Tools and Templates

Data Templates

CGS has developed the following templates and tools for the Ph.D. Completion Project. Tools include program-specific completion and attrition data templates, aggregate institutional completion and attrition data templates, a student exit survey, and factor assessment templates for department/program or institutional activities.

CGS member institutions are welcome to use these templates. Ph.D. Completion Project staff will be happy to consult with member institutions seeking to ensure comparability between institutionally collected data and the Ph.D. Completion Project data set. Non-member institutions should request permission to use these copyrighted templates; CGS will consider and advise non-member institutions as to the appropriateness of their use for your data collection purposes.

• Completion and Attrition Templates (Excel)
  
  The completion template collects data on Ph.D. completion, by program, for student cohorts beginning in the third year after initial enrollment in the doctoral program. The 10-year attrition template , which is linked to the completion template, allows reporting of data on cohort attrition for common categories for each year after initial enrollment of the cohort.
  
  
• Template Instructions
  Completion Template (Word :: PDF)
  Attrition Template (Word :: PDF)
  
  
• Aggregate Demographic (Completion) Data Templates
  Engineering (Excel)
  Humanities (Excel)
  Life Sciences (Excel)
  Mathematics (Excel)
  Physical Sciences (Excel)
  Social Sciences (Excel)

The six aggregate demographic data templates are designed to collect baseline demographic information on degree completion for each of the broad academic fields specified in the Ph.D. Completion Project Request for Proposals: Physical Sciences, Engineering, Mathematics, Life Sciences, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Each template requests aggregate data for each of these broad fields by gender and race/ethnicity.

[ Please note: Aggregate demographic completion data submitted to CGS will not be shared with those outside of the Ph.D. Completion Project.]

• Template Instructions
  Aggregate Demographic Templates (Word :: PDF)
  
  
• Program Taxonomy (Word :: PDF)

  Institutions must follow this taxonomy when they categorize programs by broad field for the demographic templates.

• Ph.D. Exit Survey Templates
  
  Institutions are encouraged to use the Ph.D. Exit Survey Templates provided below, use the Web-Administered Exit Surveys (see FAQ section), or adapt or incorporate questions from the templates into an existing institutional survey. Exit surveys submitted to the Completion Project should be completed anonymously by students who are either completing the Ph.D. or withdrawing from their doctoral degree program prior to completion. The survey templates provided by the Completion Project consists of two parts, a generic demographic information sheet and the survey itself. The demographic data sheet is intended to collect anonymous demographic information on students from each of the six broad academic fields, while the exit survey asks students to respond to questions grouped by topic areas commonly linked to completion and attrition.
  
  
  • Exit Survey Template—Standard Version (Word :: PDF)
  • Exit Survey Template—Short Version (Word :: PDF)
  
  
• Factor Assessment Tools
  Institution Template (Excel :: PDF)
  Program Template (Excel :: PDF)
  
  The two factor assessment templates are designed to collect baseline information about the effectiveness and duration of policies, practices, and programs that were already in place prior to the implementation of activities supported by the Ph.D. Completion Project. One template permits assessment of departments and/or program activities and resources, and the other of institution-level activities and resources.