The Role of the Dissertation Chair
The dissertation is the hardest part of any doctoral program because it forces the student to leave his/her comfort zone and embark on what some call a voyage of self-discovery. At the center of the doctoral student's dissertation experience is the dissertation chair, a professor who plays several roles and wears a number of hats.
There is no doubt that some dissertation chairs are good and others need improvement. What separates the good ones from the great ones is the chair's ability to assume a role appropriate for the situation. The one-role chair will likely not see a student through a program. Most of the roles a dissertation chair plays fall into four categories.
The advocate
A dissertation chair is a champion of the doctoral student's cause. If the chair doesn't believe in the student's competencies as a researcher, the student is doomed to endless dissertation revisions. Since the dissertation is a social process, the chair is the doctoral student's first line of defense against people and circumstances pushing the student off track.
Any good dissertation chair will tell you that part of the chair's job is protecting the student from other committee members. Like a matrix organizational structure, doctoral students have multiple bosses, all of whom the student must satisfy. The advocate dissertation chair makes certain that other committee members are not asking the student to make changes to the dissertation that deviate from the original goals set forth in the proposal. The time to disapprove of any aspect of the dissertation was during the proposal rather than dissertation stage.
The manager
Managers are drivers of subordinates; they keep track of mistakes, chart progress, and engage in transactional relationships. Although he/she sounds like a tyrant, the manager makes an excellent dissertation chair at times because he/she initiates a clear path from start to finish. Over critical at times, a manager's use of mistakes and missed deadlines as progress indicators makes progression through the dissertation move at a steady pace.
Unfortunately, there are times when a dissertation chair wears the manager's hat too long. Use of transactions to move the student through the process starts taking on characteristics of a whip and a chair rather than a method of ensuring progress. The student begins to see the chair as someone who is overcritical, someone who must find fault and can't move out of a criticizing role.
There is a fine line between managers and leaders but the difference lies in how the chair motivates the student. Whereas the manager initiates structure and drives within it, the leader inspires the student through intellectual stimulation; the leader motivates the student by pointing out that there is more to completing the dissertation than material reward. If done correctly, the student begins to view the chair as charismatic, possessing skills the student would like to possess him/herself.
Proving that too much of a good thing is unhealthy, the highly charismatic leader spends too much time with his/her head in the clouds and not long enough with feet on the ground. The result is a doctoral student who is inspired to do something but doesn’t know what that actually is. A dissertation chair must recognize when a student needs inspiration and when he/she needs solid help.
A dissertation chair is a judge, a gatekeeper who ensures that a student meets personal, departmental, university, and even universal standards. Even so, this does not mean that the goal of the dissertation chair is to constantly maintain a superior-subordinate relationship with the student. The most successful chair-student relationships are the ones in which the chair bestows the role of colleague on the candidate.
Giving up a superior position is difficult for anyone. A common reason students fail to finish a dissertation timely has to do with the chair's inability to accept someone who was once a subordinate as an equal. As a judge, the chair must ensure that the student's behaviors and outcomes are those befitting someone who will soon be regarded as an independent researcher and creator of knowledge. Still, the chair must learn to recognize when it is time to step down as judge and welcome a new member to the club.
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Doctoral committee responsibilities, responsibilities of the chair.
The Chair will be selected on the basis of content expertise. This should include topic interest or subject matter expertise, experience in dissertation direction, or methodology expertise. The Chair is responsible for guiding the candidate to produce doctoral level, original scholarship in the proposed topic area. The Chair must be a member of the LEAD faculty and hold Full graduate faculty status.
The Chair’s responsibilities include:
Being familiar with current dissertation policies and procedures in the LEAD program
Advising the candidate from the Prospectus stage through the final defense of the Dissertation
Guiding the candidate in the selection of Dissertation committee members
Guiding the candidate to set a realistic timeline for completion of the Dissertation
Responsibly assigning the candidate a grade of SP (successful progress) or NP (no progress) each semester
Guiding the candidate toward achieving a high level of technical and ethical quality in the Dissertation research
Assisting the candidate in developing a quality Prospectus and in navigating the Prospectus approval process
Providing guidance on the research proposal structure, formatting, content and setting clear expectations for timely completion of the Proposal
Guiding the candidate in the selection of methods/procedures for data collection and analysis*
Assisting the candidate in the Dissertation Proposal defense process
Assisting the candidate in navigating the IRB approval process
Assisting the candidate in data collection and analysis*
Preparing the candidate for the defense process
* If a separate Methodologist is assigned, the Chair may serve in a support role.
