Overview
The information found on these pages will assist you with your responsibilities as the Chair appointed for a student’s Final Oral Exam(ination) (FOE).
The Chair of the Final Oral Examination (FOE) Committee is responsible for, and empowered to ensure, the proper conduct of the exam. The Chair is expected to exercise full control of the proceedings and is entitled to suspend or stop the exam if necessary.
The Chair is the representative of the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) at the examination and their responsibilities are:
- To guarantee that the candidate is given reasonable opportunity to defend the thesis;
- To ensure that it is the candidate alone, and not the Supervisor or any other member of the Committee, who defends the thesis;
- To protect the candidate from harassment.
On this page, you will find detailed information regarding:
- Before the exam
- Receiving examination details and documents
- Emergency Procedures
- Guidelines for Remote / Hybrid Exams
- During the exam
- Before the candidate enters
- Voting Procedures
- Exam results
- After the exam
- Completing the Chair Summary Form
- Submitting the Summary Form and Voting Ballots
Receiving the examination details and documents
At least 1–2 weeks before the exam, the candidate’s graduate administrator will provide the Chair’s Examination File, which should include:
- A copy of the FOE program (includes name of candidate, time, date and location of FOE, title of thesis, and names of all approved attendees; this should help you establish quorum and ensure that only approved persons are present);
- A copy of the thesis abstract, appraisal, FOE Guidelines, Chair Summary Form, and Voting Ballots; in addition, you may be provided with a letter from the unit with further explanation on local norms;
- Login information to the video conference (even if it is only the backup to the in-person FOE); and
- Relevant contact information for the graduate unit.
1 day before the exam, you should receive the following:
- A reminder from the graduate unit
- A reminder from the SGS Program Completion Office, which contains a unique link to upload the Chair Summary Form and voting ballots for the exam.
Emergency procedures
If you have an emergency and are unable to attend the exam:
Contact the candidate’s graduate administrator and copy SGS at sgs.doctoral@utoronto.ca as early as possible. The exam will be delayed until the Chair (you) arrive or are replaced if necessary.
If a member of the examination committee is missing and voting quorum cannot be achieved:
Contact the candidate’s graduate administrator and copy SGS at sgs.doctoral@utoronto.ca as early as possible. The exam will be delayed until the committee member arrives, or the candidate’s graduate administrator will find an eligible faculty member who has read the thesis.
IT / AV emergencies
- For an in-person, hybrid, or remote exam, please connect with local IT or AV support.
- For an in-person or hybrid exam using the rooms at SGS, visit the front desk at SGS, who will connect you with the Program Completion Office and local IT / AV support.
Guidelines for remote / hybrid exams
All participants, including the candidate, are to join the group 5 minutes before the exam is scheduled to begin to ensure all communication technologies are working smoothly and everyone can be heard.
At the beginning of the FOE, when the committee has an initial discussion of the dissertation, reviews the external appraisal, and determines order of questioning, the candidate will need to leave the room, or if using Zoom, hang up, be disconnected, or placed on hold. The Chair (or a member of the voting committee) can call or reconnect the student, once these preliminary procedures are complete.
During voting, the student will need to leave the room, or if using Zoom, hang up, be disconnected, or placed on hold be disconnected, or placed on hold. The Chair (or a member of the voting committee) can call or reconnect the student, once the voting process is complete, and the Chair has tallied the votes.
To collect the votes:
- Provide your email to the voting members at the start of the exam and let the committee members know that they will submit their vote to you by email.
- Prior to the voting period, read the exam result options to the committee (i.e., acceptable in a) its present form, b) with 1 month of revisions or c) with 3 months of revisions, or fail and reconvene within a year for first defenses only).
- Invite the voting members to submit their vote to you via email.
- Tally the votes to determine the outcome.
- Fill out the Chair Summary Form.
- Share the result with the committee and candidate.
