The Ticking Ph.D. Clock: How to Cut Time to Degree Dissertation Writers Turn to Online Academic Writing Club
McLean, Virginia (PRWEB) June 21, 2008 -- It's not unusual to hear about Ph.D. students who have been in graduate school 8, 9 or 10 years, and who still have not completed their dissertations. The cost to them and to the institutions that support them is enormous. In a recent Inside Higher Ed article called "How to Cut Time to Degree," editor Scott Jaschik wrote:
For doctoral students, the clock is always ticking. How many years of fellowship support do you have left? How long can you delay starting a family or bringing home a real paycheck? How old do you want to be while still being a student? How many good jobs will disappear before you have a Ph.D.?
Indeed, the graduate dean of Harvard University is quoted in the Inside Higher Ed article as saying, "Losing somebody from one of these very selective Ph.D. programs after the investment of many years of faculty and student time and the students' own life and after we've invested a quarter million dollars or Harvard's money is really tragic."
To rectify this problem, Harvard has started penalizing departments that hold on to their grad students too long. This has lit a fire under the departments and professors to take measures to help their students to finish up their dissertations.
But what about the hundreds of thousands of graduate students who are not lucky enough to be part of such a program? Where do they turn when they need dissertation writing help and support?
More students have begun turning to online resources for the support, structure, direction and encouragement that they need to finish the dissertation. One example of such a resource is The Academic Writing Club, an online accountability tool created by Gina Hiatt, Ph.D., founder and president of Academic Ladder LLC.
The Academic Writing Club's innovative methodology addresses graduate students' key needs, in addition to providing interactivity with others around the process of writing. The online set of tools help dissertation writers get over writing blocks, stop procrastinating, and maintain writing productivity.
Writing Club members log on to a unique website where they can post information about their daily writing progress, receive feedback from academic writing coaches and from other participants, and also communicate via a message board. They are able to see not only their progress, but the progress of others. This shared experience increases writing productivity dramatically. Issues like perfectionism, negative thinking, and anxiety are all addressed by the coaches.
Although the Academic Writing Club was originally intended as a site for graduate students, it soon became apparent to Hiatt that post docs and professors also struggle with writing productively. Now separate areas of the site are available to grad students and professors.
The coaches who run the Writing Clubs have seen many dissertation proposals approved and dissertations finished. Many participants have stayed with the Writing Club more than 18 months. Some have started as grad students and now continue as professors or post docs.
Here are some typical comments from participants:
""Thanks to everyone! This writing group has really helped me?in the past I would have just allowed one day to slide into the next with no progress. Now I have a group of peers with similar challenges who need me to commit to making progress just as they are! Thank you!" -- Grad Student
"The Academic Ladder Writing Club has been incredibly useful. Such a simple idea: write a little bit every day, tell the group your goals for tomorrow, and report on your progress. But almost magically, I got more writing done in 30 days than I had in the previous 60 or even 90. I don't think there's a better investment you can make in completing your degree." -- Ray W., 5th year Ph.D. Candidate, MIT
"This program ROCKS! The discipline PLUS the support is the best thing that has happened to me in a long time (career-wise)." -- Assistant Professor
"Wow -- end of week 3. I can't tell you how much this writing group has helped my productivity. This was money very well spent." -- Grad Student
"I can see my work habits changing daily. For the first time EVER in my academic career I feel confident that I can not only live up to expectations but possibly even exceed them. (Immediate anxiety aside) work is fun". -- Assistant Professor
"This is my third time in this writing group and I don't think I'll ever leave. I'll probably need this type of support after my dissertation when I'm working towards tenure. Thanks Gina, Jayne and all my fellow club members." -- Grad Student
"I actually managed to spend two more hours in the evening on my article, and just sent it to my editor (!)This feels really good. Thanks to the Writing Club! I don't think I would be so productive without it." -- Assistant Professor
Hiatt points out, although people can connect online through blogs or applications like Facebook, there are no structured sites other than the Academic Writing Club for those who need to accomplish academic writing.
She hopes that graduate schools and individual departments will someday help fund their graduate students' participation in the Academic Writing Club. In the mean time, she is trying to keep the site affordable, so that graduate students can help pare down the time it takes them in completing their dissertation.
The next session starts June 30 and runs through July 27. For more information, go to http://AcademicWritingClub.com .
Gina J Hiatt, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, tenure coach and dissertation coach who enjoys helping faculty and graduate students complete their dissertations and publish, while maintaining high teaching standards and other commitments. She is president of Academic Ladder LLC, and also runs the Academic Writing Club. In addition to dissertation and tenure coaching, she teaches workshops and teleclasses on time management, writing, career planning and grad student/advisor relationships. Sign up for her 3 free writing productivity boosters at http://www.academicladder.com/ezines.
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