In special circumstances, with program approval, a Co-Chair arrangement may be appropriate for a particular subject matter. In the case of a Co-Chair arrangement, one of the two Co-Chairs must be a member of the LEAD faculty and hold Full graduate faculty status.
Responsibilities of the Committee Members
All members of the candidate’s committee share responsibility in ensuring that the candidate produces high-quality scholarship. Committee members are responsible for reading manuscripts within the agreed-upon minimum 14 day time frame (per committee member), suggesting substantive editorial changes, and providing rationale for their support and critiques. Committee members who perceive major flaws that are likely to result in a candidate’s unsuccessful defense should discuss these concerns with the candidate and Chair immediately.
Committee member’s responsibilities include:
In cooperation with the Chair, advising the candidate from the Prospectus stage through the final defense of the Dissertation
Provide subject matter expertise as requested by Chair or candidate
Reading drafts and providing meaningful feedback at each defense stage of the dissertation process
Guiding the candidate in the selection of methods/procedures for data collection and analysis**
Assisting the candidate in data collection and analysis**
Corresponding with the Chair and candidate as needed for clarification/resolution of methodological issues during the Dissertation process**
** Methodologist only (if the Chair is not performing both roles). A Methodologist should be selected who has particular expertise in the type of study the candidate is pursuing (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods).
Responsibilities of the Dissertation Candidate
The candidate is expected to engage in active preparation of the Dissertation process from the onset of the doctoral program. Candidates are responsible for choosing a topic, submitting proofread drafts of materials to the Chair, preparing adequately for meetings, thoroughly reviewing all Dissertation policies and procedures, and communicating on a regular basis with the Chair via the Dissertation course space or other communication modality. The candidate is expected to maintain a respectful and professional attitude at all times.
Candidates are expected to maintain contact with the Chair and Methodologist throughout the Dissertation process to ensure that the research and writing adhere to the agreed-upon plan. As the project is the candidate’s responsibility, s/he must frequently keep the Chair informed of progress. All communication for the Dissertation process is accomplished (and therefore documented) in the Learning Management System (UTC Learn) and all drafts are submitted and feedback returned through the Learning Management System (UTC Learn). The candidate should contact the Chair in the event of any significant changes in his/her personal or professional life which may interfere with program completion. Occasionally, face-to-face meetings may be scheduled with your Chair, Methodologist, or the whole committee. In order to document this part of the dissertation process, immediately following a face-to-face meeting (within 48 hours), the candidate should post a detailed summary of the meeting in the Dissertation course space.
In addition, candidates are expected to maintain regular contact with the Program Office via email ( [email protected] ).
Communicating with the Committee
The Chair will determine when a document is ready for electronic review by the committee and will initiate communication amongst committee members. The candidate should avoid consulting the full committee for feedback without prior approval of the Chair. A minimum of four meetings with the committee is required: Prospectus defense, Proposal defense, Pre-defense of the final manuscript, and the final Dissertation defense. The Chair will notify the Program Office via email ( [email protected] ) of the date/time/location of all committee defense meetings. Committee participation from a distance may be facilitated through video conference, phone conference, or other electronic media as approved.
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Checklist for Dissertation Chairs
The dissertation committee chair, working with department administrative staff, helps steer the student through the intellectual stages and institutional requirements of doctoral degree work. Advising practices vary from discipline to discipline. However, the outline that follows provides widely applicable guidelines to a chair’s key responsibilities.
The Student-Advisor Relationship
- Coach the student about your working style and what the student can do to contribute to a good working relationship. (See and refer the student to, How to Get the Mentoring You Want , especially “How to Be a Good Protege,” in Chapter VIII.)
