204
Supervision and Examinations
204.2
The Structure of Examining Committees
204.2 The Structure of Examining Committees
Formal examining committees are required for thesis-based master’s final examination, doctoral candidacy examinations, and doctoral final examinations. Members of these examining committees perform two functions: 1) they bring disciplinary knowledge and expertise to the assessment of the thesis, and 2) they ensure that the University's expectations are met regarding the conduct of the examination, adherence to all relevant policies, and the suitability of the thesis for the degree.
204.2.1 The Chair
Every examining committee must have a chair who is not a supervisor but is a member of the student’s home department. The chair should have sufficient experience of graduate examinations to be able to allow the examination to be conducted in a fair manner, and is responsible for moderating the discussion and directing questions. It is the chair's responsibility to ensure that departmental and FGSR regulations relating to the final examination are followed. If the chair is not an examiner, then the chair does not vote. The FGSR encourages, and for doctoral examinations strongly recommends, that committee chairs not be examiners.
204.2.2 Examiners
Examiners are full voting members of the examining committee. With the exception of the Dean, FGSR, the Dean of the department’s Faculty, or a Pro Dean (Dean’s representative), who may participate fully in the examination, persons other than the examiners may attend only with the prior approval of the Dean, FGSR, the Dean of the department’s Faculty, or the chair of the examining committee. With the possible exception of the Pro Deans, all examiners must be either active in the general subject area of the student’s research, or bring relevant expertise to the assessment of the thesis.
204.2.3 Arm's Length Examiners
An arm’s length examiner must not be (or have been) a member of the supervisory committee, or have been connected with the thesis research in a significant way. The examiner should not have been associated with the student, outside of usual contact in courses or other non-thesis activities within the University, nor be related to the student or supervisor(s).
Except in special circumstances (fully justified in writing to the Dean of the department’s Faculty), an arm’s length examiner should not be a close collaborator of the supervisor(s) within the last six years.
Arm’s length examiners who have served on a student’s candidacy examination committee do not lose their arm’s length status as a result, and are eligible to serve as arm’s length examiners on the student’s doctoral final examination if the other conditions of being arm’s length remain unchanged.
In the case of a doctoral final examination, the required External (i.e., the arm’s length examiner from outside the University of Alberta) is, by definition, an arm’s length examiner.
Every examining committee requires a minimum number of arm’s length examiners: At least one for a master’s final examination, at least two for a candidacy examination, and at least two for a doctoral final examination.
Compliance with the University of Alberta’s Conflict Policy – Conflict of Interest and Commitment, and Institutional Conflict is mandatory.
204.2.4 Ex-Officio Examiners
The supervisor(s), and, for doctoral students, the other members of the student’s supervisory committee, are ex-officio members of the examining committee.
204.2.5 Minimum Membership Requirements for Examining Committees
At least half of the examiners on every examining committee must have a degree which is equivalent to, or higher than, the degree being examined.
At least half of the examiners on every examining committee must be tenured, tenure-track, or retired University of Alberta faculty members, or Faculty Service Officers, (current or retired categories A1.1, A1.3, or current category C1.1, as defined in the University of Alberta’s Recruitment Policy (Appendix A) Definition and Categories of Academic Staff and Colleagues).
204.2.6 Minimum Size of an Examining Committee
By definition, no individual can be both an arm’s length examiner and an ex-officio examiner on the same examining committee.
The minimum size of a master’s final examining committee is three. This minimum size condition is automatically met except when the student has one supervisor, no supervisory committee, and there is only one arm’s length examiner on the examining committee. In this case, the examining committee requires at least one more examiner.
For doctoral candidacy and doctoral final examinations, the minimum size of the examining committee is five.
