SGS: Final Oral Examinations

Please note that the below memo regarding a change in SGS policy shouldn't affect our Department in any way. Our departmental policy of holding an extra departmental thesis presentation before the final includes a requirement that one of the 4 members of the examing committee be someone who has not worked closely with the student's thesis.

Therefore, this person with the addition of an outside appraiser for the final exam already puts us in compliance with this new SGS rule.
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SGS #003, 2011-2012

TO: Graduate Chairs, Directors, Coordinators and Administrators
Vice-Deans and Administrators in Faculty Graduate Offices

FROM: Brian Corman, Dean of Graduate Studies and Vice-Provost, Graduate Education

CC: Council of Graduate Deans, School of Graduate Studies Staff

Date: November 21, 2011

RE: FINAL ORAL EXAMINATIONS

I am writing to update you on changes to the composition of the Final Oral Examination (FOE) Committee and to remind you of the SGS regulations and best practices for the scheduling of the Final Oral Examination and the appointment of external appraisers.

I: CHANGES TO THE COMPOSITION OF EXAMINATION COMMITTEE

At the Graduate Education Council on Tuesday 15 November 2011, the following change was approved, effective 1 July 2012.

Increase the required number of voting members of the examination committee who have not been closely involved in the supervision of the thesis from at least one to at least two.

This change does not affect any of the following:
· the number of voting members of the examination committee (four to six members);
· the number of voting members required for quorum (four voting members;
· the number of voting members who have served on the supervisory committee (one to three members).

This change does affect:
· the composition of the examination committee required for quorum. As of July 1, 2012, there must be at least two voting members who have not been closely involved in the supervision of the thesis.

This change reflects current practice in many graduate units, ensuring that the examination committee has at least two members who are at arm’s length from the thesis.

SGS recommends that one of the arm’s length members should be the external appraiser. In order to ensure quorum, SGS recommends that the proposed examination committee consist of three arm’s length members plus at least two members of the supervisory committee. These numbers can be adjusted as appropriate as the day of the exam draws near.

II: SCHEDULING OF THE FINAL ORAL EXAMINATION

Although the SGS Calendar describes an eight (8) week lead time for the Final Oral Examination(1), SGS is exercising flexibility for the scheduling of Final Oral Examinations in line with our guidelines

. . . at least six weeks before the date that the examination is to be held, inform the Doctoral Examinations Office that the thesis is ready to go forward for defense,
specifying the examination date and time.(2)

Graduate units are free to establish their own schedule for the submission of the dissertation, provided that they adhere to the six week time frame. The graduate unit schedule must reflect the fact that the external appraiser must be approved by SGS before the thesis is sent out. The Final Oral Examination online pre-approval system greatly facilitates this process and, generally, SGS is able to respond
within 48 hours.

Graduate units should allow sufficient time for the process of arranging and scheduling the Final Oral Examination and clearly communicate to students the length of time that is generally required in the unit to make the necessary arrangements.

III: ELIGIBILITY OF EXTERNAL APPRAISER

To ensure a speedy response to the nomination of an external appraiser, please consider the following regulations:

· The supervisor of the thesis will propose a list of three or more names of possible external appraisers to the Graduate Coordinator or Chair, who will choose one and send the recommendation to SGS for approval.
· The graduate unit will certify that the external appraiser has an arm’s length relationship to the candidate and supervisor.
· The external appraiser should be a recognized expert on the subject of the thesis and should be external to the university as well as to its affiliated teaching hospitals and research institutes.
· Such an individual must be an associate or full professor at the home institution or, if the individual comes from outside the academic sector, must possess the qualifications to be appointed to an academic position at this level.(3)

Further information on best practices on eligibility can be found in the SGS Guidelines for the Doctoral Final Oral Examination available at:
http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/Assets/SGS+Digital+Assets/governance/policies/FOEGuidelines2010.pdf

Please contact Liz Smyth, Vice Dean, Programs, for further information or clarification on any of the items described above.
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1 http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/calendar/2011-12/genreg/supervision/FOE.htm
2 http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/Assets/SGS+Digital+Assets/governance/policies/FOEGuidelines2010.pdf
3 http://www.sgs.utoronto.ca/calendar/2011-12/genreg/supervision/FOE.htm