Aim/Purpose: This study examined an Ed.D. program redesign to address time to degree completion. The aim was to emphasize the need to improve students’ academic writing and embody a scholarly practitioner approach to research. Background: Doctoral programs have the highest attrition of graduate programs, with almost half of the students taking six to seven years to complete. Methodology: An ex-post-facto correlational research design examined self-efficacy and educational leadership doctoral students perceived versus actual program progression. This was statistically determined through Pearson’s correlation coefficients and a t-test analysis. Contribution: This study provides other doctoral programs who are struggling with time to degree completion a model to consider as they contemplate a program redesign. Findings: Ed.D. students in the 2014 and 2015 cohorts reported high self-efficacy (3.62 and 3.57 respectively, out of 4.00). There was a statistically significant difference in the number of defenses completed per semester based on the program redesign. Recommendations for Practitioners: Ed.D. programs should consider using a scholarly practitioner approach. This focus may lead to faster rates of degree completion and better prepare students to solve problems of practice in their practitioner setting. Recommendation for Researchers: While the results are promising as to expediting time to degree completion, like most doctoral programs it does not seem to impact overall completion rates of the program as a whole, thus, warranting further research. Impact on Society: Expediting time-to-completion enables students to graduate sooner. This will yield cost savings to the student, free up faculty resources, and most importantly prepare students to sooner serve as scholarly practitioners. Future Research: Future research should continue to examine time to degree completion, as well as students’ lived experiences and examine how those shape doctoral students’ efforts and abilities in their Ed.D. work from start to program completion.

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Most student affairs professionals will serve in a managerial and/or supervisory role at some point in their careers, yet we found only 11% of higher education graduate preparatory programs have required coursework focusing on this competency area. This situation is disconcerting, as there seems to be an assumption within the student affairs field that new professionals have the formal training and experiences needed to immediately be placed into these managerial and/or supervisory roles. In an effort to address this discrepancy, and in particular staffing practices, one higher education graduate preparatory program developed a course on staffing practices using an innovative pedagogical approach rooted in the theoretical framework of experiential learning. This approach enabled future student affairs professionals to apply theory-to-practice and develop the supervision skills they will need in their imminent careers. Recommendations are provided for faculty members, senior administrators, and a general calling for empirical research.

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The following study consisted of 532 respondents to a survey related to the supervision of entry level staff in student affairs. Participants included both supervisors of entry-level staff and entry level staff themselves. Individuals shared their thoughts and experiences regarding the supervision of this population. Themes emerged in four areas: Readiness for the supervisory role, challenges related to supervision, supervisor skills, and working through transition. Implications and recommendations for practice and further research are discussed.