- If you become aware of significant problems or weaknesses (e.g., in the student’s writing, research-related skills, or personal life), refer the student to appropriate resources .
- Be aware of students’ individual situations and working style. Occasionally assess how they are doing (e.g., whether they are working well with you and seeking appropriate mentoring from others). See Part Two of Rackham’s, How to Mentor Graduate Students: A Guide for Faculty in a Diverse University .
The Dissertation
- Help the student to select and refine the dissertation topic, avoiding overly ambitious goals and expectations.
- Help the student formulate a long-term plan for the research and writing of the dissertation, including a timetable and tentative completion date. Ask the student to revise the plan, if needed.
- Reach agreement with the student as to how often he or she will consult with you and submit work for you to critique.
- Seek a progress report from the student at least once a term.
The Dissertation Committee
- Assist the student with selecting faculty members to serve on the dissertation committee ( membership guidelines ).
- (For Co-Chairs) Consult with each other to divide up your supervisory responsibilities, and then inform the student.
- Make sure everyone on the committee is familiar with the roles of Chair or Co-Chair, cognate, and the other members. How closely and frequently members other than the Chair(s) engage with the student’s work varies, all should be in regular contact.
- Work with the student to schedule and plan for committee meetings, taking into account the norms of the department or program.
- If a member of the committee is not responding to the student’s communication or failing to review the draft sections of the dissertation in a reasonable amount of time, coach the student about how to proceed, or intervene directly if the problem is severe. If all efforts fail, encourage the student to consider finding a replacement.
- Take responsibility for dealing with conflicts among committee members. (e.g., personal conflict and intellectual disputes that create a roadblock for the student).
Supervising Research
- Emphasize data collection and record keeping.
- Go over ethical issues, including human subject and animal care protections.
- Build backup ideas into any research project.
- Follow the student’s development and make adjustments in assignments.
- Be aware of conflicts in a research group, and when they arise, take steps to mediate.
Administrative Matters
- Tell the student to work with the department or program administrative staff to meet Rackham requirements such as filing an up to date Dissertation Committee Form .
- Where feasible, assist the student in securing funds, such as fellowships, GSIs, GSRAs, research and travel funds.
- If the Candidate needs to petition Rackham for an extension to the seven-year time limit, provide the necessary support but require the student to develop a plan for completing the degree.
The Oral Defense
- Tell the student to seek help from the department or program administrative staff about fulfilling Rackham requirements in the final stages of earning the degree.
- Be sure the student and the committee know that Rackham policy requires that the oral defense must be conducted as a public event, (except for the Committee’s private deliberations either before or after the defense), open to all interested persons.
- Before the student schedules the oral defense date, be sure the student knows the date in the term of final registration by which the defense must be held. Also, the student must be able to give the entire dissertation to the committee sufficiently in advance of the meeting. This must be at least two weeks before the defense but can be as much as three or four weeks, depending on the Committee.
- If the student is unable to meet the aforementioned deadline for distributing the dissertation, ask the student to postpone the defense unless you are certain all committee members have critiqued earlier drafts and, therefore, should be able to submit the oral defense evaluation forms on time. It is devastating when a student learns about major concerns shortly before the oral defense because the faculty member hadn’t read the student’s work previously .
- Prepare the student for the oral defense, in accordance with the traditions of the department and/or the wishes of the committee. (Note: The committee will need to decide how long the defense itself will last; there are no prescribed guidelines.)
- If you learn that one or more members of the committee have not submitted the Oral Defense Evaluation Form by the Rackham deadline, contact the committee member(s) immediately.
- If there appear to be serious concerns about the student’s work, advocate for a delay in the oral defense. Dissertations should be approved based on the quality of the work, not because of other pressures (e.g., a job offer contingent upon completion; the expense of registering for a further term, etc.).
- Before the defense begins, the committee must review all the members’ written evaluations and identify the topics they will raise and their sequence. If any of these activities has not been done in advance, excuse the student and others from the room to do so.
- At the defense, make sure it’s clear which committee member(s) will sign off on the required revisions.
