Comprehensive Exams

1) Your completed Program of Study Form must have been submitted to the department and the Graduate School

2) To take comprehensive examinations you must be in the final semester of your coursework

3) During the first two weeks of the semester you should complete the Comprehensive Examination Application Form and send it to Laura Ballard at lballard@bamaed.ua.edu

4) After passing your comprehensive examinations complete a signed Doctoral Committee Appointment Form.  This needs to be on file in the department and the Graduate School by the time of the prospectus.

5) Starting the following semester, you are required to maintain continuous registration for a minimum of three hours per term in dissertation research until the completion of the dissertation.

Instructional Leadership
Comprehensive Examinations Procedures for Ph.D. students

1. Students must have completed all course requirements and, if necessary, remove all grades of “I” from their academic records before sitting for exams. If students are in the last semester of course work, they may write their exams in the same semester.

2. The Program of Study committee has the responsibility for constructing an examination that reflects the individual needs of the doctoral student. The Program of Study committee will select appropriate questions. It will be the responsibility of the chair of the Program of Study committee to coordinate the scheduling and dissemination of the exam. The chair of the Program of Study committee will also coordinate the evaluating and reporting of the results of the exam.

3. The student will be given the examination on a Friday afternoon. The student will have 14 days to complete the examination. The examination will consist of 4 questions. Students are expected to write 12 to 15 pages on each question, giving full citations and using APA (5th edition). All exams must be typed, double-spaced, and 12 point font.

4. A minimum of three members of the Plan of Study committee will independently read and evaluate each question. Each member will rate each question using the departmental rubric. Students will also have an oral defense of their examination within six weeks of taking the exam. Upon completion of the oral defense, Pass/Fail will be determined by a majority vote. In the event of a tie vote, the Department Chair will cast the deciding vote upon review of the student’s written exam and faculty comments. If the Department Chair is a member of the original committee, a non-participating program chair will be asked to cast the deciding vote.

5. Working with the administrative assistant who coordinates the comprehensive examinations, the chair of the Program of Study committee will distribute pass or fail letters to the student, student records, Program of Study committee, and the Graduate School. Results of the examination will be reported in writing to the student within 4-6 weeks of taking the exam. In the event that a person does not successfully meet the requirements for passing the exam, the student will be given the opportunity to re-take the examination the following semester. If a student does not successfully pass the exam on the second try, he/she will be removed from the program.

Instructional Leadership
Comprehensive Examinations Procedures for Ed.D. students

1. Students must have completed all course requirements and, if necessary, remove all grades of “I” from their academic records before sitting for exams. If students are in the last semester of course work, they may write their exams in the same semester.

2. The Instructional Leadership faculty has the responsibility for constructing an examination that reflects the body of knowledge in the Instructional Leadership program. It will be the responsibility of the chair of the Program of Study committee to disseminate the questions to the proctor of the examination. The chair of the Program of Study committee will also coordinate the evaluating and reporting of the results of the exam.

3. The examination will be given once during the fall and spring semester, typically on a Saturday that falls between the 8th and 10th week of the semester. No Ed.D. Instructional Leadership doctoral examinations will be given in the summer term. The exact date of the examination will be announced and published on our website during the first week of classes. All examinations will be on site and will last six hours: 9:00 a.m. –12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. The examination will consist of 4 questions. Students may choose to either type or handwrite their examination. No lap top computers, books, notes or other outside materials will be allowed. A room with sufficient computers will be provided.

4. A minimum of two faculty members will independently read and evaluate each question. No student names will be identified on the response. Both members will rate each question using the departmental rubric. If the two readers disagree, a third reader will evaluate the questions. Instructional Leadership faculty as a whole will endeavor to reach a unanimous decision for a recommendation of (A) Pass – no oral defense needed, (B) Pass – contingent upon successful oral defense, or (C) Fail. If an oral defense is required, Pass/Fail will be determined by a majority vote. In the event that a student fails the examination, he/she will be required to re-write all or parts of the exam as deemed necessary by the faculty. If the student does not successfully pass the exam on the second try, no oral defense will be granted and the student will be removed from the program.

5. Working with the administrative assistant who coordinates the comprehensive examinations, the chair of the Program of Study committee will distribute pass or fail letters to the student, student records, Program of Study committee, and the Graduate School. Results of the examination will be reported to the student within 4-6 weeks of taking the exam.

Rubric for Comps

Four categories are used to evaluate materials:

(1) organization, accuracy and comprehensiveness
(2) consistency with the concepts and ideas found in the current literature
(3) the production of a logical, valid, and persuasive argument, and
(4) the demonstration of scholarly writing.

The point scale used to evaluate student responses on these four categories:

5 = (Target) Excellent. All points of the question are answered fully and persuasively with comprehensive documentation. Information is valid and pertinent. Organization is logical and language is clear and concise.

4 = Good. All points of the question are answered with documentation that generally supports the answer. Information is valid and pertinent. Organization is logical and language is clear and concise. Minor errors of detail are tolerated.

3 = Adequate. All points of the question are treated but at a minimal level and with sketchy documentation. Information is valid and pertinent. Organization is logical and language is clear. Small errors are tolerated.

2 = Inadequate. Some of the points called for by the question are answered and documentation is either lacking or is erroneous. Portions of the information are invalid and not pertinent. Organization lacks a logical flow and language is vague. Major points made in the answer are in error.

1= Unacceptable. Few of the points asked for by the question are answered, documentation is absent, and most of the information is incorrect. The answer does not address the question, lacks logical flow and indicates a deficiency in verbal skills.

0 = N/A The question was not answered.