Student Support Services in Postgraduate Education: Reflecting on My Personal Experience in My Doctoral Studies Journey

Abstract

Student support services are critical to academic achievement, research competency, and prompt completion of postgraduate education, especially at the Ph.D. level. The degree of assistance provided by supervisors to Ph.D. candidates, as well as the support services provided by the faculty and institutional research office, are important elements determining the successful completion of doctorate studies within a specified timeframe. Effective student support services along the Ph.D. journey, help applicants overcome emotional and psychological problems while achieving their academic goals. This  autoethnographic reflexivity study argues that the retention of doctoral candidates in South Africa’s higher education system hinges on the support provided to postgraduate students. To reflect on my personal experience and assess the support I received from my supervisor during my doctoral studies, which enabled me to meet my deadline at a South African institution of higher learning, the persistence that I had demonstrated during my doctoral studies, and effective strategies of supporting PhD students based on my personal experience, this study employs an autoethnographic reflexivity approach. Thanks to my supervisor’s assistance during my Ph.D., I was exposed to a broader research environment, enabling me to expand beyond my thesis and complete my work on time. To aid Ph.D. candidates in their studies, I present practical solutions based on my own personal experience in the concluding section of this study.