Completing the 18 Characteristics of Doctoral Programs Form

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board requires each doctoral program at a public university to provide data on 18 prescribed characteristics.  Though of basic informational use, the eighteen characteristics fall markedly short of portraying the complete nature of a doctoral program. Each doctoral program at The University of Texas at Austin is unique, and persons looking for complete information are urged to consult the program’s Web site and to contact the graduate adviser or graduate coordinator for their chosen program of interest. These reports will be published each year at http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/admissions/characteristics.html.

Background

The programs were notified in July, 2011 that it is now time to begin collecting data and statistics on their doctoral programs as required by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The following information describes the data required and the process for preparing and delivering it to the Graduate School. We have tried to minimize your workload by providing some statistical data, but we recognize the effort required and thank you in advance for your assistance with this large task.

Due Date

Your electronic report to the Graduate School is due Friday, November 11, 2011. Send your completed spreadsheet as an attachment via email to Gwen Barton.

General Philosophy

The purpose is to use the 18 Characteristics to portray your doctoral program as accurately and as favorably as possible. There are some points requiring a judgment call and you should simply provide the number which you believe most accurately portrays your program. Comment fields are provided for each characteristic so you have the opportunity to explain any of your data choices. We understand that your available data may not be complete. Do the best you can and note any shortcomings in the comments field.

On the Issue of "Core" Faculty

Several of the 18 Characteristics require the number of core faculty as a data point or as a means to calculate a data point. The Coordinating Board's definition of core faculty is as follows:

"Full-time tenured and tenure track faculty who teach 50 percent or more in the doctoral program, or other individuals integral to the doctoral program who can direct dissertation research."

We understand that for a large research university, that definition is dysfunctional. It is impossible to separate the full academic work of a faculty member into subparts. A faculty member may teach mostly undergraduate courses but at the same time be supervising several doctoral dissertations.

So you have two choices. One is to use the total number of faculty on your GSC as your definition of "core" faculty. This is the number of program faculty provided to you on the form Faculty Headcount, FTE, and Teaching Load (Corrected 10/25/11). The other is to use your best estimate of the number of faculty actually engaged in doctoral education. It is your call. Remember though, that the number you select will have an impact on other data points required among the 18 Characteristics. Use of the UT provided numbers is easiest by far. Your own estimate will be more accurate. When the UT numbers and yours are close, choose those from UT for consistency. Review carefully the result of the several data points which require core faculty in the denominator. We know that, in some cases, use of the number of faculty on the GSC makes the ratios appear way out of line.

Completing the Form

Download the report form (.xls) and complete the information for your graduate program per the instructions below. The form lists the 18 Characteristics numbered down the left hand side. The Departmental Response and any Comments are to be completed with your data.

UT's office of Information Management & Analysis (IMA) has compiled data for six of the 18 Characteristics as determined by university internal records. Extract your program data from each report and enter that data on the form. Please note that some of the IMA reports show data for each of the three-year periods, and some have a combined number based on the applicable Operational Definition.

Enter the name of your doctoral program, the doctoral degree awarded (e.g., PhD, EdD, DMA, etc.), and the Web address (URL) of your program web site at the top of the form.

Item 1 - Use the form compiled by IMA - Degrees Conferred by Program: 2008-09; 2009-10; 2010-2011(UPDATED)

Item 2 - Use the form compiled by IMA - Graduation Rates by Degree Program (UPDATED 11/8/2011) (If you believe this number to be inaccurate, note your number in the response field and the reason in the comments field. )

Item 3 - IMA will provide data this year - Average Time to Degree (UPDATED) (If you believe this number to be inaccurate, note your number in the response field and the reason in the comments field.)

Item 4 - You must provide.

Item 5 - You must provide. In the comments column, include either the URL for your program's admission section in the Graduate Catalog or you may copy and paste that information into the response field.

Item 6 - Use the form compiled by IMA - Student FT-PT and FTE Totals (UPDATED)

Item 7 - You must provide. Total all assistantships, fellowships, scholarships, and tuition reimbursements divided by total number of full-time students. A proxy for this number might be your average admission offer multiplied by the total number of students. If so, note in the comments field.

Item 8 - You must provide. The $1000 can be from any source as listed in Item 7.

Item 9 - Use the form provided by IMA - Faculty Headcount, FTE, and Teaching Load (UPDATED). This is the number of faculty on your program GSC. If you believe the number involved in your PhD program to be fewer, note this in the comments field with language such as "...number at left represents faculty eligible for participation in the PhD program. The number currently actively involved are...." This number is critical in portraying your program as accurately as possible. See section above "On the Issue of Core Faculty."

Item 10 - IMA provided report (UPDATED 10/27/11), or if you choose to provide your own numbers, there are two options available. Student FTE (Student FT-PT and FTE Totals- FTE column - UPDATED) divided by Faculty FTE (Faculty Headcount, FTE, and Teaching Load - FTE column - UPDATED) or use the same Student FTE and divide by the number you have alternatively chosen to represent the faculty involved in the PhD program in Item 9. Note your choice in the comments field. IMA began collecting data for this item in 2009-2010; therefore, 2009-2010 will be our starting-point year.

Item 11 - You must provide. Use everything from faculty annual reports. Be consistent with the core number of faculty you chose in Item 9.

Item 12 - You must provide. Use everything from faculty annual reports. Be consistent with the core number of faculty you chose in Item 9.

Item 13 - Use the form provided by IMA - (Faculty Headcount, FTE, and Teaching Load [UPDATED] - use Program Average Load). Be consistent with the core number of faculty you chose in Item 9. IMA began collecting data for this item in 2009-2010; therefore, 2009-2010 will be our starting-point year, and is where the "Program Average Load" number should be entered.

Item 14 - Use the form provided by IMA - Faculty Diversity Counts (UPDATED).

Item 15 - Use the form provided by IMA - Student Diversity Counts (UPDATED).

Item 16 - You must provide. There may not have been an external review. If so, note in the comments field.

Item 17 - You must provide. There may, and probably will not, have been an accreditation review. If so, note in the comments field.

Item 18 - You must provide. Do the best you can. IMA cannot provide this information.