- After the defense, submit the completed Oral Defense Examination Form, and, if no revisions or corrections are needed, the Dissertation Completion Form.
- If revisions and/or corrections are required, make sure the Dissertation Completion Form is submitted as soon as possible after the dissertation has been completed and approved.
Launching the Student’s Career
- Ask students to do tasks they will need to do after they get into the field.
- Encourage students to attend professional meetings, and when the two of you attend the same meeting, actively help them to network.
- Speak honestly to students about their strengths and weaknesses (e.g., not everyone can succeed as a faculty member).
- If appropriate to your field, call people to help students seek positions and be deliberate and careful about treating them fairly in this regard.
- Prepare students to consider the full range of career possibilities appropriate to their field.
- If the student’s dissertation is outstanding, consider nominating it for the ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award .
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Dissertation Chair: An Owner’s Manual
Published by dr. courtney watson on july 21, 2022 july 21, 2022.
Last Updated on: 22nd July 2022, 01:28 pm
One of the most important faculty members in a doctoral student’s academic life is their dissertation chair. Part mentor, part administrator, the dissertation chair’s role encompasses responsibilities that directly impact your graduate experience. Prior to starting your dissertation, it’s important to understand the scope of your dissertation chair’s duties and how to make the most of your time with them.
These are a few frequently asked questions about dissertation chairs:
- How do I choose my dissertation chair?
- What does a dissertation chair do?
- What if I don’t get along with my dissertation chair?
How Do I Choose My Dissertation Chair?
Once you have completed your coursework and been given the green light to start your dissertation, it’s time to make the all-important choice about who will guide you through the final gauntlet of your Ph.D. program. It’s a big decision, so it’s imperative to take your time and select the right person. There are a few factors to take into consideration before asking your top choice.
My best advice is to approach a faculty member familiar with your subject area and with whom you have a good rapport. Whose classes did you do well in? Which faculty member has shown the most interest in your research and coursework? Who are you the most comfortable with? Past history makes a solid foundation for a productive partnership. It’s wise to find someone who is available, knowledgeable, and excited to work with you.
What Does a Dissertation Chair Do?
A dissertation chair’s job is to guide you through the process of completing the most rigorous academic challenge of your life . They are a sounding board for your ideas, they offer guidance for getting started and avoiding major obstacles, and they help you prepare for each milestone in the dissertation process . Those are the basics, though a good dissertation chair will tend to be more involved.
When thinking about what you want in a dissertation chair, good communication is key. Your dissertation chair should be responsive to emails, offer clear feedback in a timely manner, and be available to meet (either in person or via Zoom) regularly. In my experience, graduate students are sometimes afraid to ask their dissertation chair for help for fear of bothering them, which is often a matter of simply not understanding that it’s their chairs’ job to offer oversight and be available to their dissertation students.
What If I Don’t Get Along with My Dissertation Chair?
Unfortunately, this is a common problem faced by many doctoral students. First, know that you’re not alone. Conflicts arise between doctoral students and their dissertation chairs all the time, stemming from benign neglect, miscommunication, disengagement, or even personality conflicts. Whatever the reason for the disconnect, it can be a very stressful situation.
If you’re struggling with your dissertation chair, fear not. Problems can often be resolved with a meeting to get back on track to discuss the issue and plan a path forward together. If you still feel insufficiently supported, a dissertation consultant might be able to provide additional expertise and guidance . Speaking to your graduate advisor or department chair is the next step for learning about your options and getting the issue resolved.
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Dr. Courtney Watson has research, professional, and dissertation committee experience in the humanities and social sciences, health sciences, education, and liberal arts. With a background in peer-reviewed qualitative research and scholarship, she is skilled at coaching clients through the developmental phases of dissertation research, writing, revision, feedback analysis, and citation. She also offers thoughtful and thorough academic job market preparation, guidance through the dissertation process, and higher education career advice. Book a Free Consultation with Courtney Watson
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Dissertation Committee: Roles, Functions, and How to Choose
The path to a dissertation is filled with choices that determine the quality of your experience as a student as well as the future strength of your professional network.