- Submit the Chair Summary Form and votes to the Program Completion Office and Graduate Administrator (scan, picture, etc.).
Other considerations
Students with accessibility accommodations
You will be provided information about any accessibility accommodations indicated by Accessibility Services prior to the exam. Contact the candidate’s graduate administrator if you have any questions.
Acceptable devices and technologies
Hybrid or online exams should be held over Zoom or Teams.
Personal electronic devices (phones, tablets, etc.) must be turned off or silenced during the examination, except where votes are collected via email. Recording of any part of the proceedings, audio or video, is strictly prohibited.
Other items in the exam room
Candidates can bring food and drink into the exam room with the permission of the administrator of the room.
Before the candidate enters, the Chair:
- Confirms that a quorum of four voting members is present, comprising at least two non-supervisory voting members. Should a quorum not be present, the Chair must decide either to delay the examination or to postpone it to another date.
- Confirms that each member of the Committee has sufficient knowledge of the thesis to form a judgment as to its acceptability and hence that there will be no abstentions in voting on grounds of ignorance of the thesis content.
- Reminds the Committee that the examination covers both the thesis and the oral defense.
- Confirms that each member of the Committee has received and read the external appraisal and, if not, has the appraisal read aloud by one of the examiners. With the exception of a written report from any supervisor, no other written statements or letters of reference are permitted. Any of the examiners present may make an oral statement.
- Consults with the Committee to determine the order of questioning and whether the Chair or the Supervisor will invite the candidate to make the opening statement.
- Discusses with the Committee the most appropriate means for ensuring that questions raised in the external appraisal are addressed by the candidate.
- Reminds the Committee that all electronic devices should be disabled, unless an individual exceptional circumstance necessitates their use. If the use of such a device is necessary, it should be set to receive incoming communications in the least obtrusive manner possible, and the committee member should leave the room in order to respond to such communication.
The Chair admits the candidate and the non-committee members, if any. The Chair reminds all present that the recording of all elements of the proceedings is prohibited. The candidate is then invited to summarize the research and conclusions of the thesis orally, in no more than twenty minutes.
The Chair should consider local norms that include, with the agreement of the student and supervisor, permitting other examiners to pose specific follow up questions during the rounds of questioning.
Voting procedures
When there are no further questions, the Chair asks the candidate and all non-committee members to leave the room, hang up or be placed on hold. The Chair reminds the Committee that:
- They should discuss the thesis and the voting options before the vote is taken.
- The examination covers both the thesis and its oral defense.
A discussion of the examination follows and then the Chair distributes the ballots and explains the options in detail:
- Members must vote yes or no on the question whether or not the thesis and its defense are acceptable. More than one negative vote (or abstention) causes the thesis examination to be adjourned.
Acceptable format for exam results
- Chair Summary Form: The Chair of the examination must complete and submit the Chair Summary Form (PDF).
- Voting ballots: The Committee’s voting ballots can be collected as the Voting Ballot (PDF), or via email “ballot”. An emailed ballot must include a statement of whether or not the Committee member finds the thesis to be acceptable and which result they have selected. Their email can serve as their signature.
How are the votes tallied?
If the thesis is determined to be acceptable, then assess which result can be assigned:
- If every examiner, or every examiner bar one, considers the thesis acceptable in its present form, then the thesis is approved in its present form.
- Otherwise, if every examiner, or every examiner bar one, considers the thesis acceptable in its present form or requiring up to 1 month for revisions, then the thesis is approved with editorial corrections.
- Otherwise, the thesis is accepted, requiring up to 3 months of revisions.
- On a first examination, if there is more than one negative vote and / or abstention, the examination is adjourned. On a reconvened examination, more than one negative vote and / or abstention constitutes a failure.
