Ed.D. Advising
When students enroll in the Ed.D. program, each is assigned a research advisor, but the planning advisor for the first part of the student’s program will be one of the doctoral program coordinators (DPC) designated for this role. Your research advisor interacts with you in terms of your research questions and ideas. If you have specific questions about courses or doctoral program planning, you should still send these to the DPC. However, if you want advice on which electives you should take, then by all means you are free to ask your research advisor and/or other faculty you may know or whom you will get to know.
Your advisor will be a full-time, tenure-track faculty member in Boise State University’s Department of Educational Technology. Advisors are matched to the student based on a number of considerations, the foremost of which is close alignment of the student’s research or career goals with the interest of the faculty member.
The advisor’s primary role during the initial part of your studies is to provide advice about courses, providing feedback on research ideas, negotiating the topic and format of the comprehensive exam, co-authoring publications, and providing formative feedback during the development of the dissertation.
Once a student is eligible to complete the Comprehensive Examination, the advisor can become (and usually does become) their exam committee chairperson. Two other faculty members will join the exam committee. All three members of the exam committee are likely to then form the core of the dissertation supervisory committee. It is possible for there to be co-chair of the committee, and even a 4th member (this is negotiated after the Comp Exam).
A student may request a change of advisor at any time before she or he completes the comprehensive examination. A student is not allowed to change a thesis advisor after the comprehensive exam has been submitted except in exceptional cases (for example, the advisor leaves the university or is no longer able to provide guidance).
Given the fact that the program is entirely online, and since serendipitous meetings with a sponsor/advisor are not likely (e.g., walking down the hall and being able to “pop into an office”), faculty in the Department of Educational Technology suggest that all students talk with their sponsors/advisor about program progress, etc. at least once per semester (this can be via phone or web-video, etc.); this is kind of communication is “built in” to our expectations for EDTECH 698: Doctoral Seminar. The advisor is also part of the annual student evaluation (see “Program Policies”).
Potential Questions
Do I have to email both people (advisor and DPC) all the time?
We suggest that you might do this initially, but then as you are finding a growing relationship with one, or if one is more aligned to the things in which you are interested (or you develop an interest in what they are doing), then you are of course free to start limiting communication to solely your advisor.
How was my advisor chosen?
It was a combination of the admissions team looking at who you indicated might be helpful for your research, combined (and heavily weighted by) indications from a faculty member about the students they feel are closely connected to their research. Though perhaps not a perfect process, it is done very thoughtfully by all involved.
What if the person is not a fit? When do I switch?
That’s OK. In some cases, a faculty member who used to align with your particular interest no longer aligns after you change topic or perhaps methodological orientation. You are free to approach any EDTECH faculty member and ask him/her to serve as supervisory committee chair. That person’s answer may sometimes depend on his/her current advising load. In any case, you should definitely make any changes to your supervisory committee and its chair BEFORE you schedule the negotiation for your Comprehensive Exam, which typically will happen in the fourth semester (end of Year 2) of the program.
Can my faculty sponsor act as a tutor and counselor?
Well, maybe … it depends on the personality of the person and your needs. Be honest about your needs and be clear (well, as clear as possible) about your ideas. This makes for a better relationship.
Some advice
This online world is often text-based, but we HIGHLY encourage you to schedule a short Google Hangout or other video conferencing venue with your sponsor. It need not be long, but I think it would benefit all for a short, informal conversation.