Syllabus

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

EDU 814 – Dissertation Completion Phase I

Credits - 3

Description

EDU 814 Dissertation Completion-Phase 1

This is the first of four dissertation courses 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 course is intended to be the final approval of the three-chapter proposal, a PowerPoint Proposal Presentation, and submission of the IRB application. The Lead Advisor is responsible for approving and submitting the student’s application to the IRB. Should students not be able to meet these goals during this course, they will be afforded the opportunity to move forward into EDU 815 if they have demonstrated they are generally making satisfactory progress, communicating with their committee, and adhering to agreed-upon deadlines.

EDU 815 Dissertation Completion-Phase II

This is the second of four dissertation courses 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 course, the ideal goal is for the students (once they have received IRB approval) to recruit their participants and begin their data collection. Should students not be able to meet these goals during this course, they will be afforded the opportunity to move forward into EDU 816 if they have demonstrated they are generally making satisfactory progress, communicating with their committee, and adhering to agreed-upon deadlines.

EDU 816 Dissertation Completion-Phase III

This is the third of four dissertation courses 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 course, the ideal goal is for students to analyze their data, report their findings and begin the development of Chapters 4 and 5. Should students not be able to meet these goals during this course, they will be afforded the opportunity to move forward into EDU 817 if they have demonstrated they are generally making satisfactory progress, communicating with their committee, and adhering to agreed-upon deadlines.

EDU 817 Dissertation Completion-Phase IV

This is the last of four dissertation courses in which students will finalize interpretation of their findings in Chapter 5, finalize the dissertation, and defend their research to include a PowerPoint 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. Should students not be able to meet these goals during this course, they will be afforded the opportunity to move forward into the one-credit EDU 818 Dissertation Continuation course if they have demonstrated they are generally making satisfactory progress, communicating with their committee, and adhering to agreed-upon deadlines.

Materials

Texts from previous coursework and resources provided, as applicable.

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

There are four, 3 credit courses required for program completion. Students will document their progress at the middle and end of each 3 credit course with a progress report and the end of each of the 8-week course. Lead advisors will document student progress at the end of each 8-week course.

Students must demonstrate satisfactory progress through each of the four phases of dissertation work to remain enrolled in the four-course sequence. Successful dissertation completion is dependent upon timely and substantive responses to advisors’ directions.

Assignments

Phases and Documentation

	Activities	Documentation to program office	Deliverable to Community Engagement (CE)
Diss Phase 1	Proposal presentation	Proposal Status form IRB application	Proposal Drafts Revised, approved proposal
Diss Phase 2	Collect and analyze data, other documentation		Initial documentation and analysis Completed documentation and analysis section (no raw data per IRB guidelines)
Diss Phase 3	Write up findings and conclusions Revise document in collaboration with stakeholders	Advisor’s’ approval to present	Dissertation drafts Presentation draft of dissertation
Diss Phase 4	Successful presentation of dissertation Feedback and editing	Evidence document was submitted to DUNE Stakeholder presentation	Completed, revised dissertation submitted to DUNE

Phase 1: Proposal

Steps	Activity	Forms/Actions	Documentation
1	Submit proposal	Evaluation guidelines Permission to present	Proposal that you will present
2	Confirm presentation date	Permission to present	Presentation date
3	Create or revise presentation slides	Agenda (sync meeting link) sent to committee	Presentation (ppt, Prezi or other visual)
4	Draft IRB application	IRB application	Application Certificate
5	Present proposal in synchronous format	Committee feedback	Advisor(s) feedback
6	Follow up Complete revisions	File IRB application if necessary	Approved proposal (with revisions if needed)
7		Permission to begin data collection or formal documentation of project	Proposal status form

Phase 2: Data collection, documentation and analysis

Steps	Activity	Forms/Actions	Documentation
1	Pilot interview, pilot survey	Completion of pilot if applicable
2	Conduct first round of data collection, documentation (interviews, surveys, other)	Documentation of first round of data solicitation (surveys) or interview/focus group activities
3	Complete documentation, data collection activities		Initial review of data received and analysis of data (protect raw data per your confidentiality agreements)
4	Complete analysis of data, report on change or intervention	Advisors confirm completion of data collection	Data and analysis draft to advisors, participants

Phase 3: Write up of findings, conclusions, and recommendations

Steps	Activity	Forms/Actions	Documentation
1	Write up findings, draft conclusions and obtain feedback from advisors	Submit to lead advisor	Draft of Chapter 5
2	Revise all chapters, update literature review, introduction	Obtain permission from lead advisor to distribute draft to committee members	Draft chapters 1 to 5
3	Revision cycle (all chapters)	Incorporate advisors’ feedback into draft	Clearly marked revisions to advisors
4	Review presentation draft with advisor and committee	Advisors’ permission to present	Advisors’ approved draft to program office

Phase 4: Presentation and submission

Steps	Activity	Forms/Actions	Documentation
1	Committee presentation plan, stakeholder presentation	Sign off successful presentation
2	Presentation	Agenda (sync meeting link) sent to committee	E-version of document, proposal for stakeholders
3	Revision cycle		Web-based presentation to program office
4	Submission of final document	DUNE website and instructions	Final dissertation draft for evaluation by CGPS

Grading

The grading scheme is Pass (P) or Fail (F). Students making adequate progress in the course will receive a Pass. At the mid-term, you will prepare a reflection on your progress and a mid-term grade will be assigned. At the end of the term, you will prepare a final, “end of term” reflection and a final grade of “P” or “F” will be assigned.

Student Resources

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Policies

Collaborative Work

The program encourages students to collaborate in the preparation of projects and assignments with the instructor/professor’s prior knowledge and approval. However, any assignment turned in must be the distinctive work of that student and must acknowledge the role of others in its development. In those cases where the instructor allows a single assignment to be turned in for a group, the contributions of each group member must be clearly described. Failure to follow these guidelines may result in collaborative work being unacceptable and/or grading penalties (which could result in a failing grade for the course).

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 Turnitin Student quick start guide.

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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.

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Online students are required to submit a graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. If a student does not submit a posting to the graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET, the student will be automatically dropped from the course for non-participation. Review the full attendance policy.

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.

Student Handbook Online - Policies and Procedures

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

UNE Online Student Handbook

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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:

Cheating, copying, or the offering or receiving of unauthorized assistance or information.
Fabrication or falsification of data, results, or sources for papers or reports.
Action which destroys or alters the work of another student.
Multiple submissions of the same paper or report for assignments in more than one course without permission of each instructor.
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.