If you want to know, ask: Assessing the needs and experiences of graduate students

Abstract

In order to design effective interventions for working with graduate and professional students, educators must first assess students' needs and experiences. This chapter highlights the importance of assessment in graduate and professional education and offers insights gained from three studies.

Mentor Us: A Formal Mentoring Program for Nurses in Graduate Education

“…There is still work to be done to foster and provide support to nurses pursuing advanced degrees (Jones, 2007;Nesheim et al, 2006;Reilly & Fitzpatrick, 2009;Timmins et al, 2011). Mentorship programs can help students in developing a positive professional identity (Goodare, 2015).…”

“…These (perceived) completion rates among graduate students are concerning (Goodare, 2015;Tamburri, 2013). Retention issues are often blamed on individual student characteristics such as lack of commitment; however, it has also been suggested that there are far more complex reasons beyond those of the individual for these attrition rates (Golde, 1998;Golde, 2000;Nesheim, Guentzel, Gansemer-Topf, Ross, & Turrentine, 2006). In general, graduate students are poorly informed about the expectations of them or about the academic environment prior to starting their educational endeavours (Lovitts & Nelson, 2000).…”

“…(Gansemer-Topf, Ross, & Johnson, 2006;Golde, 1998;Golde, 2000;Nesheim et al, 2006;Rose, 2005;Tamburri, 2013). This has been attributed to the crucial role that informal knowledge sharing has during the graduate student transition period (Lovitts & Nelson, 2000).…”

“…This has been attributed to the crucial role that informal knowledge sharing has during the graduate student transition period (Lovitts & Nelson, 2000). Additionally, support during transition phases (i.e., coursework to research to thesis) is paramount to student success (Nesheim et al, 2006).…”

Defining the Graduate College Experience: What it “Should” versus “Does” Include

“…studies on various elements of graduate students' experiences have generally been localized to a discipline or program (e.g., Coulter, Goin & Gerard, 2004;Gardner & Barnes, 2007), while some international studies have combined disciplinary and institutional characteristics with culture (e.g., Kanan & Baker, 2005), both producing deeply contexualized findings primarily addressing local needs. More generalizable research is essential to inform the work of faculty and staff who teach, train, manage, mentor, plan and make policy to support graduate students (Nesheim, Guentzel, Gansemer-Topf, Ross, & Turrentine, 2006). …”