Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Acknowledgments Chapter 3 The Invisible Problem Chapter 4 Explaining the High and Persistent Rate of Attrition Chapter 5 Explaining Departure Chapter 6 The Lack of Information Chapter 7 The Absence of Community Chapter 8 Disappointment with the Learning Experience Chapter 9 The Quality of the Advisor/Advisee Relationship Chapter 10 The Decision to Leave Chapter 11 Personal Consequences of Departure Chapter 12 Labor Market Consequences of Departure Chapter 13 Conclusions and Recommendations Chapter 14 Appendix Chapter 15 Bibliography Chapter 16 Index
Barbara E. Lovitts received her Ph D. in sociology from the University of Maryland. She is currently a senior research analyst at the Pelavin Research Center of the American Institutes for Research.
For fully half a century indifferent or inhospitable graduate
programs have driven doctoral students to abandon their course of
study. Some departments have attrition rates of 80% or more.
Meanwhile faculty members and administrators alike have preferred
to blame the students rather than themselves. Lovitts' elegantly
designed study shows that the fault is structural and systemic.
Weaving together clear statistical evidence and telling personal
interviews, Leaving the Ivory Tower mounts a powerful and timely
argument for institutional reform.
*Cary Nelson, co-author of Academic Keywords: A Devil's Dictionary
for Higher Education*
Leaving the Ivory Tower will prompt graduate faculty who work with
doctoral candidates, to think through their own policies and assess
their own behavior in light of what this book recommends. For large
programs that may be trying to improve their completion rate, this
book will provide a different way of looking at the issue and
prompt faculty to re-examine assumptions. Perhaps the best audience
for this book is the person thinking about doctoral work,
especially those considering full-time doctoral work. The findings
of this book could be seen as a guidebook for students wanting to
make a choice about where to attend and what issues to consider in
their decision.
*Journal Of College Student Development*
Lovitts lays a strong foundation for institutional reform in
graduate education. She offers a compelling argument that graduate
student attrition is a systematic, structural, and cultrual problem
that can be solved. Leaving the Ivory Tower is a rich resource for
graduate faculty ready to embark upon the road to program
improvement.
*Anthropology & Education Quarterly*
An important contribution to the literature on student departure
and persistence. Lovitts' work deserves a careful reading by
doctoral students, faculty, directors of graduate study, and deans
alike.
*History of Education Quarterly*
Barbara Lovitts's study deserves to be read in a spirit of
openness, as she offers some rewarding insights into the student
experience.
*Studies in Higher Education*
Barbara Lovitts's book shines a light on a generally hidden feature
of doctoral study: student attrition. The book is a
thought-provoking read for faculty members and administrators
working with doctoral students and provides a solid starting point
for future research.
*Work and Occupations*
Lovitts provides a careful delineation of the issues relevant to
early departure from doctoral study. She makes good use of the
available data to explore the complex set of factors that
contribute to persistence in a program.
*American Journal of Sociology*
Lovitts writes well, with passion and often with humor. She
provides a demanding engagement with theoretical work, invoking
concepts such as personal attribution theory; exit, voice, loyalty,
and and neglect theory; and greedy institutions. This culturally
sensitive approach is congruent with Tillman's (2002) propositions.
Lovitts inserts copious notes to enable the reader to secure more
detailed information.
*The Review of Higher Education*
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