This paper discusses the feeling of isolation among doctoral students; its' origin and the effect it has on the decision of the students to leave doctoral programs. The paper explains the development of isolation feeling within four stages of completing the program. It explains how each stage contributes to increasing the feeling of isolation among the students and then suggests counter measures to this feeling. Last, the paper presents the experience of a particular university located in Western Pennsylvania; the doctoral program of Information Systems and Communications (DISC) at Robert Morris University (RMU) that has been able to graduate students at a rate that is substantially higher than the national average.

The purpose of this paper is to create a framework for dealing with social isolation in doctoral programs. Previous studies have focused on the issue of attrition among doctoral students and the factors that cause the same students to drop-out prior to completing their degrees. Among the factors that affect students' decisions to leave doctoral programs is the feeling of social isolation. However, such previous studies have focused on identifying the causes rather than establishing a framework for dealing with isolation feeling in doctoral programs. This paper intends to fill in the gap and to establish a framework for dealing with isolation feelings in order to minimize doctoral attrition.

This paper discusses the feeling of isolation among doctoral students; its' origin and the effect it has on the decision of the students to leave doctoral programs. The paper explains the development of isolation feeling within four stages of completing the program. It explains how each stage contributes to increasing the feeling of isolation among the students and then suggests counter measures to this feeling. Last, the paper presents the experience of a particular university located in Western Pennsylvania; the doctoral program of Information Systems and Communications (DISC) at Robert Morris University (RMU) that has been able to graduate students at a rate that is substantially higher than the national average.

The purpose of this paper is to suggest topics that may be covered in an introductory programming using Java programming language at a typical Information Systems (IS) program. The paper begins by explaining in general terms three different methods that are used for teaching introductory courses in programming. It then clarifies some common characteristics that distinguish IS programming courses. Last, the paper recommends topics that may be covered for an introductory programming course using Java as the selected programming language in an IS program.

This exploratory research study examined the perceived behaviors of doctoral students by faculty member mentors through a concurrent triangulation design using quantitative survey and ethnography observational methods. Through the perspective of Kirton's Adaption-Innovation theory, a doctoral cohort class was observed over the length of their studies. The cohort's faculty members, acting as mentors, hypothesized that some student's behavioral attitude changed from the initial course to the final stages of dissertation submission. This study shows that some doctoral students exhibited coping behaviors that indicated a perceived behavioral shift. Through the awareness of these behaviors, faculty members could develop techniques to help manage the mentor and mentee relationship.