The Professional Counselor | Volume 10, Issue 4 625 Accountability Participants reported that faculty chairpersons were in regular contact with their doctoral candidates to provide accountability. For most participants, this contact needed to be face-to-face, whether in person or via an online platform. As one participant shared, “I want that student in my office or on a screen in front of me every single week with actionable goals.” For this chairperson, a regular schedule of meetings ensured that there was a “constancy of contact.” Another participant agreed with this suggestion and specifically noted that these check-ins should be weekly after the dissertation writing began. The concept of accountability seemed to intersect with the supportive environment because many participants saw accountability as a means of supporting the student throughout the dissertation process. The five themes identified in this study highlighted what dissertation chairpersons believed led to a successful dissertation. Both structural factors (mechanics, committee selection, and scholar identity) and relational factors (supportive environment and accountability) appeared to impact the success of the dissertation process. Discussion The purpose of this study was to identify successful strategies utilized by faculty to support doctoral students in completing the dissertation process and to understand the effectiveness of these strategies, as reported by the faculty members. The researchers engaged in verbatim coding to ensure that the perspectives of the participants were captured. Responses appeared to fall within two broad categories of structural and relational strategies. The structural elements highlighted the importance of a timeline and intentional department- and university-level scheduling and selection of committee members who are invested in the process of supporting the doctoral candidate in developing a scholar identity. Relational elements included a supportive environment and accountability as successful strategies in completing the dissertation process. Structural Strategies Institutions have their own timelines and processes, which doctoral candidates and chairpersons should know (e.g., approval of committee members, defense timeline, final submission procedures). When institutions change their processes or timelines, it greatly impacts the student’s ability to complete the process. Chairpersons hold a major responsibility in helping the doctoral candidate understand the process of completing the dissertation (Flynn et al., 2012). The chairperson should clearly communicate requirements and guidelines for successfully completing the dissertation process (Hilliard, 2013). Ineffective communication by the chairperson can result in doctoral candidates lacking a clear understanding of the structure, leaving the candidate feeling unsupported and discouraged (Flynn et al., 2012; Hilliard, 2013). Chairpersons who know their doctoral candidate’s strengths and weaknesses must seek committee members whose expertise fills gaps in areas where the student is not a content expert. The chairperson should also consider that the doctoral candidate’s success hinges on everyone’s investment in the process (Hilliard, 2013). The selection of committee members must thus be intentional, as not all faculty members are appropriate to serve on dissertation committees (Flynn et al., 2012). When the chairperson and doctoral candidate are strategic about selecting dedicated committee members, this may enhance the likelihood of a successful dissertation process. Students
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDU5MTM1