Factors That Determine Completion Rates of Biomedical Students in a PhD Programme

Purpose: The purpose of this retrospective study is to identify potential predictors of academic success or failure in Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programmes in the field of biomedicine. Based on these, the policies and structure of academic programmes granting PhD degrees in biomedicine might be improved. Literature review (State of the art): At the present moment, most European and all of the EU doctoral education systems in biomedicine are regulated by the Salzburg principles of the Bologna process. Almost all the programmes formally comply with regulations, but the degree to which rules are applied varies greatly. The European Research Council (ERC) and various stakeholders’ associations, such as the Organisation for PhD Education in Biomedicine and Health Sciences in the European System (ORPHEUS), have recognised this and in their policies, they recommend regular evaluation of PhD programme structures. One such evaluation that was conducted at our institution motivated us to search for quantifiable factors that can help the process of PhD programme structural reform. Since the literature is scarce on this matter, we decided to conduct analysis of our own data and thus study the relationships between recommended EU policies and real-world data. Methods: Biology of Neoplasms is a PhD programme founded under Bologna process rules. It enrols students with Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) or similar degrees in the biomedical field. A large portion of enrolled PhD students work full time in medical practices. A retrospective analysis was conducted on students who enrolled between 2006 and 2017. In order to quantify academic success, outcome measures of graduation (completion) rate, time to graduation, average impact factor of published papers comprising a PhD thesis and the ratio of the latter two were formed. Age, sex, employment institution, mentor experience and tuition subsidy were considered as potential predictors. Results: A total of 124 students were enrolled in the study—38% male. Out of the total, 21 (16.94%) students discontinued the study programme and 22 students graduated (17.7%). The average impact factor (IF) of published papers was 2.66 ± 1.51. Mentor experience (Odds ratio (OR) = 6.7) and student employment in academia (OR = 11.7) were significant predictors of successful graduation. Stricter criteria for graduation had no effect on graduation in newly enrolled students. Likewise, sex, tuition subsidy and age did not affect graduation rates. Surprisingly, time to graduation was not affected by any of the considered predictors. On the other hand, students that were mentored by experienced mentors and employed in academia outperformed their peers in terms of impact factors of publications related to their thesis. Conclusion: Characteristics such as gender, age at enrolment and even tuition paid by the institution do not have a significant impact on completion rate. Experienced mentors and employment in academic institutions seem to be the factors that predict a successful completion of a PhD programme. Furthermore, our results give a quantifiable support to the ORPHEUS and ERC recommendations and policies. These conclusions can be easily applied to any PhD programme formed under the tenets of the Bologna process.

Predicting time to graduation at a large enrollment American university

The time it takes a student to graduate with a university degree is mitigated by a variety of factors such as their background, the academic performance at university, and their integration into the social communities of the university they attend. Different universities have different populations, student services, instruction styles, and degree programs, however, they all collect institutional data. This study presents data for 160,933 students attending a large American research university. The data includes performance, enrollment, demographics, and preparation features. Discrete time hazard models for the time-to-graduation are presented in the context of Tinto’s Theory of Drop Out. Additionally, a novel machine learning method: gradient boosted trees, is applied and compared to the typical maximum likelihood method. We demonstrate that enrollment factors (such as changing a major) lead to greater increases in model predictive performance of when a student graduates than performance factors (such as grades) or preparation (such as high school GPA).

Treatment of severe acute malnutrition with oat or standard ready-to-use therapeutic food: a triple-blind, randomised controlled clinical trial

ObjectiveWe hypothesised that an alternative RUTF (ready-to-use therapeutic food) made with oats (oat-RUTF) would be non-inferior to standard RUTF (s-RUTF).DesignThis was a randomised, triple-blind, controlled, clinical non-inferiority trial comparing oat-RUTF to s-RUTF in rural Sierra Leone. Children aged 6–59 months with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) were randomised to oat-RUTF or s-RUTF. s-RUTF was composed of milk powder, sugar, peanut paste and vegetable oil, with a hydrogenated vegetable oil additive. Oat-RUTF contained oats and no hydrogenated vegetable oil additives. The primary outcome was graduation, an increase in anthropometric measurements such that the child was not acutely malnourished. Secondary outcomes were rates of growth, time to graduation and presence of adverse events. Intention to treat analyses was used.ResultsOf the 1406 children were enrolled, graduation was attained in 404/721 (56%) children receiving oat-RUTF and 311/685 (45%) receiving s-RUTF (difference 10.6%, 95% CI 5.4% to 15.8%). Death, hospitalisation or remaining with SAM was seen in 87/721 (12%) receiving oat-RUTF and in 125/685 (18%) receiving s-RUTF (difference 6.2%, 95% CI 2.3 to 10.0, p=0.001). Time to graduation was less for children receiving oat RUTF; 3.9±1.8 versus 4.5±1.8 visits, respectively (p<0.001). Rates of weight in the oat-RUTF group were greater than in the s-RUTF group; 3.4±2.7 versus 2.5±2.3 g/kg/d, p<0.001.ConclusionOat-RUTF is superior to s-RUTF in the treatment of SAM in Sierra Leone. We speculate that might be because of beneficial bioactive components or the absence of hydrogenated vegetable oil in oat-RUTF.Trial registration numberNCT03407326.

Taking Longer, but Finishing Just as Strong: A Comparison of Pell and Non-Pell Study Abroad Participants' GPA and Time-to-Graduation

Researchers compared Pell eligible and non Pell eligible undergraduate students’ pre study abroad GPA and graduation GPAs and time to graduation. The results indicated a longer time to graduation for Pell eligible students. However, Pell eligible students who had studied abroad graduated with comparable GPAs to their non Pell study abroad peers four and six years post matriculation. The results suggest that study abroad did not create an undue burden that impeded the success of students from low income households. We discuss implications for funding priorities, university development offices, and study abroad advising.