Directors from Research Directorates and other HRD Programs.

Hotel Registration Deadline:
December 31, 2006
register online

Meeting and
Poster Registration
Deadline:
January 15, 2007
(click here for poster
guidelines)

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Rico does NOT
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