Annual Reviews of Doctoral Students (beginning spring 2010)

By Max Poole, PhD, Senior Associate Dean, College of Graduate Studies

Only 66% of our doctoral students report that they receive regular feedback from their advisor or program about their progress to their degree. This is in contrast to a similar poll of doctoral graduates from 46 universities conducted by the national Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), that reported 85% of doctoral students nationwide receive regular feedback. 

Therefore last spring, the Graduate Program Review Committee of the Graduate Council studied the issue and recommended that UCF require an annual review of all UCF doctoral students beginning in spring 2010. The committee was cognizant that much student and faculty effort goes into the reviews but felt that annual reviews are absolutely essential in monitoring the progress of our students to their degree. 

The committee noted that the ideal review should discuss:  (a) student accomplishments such as courses taken (including grades) in the past year; (b) program exams taken in the year;  (c) student research progress ; (d) publications either submitted or published; (e) presentations at disciplinary or professional meetings;  and (f) any other professional achievements not covered in the above categories.   In addition, the review should discuss (g) the goals for the coming year such as completing program exams, taking specified courses, internships etc, and defining the annual research goals of the student.

In recognition that some programs already have an annual review process,  doctoral programs may devise their own mechanism of reviewing their students with the stipulation that all doctoral student reviews provide an evaluation of the student’s past annual performance and an indication of the goals expected in the coming year.

Additional information about the Doctoral Annual Review process can be found at: http://www.graduatecouncil.ucf.edu/ProgramReview/documents.aspx (2009-10-09 Meeting Proposal for Annual Review). 

And a suggested template for the review can be found on the Faculty and Staff website. (ADV-Doctoral Student Progress To Degree: Annual Review Reporting Form (TEMPLATE) )