Phase II (pages 17-22 in 2013 Handbook)
In Phase II of the Ed.D. program all students are required to pass a comprehensive
exam that is based on the core courses. Students will take the exam when all the
required courses in phase I are completed. Students must pass all parts of the exam
before beginning Phase III - the Dissertation Phase and before registering for EDL
770 Administrative Apprenticeship and EDL 755 Dissertation Proposal.
Typically the Comprehensive Exam is scheduled during Semester Six (Year 2,
Summer). Re-examination will be scheduled by the Program Director one time per
term.
Comprehensive Exam
All doctoral students must take the comprehensive examination administered by
the doctoral program.
Purposet
The purpose of the examination is for faculty to assess and for the student to
demonstrate the student’s capacity for conducting doctoral research based on
evidence of writing skills, critical thinking content knowledge and other
measures that the Graduate Council and faculty members view as important to a
successful doctoral candidate.
AGC Members Articulation of the Purpose:
o Assure the student and the program that the student is ready to do
dissertation research. He/she has research skills, writing skills,
information literacy skills, is able to research a topic and write about
it coherently at the doctoral level.
o Identify readiness to write, gaps in skills
o Demonstrate evidence of foundational content
o Articulate their expertise and ability to communicate professionally.
o Show depth of knowledge in a particular area of study e.g. student
affairs
o Show breadth of knowledge of the discipline
o Demonstrate shift from consumer of knowledge to producer of
knowledge
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o Respond/Answer question from their future peers about the field
o Purpose is to move student forward on their dissertation research
o To help students have the experience of feeling like “I know this, I know a
lot, I have knowledge and expertise”
Description/Form, Administration & Due Dates
The comprehensive exam will have 4 parts:
The Doctoral Study Committee will administer two parts of the exam: the
literature review and the oral exam.
1. A Literature Review due May 1 to the Doctoral Study Committee on a
topic related to the student’s area of study or dissertation topic. The topic
will be discussed, approved and evaluated by the committee.
2. An Oral Exam on the topic examined in the literature review, taking
approximately one hour, will be scheduled before May 30 with the
Doctoral Study Committee. The chair will excuse the student to confer
and deliver a decision on the same day. A one page written evaluation
and recommendation to pass, fail, or revise & resubmit will be sent to the
Director of the program.
The Director of the Ed.D. program will administer the two-question essay
portion of the exam. The Director will appoint 2 or 3 people to write and
evaluate the essay portion of the exam. The members of the exam writing and
evaluation committee should be familiar with the key topics of the core courses.
The exam will either be a case or global essay questions that relate to the content
of the core courses. Students must be registered for the semester in which the
examination is taken.
3. A Written Essay, due May 10 at 11:55 pm to the Program Director on
topic related to Higher Education Leadership.
4. A Written Essay, due May 10 at 11:55pm to the Program Director on a
topic related to Research Methodology (not data collection methods, but
approaches such as ethnography, phenomenology, narrative, etc.)
Procedures for the conduct of the Literature Review and Oral Examination
The oral exam is an opportunity for the student to demonstrate knowledge,
identify gaps in the literature, and discuss how the literature review prepares
them for the design of their dissertation research. A 3,000-4,500 word (10-15
pages, not counting references) limit on the literature review will be enforced.
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Steps for Literature Review portion of the Comprehensive Examination
include the following:
1. Submission of the Literature Review topic. By March 1, the doctoral
student must submit to the Doctoral Study Committee members a written
proposal that identifies the topic to be examined and a list of readings
associated. Sample questions may be included in the proposal.
2. Review. By March 10, the student’s Chair and committee members
review the proposal and accept, reject or modify the proposal to the
satisfaction of all committee members. In altering the proposal, the
committee members may delete, supplement or propose a new area of
study.
3. Student Reaction: The student must be given the opportunity to react to
the committee’s recommendations. Students must submit their reaction
to the committee by March 20. If not acceptable, the student should
arrange a meeting with the committee to propose and negotiate changes
until there is a mutual agreement.
4. Approval of the Literature Review question: By April 1, the student and
the committee will have an agreed upon topic and question to guide the
literature review.
5. Deadline: The literature review must be completed and submitted to the
committee members by May 1.
6. Evaluation: The literature review is read and evaluated by all three
committee members. The doctoral program rubric for writing and
critical thinking will be used in addition to other criteria set by the
committee. The results should be sent to the chair within two weeks, by
May 15. The chair compiles the feedback and sends it to the student.
The student should be clear on the committee’s assessment of areas of
strength and weakness in the literature review. The committee chair is
encouraged to coach the student based on committee feedback prior to
the oral examination.