Examination results
| Result | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Accepted “As it Stands” | The candidate has up to 1 week to submit the thesis to ProQuest. |
| Accepted – Revisions must occur within 1 month | Substantial typographical errors, corrections in style, expanding on material, such as adding a limitation, and less than major changes in the thesis. The candidate’s supervisor supervises the proposed revisions and confirms in writing whether all required corrections have been completed. Once this confirmation is received, the candidate can submit the final, approved thesis to ProQuest. |
| Accepted – Revisions must occur within 3 months | Less than major changes in the thesis. A typical example of revisions might be more substantial clarification of textual material or qualification of research findings and conclusions. The candidate’s supervisor / convenor supervises the proposed revisions and confirms in writing whether all required corrections have been completed. Once this confirmation is received, the candidate can submit the final, approved thesis to ProQuest. |
| Adjournment | On a first examination, if there is more than one negative vote and / or abstention, the examination is adjourned. On a reconvened examination, more than one negative vote and / or abstention constitutes a failure. |
Notifying the Candidate of decision on the vote
- If the thesis and its defense are accepted, the Chair of the Examination Committee informs the candidate.
- If the thesis and / or defense are not accepted, the Chair of the Examination Committee and the supervisor (if present) should jointly advise the candidate.
Result of Accepted – Revisions must occur within 3 months
APPOINTMENT OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE
During the exam, before the Committee disperses:
- The FOE Committee decides whether a subcommittee is necessary when the revisions require more substantial input and/or the expertise of multiple committee members to complete the revisions.
- If there is a subcommittee, the Chair designates a convenor.
Subcommittee members
If a subcommittee is required, it should include…
- At least two members of the Examination Committee; under exceptional circumstances the Subcommittee may be limited to one member;
- One member of the Subcommittee designated as convener with the approval of the Examination Committee. The convener may be the supervisor and should normally be a member of the Supervisory Committee.
Role of the Convenor of the Examination Subcommittee
The convenor of the Examination Subcommittee shall:
- Report with a brief written statement the necessary revisions, preferably before the Examination Committee disperses but as soon after the examination as possible;
- See that the candidate, supervisor, and Graduate Program Completion Office receive a copy of the required revisions;
- Works with the candidate and the other members of the subcommittee to ensure completion of the required revisions;
- Within three months of the date of the examination report in writing to the Graduate Program Completion Office and to the Chair of the Graduate Unit the state of completion of the required revisions.
Role of Subcommittee members
The members of the subcommittee shall individually report to the convenor on the acceptability of the required revisions. The report should be made in time for the convener to submit their written report on the state of the completion of the modifications to the Graduate Program Completion Office.
Dissatisfaction of Subcommittee members with revisions
Should one or more members of the Subcommittee not be satisfied that the revisions have been properly completed, the graduate unit must arrange a reconvened oral examination within a year from the date of the original examination.
Procedures in the event of an adjournment
The Chair and candidate’s supervisor advise the student that the thesis and its defense were not accepted. They will explain that a reconvened examination is to be held within one year.
Before the committee disperses, the Chair of the Examination Committee explains:
- A member of the Examination Committee will be designated to draft a report that sets out the reason for adjournment and the committee’s requirements for a reconvened examination. The designated person must be a member of the candidate’s supervisory committee.
- The Examination Committee should identify the approximate date of the reconvened examination.
- The written report will be provided to candidate as soon as possible.
- The written report will be provided to the Graduate Program Completion Office at SGS.
Completing the Chair’s Summary Form
The Chair’s Summary Form (PDF) requires you to indicate whether each committee member attended in-person or online, whether they found the thesis to be acceptable, and their vote. The form also requires you to indicate if the FOE was conducted in accordance with SGS procedures, or to provide details of any procedural concerns.
Submitting the Chair’s Summary Form and voting ballots to SGS
Submit your completed Chair’s Summary Form and all votes through the unique upload link that was emailed to you the day before the exam. If you are unable to use that link, ensure that you email the Chair’s Summary Form and ballots to sgs.doctoral@utoronto.ca and copy the graduate unit.