Percentage of graduation an indication of quality?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by bycom, Feb 6, 2002.

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  1. bycom

    bycom New Member

    When looking at PhD programs, excluding the prestigious schools where just getting accepted is almost as much work as the degree itself, would a lower percentage of candidates that actually receive their degree show that the program is more rigorous? What I am trying to say is if a school that does not have a high entrance stander and most or all of the individual that start the program get their degree, would indicate that it is just the money buying the degree. Where as a school with the same level of entrance standers but only a ½ to ¾ of those that start every reach the goal of receiving their degree shows that it is not the money but the ability that is what is important?

    Maybe I am being naïve again, but isn’t a doctorate degree suppose to mean that you have worked hard and learned above and belong what most would want to? I guess that I would feel cheated and not deserving if all it took was money. What do you all think? Am I all wet?
     
  2. irat

    irat New Member

    look at medical school

    The rigor of a doctoral program need not reflect a high dropout rate. It is hard to be accepted into a medical school. However, once in medical school it is fairly rare not to earn the M.D. One M.D. once remarked that the only way not to complete the medical degree in his school was to die. And then it might be awarded after death.
    I have seen some brick and mortor schools with fairly low success rates in admited students earning doctorates. I think that does reflect badly on the school. Where are their problems, not selecting students who are a good match, having a poor disertation preparation training, having mentors who are inadequate? A bureaucracy that is terrible?
    I would look at the graduation rate as one criteria in the evaluation of a program. Just like I would look at the pass rate on the bar exam as a measure of the training a law school offers or the pass rate on the APA. Other factors may depend on what you want to do with the degree. Someone who wants to do college teaching should look at the publication rate of faculty and graduate students.
    All the best!
     
  3. ddcameron

    ddcameron New Member

    >>I guess that I would feel cheated and not deserving if all it took was money. What do you all think? Am I all wet?<<

    Can't speak to the latter. :D I would agree with the former. But there are more reasons than ease or lack there of for differences in completion rates. I should think the quality of the program could also affect completion rates for better or worse. Support could certainly be a major factor.

    I could care less about how hard the program is. What I want to know is am I learning something worthwhile, and will that learning be recognized.
     
  4. IMHO completion rate is a very poor measure of the rigor of a program. In my own case, there were 20 of us who started the PhD program (in Fall of 1982) and 10 (50%) of us ultimately graduated (with the last in Fall of 1990). Of the 10 who didn't graduate, perhaps 1 could be said to have failed due to the rigor of the program. The rest dropped out because of abusive treatment by faculty, or because of changing interests or circumstances.
     
  5. bycom

    bycom New Member

    Re: look at medical school

    I guess the thing I was thinking about was not the top tier schools but more of the third tier and down schools. I agree that if the entrance requirements are high, that the graduation rate would also be high. It was meant more for the schools were the entrance requirement was just to pay tuition and have a masters and you are in.
     

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