Choosing your dissertation committee is one of the most important decisions–and one of the most fraught–that you’ll make as a graduate student. With the stakes being so high, many doctoral students worry about making a misstep and getting it wrong.
Fear not! Putting together your dissertation committee becomes easier once you know the right questions to ask: of potential committee members, of your dissertation chair, and of yourself. While forming your dissertation committee can be challenging, striking the right balance will lead to a richly rewarding academic experience that will pay dividends throughout your career. Do your homework, and you’ll be just fine.
Dissertation Committee Questions
- What does a dissertation committee do?
- Who serves on your dissertation committee?
- How do you choose dissertation committee members?
- What can you expect from your dissertation committee?
What Does a Dissertation Committee Do?
The basic function of your dissertation committee, which typically consists of five members, is to guide you through the process of proposing, writing, and revising your dissertation.
Dissertation committee members serve in a mentoring capacity, offering constructive feedback on your writing and research, as well as guiding your revision efforts. They are also the gatekeepers of the ivory tower, and the ultimate judges of whether or not your dissertation passes muster.
The dissertation committee is usually formed once your academic coursework is completed. It is not uncommon in the humanities and social sciences for dissertation committee members to also write and evaluate qualifying exams, and of course serve as faculty. By the time you begin working on your dissertation, you may know the faculty members who will serve on your dissertation committee quite well.
Who Serves on Your Dissertation Committee?
To a degree, who serves on your dissertation committee is up to you. Dissertation committees usually consist mostly of faculty members from the doctoral student’s home department, though this can vary due to the rise of interdisciplinary programs.
Some universities also allow an outside expert–a former professor or academic mentor from another university–to serve on your committee. It’s advisable to choose faculty members who know you and who are familiar with your work.
While it’s a good idea to have a mix of faculty members, it’s also important to be mindful about the roles they can play. For instance, I always advise graduate students working in quantitative fields to have a statistician on their committee. When there’s big data to crunch, it never hurts to have a stats expert in your corner. You’ll also want at least one faculty member–besides your chair–whose research is in the same relative area as yours, or adjacent to it.
How to Choose Dissertation Committee Members
Think Carefully. It’s tempting to approach a faculty member who is a superstar in their field (if not, necessarily, in yours) to lend a little extra sparkle to your own academic credentials. Or perhaps the kindly professor you can always count on for an easy A. Or even the faculty member you’d like to be friends with after graduate school. Right?
Not so fast. Here are some things to keep in mind when building your dissertation committee dream team:
- Avoid Superstars. Though the prospect of having your department’s most eminent name on your committee sounds exciting, their star power comes with a price. Between guest lectures, books, keynotes, and conference travel, their time is not their own, and it won’t be yours, either. Choose dissertation committee members who have time for you.
- Choose faculty members you know, like, and can learn from. It’s not a bad idea to approach a professor whose coursework challenged you. One of the professors who served on my committee was such an exacting grader that my term papers for her courses were accepted for publication without revision (academia’s most coveted mythical creature).
- Keep your eyes on the future. Members of your dissertation committee can be your mentors, co-authors, and research collaborators throughout your career. Choose them wisely.
Forming Your Dissertation Committee
Reaching out to potential dissertation committee members and formally asking them to serve on your dissertation committee can be a surprisingly taxing process. It takes some planning, and you’ll want to put some thought into it before making the big ask. While being asked to serve on a dissertation committee won’t come as a surprise to most faculty–they know the drill–these are some considerations to know going in:
- Talk to your advisor before approaching anyone to be on your committee. Remember, your advisor knows their colleagues in a way that you don’t, and is also aware of departmental politics, potential personality conflicts, and which faculty members are a good fit on a dissertation committee. Trust your advisor’s judgement.
- Know what you’re asking. Serving on a dissertation committee is a big time commitment for any faculty member. If they say yes to being on your committee, it means they are invested in you and your research, and they want to play a role in your future. It doesn’t hurt to send a thank-you note.
- Don’t sweat it if they say no. It does not reflect on you as a student or a scholar. A good faculty member is aware of their limitations, and they probably just don’t have the time or bandwidth to take on another big commitment. Thank them and move on.
