Questions and Answers about the Continuous Enrollment Proposal

General

Leaves Of Absence and Detached Study

Tuition

General

Why are you recommending a continuous enrollment requirement?

Higher education research suggests that doctoral students who are continuously enrolled are more likely to complete their degrees. One reason seems to be that continuous enrollment fosters close connections among faculty, staff and students that encourage expeditious degree completion. Students also will benefit from the year-round provision of services and access that has been built into our proposal.

Although we have made progress on improving our completion rates at Michigan over the last 15 years, we still have significant room to improve. Our most recent data show that 67% of our students who begin a doctoral program actually receive their Ph.D.

The University of Michigan is an outlier among the top research universities in the United States (members of the AAU) in not having a continuous enrollment requirement. Many other universities expect and require continuous enrollment as part of a package of policies for doctoral education.

The proposed change in registration requirements is not intended to increase the University's tuition revenue; the proposal includes a recommendation to reduce the candidacy tuition rate proportional to the increase in registrations. The revenue that would be realized with the new requirement is equal to the revenue generated by current rates and registration patterns.

Did you consult with anyone before proposing this policy?

The proposal has been discussed extensively by the Rackham Executive Board, the elected faculty board with representatives from across the campus, including two students from Rackham Student Government. It has also benefited from conversations with the deans and associate deans of the other schools and colleges and with Rackham Student Government's leadership. Many faculty and program administrators have provided comments and raised issues as they've reviewed the substance of the proposed changes. A change of this magnitude relies on thoughtful review and criticism, and the process of consultation is continuing.

What does continuous enrollment mean? How is it different from registration?

In this proposal, the terms "enrollment" and "registration" are used interchangeably. The proposed "continuous enrollment" refers to the requirement that Ph.D. students register each fall and winter term from matriculation to degree completion.

What do other universities do?

Most of the other research universities in the Association of American Universities (AAU) have a continuous enrollment requirement for students in Ph.D. programs. The following file lists the institutions and whether they have a continuous enrollment requirement. Each institution has its own particular combination of policies and practices in support of the goals of continuous enrollment. The U-M proposal has been informed by a review of the policies at other institutions, but is tailored to U-M's structure and characteristics.

What evidence supports the claim that continuous enrollment results in higher completion rates?

Higher education research highlights a number of factors critical to doctoral progress that are fostered by a continuing student status and continuing attention--by both the student and his or her program--to the academic progress of that student. Most comprehensive are the findings in the research conducted by Michael Nettles and Catherine Millett and published in their book: Three Magic Letters, Getting to Ph.D. (John Hopkins University Press, 2006). Professor Nettles was a faculty member at the University of Michigan for many years, and included our university in the sample of 21 universities, 9000 doctoral students, and five fields of study (humanities, engineering, social science, science and mathematics, and education). Nettles and Millett find that "It is not surprising that, for all students in the sample, the largest predictor of steady progress in every field was continuous full-time enrollment (see table 11.18)." (p. 171)

The National Center for Education Statistics released last year The Path Through Graduate School: A Longitudinal Examination 10 Years After Bachelors Degree. The table on page 60 compares the degree attainment rates for students who were continuously enrolled (67.9%) to those students who took off at least one semester (56.4%). This research was based on a stratified sample with data collected at 4 points in time from about 8,000 students.

A number of other researchers who have looked at doctoral study completion and time-to-degree consistently report the positive benefits of the connections between students and their faculty and programs and the connections between students and their fellow students. Program structure also contributes positively. These studies don't focus on continuous enrollment per se, but the factors identified are things that are reinforced by students' continuous enrollment. It isn't the requirement itself that makes the difference, rather the requirement brings a greater likelihood that students will be connected to their programs, will be attended to by their faculty mentors, will have a structure that encourages their progress, and will have milestones and deadlines that provide a path to completion.

Registration

How many credit hours do students need to elect to satisfy the registration requirement?

During pre-candidacy, students' course elections determine their credit hour load and hence their tuition. Pre-candidates who are working independently on research and study, or preparing for or taking preliminary examinations elect course 990. Credit hours elected in 990 are determined by the student and his or her program to accurately reflect the expected work effort over the course of the term. If a student were working part-time, a registration for even one credit hour would satisfy the requirement. All candidates would continue to register for 8 credit hours in course 995, which is the same as our current policy.

Do students have to register in the spring or summer terms?

No changes to the requirements for spring or summer registration are being proposed. Ph.D. students who are taking courses or preliminary examinations or who defend their dissertations in the summer need to register, which is the same as our current policy. Other students would not be expected to register, but will still have active student status during spring/summer.

How often are students registering now -- in other words, how much change will this requirement cause?

In virtually all programs, pre-candidates are registering nearly all of the time. We expect very little change. Those pre-candidacy students who must stop registering during a fall or winter term for medical reasons or family emergencies will be eligible for an official leave of absence, which allows students to return to their studies without penalty at the conclusion of the leave.

During the period of candidacy, students are registering less often. Registration rates during candidacy average 70% but with more variability across programs. The attached tables show registration terms and rates by program. On average, candidates register for 5 terms out of a total of 7 terms spent in candidacy. Under the proposed requirement, students would register for all 7 terms (i.e. two additional semesters).

Leaves Of Absence and Detached Study

Suppose a student with a personal emergency needs to stop attending graduate school; does the student still have to pay tuition?

