The following instructions are guidelines to the conduct of an examination and specify the consequences of the balloting at the end of the examination.
ATTENDANCE OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS
- Each members must have Graduate Faculty status. Please see the Graduate Faculty Directory.
- Each member is expected to attend the entire examination. Those who cannot do so should ask the advisor and the Dean of the Graduate School to appoint another graduate faculty member.
- Under no circumstance should the examination be held without a full complement of committee members. If at the time of the examination a committee member is absent, the student’s adviser must notify the Graduate Dean, find a suitable replacement, or cancel the examination.
- To verify that the replacement is a member of the Graduate Faculty, the adviser should first check Graduate Faculty Directory.
LENGTH OF THE EXAMINATION
- There is no time limit set by the Graduate School. However, at least two (2) hours, but not more than three (3) hours, should be scheduled for an examination. If questioning is not completed in a reasonable length of time, the examination may be adjourned until a later date, which is not to exceed three (3) weeks from the scheduled examination date.
THESIS
- If a thesis is presented, each committee member should be given a copy to read at least seven (7) working days prior to the examination.
- The oral examination is not to be held until the thesis is in final draft (except for minor points brought out during the examination).
- A vote to fail the candidate or adjourn the examination may be cast if the thesis is incomplete or requires substantial rewriting.
- While the vote on the doctoral orals is primarily concerned with the dissertation, the vote on the Master’s oral is a vote on the adequacy of the candidate’s knowledge of the course work and defense of the thesis.
WRITTEN EXAMINATIONS
- If written questions constitute a part of the examination the major adviser should extend an invitation to each committee member to review responses at least three (3) days prior to the oral examination.
VOTING
- Committee members may discuss any topic concerning the candidate’s performance and qualification. A vote to pass, fail, or adjourn the examination to a later date may be cast. Committee members must cast their votes independently.
- A candidate will pass the examination if all votes but one (1) are to pass.
- A candidate will fail if there are two (2) or more votes to fail.
- The examination will be adjourned if there are two (2) or more votes to adjourn.
- If the vote is to adjourn, the examination must reconvene within three (3) weeks.
- Two votes of fail override two (2) votes to adjourn.
- One (1) vote to fail and one (1) vote to adjourn are not acceptable and an additional ballot or ballots must be cast.
- A committee member may move to delete the designation of a minor with the concurrence of the committee.
GRADUATE SCHOOL DEAN'S REPRESENTATIVE
- The Dean’s Representative will call the oral examination to order.
- If a thesis or dissertation is presented the dean’s representative shall determine that the thesis is in final draft form as required.
- It is the responsibility of the student and the adviser to bring the thesis or dissertation into a final presentable form per the templates provided by the Graduate School.
- In the event that the thesis or dissertation is found not to be in such form, the examination shall be adjourned and the Dean of the Graduate School must be notified immediately.
- It is the responsibility of the Dean’s Representative to see that the ground rules are discussed and understood by all present for the examination.
- Following this the major adviser assumes the chair and is responsible for presiding over the questioning of the candidate.
- Each member of the committee shall be given sufficient time and opportunity to question the candidate.
- After questioning of the candidate is complete, the Dean’s Representative will resume the chair. General discussion of the examination and the candidate’s performance should be allowed before voting to Pass, not to Pass, or Adjourn.
- The Dean’s Representative tallies the vote, announces the result, and completes the nexessary forms indicated at Graduate School Forms.
- The Dean’s Representative is responsible for electronic (preferred) delivery of the forms to grad-degrees@nmsu.edu.
Under no circumstances shall the forms be shared with the students.
VISITORS
- All doctoral comprehensive oral examinations are open to all graduate faculty members and the doctoral final examinations are open to members of the graduate faculty and the scholarly community.
- At the comprehensive examination, a member of the graduate faculty may ask questions of the candidate after examination by the committee members and at the final Doctoral examination, any visitor may question the candidate.
- Visitors to other examinations must obtain the permission of the candidate and the chair of the committee before attending.
- Questions from visitors should be restricted to the thesis or the clarification of prior answers and should not introduce new topics.
- Visitors’ questions should be addressed to the chair, who may use discretion in addressing them to the candidate. The length of time devoted to questioning of the candidate by visitors is at the discretion of the major advisor.
- Visitors should arrive before the examination begins and will be excused when the questioning of the candidate is completed.