Expectations
Once your dissertation committee is formed, it’s time to get down to business. As a faculty member, I love serving on dissertation committees because doing so gives me the chance to work with grad students one on one as they journey into new frontiers and carve a place for themselves in academia. It is a deep, rich learning experience, and it’s thrilling to watch students transform into scholars.
Even though researching and writing a dissertation is the most challenging work you’ll ever do, recognize this time for the opportunity it truly represents. In your dissertation committee, you have a panel of experts all to yourself, and they’re eager to help you knock your dissertation out of the park. This is the experience of a lifetime; take advantage of your dissertation committee’s time and talent, and channel that energy and goodwill into your development as a scholar.
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Courtney Watson, Ph.D.
Courtney Watson, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of English at Radford University Carilion, in Roanoke, Virginia. Her areas of expertise include undergraduate and graduate curriculum development for writing courses in the health sciences and American literature with a focus on literary travel, tourism, and heritage economies. Her writing and academic scholarship has been widely published in places that include Studies in American Culture , Dialogue , and The Virginia Quarterly Review . Her research on the integration of humanities into STEM education will be published by Routledge in an upcoming collection. Dr. Watson has also been nominated by the State Council for Higher Education of Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Rising Star Award, and she is a past winner of the National Society of Arts & Letters Regional Short Story Prize, as well as institutional awards for scholarly research and excellence in teaching. Throughout her career in higher education, Dr. Watson has served in faculty governance and administration as a frequent committee chair and program chair. As a higher education consultant, she has served as a subject matter expert, an evaluator, and a contributor to white papers exploring program development, enrollment research, and educational mergers and acquisitions.
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Dissertation and Thesis Committees: Student and Faculty Responsibilities
All doctoral programs and some master’s programs at UALR culminate in the completion of a dissertation or thesis. The purpose and content of dissertations and theses varies by program area, but their supervision is universally handled by a member of the UALR graduate faculty as chair and by a committee of graduate faculty. This sections outlines the Graduate School’s expectations for graduate student and graduate faculty interaction and responsibilities on dissertation and thesis committees.
Graduate Student Responsibilities
Concerning Rules and Requirements
- Be familiar with the Graduate Catalog and the rules and guidelines of the specific program they are enrolled in.
- Be thoroughly familiar with the current edition of the Dissertation and Thesis G uidelines , the core document that describes what is expected in a dissertation/thesis, including UALR’s unique conventions. This document includes all post-proposal and post-final defense steps that are required of students.
- Be aware of and comply with established defense and manuscript submission deadlines held by individual programs and the Graduate School.
- Obtain and maintain appropriate research certifications. Students may be required to complete human subject research training and responsible conduct of research (RCR) training. Students conducting research involving human subjects, animals, or biological materials must submit research protocols for review to the Institutional Review Board (IRB), Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and/or Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) before they begin their research.
Concerning the Dissertation or Thesis
- Craft and execute the dissertation or thesis through all its phases, including completion of a final manuscript that has been properly edited and that follows all of the conventions described in the current edition of the Dissertation and Thesis Guidelines published by the UALR Graduate School. Students with inter-institutional (e.g., UALR and UAMS) should check with their program coordinator to determine which institution’s guidelines to use for thesis and dissertation formatting.
- Submit only original work and properly cite the works of others that inform the study. Students should be familiar with UALR policies on academic dishonesty and plagiarism. Misconduct in these areas is treated seriously and may result in a range of penalties up to and including academic dismissal.
- Make substantive progress towards completion of their degree requirements, especially while being supported by a graduate assistantship. This applies even during the summer when the student may not be enrolled in classes.
Concerning the Committee
- Use the committee chair as the primary point of contact for developing ideas, selecting an appropriate committee (in consultation with the graduate coordinator), and developing early drafts. The committee chair should also serve as the gatekeeper for submitting materials to the committee and submitting a final manuscript to the Graduate School.
- Use the committee members as secondary points of contact for developing ideas, reviewing drafts, and submitting a final manuscript.