Students may qualify for official leaves of absence under some circumstances. A student on leave does not have to register or pay tuition. If a student does not qualify for an official leave, he or she is eligible for a one-semester personal leave for any reason. Students on approved leaves are able to return to their studies at the conclusion of the leave without penalty.

Students who are away from their studies for longer periods, or for reasons that are not eligible for a leave, will be withdrawn and are eligible to apply for readmission.

Why would the proposal charge tuition for students who are on detached study status in another country?

Many students pursue research and study activities in other countries or in other areas of the United States as part of their degree work. These activities are essential for those students and their courses of study. This work might be field research, language study, ethnographic data collection, use of library or archival collections at other institutions, collaboration with scholars in other countries or a host of other projects that contribute to their degree. These are necessary components of the excellence of many of our graduate programs.

Students who are working abroad (in the status that we now call detached study) are devoting their full attention to research or study, and making progress toward completion of their degree program. It seems appropriate that their status reflect the full-time student nature of their endeavors. Further, students on detached study have access to the University's resources and services, especially the time and attention of their faculty advisors. Technological and travel advances diminish the barriers of time and place that used to exist for students located remote from Ann Arbor. Most students on detached study, whether in Ann Arbor or in a distant country, continue to work with their faculty advisors, call on their program office for information or services, use University services such as the Institutional Review Board or financial aid office, use University library and information resources, and the like.

Some external fellowships, such as a Fulbright or an SSRC award, don't include funds to pay tuition. How will students who receive these prestigious awards cover the cost of tuition?

Rackham currently pays or shares the cost of tuition with a program when a student is awarded any one of a long list of prestigious external fellowships. This form of Rackham aid encourages programs to assist their students in applying for these types of awards. Rackham's assistance will be expanded if necessary to respond to the increase in the number of registered terms.

Many students stop registering or go on detached study to avoid paying tuition when they are not getting support from their programs. Will they have to pay tuition or drop out if this policy is adopted?

A fundamental assumption in the development of this proposal is that the University will be the source of tuition payments for the increased semesters in which students will be expected to register. Students are not expected to pay a larger share of the tuition cost in total.

Some schools and colleges and Rackham will develop a program of tuition only fellowships, using the funds saved by the recommended reduction in tuition rates. Discussions are ongoing with the deans of the other schools and colleges to develop school specific responses to the expected change. Because the total tuition cost is the same with this requirement as it would have been under current practice, this means that the University will have the funding to devote to tuition coverage for Ph.D. students.

This is not to say that students who exceed the time limits to complete their degree will enjoy unlimited access to University support. However we do not expect to create significant new financial burdens for students.

Why isn't degree related research one of the reasons for which students are allowed to take a leave of absence?

Leaves of absence are appropriate for students who face circumstances that require them to discontinue work on their degrees to attend to other, more pressing matters. Students who are focused on degree related research are not on leave from their program but rather are actively pursuing program requirements.

Does this proposal eliminate detached study?
The proposal does not eliminate students' ability to pursue research and study opportunities in locations other than Ann Arbor. Many Ph.D. students need to pursue their research and scholarship in varied places around the country and around the world. Many kinds of research cannot be done if students are resident only in Ann Arbor during their graduate student careers. In fact, many graduate programs encourage and require students to pursue research elsewhere. Some students¹ personal situations lead them to pursue their research from other locations. The only change arising from this proposal is that students who are pursuing their research elsewhere will continue to be registered as students at the University of Michigan. Wherever students are physically located, so long as they are actively pursuing their degree and making satisfactory academic progress, they should remain registered students, and they should be entitled to the full support of their faculty advisers and University resources. We will no longer require students to apply for an official detached study status that is different from regular registration, but that does not mean that we expect all students to be located on campus.

Tuition

How much more tuition revenue will the University realize when it institutes this requirement?

None.

We propose to reduce candidacy tuition to be sure that we do not increase the tuition burden on students or schools and colleges. The University's total tuition revenue from doctoral students would be exactly the same after this requirement is in place as it is now. We plan to ask the Regents to approve a reduction in candidacy tuition rates proportional to the increase in registrations. This will make the proposal revenue neutral. That is, the tuition revenue realized from all Ph.D. students registering in fall and winter terms and with the proposed reduction in candidacy tuition rates will be equal to the tuition revenue that results from our current registration patterns and tuition rate structure.

How much more money will Rackham realize by implementing this policy?

None.

Rackham's budget will be unchanged by the implementation of this policy. Rackham's operating budget is not tied to tuition revenue or rates. Further, Rackham will continue to support doctoral students through the provision of financial aid directly to students and directly to programs.

Who pays for Ph.D. students' tuition now?

The attached table summarizes the sources of tuition payments for Ph.D. students in the academic year 2007 (Fall Term 2006 through Summer Term 2007). Of the $84 million in tuition, the University--through its own funds and from funding provided to it by external sponsors--paid 92% and students or their direct sponsors paid 8%. The financial modeling for the proposal assumes that the student share of Ph.D. tuition will remain the same.

Why doesn't the proposal include a reduction in the pre-candidacy rates like the proposed reduction in candidacy tuition?

We do not predict any increase in registrations during pre-candidacy, and so there isn't any basis upon which to lower the tuition rate.

Contact Us

Comments on the proposal or further questions can be sent to Rackham by directing e-mail to Mary Weigelin, Executive Secretary to the Dean