Doctoral Hand book

Table of Contents

Any applicant seeking admission to the doctoral program in education must hold a Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent from a regionally accredited institution.

1.Payment of required application fee.  
2.A completed application form with supplements.
3.Two official transcripts of all previous undergraduate and graduate work.
4.Official copy of scores on the general and subject portions of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
5.Teaching Certificate (required only for persons seeking administrative certification).
6.Resume, including an employment record.
7.Four letters of recommendation.

C.  Application Procedures for International Students

1. Undergraduate Graduate Grade Point Requirements - An international student must have at least a “B” average on undergraduate course work.   A “B” average is equivalent to:

a)  3.0 on a 4.0 scale;
b)  16 on a 20-point scale;
c)  80.0 from an institution of China;
d)  1st class, 2nd class, or division honors from an institution of India;
e)  Upper 2nd class honors from a British institution;
d.)  Other foreign grading criteria will be evaluated upon receipt of transcripts.

2.  Deadline for Application - An international student may apply for admission any semester.  The deadline for submitting an application is10 weeks prior to the beginning of the semester.  The School of Graduate Studies must be notified of any change in the entering date after admission has been granted.

3.  Deadline For Application - The following items must be received before admission will be considered:

a)  A completed application form with the required processing fee.
b)  Official or attested university records, with certified translations if the records are not in English.  (Notarized copies are not acceptable).
c)  Certification of English proficiency.  Graduate students whose native  language is not English must submit either the Graduate School approved score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) taken within the past two years, or have a degree from an accredited US institution.
d)  Documented evidence of financial resources sufficient to support the student with at least $13,000 (US) per calendar year during the period of enrollment.  Applicant must contact the Admissions Office for the required procedure.
e)  Official copy of the results of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
f)  Four letters of recommendation and rating forms. 
g)  All international students are required to have acceptable insurance coverage against illness and accidents.  The health and accident insurance policy must be maintained throughout the student’s enrollment at ETSU.
h)  An international student may not enroll as a conditional or non-degree student.
i)  Admission must be granted and financial documentation and degree confirmation must be received prior to issuance of an I-20 or IAP-66 form needed to obtain a visa.
j)  An international student admitted to graduate contact the Graduate School office, without delay, upon arrival in the area.
NOTE: The University will not enroll any student who has not been approved initially, or for transfer, by the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) to attend East Tennessee State University.   All international students accepted for graduate study at ETSU will of acceptance from the university.  This letter and the I-20 form furnished by the university must be presented to the consular officer of the United States the applicant applies for a student visa.   ETSU will not accept a student whose visa is issued for admission to another college or university.

A.   Purpose of the Procedure

The screening procedure is designed to evaluate the applicant's written and oral skills to determine the potential for success in attempting the academic challenge of the program.  Following the established screening criteria, each student is assessed and scored by the committee and a final report of the student’s skill level is submitted to the graduate office.

B.   Description of the Procedure

1.The applicant is advised to arrive one-half hour early for scheduled screening exercise, to relax and prepare mentally for the screening.
2.The applicant will be requested to write extemporaneously for approximately one hour on a designated topic.
3.Following the written portion of the process, the applicant will be interviewed by a designated committee of at least three faculty members.

A.  After the interview the committee scores the applicant and submits to the Dean’s Office of the College of Education recommendation on admittance.  The Dean’s Office subsequently forwards this recommendation to the School of Graduate Studies. The applicant may be recommended, recommended with certain conditions, not recommended until certain condition have been met, or not recommended.
B.  The School of Graduate Studies makes a decision on admittance and will notify the applicant of the screening committee’s recommendation.
C.  Unsuccessful applicants my re-apply in subsequent semesters if they have taken actions which may be anticipated to raise their screening scores, e.g., have re-taken the GRE and attained higher scores.

