Syllabus

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

EDU 818-823 Dissertation Continuation Template – Spring A 2025

Credits - 1

Description

Candidates who, despite continued effort and active engagement in the process, have not made the substantive progress necessary to complete the dissertation, will be approved to take this course. During this one-credit continuation course, candidates need to demonstrate substantive progress toward dissertation completion in a timely way using the Dissertation Completion Timeline and by continual collaboration/communication with their committee, adhering to agreed-upon deadlines and constructing/finalizing a final publishable quality dissertation.

Materials

Texts from previous coursework and approved Doctoral Program resources.

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Students must demonstrate satisfactory progress through each dissertation completion/continuation course. A mid-term and final evaluation will be provided to document and assess each student’s performance.

Students must demonstrate satisfactory progress through each dissertation completion/continuation course. A mid-term and final evaluation will be provided to document and assess each student’s performance.

Dissertation Completion Phases

Phase 1

This is the first of four dissertation phases designed to support and provide the opportunity for students to continue their journey and complete their dissertations within the 51-credit program. The Dissertation Completion Timeline will help guide students, and their dissertation committee. The ideal outcome of this phase is the final approval of the three-chapter proposal, a Dissertation Proposal Presentation, and submission of the IRB application. The Lead Advisor is responsible for approving and submitting the student’s application to the IRB.

Phase II

This phase is designed to support and provide the opportunity for students to continue their journey and complete their dissertations within the 51-credit program. The Dissertation Completion Timeline will help guide students and their dissertation committee. During this phase, the ideal goal is for the students (once they have received IRB approval) to recruit their participants and begin their data collection. 

Phase III

This phase is designed to support and provide the opportunity for students to continue their journey and complete their dissertations within the 51-credit program. The Dissertation Completion Timeline will help guide students and their dissertation committee. During this phase, the ideal goal is for students to analyze their data, report their findings and begin the development of Chapters 4 and 5. 

Phase IV

This is the last of four dissertation phases in which students will finalize interpretation of their findings in Chapter 5, finalize the dissertation, and defend their research to include a dissertation presentation. Students are required to revise the dissertation as needed so that it is of publishable quality and organized using the approved Dissertation Outline. Should students so choose, it should also be DUNE-ready so that it can be published on the UNE DUNE site. 

Assignments

Candidates will work closely with their Lead and Secondary Advisors who will outline next steps toward dissertation completion.

Candidates will submit weekly updates and reflections as well as a dissertation completion timeline and plan throughout the course.

Candidates will be responsible for meeting Advisor deadlines and will also submit a midterm and final reflection based on their own progress.

Lead advisors will provide candidates with a midterm and final progress report via gradebook.

Grading

Currently the grading system in the one-credit dissertation continuation courses 818-823 is as follows:

  •  Pass (P): Work that meets all requirements and expectations of the course as outlined, to include demonstration of satisfactory progress, communication with the Dissertation Committee, and ability to meet agreed-upon deadlines.
  •  Fail (F): Work that does not meet the requirements and expectations of the course as outlined, to include lack of demonstration of satisfactory progress, lack of communication with the Dissertation Committee, lack of ability to meet agreed-upon deadlines.

Schedule

Week 1: Jan 15 – Jan 19
Week 2: Jan 20 – Jan 26
Week 3: Jan 27 – Feb 2
Week 4: Feb 3 – Feb 9
Week 5: Feb 10 – Feb 16
Week 6: Feb 17 – Feb 23
Week 7: Feb 24 – Mar 2
Week 8: Mar 3 – Mar 9

Student Resources

Online Student Support

Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.

Questions? Visit the Student Support Education page

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Accommodations

Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.

Online Peer Support

Togetherall is a 24/7 communication and emotional support platform monitored by trained clinicians. It’s a safe place online to get things off your chest, have conversations, express yourself creatively, and learn how to manage your mental health. If sharing isn’t your thing, Togetherall has other tools and courses to help you look after yourself with plenty of resources to explore. Whether you’re struggling to cope, feeling low, or just need a place to talk, Togetherall can help you explore your feelings in a safe supportive environment. You can join Togetherall using your UNE email address.

Information Technology Services (ITS)

Students should notify their Student Support Specialist and instructor in the event of a problem relating to a course. This notification should occur promptly and proactively to support timely resolution.

ITS Contact: Toll-Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673.

Career Ready Program

The College of Professional Studies supports its online students and alumni in their career journey!

The Career Ready Program provides tools and resources to help students explore and hone in on their career goals, search for jobs, create and improve professional documents, build professional network, learn interview skills, grow as a professional, and more. Come back often, at any time, as you move through your journey from career readiness as a student to career growth, satisfaction, and success as alumni.

Policies

AI Use

The Graduate Programs in Education holds the position that Grammarly and other AI writing and generative technology should not be used when completing course assignments, unless explicitly permitted by course faculty and assignment instructions. These tools do not support a student’s personal and direct capacity to develop and hone skills in creativity, logic, critical thinking, analysis, evaluation, theorization, and writing, which are central to graduate-level rigor, assessment, and research. Use of these tools when not explicitly permitted may result in an academic integrity infraction.

Turnitin Originality Check and Plagiarism Detection Tool

The College of Professional Studies uses Turnitin to help deter plagiarism and to foster the proper attribution of sources. Turnitin provides comparative reports for submitted assignments that reflect similarities in other written works. This can include, but is not limited to, previously submitted assignments, internet articles, research journals, and academic databases.

Make sure to cite your sources appropriately as well as use your own words in synthesizing information from published literature. Webinars and workshops, included early in your coursework, will help guide best practices in APA citation and academic writing.

You can learn more about Turnitin in the guide on how to navigate your Similarity Report.

Technology Requirements

Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs

Course Evaluation Policy

Course surveys are one of the most important tools the University of New England uses for evaluating the quality of your education, and for providing meaningful feedback to instructors on their teaching. In order to assure that the feedback is both comprehensive and precise, we need to receive it from each student for each course. Evaluation access is distributed via UNE email at the beginning of the last week of the course.

Information Technology Services (ITS)

ITS Contact: Toll Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673

Late Policy

Assignments: Late assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.

Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.

Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.

Attendance Policy

8 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Sunday at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.

16 week: Students taking online graduate courses through the College of Professional Studies will be administratively dropped for non-participation if a graded assignment/discussion post is not submitted before Friday at 11:59 pm ET of the second week of the term. Reinstatement is at the purview of the Dean's Office.

Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures

The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.

UNE Online Student Handbook

UNE Course Withdrawal

Please contact your student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.

Academic Integrity

The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit UNE Plagiarism Policies.

Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:

  1. Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
  2. Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
  3. Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
  4. Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
  5. Plagiarism, the appropriation of records, research, materials, ideas, or the language of other persons or writers and the submission of them as one's own.

Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.