Critical Friends Groups (organizational intervention angle)
Track
Track 2: Leadership, Organizational Culture & Systems Change
Publication Date (MM-DD-YYYY)
3-7-2026
Start Date (MM-DD-YYYY)
3-7-2026 11:00 AM
End Date (MM-DD-YYYY)
3-7-2026 11:30 AM
Presentation Type
Presentation
Description
Online doctoral programs face a persistent crisis with completion rates of only 40-60%, and alarming attrition rates 10-30% higher than traditional programs. While research identifies social and academic isolation as primary factors, few studies examine actionable interventions that higher education institutions can implement to reverse the trend. This sequential mixed-methods study bridges the gap between knowing the problem and implementing a solution.
Our study investigates how a Doctoral Student Association (DSA) employs Critical Friends (CF) protocols to address the challenges faced by online doctoral students. Drawing on Tinto’s model of institutional departure and Astin’s student involvement theory, we examine both whether and how Critical Friend Groups (CFGs) create systematic opportunities for peer collaboration, academic engagement, and relationship building that counter isolation.
Our research is an example of research in action at two levels. First, it moves beyond identifying a complex problem to examining a specific solution. Second, it generates evidence-based guidance that higher education institutions can implement to improve online doctoral program completion rates.
By the date of the conference, we anticipate initial data collection, enabling us to share methodological insights, practical implementation strategies, and preliminary findings. Our research builds the bridge from scholarly literature to improved practice by understanding and actively preventing doctoral student attrition. An outcome of our research will be a replicable CFG implementation framework that any institution can adapt for their DSA or online program.
Finally, our research will benefit Franklin’s online doctoral students, showing that the DSA (a low-cost, scalable intervention requiring minimal institutional resources) can transform isolated experiences into connected communities of practice by demonstrating a specific peer structure (DSA), which is empirically shown to reduce attrition.
Recommended Citation
(2026). Critical Friends Groups (organizational intervention angle). Retrieved from https://fuse.franklin.edu/dsa-conf/2026/presentations/16
Critical Friends Groups (organizational intervention angle)
Online doctoral programs face a persistent crisis with completion rates of only 40-60%, and alarming attrition rates 10-30% higher than traditional programs. While research identifies social and academic isolation as primary factors, few studies examine actionable interventions that higher education institutions can implement to reverse the trend. This sequential mixed-methods study bridges the gap between knowing the problem and implementing a solution.
Our study investigates how a Doctoral Student Association (DSA) employs Critical Friends (CF) protocols to address the challenges faced by online doctoral students. Drawing on Tinto’s model of institutional departure and Astin’s student involvement theory, we examine both whether and how Critical Friend Groups (CFGs) create systematic opportunities for peer collaboration, academic engagement, and relationship building that counter isolation.
Our research is an example of research in action at two levels. First, it moves beyond identifying a complex problem to examining a specific solution. Second, it generates evidence-based guidance that higher education institutions can implement to improve online doctoral program completion rates.
By the date of the conference, we anticipate initial data collection, enabling us to share methodological insights, practical implementation strategies, and preliminary findings. Our research builds the bridge from scholarly literature to improved practice by understanding and actively preventing doctoral student attrition. An outcome of our research will be a replicable CFG implementation framework that any institution can adapt for their DSA or online program.
Finally, our research will benefit Franklin’s online doctoral students, showing that the DSA (a low-cost, scalable intervention requiring minimal institutional resources) can transform isolated experiences into connected communities of practice by demonstrating a specific peer structure (DSA), which is empirically shown to reduce attrition.
