The document summarizes the findings from a survey of staff at the Centre for Higher Education Development (CHED) at the University of Cape Town (UCT) who completed their PhDs while working at CHED/UCT. It discusses why they decided to pursue a PhD, how long it took them to complete, publications resulting from their PhD work, how their PhD was linked to their work at CHED/UCT, and what they gained from the experience. Key findings include that staff pursued PhDs due to interest in their topic and to gain academic authority, it took an average of 4.5 years to complete, and they gained increased self-confidence and a deeper theoretical understanding of their work.

1. The PhD in CHED Findings from a brief survey of staff who completed their PhD’s while working in CHED/UCT August 2009 Jeff Jawitz

2. The PhD completed - ADP

3. The PhD completed – Adult Education

4. The PhD completed – Higher Education

5. Why did you decided to do a PhD? Mainly interest in topic To be able to supervise PG’s “ it was about acquiring some academic ‘authority’ – necessary in order for the wider range of my work to be ‘taken seriously’.”

6. Time taken from registration to graduation Range: 3.5 to 5.5 yrs Average: 4.5 yrs Publications directly out of PhD (journals & book chapters only) Range : 2 – 8 Average: 4.5

7. What was the link between your PhD and your UCT/CHED work? deepen and enrich my teaching (Adult ed; HES; academic literacies) Informed my RPL work Informed curriculum work Helps our thinking about teaching practice (academic literacies/ lectures/ assessment) Researched my course & issues of access for disadvantaged students Inform our work with disciplines Direct link with development work (service learning; academic staff development)

8. What have you gained? I have been totally surprised by the degree to which my self confidence has increased. It is as if the PhD makes me feel that ‘I am ok, I have a voice’. I don’t fear nearly as much if I do a conference or paper presentation and some disagree with me. … I really feared that colleagues and others would ‘show me up’ and that I was not really able to make it in the university. I grew up theoretically and intellectually (from a baby to a teenager anyway) I started to understand experientially the business of the University as knowledge producer. I'm less of an advocate of 'good practice' and more appreciative of the complexity of any social practice -- more agnostic about 'development', more skeptical of change.