In an effort to increase graduate student retention and graduation rates, the University of North Texas is in the process of developing academic support services for graduate students outside the classroom. Based on data gathered as part of a larger needs-assessment, new programs include research and statistical support, expanded tutoring options, and individual academic coaching. Participants in this session will learn about the process of developing, implementing, and marketing these programs along with information on future plans for the programs including expansion, refining, and formal assessment.

1. Developing Graduate Student Services
Christina Herrera, M.A.
Coordinator for Graduate Student Services
The Learning Center
University of North Texas

2. Part-
Time
53%
Full-
Time
47%
Enrollment Status
17%
56%
26%
1%
Enrollment by Level
Post-Bac Master Doctoral Special Professional
Graduate Student Characteristics,
2012-2013 Academic Year
6,867 total graduate students
~20% of the total student population

3. 2.7%
0.7%
21.7%
11.9%
8.1%
16.2%
7.1%
7.9%
13.0%
1.3%
8.4%
1.0%
0.1%
Graduate Enrollment by College
Visual Arts & Design
Administrative Group
Arts & Sciences
Business
Public Affairs
Education
Engineering
Graduate School
Information
Merchandising, Hospitality, & Tourism
Music
Mayborn
Undergraduate Studies
Graduate Student Characteristics,
2012-2013 Academic Year

4. Background
• Historically, student services at UNT focused
heavily on undergraduate students
• Identified need to increase persistence and
retention in the graduate student population
• Appropriation of student service fees to create
positions in the Career Center and Learning
Center and to increase support in the Writing
Center

5. Institutional Needs Assessment
• In the 2012-2013 academic year, Toulouse
Graduate School, Student Affairs, and The
Office of Institutional Research & Effectiveness
collaborated on a graduate student needs
assessment focusing on 4 key areas:
– Housing and Dining Options
– Child Care
– Health Insurance
– Academic Needs

6. Institutional Needs Assessment
• Master’s Students
1. Oral communication
skills
2. Travel funding for
conferences/symposia
3. Written communication
skills
4. Connection to
academic service
opportunities
5. Research abilities
6. Instructional/teaching
abilities
• Doctoral Students
1. Travel funding for
conferences/symposia
2. Research abilities
3. Written communication
skills
4. Oral communication
skills
5. Instructional/teaching
abilities
6. Connection to
academic service
opportunities

7. Early Program Development
• Results of the needs assessment, personal
experiences and observations, and
conversations with graduate students
resulted in the creation of two new
workshop series:
– Research Skills
– Stats 101
• Collaboration with individuals in the Career
Center, Library, and Toulouse Graduate
School

8. Research Skills Series
• A series of workshops designed to enhance
students’ understanding of the research
process and skill development.
• Currently comprised of six independent
workshops
• Repeated multiple times through the
semester
• Incorporates interactive elements when
possible and appropriate

9. Research Skills Series
• Finding Balance
– Principles of time management with an emphasis on
balancing the requirements of graduate school with
full-time employment, family, social obligations, etc.
Also covers planning and managing large research
projects and motivation.
• Developing Research Topics and Questions
– How to work through the process of narrowing a
broad topic, elements of effective research
questions, and the relationship of research questions
to the literature review.

10. Research Skills Series
• Summarizing, Organizing, and Synthesizing
Information
– Teaches participants the process for synthesizing
information to create literature reviews, support
arguments, develop research questions, etc.
• Writing Proposals
– General overview of the proposal research and
writing process. Also includes tips for writing a
grant proposal and writing the thesis/dissertation
proposal.

11. Research Skills Series
• Effective Presentations
– Discusses techniques for creating and delivering
engaging presentations. Includes use of
technology, formatting, inclusion of interactive
elements, and oral presentation skills.
• Navigating the IRB Process
– Reviews requirements for IRB approval at UNT
including NIH training, application types, and
consent forms.

12. Stats 101
• A series of 6 workshops that provide a review of
basic statistical principles
• Provide examples from multiple disciplines
• Participants work through the entire process of
statistical testing—writing
hypotheses, testing, drawing and interpreting
conclusions
• Follows the general sequence of basic statistics
courses
• Workshop topics build on each other, but
students may elect which weeks to participate

13. Stats 101
• Variance, Standard Deviation, & Z-Scores
• Reliability, Validity, & Effect Size
• T-Tests
• Chi-Square
• ANOVA
• Regression

14. Expanding Tutoring Options
• The UNT Learning Center currently has over
500 students serving as Volunteer Tutors
• Only 64 were graduate students in the 2012-
2013 academic year
• Less than one dozen graduate courses made
the list of courses we offers tutoring in
• Graduate Lead Tutors in Statistics
• Graduate Student Assistants for Writing

15. Expanding Tutoring Options
• Recruitment strategies for the 2013-2014 academic
year
– Counts toward travel grant requirements
– Appreciation events
– Framing the position in terms of leadership and teaching
experience
– Opportunity to certify through the College Reading and
Learning Association
– Opportunity to apply for a paid Lead Tutor position after
one semester
– Free t-shirt
– Recruitment materials includes a list of courses identified
as “high need”

16. Individual Academic Coaching
• Expansion of the existing Connecting for
Success program
• One-on-One consultations with graduate
students to provide support with
– Statistics
– Departmental Issues
– Time Management
– Project Planning/Management
– Other issues as needed

17. Marketing
• Direct marketing to students and graduate
program advisors
– Mass e-mails to students
– Graduate Student Council & program-specific
graduate student associations
– Advisor distribution list
– Monthly advisor meetings

18. Current Assessment
• Research Skills Series
– Satisfaction Survey
• Stats 101
– Pre-Test/Post-Test
– Satisfaction Survey
• Connecting for Success
– Basic information tracking

19. Future Assessment Plans
• Continuing pre-test/post-test for Stats 101
• Expanding the satisfaction survey to be more
of an evaluation and providing space for
written feedback
• Tracking participants’ GPA and
retention/persistence rates
• Connecting for Success follow-up

20. Challenges
• Getting them in the door
• Scheduling
• Marketing
• Delivery options for distance-learners

21. Creating Services at Your Institution
• Assess needs
– Graduate Students
– Faculty and staff who work with graduate students
– Are the needs programmatic or logistic?
• Review your resources
– Could you adapt programs currently being offered? Or
is there a need to create new ones?
– If creating a position to meet these needs is not
possible, are there individuals in your current
structure who might be capable of developing and
delivering programming?

22. Questions?
Thank you for attending!