Graduate education in Canada has never been a model of efficiency. Every year, thousands of highly motivated and talented individuals fall victim to these in Canadian graduate programs. It is unnecessary, expensive, and most importantly, preventable. With notable exceptions, Canadian universities have either forgotten or chosen to ignore the ABD population. Substantial time and resources are spent on recruiting the best students possible into graduate programs, but they are content to let them drift away unfinished.
Some universities do offer individual and group coaching through their counselling services.
Internet-based thesis coaching, thesis support groups and writing workshops are effective but rare and poorly supported. 5 Dismissive attitudes towards the ABD problem has hampered lobbying efforts to improve graduate student support services. It is important to communicate the notion that in helping students finish their theses is an opportunity to improve both the efficiency of graduate studies and the quality of graduate student life. This should be a shared goal of graduate studies and university services. However, support services for graduate students remain a rarity in Canadian universities.