New: At its spring, 2001 meeting, the Tennessee Board of Regents approved new admission criteria for ELPA Educational Specialist and Educational Doctorate programs.  The major changes in these criteria are that the department no longer considers an applicant undergraduate grade point average, communication skills and letters of reference account for a higher percentage of the overall total score, and candidates are evaluated on their evidence of leadership to date and the committee estimate of their potential for leadership.  The graduated-scale point system is as follows:

Graduate GPA: 15 points	GRE Scores (Verbal and Quantitative): 15 points
Writing Skills: 10 points	Speaking Skills: 10 points
Employment Record: 10 points	Letters of Recommendation: 20 points
Evidence of Leadership to Date:  10 points	Estimated Leadership Potential: 10 points

A.   Upon acceptance into the program, each student will be  assigned an advisor.  Although care will be taken in matching  the student’s interests with the advisor’s expertise, procedures exist which allow either the student or the advisor to request a change.
B.    Upon successful completion of the initial courses in the program, the student should work with his or her advisor to file an Intent To Establish Residency plan and should consult his or her advisor concerning the establishment of an advisory committee.  This advisory committee, composed of graduate faculty members, is required to guide and monitor the student’s progress throughout the program.  The committee should be carefully selected in an effort to maximize accommodation of the individual student.  Three members of the committee must be from the ELPA faculty; the remaining member must be from the student’s outside area of concentration. The student will obtain the proper forms from the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, complete the forms, and approach each desired committee member to request that he or she serve on the committee.

1.The student will obtain the signature of each consenting committee member and return the forms to the Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis Department.
Note: In the event that a requested member cannot serve, the student will again confer with his or her advisor until the selection of an advisory  committee is completed.
2.The student will then consult with his or her advisor concerning the course work that will be required on the formal program of study. After formulating an initial draft of this program of study, the advisor will work with the remaining committee members to develop a final plan and secure the necessary signatures.

A.   Purpose of the Procedure

A planned program is necessary to ensure each student’s progress toward the doctorate degree.  (Once developed, this written document is an agreement between the student and the University.)

B.   Description of the Procedure

1. The student consults with the chairperson of his or her committee and, with the advice of committee members, determines the program of study to be pursued. Students are strongly encouraged to begin this process following completion of nine semester hours of their doctoral program.
2. The planned program document is signed by all committee members and the Doctoral Program coordinator and forwarded to the Dean’s Office of the College of Education, which subsequently submits it to the School of Graduate Studies.
3.Any Change in the program or the designated members of the advisory committee must be reported and approved by the committee and Program coordinator.

C.   Program Criteria

The Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis offers the Doctorate of Education (Ed. D.) in four areas:  school leadership; classroom leadership; postsecondary and private sector leadership; and administrative endorsement.

1.Requirements for Degree Completion The central goal of all programs is the promotion of a professional level of competence in the student in the areas of greatest significance to educational leadership and policy analysis.  To facilitate understanding, the course requirements are described as blocks or components of the total student program.  Individual programs are determined on the basis of four criteria:

(a)  training and course work completed before admission to advanced study;
(b)  intended professional goals and career path;
(c)  success in course work and academic experiences in early parts of the program; and
(d)  competence in the various areas of study as assessed and evaluated on the qualifying examination and dissertation. The graduate committee is responsible for the design of the student’s total program, in accordance with the following guidelines, but the program requires the approval of the Dean of the College of Education and the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies.

A. Purpose of the Requirement

The residency is viewed as an opportunity for the student to participate in various activities of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy  Analysis and to demonstrate a continuing growth of awareness and understanding of the wider profession of educational leadership.

B.   Initiating Residency

Following acceptance into the program, a student becomes eligible to begin meeting the residency requirements. A “Declaration of Intent to Establish Residency,” approved by the student’s advisory committee prior to the beginning of the residence period, must be filed with the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, the Dean of the College of Education, the program coordinator, and the chairperson of the student’s advisory committee. Subsequently, a “Record of Approved Activities” will be filed with the chairperson of the student’s advisory committee each semester until the residency is completed.

C.  Description of the Requirements

1.  The standard residency requirement is that the student be a full-time student for two consecutive semesters, during each of which he or she is  enrolled for not less than 10 semester hours of approved course work.
2.  Four options to this standard residency requirement have been approved:

a.  A residency of two consecutive semesters during which the student would be  employed no more than half time.
b.  A residency of two consecutive semesters which would include one semester of not more than half-time employment and with no restrictions on working during the residency.
c.   A residency of four consecutive summer semesters (including one intercession term) with no restrictions on working during residency.
d.   A “continuous” residency that requires students to be continuously enrolled in the program (spring and fall semester) from the time the preliminary exam is completed until the qualifying exam is completed. Each option would require prior approval of a residency plan by the student’s advisor.

3.   Intent to Establish Residency forms are supplied by the department and must be completed and filed with the student’s advisor, the Program Coordinator, and the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies.
4.   All students seeking residency must not only meet the enrollment requirements but must complete the required ten residency activities.  Each semester of the residency plan students must submit to their committee chair a completed Residency Activity Form.

