An incentive program to increase earned Ph.D.s was spotlighted at the University of Idaho Faculty Senate meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 30, by Torrey Lawrence, UI Provost and Executive Vice President.
The program aims to increase the speed at which graduate students obtain Ph.D.s by helping them overcome structural or administrative barriers. According to Lawrence, the 2024-25 academic year saw a dip in the number of Ph.D. students graduating.
“We have students, frankly, that could have graduated last semester, a year ago, two years ago, and for whatever reason, they’re hung up,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence has been investigating what elements of UI Ph.D. programs are resulting in these hang ups. The faculty asked if removing these hang-up points from Ph.D. programs may lower graduation standards.
“This is not about lowering our standards or removing hoops that are necessary for quality. … This is not about changing the integrity of our degrees,” Lawrence said.
The primary means suggested by Lawrence was an available budget that would meet certain academic needs, such as replacing or maintaining necessary technology and supporting student travel to conferences.
Faculty raised concerns that colleges without Ph.D. programs would receive less total funding as a result of this program. Lawrence clarified that individual colleges would not receive the money, but there would be an overall funding increase for the university with the objective of increasing the total number of Ph.D. graduates.
Lawrence did not have a plan for funding the program readily available for the meeting but said that one does exist. Lawrence also suggested including UI President Scott Green in a future meeting to answer additional questions.
The Faculty Senate voted 19-1 to make it an agenda item for the next meeting.
Senate leaders reviewed the annual Fire Safety and Security Report, which included safety policies and data on any crime which occurred on any of the five UI campuses. They noted that incident numbers remain low in primary crimes, which included arson, motor vehicle theft, burglary, murder and aggravated assault. Faculty were encouraged to review the report for context on campus safety.
The October faculty gathering is scheduled for Oct. 22 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. in the Vandal Ballroom for all faculty to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the College of Graduate Studies and recent faculty contributions.
Scarlet Herway can be reached at arg-news@uidaho.edu.