At Western Michigan University, the Graduate Center for Research, Writing, and Proposal Development sustains both doctoral students and graduate advising faculty through the doctoral dissertation process and represents one best practices approach that promotes persistence in graduate education--an especially important benefit, given the national doctoral attrition rate of 50%. Document analysis of the records of graduated doctoral students reveals important information that correlates to students' trajectories through the doctoral educational process and that informs programmatic initiatives aimed at retention and graduation. The data also inform institutional policies and procedures that further sustain educational pathways to the Ph.D. (Contains 2 notes.)