7. Oral Examination: The oral examination must be scheduled with the
Doctoral Study Committee and completed before May 30. The student
will schedule a mutually agreeable meeting time. The examination will
take approximately 1 hour. Our expectation is that this meeting will take
place face to face with the doctoral student. In extenuating circumstances
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the chair and the doctoral candidate can meet face to face and bring in the
other committee member(s) electronically. All committee members must
participate in the oral examination. A rubric will be developed to
evaluate the oral examination.
Evaluation of the Literature Review & Oral Examination
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At the end of the oral examination, the chair will excuse the student to
confer with the other committee members and deliver a decision on the
same day. Decision options are: Pass, Revise & Resubmit, and Fail.
A one page written evaluation and recommendation to Pass, Fail, or
Revise & Resubmit will be sent to the Director of the program.
Doctoral students who need to “Revise & Resubmit” should meet with the
chair and/or committee immediately to develop a clear plan for revision
including a written, specific timeline.
Students who fail will need to schedule an appointment with the program
Director.
A copy of the literature review and the committee’s one page evaluation
and recommendation will be placed in the student’s file.
Procedures for the Essay portion of the Comprehensive Exam
The Comprehensive Examination Essay questions are posted by April 1 of each
calendar year. The Comprehensive Exam Essays will be open book examinations
and students will have at least one month to complete two essays at the location
of their choice with full access to references resources. A 3,000-4,500 word (1015 pages, not counting references) limit on each paper will be enforced. It is
important for the doctoral candidate to be articulate, clear, and succinct.
Students will be responsible for the inclusion of key topics from the core
courses. Students will want to demonstrate mastery of the knowledge of both
theory and practice in educational leadership and specifically in their particular
area of study; knowledge and competency essential for conducting scholarly,
scientific inquiry into the field of educational leadership; and the ability to
communicate the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors in written and oral
forms.
A study group to prepare for the exam is highly recommended.
Evaluation of the Comprehensive Exams
The doctoral program rubric for writing and critical thinking is used. The exam
essay writing and evaluation committee designs any additional rubrics for the
exam. The ranges to rate performance are: Pass, Revise & Resubmit, and Fail.
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Specific performance characteristics are arranged in levels indicating the degree
to which a specific criterion has been met. The rubric is shared with students
prior to the exam.
Each part (4) of the exam is evaluated by more than one reviewer. Each exam
receives one of three scores: Pass, Fail or Revise & Re-submit.
Essay reviewers are expected to evaluate essays within two weeks and send
feedback with their score: Pass, Fail or Revise & Re-submit to the Director. The
Director compiles the feedback and communicate the results to the student.
Policies
Students who do not meet the deadline for one or more parts of the exam may
sign up to take the exam in the following term. Students register for EXM 700.
Students may re-take the exam one time. Students who do not pass on the
second try will not move to Phase III- the Dissertation Phase and will be
dismissed from the program.
Students who fail one or more parts of the exam may sign up to re-take the exam
in the following term. Students do not have to re-take parts of the exam they
passed.
Re-examination will be scheduled by the Program Director or the Committee
Chair once in each term. Students are expected to re-take the exam in the next
term, but may petition for taking the exam in a different term.
Students must complete Phase II - the comprehensive exam within one calendar
year of completing the course requirements for Phase I.
Approximate Timeline – The student and committee members share
responsibility for establishing clear expectations including the timeline.
March 1
Submission: Student submits literature review topic, question and
references to Committee
March 10
Review: Committee members review the literature review proposal and
accept, reject or modify
March 20
Student Reaction: Student reacts to Committee review of literature
review proposal
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April 1
Approval: Student and Committee come to consensus and identify the
approved literature review question.
Any Evaluation Rubrics in addition to Writing & Critical Thinking Rubric
are posted.
Two Essay Questions are posted by this date. Any Evaluation Rubrics in
addition to Writing & Critical Thinking Rubric are posted.
Early April
Study Period begins for Comprehensive Exam
May 1*
Deadline for Student to Submit Literature Review to Doctoral Committee
Set tentative date for Oral Exam
May 10
11:55pm
Deadline for Student to Post Comprehensive Exam Essays 1 and 2
May 15
Recommended two week deadline for feedback on Literature Review
May 25
Recommended two week deadline for feedback on 2 Essays
May 30*
Deadline for Committee Chair to Report to the Director on the results of
the Oral Exam
* Note: Early decision-making about the topic and question guiding the
literature review and submission of the literature review will allow more time
for possible revision prior to the oral examination.
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