The Professional Counselor | Volume 10, Issue 4 623 Finally, chairpersons highlighted the importance of timelines as a necessary program structure to ensure student success in the dissertation process. These timelines are often externally imposed by larger entities, such as the graduate school and the university. In some circumstances, external deadlines created additional chaos for students. As a participant noted, sometimes an email was sent to the chairperson by administrators saying, “Grad College has changed their timeline for drops and deposits of thesis.” In response, all the faculty member can do is “forewarn [the students].” Instances such as these were out of the control of the chairperson. On the other hand, internal deadlines created by the program and agreed upon between the student and dissertation chairperson were beneficial. Overall, chairpersons who highlighted timelines in discussions with students noted a higher level of success in completing the dissertation process. Selecting and Working With Committee Members Selecting and working with committee members specifically applied to which faculty members were invited to serve on the dissertation committee. The dissertation committee tends to include three, and in some cases four, faculty members. These members often include the chairperson, a co-chairperson, a methodologist and, in some cases, a specialty person (someone who has expertise with the identified topic). Participants indicated that the selection of these members could have a strong impact on the likelihood of successfully completing a dissertation rather than the student remaining ABD. Although there was some variability in whether the doctoral candidate selected the committee members or if this was done by the chairperson, all participants were consistent in disclosing the importance of selecting the “right” committee members. Several participants reported that faculty and students should give careful thought to committee composition before inviting faculty to serve on a student’s dissertation committee. Some faculty members can cause problems, such as being unresponsive and unsupportive. As one participant noted, “I don’t let [doctoral candidates] select [faculty members] who have a history of causing problems on committees.” Participants further noted that some students can get caught in political power dynamics between faculty. When this happens, the doctoral student has little to no power and has to rely on the chairperson to intervene. Another participant noted that some faculty members are simply not able to be a part of a dissertation committee, stating, “Some faculty members are horrible. And some faculty members are not capable of being helpful to students. They have agendas of their own and they obstruct the progress.” When faculty obstruct progress, it can have significant impacts on the student’s likelihood of defending a dissertation successfully. When advising students, giving careful consideration to the composition of the dissertation committee seemed to be an important strategy to increase student likelihood of completing their dissertation. Intentionality in Developing a Scholar Identity Intentionality in developing a scholar identity was an important element of a successful dissertation strategy. Participants indicated that doctoral candidates should begin considering their dissertation topic and also identifying research methods of interest to them. As one participant shared, “When [doctoral candidates] are taking research methods . . . we encourage our students from day one to identify the general area of research that they’re interested in and then apply that in research methods and stats and qualitative.” Two participants both noted that students are more likely to go through the motions of completing a dissertation when they have not been thoughtful about their dissertation topic and have not been identifying a preferred methodology to address research questions pertinent to their topic.
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