What questions do you have?
by Doctoral Advisors | November 12, 2008
You’ve read what we have to say, but now it’s your turn. What questions do you have? Let our collective expertise and experience help you with the most challenging of situations. Our commitment to you is to have at least two of our advisors respond with advice. We recognize that your learning needs vary greatly, as does your experience, goals, skills, and responsibilities. Similarly, our advising techniques can vary, so let the group perspective help you make a more informed decision before you take your next steps.
Possible question topics:
- Program Planning
- Policies and Procedures
- Individual Circumstance
- Coursework
- Comprehensive Examination
- Dissertation
- School Specific
- Mentor/Learner Working Relationship
- Appeals
- Other
Disclaimers:
Please be aware that the Ask Doctoral Advising Blog is a public forum. Advisors respect student confidentiality rights regarding personal information. Advisors practice with an understanding of the institution’s interpretation of applicable laws such as the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Questions that represent potential harm to an individual author or to the institution will not be released for public viewing.
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119 Responses to "What questions do you have?"
Lillie Linear says:
Will I be able to finance my dissertation with student loans or will I have seek other means of financing?
Ranjani Iyer says:
Hi
I am doing an online survey for my study. The survey is to be completed by middle school teachers. As the time is near the end of the school year, I am not getting the expected response rate. I am trying my best to send reminders and encouraging the teachers to participate more. What more should I do? Any recommendation on what the minimum number of responses I need to have for my thesis? Thanks.
Veronica Torres says:
Good Evening,
I am a new doctoral student in the school of Public Service and Leadership under public health: epidemiology. My question is how do I get an advisor to help me set up an academic plan and also where do I find a mentor to assist me in getting ready for my dissertation. I read online that it is best to get started on planning out the dissertation as soon as possible. Thank you for the assistance with this information
.
Veronica
Cheryl Lietz says:
Valerie,
Welcome to the School of Public Service Leadership! It sounds like you are very anxious to get started, which is fantastic. I want to clarify for you how you will get up and running with your program. Your Enrollment Counselor will create your Academic Plan for you, laying out the appropriate course sequence for your program. This typically happens once we receive your transcripts reflecting a conferred masters degree. You can certainly reach out to your assigned Enrollment Counselor if you have questions about this process.
Once you begin your course work, you will be assigned an Academic Advisor. The Advising Team will be here to support you in following your Academic Plan toward completion of your program. You will have a scheduled appointment with your Advisor a few weeks into your first course, and he/she will elaborate further on how best to prepare for the dissertation phase of your program.
A mentor for your dissertation is not immediately assigned, as you will not be working directly on your dissertation as you progress through your course work. With that in mind, we certainly encourage our learners to begin thinking about potential dissertation topics early to allow for topic development and research to occur naturally as you progress through your courses.
We look forward to working with you as your progress through your program, Valerie.
Cheryl Lietz
Academic Advisor
SOPSL Doctoral Learners
Ranjani Iyer says:
Hi,
I just completed Milestone 8 for my doctoral program and have submitted Chapter 5 for Milestone 9. I wanted to know approximately how long it will take for me to complete Milestone 13 and is there a possibility that I can do it before the end of this quarter? Should I also check into the possibility of extending my quarter? Please advise. Thank you.
Jonathan Gehrz says:
Good Morning Ranjani!
And congratulations on reaching the final stages of your dissertation. Milestone 13, the oral defense, by itself usually only takes a week and most of that time is really spent preparing and scheduling the event. Somewhat depends on how long it takes to assemble the committee and find a common date/time that works for all four.
If you are asking more, are you well situated to complete this quarter, that largely depends on the upcoming evaluations and assessments issued by your mentor, the committee, and the School of Education. Anticipating each review would take about 10-14 business days, it’s not impossible, but little room for error. What I would suggest, once your full manuscript has secured mentor endorsement, contact your academic advisor and arrange a time to map out the remaining steps. Every day helps, but I suspect you’ll have a better idea of your situation in a week or two.
Congratulations again!
Jon Gehrz
Senior Doctoral Advisor – University Comprehensive Examination & Dissertation Advising Team
Marva says:
I am getting ready for my final conference call and was wondering if there was a grading rubric I could look at ahead of time to make sure I am covering all the points that I need to cover.
Lori Schroeder says:
Hi, Marva.
I would encourage you to consult with your dissertation mentor. Ask him or her for suggestions regarding what to include regarding the salient topics in each of your five chapters. Good luck with your dissertation defense! Congratulations on your progress and your accomplishment.
-Lori Schroeder, PhD
Monica Moore says:
I have one question, when writing my comprehensive exam do I include an abstract for each question?
Jonathan Gehrz says:
Morning Monica!
Due to the model of the examination question (preamble, scaffolding, and high-level question), an abstract is not needed.
Good question!
Jon
Vonetta says:
Hello:
What is a milestone completion report? And where can I obtain this?
Alice Macharia says:
I have looked around for guidelines on how to prepare for the proposal conference call but it is still not very clear: What are the guidelines? Do I need notes? Have my committee members really read my proposal (there have been changes after the School SMR)?
Lori Schroeder says:
Hi, Vonetta. The milestone transcript (completion report) lists the dissertation milestones, their due dates, and when they were completed.
To view your milestone transcript in iGuide 3, go to Student Center > My Account > In “Grades and Transcripts” section > choose: “View Unofficial Transcript” > Report Type: (choose) “Milestone” in the dropdown menu and click “go.” Your milestone transcript will be visible.
Best wishes,
Lori
Catherine Gillen says:
Does Capella have guidelines for mentors revisions that includes timelines for submitted work to be revised?
Jerry Smith says:
Hi,
My questions concerns my dissertation topic which is “ethics and Integrity in rural government”, I am having a problem finding literature regarding how to implement functional changes in government, any suggestions.
jerry
Jonathan Gehrz says:
Hi Catherine!
Can you say more? Timelines, the standard rule of thumb for any content review (whether mentor, committee or School) is 10-14 business days. IRB can be a possible outlier, depending on the nature of the study. It does somewhat depend on the nature of the revisions, the submission itself (e.g. one chapter versus a full manuscript is a significant difference in a revision evaluation.)
This is not an altogether helpful answer, but the guidlines for revisions really depend largely on what elements of the study are being revised. For example, there far greater latitude in how one contructs a literature review than say one’s design. There can be far greater scrutiny to one’s problem (is it a contribution to the field?) than say the parameters of the study’s assumptions and limitations.
Interesting question, Catherine, but further context would be helpful.
Jon
Lori Schroeder says:
Hi, Suzy.
To view your milestone transcript in iGuide 3, go to Student Center > My Account > In “Grades and Transcripts” section > choose: “View Unofficial Transcript” > Report Type: (choose) “Milestone” in the dropdown menu and click “go.” Your milestone transcript will be visible.
Best wishes,
Lori
Jim Etherton says:
I am in the SOBT and have just recieved permission to conduct my final conferece call.
What questions should I generally prepared to answer? I am a bit stressed but can guess that the committee will ask about my research methods and findings. Any specific Capella questions I can prepare for?
Thanks!
jerry smith says:
I have observed doctoral initials; EdD, PhD, etc with the following (ABD), I know that to mean all but dissertation, my question, when, if at all is the proper time to use.
Thanks,
Jerry