- Schedule regular meetings with the committee chair to discuss the project and its development. With the chair’s approval, students may also schedule meetings with members of the committee.
- Take personal initiative to move the project forward and discuss with the chair any problems that arise. If issues arise that cannot be resolved with the committee chair or that are best discussed with another person, the student may opt to discuss them with (in this order) the graduate coordinator; program or department chair; dean of the college; and the dean of the Graduate School.
- Recognize that crafting a dissertation is an ongoing process between the student and the chair and, often, between the student, the chair, and the committee.
- Maintain contact with their committees and make timely revisions when requested.
- Be mindful of the academic schedule of their chair and committee members. Students who want to finish and defend work over the summer (when faculty members’ availability may be limited) must get permission from their chair and committee members during the spring semester. Once permission has been granted, regular contact with the chair and committee members should continue over the summer. Before the end of the spring semester, the student and the chair should agree upon a method of contact and communication for the summer months.
- Check with their chair and committee members to find out if and when faculty may be unavailable due to off-campus duty assignments (OCDA). Depending on the faculty member’s schedule, students may be able to make arrangements to work with a chair or committee member on OCDA. Alternatively, the student may need to consult with the chair to identify a temporary or permanent replacement. Students must also be respectful of the fact that chairs and committees have many other time-intensive duties. Students must maintain realistic expectations about faculty workloads around holiday and vacation times as well as normal busy periods (e.g., beginnings and ends of semesters).
- Students who do not meet with their committee chairs over the summer should schedule an appointment with their chair within the first two weeks of the fall semester to provide evidence of their progress.
- Negotiate expectations early in the research effort regarding the publication of research and the ownership of research results generated as part of the dissertation/thesis project. Issues to be negotiated include authorship, the number and frequency of submissions, and any programmatic expectations concerning works published prior to the dissertation/thesis defense.
Committee Chair Responsibilities
- Recognize that, as the committee chair, he/she is a mentor who works closely with the student and has significant impact on the student’s training during his/her dissertation/thesis.
- Provide timely and thorough guidance on all aspects of the student’s graduate study, including the development of projects, the development of manuscript drafts, and the ethical conduct of research.
- Recommend appropriate members to serve on the committee and indicate when the student may circulate the drafts and the final version of the manuscript to members of the committee.
- Advise the student on proposal and final defense protocols.
- Ensure that students and their manuscripts are adequately prepared for the proposal and the defense.
- Facilitate the defense, take notes for the student at the defense, and discuss with the student any revisions that may be needed after the defense has been concluded.
- Help students develop appropriate timelines and procedures for completing dissertation or thesis. Students need to know how to schedule a defense date, how to prepare their manuscripts for the defense, how far in advance of the defense date the finished manuscript must be submitted to the committee, and the Graduate School’s deadlines for submitting the manuscript for review.
- Be accessible to students for dialogue and meetings as needed.
- Respond to student drafts in a timely manner. In general, committee chairs should provide feedback within 10 working days of receiving a draft. If more time is needed, the chair should contact the student to acknowledge receiving the draft and indicate how much additional time may be required for a response.
- Graduate faculty members who are chairing multiple committees should discuss their workload honestly with their students, setting clear, realistic expectations about how often and how quickly students can expect to receive feedback.
- Be thoroughly familiar with the Graduate Catalog as well as the rules and guidelines of the student’s specific program.
- Be thoroughly familiar with the material found in the current edition of the Dissertation and Thesis Guidelines , the core document that describes what is expected in a dissertation or thesis, including UALR’s unique conventions. This document includes all post-proposal and post-final defense steps that are required of students by the Graduate School.
- Maintain UALR graduate faculty status and certifications in the areas of human subjects research, animal research, biosafety, and the responsible conduct of research, if applicable.
- Monitor the student’s progress towards fulfilling all federal, state, local, and institutional compliance requirements. These include, but may not be limited to, IRB, IACUC, IBC, and RCR training (as defined in Item 4 under the section on “Graduate Student Responsibilities: Concerning Rules and Requirements”).
