7.1 – Selected Graduate College Policies
- 1-credit minimum for preliminary exams and final oral (Graduate College handbook, chapter 7)
- One condition that must be met before the “request for final oral examination” form is submitted to the Graduate College is being registered for at least one credit during the term in which final oral examination will be taken. This is done for a minimum of one credit or for examination only (GR ST 681B) if no course work is needed.
- Continuous registration (Graduate College handbook, chapter 2)
- Doctoral students who have completed coursework and passed (full or conditional) the preliminary oral examination are required to register each fall and spring term, regardless of whether university facilities, equipment, or staff time are used in person or in absentia.
- Important Graduate College degree deadlines
- Graduation deadlines can be confusing. Be sure to make note of the required deadlines associated with attaining your degree. The Graduate College provides information on their website.
- Preliminary oral examination policies (Ph.D. requirements)
- A minimum of six months must elapse between passing the preliminary oral examination and taking the final oral examination.
- Program of Study Committee policies (Graduate College handbook, Chapter 6)
- The Program of Study and Committee appointment form (POSC) must be approved by the Graduate College no later than the term before the preliminary oral examination (doctoral candidates) or final oral examination (master’s candidates). In order for the POSC to be approved in any given term, the online form must be submitted to the Graduate College by the published deadline for that term.
- Responsibilities of the major professor, committee, and student (Graduate College handbook, chapter 6)
- Major professor (chair) responsibilities
- Procedural matters
- Review and sign forms requiring the major professor’s approval.
- Preside at meetings of the Program of Study (POS) committee.
- Present doctoral candidates at graduation ceremonies.
- Write letters of recommendation for students as appropriate.
- Recommend to the Dean of the Graduate College in writing that:
- Provisional admission be changed to full admission after background deficiencies have been corrected with a B-grade average or better. If the student is a non-native English speaker, the graduate English requirement must also be met.
- Student be removed from probation or request to be allowed to register for satisfactory academic performance.
- Significant changes in the program of study are necessary (must be approved by the student, committee members, and the program’s DOGE before submission to the Graduate College).
- Waiver of six-month requirement between the preliminary oral and final oral examinations requested (must be approved by student, major professor, and program’s DOGE before submission to the Graduate College).
- All conditions placed on a preliminary oral or final oral examination may be removed. If the report form is checked that all committee members must sign to remove a condition, then all signatures will be required to remove the condition.
- Time extension to complete the degree requested be granted (must also be signed and approved by the program’s DOGE before submission to the Graduate College).
- Graduation with less than the 3.00 G.P.A. for extenuating circumstances (must also be approved by the program’s DOGE before submitting to the Graduate College).
- Changes in committee are made and approved by the Graduate College prior to a preliminary or final oral examination (also signed by all members involved in the change and the program’s DOGE).
- Research and thesis/dissertation responsibilities
- Guide the graduate student doing research by conferring regularly to review and evaluate progress.
- Guide the student in development of communication skills through assistance in preparing manuscripts for presentation or publication.
- Criticize constructively the written draft(s) of a thesis or dissertation before it is circulated to other members of the POS committee.
- Work with the student in editing the written draft(s) of the thesis or dissertation.
- The major professor’s relationship with the student
- Provide needed guidance without hampering creativity.
- Be accessible within a reasonable schedule for discussions with the student.
- Accept a student only if he or she has sufficient time to direct the student’s program and can reasonably expect to have available facilities and sufficient funding to support the student to the completion of the degree.
- Write letters of recommendation for the student and aid with job or position placement as appropriate.
- Inform the student of any special leave that may cause inconvenience or delay in the student’s research progress or in the arrangement of the preliminary oral or final oral examinations.
- Resolution of major professor-student relationship problems
- When irreconcilable problems occur between the major professor and student, it may be advisable to dissolve the relationship. The DOGE is responsible for recommending to the Graduate College that the original POS committee be dissolved and that a new POS committee be formed.
7.2 – Selected School of Education Policies and Procedures
- Guidance for changing a committee member or major professor
- On occasion, graduate students wish to change their major professor or members of their committee. This may result from faculty retirements or departures, shifts in research interests, or a decision by either the faculty member or student that the existing relationship is not productive. In such circumstances, the individual wishing to make the change (faculty or student) should schedule a meeting with the other individual to discuss the situation. It is in the best interest of all to have clear and direct communication about any changes in advance of formal requests for changes via the electronic POSC process.
- