BENCHMARKS

ACTIONS

Program Admission

Receiving admission letter from the Higher Education Program and the Toulouse Graduate School

• Subscribe to the UNT Higher Education Listserv (see page 55 for instruction).
• Contact your interim advisor to discuss coursework.
• Consult with your interim advisor on scholarship opportunities.
• Contact Higher Education Program Coordinator immediately if you are
• interested in graduate/research assistantship.
• Consider joining AGSHE (see page 75 for more information).

Program Orientation (before the Fall semester starts)

• The Higher Education Program holds new student orientation once per year in late August before the Fall semester starts. We will contact each new student individually and announce orientation on our program listserv.
• All new doctoral students are expected to attend the orientation.

Maximum Time to Degree

• UNT doctoral students have a maximum of 8 years to complete the degree.
• Time is counted from the earliest course on degree plan (including transferred credits).

Completing Coursework

Complete Doctoral Degree Plan and submit it to program office before the completion of 21 credit hours

• Work with your advisor to file a doctoral degree plan before the completion of 21 credit hours.
• If no degree plan is filed after the completion of 21 credit hours, you will be banned from further class registration until the degree plan is filed with Toulouse Graduate School.

Complete doctoral residency requirements

• To meet the university’s doctoral residency requirements, you must take 9 credits hours for 2 consecutive semesters or 6 credit hours for 3 consecutive semesters. Please see page 23 (Ph.D.) or page 28 (Ed.D.) for detail.

Complete all coursework listed on the degree plan

• Maintaining a grade of B or above for all degree plan courses.
• If you need to make changes to your degree plan, please file a Degree
• Plan Change and/or Committee Composition Change form (https://coe.unt.edu/counseling-and-higher-education/resources#) and submit it to your advisor for approval.

Select a Major Professor and form a Dissertation Committee before taking the qualifying exam

• Please see page 42 for instruction.

Qualifying Exams

Meet the prerequisites for taking the doctoral qualifying exam

• Students must meet ALL the prerequisites before taking the Higher Education Program doctoral qualifying exam:
  • Fully admitted to the Higher Education doctoral program
  • Degree plan submitted and approved by Toulouse Graduate School o All course deficiencies completed
  • All degree plan courses completed or in the last 9 hours o All degree plan courses have a grade of B or above
  • No incomplete (I grade) on degree plan courses
  • Doctoral residency completed
  • A dissertation committee in place

Pass the Written Qualifying Exams

• The written qualifying exam is offered twice per year: early February for the Spring semester and early September for the Fall semester.
• You must register with the Higher Education Program Coordinator to take the exam. The registration information will be distributed on the Higher Education Listserv a few months before the exam.
• The written exam is a 2-week take home exam including 3 sections: o Historical, Theoretical, and Philosophical Foundations of Higher
• Education
  • Organization and Administration of Higher Education o Research in Higher Education
• Students who fail any section of the exam are allowed to take the failed section again in a future administration of the exam. Students who fail any section of the exam twice are automatically dismissed from the Higher Education doctoral program.
• Students who wish to appeal their qualifying exam results must follow the Policy on Appeals of Qualifying Exam Results in page 69.

Pass the Oral Qualifying Exam

• Students are allowed to take the oral qualifying exam after they passed all sections of the written qualifying exam.
• The oral qualifying exam is held in front of the student’s dissertation committee.
• Students should contact their major professor for instructions on completing the oral qualifying exam.
• Students who fail the oral qualifying exam twice are automatically dismissed from the Higher Education doctoral program.

Dissertation

Prepare a dissertation proposal and pass the proposal defense

• Students work with their major professor to prepare a dissertation proposal.
• With the permission from the student’s major professor, coordinate and schedule a proposal defense with the student’s dissertation committee.
• A completed dissertation proposal and a Dissertation Proposal Defense Scheduling form (https://coe.unt.edu/counseling-and-higher- education/resources#) must be sent to the dissertation committee and the department chair at least 2 weeks prior to the proposal defense.
• The proposal defense is open to the public.

Complete the dissertation and pass the dissertation defense

• After passing the proposal defense, the student works with his/her major professor to complete the dissertation.
• With the permission from the student’s major professor, coordinate and schedule a dissertation defense with the student’s dissertation committee.
• A completed dissertation with abstract and a Dissertation Defense Scheduling form (https://coe.unt.edu/counseling-and-higher- education/resources#) must be sent to the dissertation committee and the department chair at least 2 weeks prior to the dissertation defense.
• The dissertation defense is open to the public.

Graduation, Awarding of Degree

Apply for Graduation

• Please check the Toulouse Graduate School web site for Graduation Information.
• The deadline to apply for graduation is very early in the semester. If you plan to graduate in a particular semester, you must apply for graduation before the deadline. Check the Toulouse Graduate School web site for Graduation Deadlines.

Attend Commencement Ceremony

• All UNT doctoral graduates receive individual recognition in a university- wide commencement ceremony.
• Please coordinate with your major professor to ensure his/her availability to hood you in the ceremony.

After Graduation

Maintain Your Alumni Information

• Join the UNT Higher Education Program Alumni Listserv.
• Please consider joining UNT Alumni Association.
• Update your contact information at this web site to receive news and updates from UNT.

Contribute to the UNT and the Higher Education Program

• Please consider donating to the UNT Foundation.
• Maintain your relationship with your major professor and other program alumni.