Comprehensive Exam Questions
Fall 2018

Instructions

Faculty in the EdD for Nurse Educators have constructed the following comprehensive examination for you to demonstrate your understanding of the content in your program of study. Each student must write and present a topic independently without assistance from other students or faculty. Students will not be allowed to use the Writing Center and are expected to follow The University of Alabama Honor Code.

First, you are expected to write a 15 to 20-page paper, giving full citations and using APA (6th edition). A list of references should be added. Papers should be suitable for submission for publication in a scholarly journal. Your exam should be typed, double-spaced, and 12 point font. All submitted papers are subject to verification of originality by turnitin.com

Second, you will prepare a formal presentation which will be presented for adjudication by a panel of three graduate faculty. The presentation is designed to test the student’s ability to integrate knowledge of curriculum, research, policy, and practicein nursing education. Students are expected to demonstrate a strong grasp of content salient to the topic, including research findings and methodological considerations. The student is expected to demonstrate mastery of relevant literature and critically summarized important issues, information, and conclusions. Presentations will be modeled after a professional academic conference presentation. Therefore there are a few guidelines that the student must follow:

  • Student presentations will be 30 minutes – around 10 minutes to present,at least 15 for questions.
  • The presentation content is part of the student’s exam therefore outside of these few guidelines students will develop and present material as they see fit
  • Group activities are not allowed.
  • Students must integrate technology into their presentations- each room will be equipped with a desktop, projector, and screen. Students will need to notify Angie Pretz one week prior to their assigned presentation date if they will need any other technology equipment
  • This other equipment may or may not be available to borrow from the college- students will need to make arrangements if their technological needs are outside what the college can provide
  • Students are to dress and act professionally

Graduate School Policy: Comprehensive Examination

A comprehensive qualifying examination is required of all doctoral candidates. This examination is given after

  • any foreign language/research skill requirements are met (PhD students only);
  • two full years of graduate study are completed; and
  • the supervisory committee deems the student to have adequate preparationin the major and minor fields of study.

The examination is conducted by the student's supervisory committee or other committee established in the program area. Whereas one of the purposes of the preliminary examination is to determine the student's research competence to begin work on a dissertation, the examination should be completed at least nine months before the degree is to be awarded.A student may take the final oral or written examination only twice. Failing the examination twice results in dismissal from the degree program and the Graduate School.

Timeline

Responses are due from all students as follows:

EdD
Questions distributed / July 14th
Responses due by midnight / August 14th
Presentations (10 am -- 5 pm) / August 24th
  • The Steering Committee will meet within a week to discuss results.
  • A letter informing students of their pass/fail status will be sent no later than two weeks after the presentation.

Retaking the Comprehensive Exam

The first opportunity to retake the comprehensive examination will be December 2018. Dates will be announced to any who select this option.

However, based upon the evaluation of the first test, the Steering Committee may recommenda student wait to retake the exam with Cohort 10 in summer 2019.

Assessment

For your information, the following rubricwill be used to evaluate your performance on the written and oral portions of the exam.