D.  Residency Activities

Each student must complete, as a minimum, the required minimum of ten approved activities and document the accomplishment of these activities through the development of a Residency Portfolio. Upon completion of all residency requirements, the chairperson of the advisory committee will forward the approval form to the Office of the Dean of the college of Education, which will subsequently submit it to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies. Each option would require prior approval of a residency plan by the student’s committee chair.  Students should contact the chair of their committee concerning the particulars of these options and regarding the format of the portfolio that will document the learning attained through their completion. To the extent that they correspond with one of the approved residency activities, students may utilize relevant activities conducted in relation to their work, community involvement, or fellowship assignments in completing residency requirements. Suggested guidelines surrounding residency activities include:
     A residency plan should be devised and defined in conjunction with the student's major advisor.  The plan should enhance the student's career and research goals.
     Activities should not duplicate course assignments.  For instance, data run for a course project cannot fulfill requirements in course and residency requirements.  But, a paper for a course that is substantially revised and then submitted for publication could count.
     No activity may be repeated more than once, e.g., no more than two articles, presentations, etc. Any activities based around attendance, e.g., attend a conference, must be accompanied by a reflective documentation of the learning associated with that attendance. Documentation of residency activities should be in portfolio format and structured around the model for the College of Education. Each student must select 10 activities from the following list or must propose an alternative activity to be approved by his or her committee chair:

- Serve as coauthor or author of an article published in a professional journal.
- Submit an article for publication in a professional journal.
- Assist a faculty member in research leading to preparation of an article for publication in a professional journal.
- Present a paper at a multi-state regional (e.g.,  MidSouth Educational Research Association or Southern Regional Council or Educational Administration) or state professional conference.
- Present a paper at a national or international professional conference.    Attend a national professional conference.
- Participate on a grant writing team.
- Present a workshop at a state, regional, or national professional conference.
- Hold office in a regional, state, national, or international professional association.
- Write and submit a project proposal to a funding source.
- Participate in a College of Education and public school collaborative project.
- Participate in a business and ETSU cooperative effort.
- Lead a group in an activity to extend understanding of cultural diversity. Attend a fine arts function, lecture, or special event extending your understanding of diversity.
- Visit a state or national governing or policy board or department.
- Lead a group in supporting an effort of a public service agency or organization.
- Attend a professional development activity focusing on leadership.
- Participate in supervision of student teachers or new employee orientation. Conduct a professional development workshop.
- Develop a literature review for a faculty member.
- Serve on an ETSU or College of Education committee.
- Extend your technological knowledge by becoming proficient in a new area.
- Serve as a member of an accreditation visitation team.
- Coordinate delivery of a teleconference to your school or job setting.
- Conduct a needs assessment for a curriculum program or agency.
- Maintain a reflective journal of your experiences as a graduate student from screening through qualifying examination completion.
- Complete an action research project in an educational setting.

A.   Purpose of the program

To financially aid the student during the semesters of residency, the student in residence who has performed well in his or her fellowship responsibilities receives first consideration for fellowship funds; however, other doctoral students may also apply for funding. Applications are available from the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis.

B.  Description of the Program

1.When accepted to the fellowship program the student is given an assignment.  The student is usually assigned to one or two professors, although some communal effort for the department is also expected.
2.The full fellowship program requires the student to work an average of twenty hours each week.  Occasionally a student will work more or less than twenty hours depending on the demands of the workload. The student’s activities are left to the discretion of the assigned activity professor(s).
3.Each fellow must register for ELPA 5029 during every semester he or she is on fellowship

A. Purpose of the Procedure

Qualifying Examinations and Orals are designed to determine the student’s level of achievement prior to the dissertation.