- Provide the editorial and citation support that students need to prepare a correctly edited manuscript or refer students to an outside resource for this purpose. Manuscripts with errors that are received by the Graduate School will be returned to the student for corrections.
- Respect the power differential that exists between the student and chair and not abuse the trust placed in the chair as a member of the graduate faculty and research mentor.
- If the student is a doctoral candidate, the chair should be present at graduation to hood the student unless alternative arrangements have been made.
- The chair can continue advising and assisting the student as normal, in which case the chair and the student must agree upon a method of communication while the chair is absent.
- The chair, in consultation with the student, may identify another qualified graduate faculty member–either temporarily (for the duration of the OCDA) or permanently–to serve as chair.
Committee Member Responsibilities
- Collaborate with the committee chair to provide timely and thorough guidance to the student as a mentor on all aspects of his or her graduate studies, including the development of projects, the development of manuscript drafts, and the ethical conduct of research.
- Respond to student drafts in a timely basis. Generally, committee members should provide feedback within 10 working days of receiving a draft. If more time is needed, the committee member should contact the student to acknowledge receiving the draft and indicate how much additional time may be required for a response.
- Graduate faculty members who are serving on multiple committees should discuss their workload honestly with students, setting clear, realistic expectations about how often and how quickly students can expect to receive feedback.
- Inform the committee chair of any feedback being provided to students outside of the formal defense settings.
- Respect the power differential that exists between a student and a committee member and not abuse the trust placed in the chair as a member of the graduate faculty and research mentor.
- Maintain UALR graduate faculty status and certifications in the areas of human subjects research, animal research, biosafety, and the responsible conduct of research, as applicable.
- The committee member can continue advising and assisting the student as normal, in which case the member and the student, in consultation with the committee chair, must agree upon a method of communication while the member is absent.
- The committee member, in consultation with the student and the committee chair, may identify another qualified graduate faculty member–either temporarily (for the duration of the OCDA) or permanently–to serve as his or her replacement on the thesis/dissertation committee.
Conflict Resolution
Conflicts occasionally arise between students and their dissertation/thesis chairs or committee members. Sources of conflict may include but are not limited to disagreement about a timeline for completing the project, disagreement about the direction of the study or the interpretation of the results, and disagreement about the content, style, and editing of the dissertation or thesis manuscript.
If a conflict is disrupting the progress of the dissertation/thesis, the student should follow the procedures below.
- The student must first make a documented attempt to resolve the issue with the chair or committee member who is involved in the conflict.
- If unable to resolve the conflict, the student may follow up with the chair (except in those instances when the conflict is with the chair), followed by the program coordinator or the department chairperson.
- If the conflict cannot be resolved within the department to the satisfaction of all parties, the chair or the student may forward the disagreement in writing to the dean of the Graduate School for further mediation.
Students should be aware that some committee members (including chairs) may resign from a committee if the student does not make timely progress toward completion. In addition, some students find that even without overt conflict, they may not be satisfied with their chair or with a committee member and wish to make a change.
Both students and faculty members can initiate action to change the membership of a committee, but this should be a collaborative, consensual process whenever possible. Students who wish to change committee members should demonstrate courtesy by communicating about the change directly with the faculty involved. Likewise, faculty who wish to resign from a committee should demonstrate courtesy by directly informing the student.
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Dissertation Chair Responsibilities. • Work with student and help them define their topic and methodology. Students choose who.
A dissertation chair is a judge, a gatekeeper who ensures that a student meets personal, departmental, university, and even universal standards. Even so, this
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Thesis and Dissertation. Roles and Responsibilities of the. Chair, Committee Members, and Students*. *If the academic department does not provide students
The committee chairperson will act as a mediator to resolve the situation and obtain a consensus. Walden intends that dissertation/doctoral study committee
A dissertation chair's job is to guide you through the process of completing the most rigorous academic challenge of your life. They are a
Dissertation committee members serve in a mentoring capacity, offering constructive feedback on your writing and research, as well as guiding
Collaborate with the committee chair to provide timely and thorough guidance to the student as a mentor on all aspects of his or her graduate studies, including