B. Description of the Procedure

1.When the course work of the student is completed or nearly complete, the student consults with the chairperson of his/her advisory committee in order to schedule the exam.
2.The chairperson will obtain questions from the committee members from the following topics:  leadership, foundations, research, and the student’s outside subject area.  Students who hold an Ed. S. degree prior to doctoral program admission will not write responses in their outside subject area.  All students in the Administrative Endorsement Concentration Area will write questions pertaining to the principalship as their outside subject area.
3.The department chairperson will schedule an exam date and time each semester for all students taking exams.   Each student taking exams will make arrangements with his or her advisor to write on each of the topics. The student is required to word process the exam, or have it word processed, exactly as written.  Copies of the word processed exam text will be distributed to all advisory committee members.
4.The student then consults with his or her advisor to arrange a mutually convenient time for the advisory committee members to meet and administer the oral exam.  Students should anticipate that the oral exam will last approximately 90 minutes.
5.Following the oral exam, the committee files a signed report with the Program Coordinator.
6.Upon successful completion of the qualifying exam, the Program coordinator notifies the Dean of the college of Education, who forwards this notification to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies.
7.Students who are not successful on the questions of a single portion of the exam (e.g., leadership or research) may be provided an opportunity to remediate that portion of the exam.   Students unsuccessful on more than one portion of the exam must retake the full exam, following remediation as recommended by the committee.

Upon successful completion of the Qualifying Examination, the student will receive notice from the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies that he or she has been admitted to candidacy for the degree.

A.   Registration

After successful completion of the qualifying exam, the student must register for dissertation credits.  No more than nine (9) dissertation credits may be taken in any semester.    After a student has taken the required number of dissertation hours to complete the requirements of his or her program of studies, he or she must continue to enroll in three  semester hours of Readings and Research each semester until successful completion of the dissertation.  During the student’s final semester, if he or she is to defend the dissertation during the initial month of the semester, he or she must only register for one semester hour; if the defense is scheduled for the second month of the semester, he or she must register for only two semester hours of Readings and Research.

B.  Purpose of the Procedure

The dissertation is a written formal research treatise or discourse which is required for the completion of the degree.

C.  Description of the Procedure

1. When the dissertation topic has been selected and discussed with his or her committee chairperson, the student will schedule a meeting with the entire committee to secure approval and advice.
2. The student should consult regularly with the dissertation director and meet with committee members or the entire advisory committee as necessary.

A.  Preparation and Review of the Prospectus

1.Upon approval of the topic, the student prepares the prospectus for the dissertation. The student consults with his or her dissertation director and each member of the committee during this time.

B. Approval of the Prospectus

1.When all revisions of the prospectus are complete, the student must schedule a meeting with the entire committee to secure approval and advice.  A copy of the prospectus should be given to each member two weeks prior to the meeting.  Students should anticipate that the prospectus defense will last for a minimum of 90 minutes.
2.    When the prospectus has been approved, a copy with the appropriately signed forms must be sent by the student’s advisor to the Dean of the College of Education, who will  forward them to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies.    The student must then submit the appropriate forms to the Institutional Review Board to seek permission to conduct any study that would involve human subjects.

The student will develop the dissertation with the guidance of the chairperson and full committee.

Upon completion, the dissertation should be submitted to the committee at least two weeks prior to the scheduled defense of the dissertation. The student must arrange the committee meeting and notify the Graduate School, which notifies all departments on campus of the defense.  All interested faculty members are invited to attend.  Only advisory committee members may question the student unless the chairperson grants permission to others.  No student may defend the dissertation in the same semester the prospectus has been approved.  Students should anticipate that the dissertation defense will last a minimum of 90 minutes.

After a successful defense of the dissertation, the document should be prepared and submitted to the Dean of the College of Education, who will forward it to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, where a reader will review the dissertation for correct form and grammar.  The Dean of the School of Graduate Studies will also review the document.  The draft will be sent to the student’s chairperson, who will instruct the student to make appropriate changes. Please check the latest electronic submission information.

A.  After a successful defense of the dissertation, the document should be prepared and submitted to the Dean of the College of Education, who will forward it to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies, where a reader will review the dissertation for correct form and grammar.  The Dean of the School of Graduate Studies will also review the document.  The draft will be sent to the student’s chairperson, who will instruct the student to make appropriate changes.
B.  When the dissertation is acceptable, four (4) copies will be submitted to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies on a 25% rag bond paper. Two copies will be bound.  One will be distributed to the library and one to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis.  One unbound copy is kept   on file in the School of Graduate Studies.  The fourth copy will be used for microfilming.  Additional copies may be submitted if the student desires personal bound copies.   (Charge for this procedure depends on the number of copies processed.)
The student must file an Intent to Graduate form during the semester preceding the semester of graduation.  Fees for binding the dissertation plus cap, gown, hood, and graduation  are paid in the business office.  The cap, gown and hood are ordered in the campus  bookstore.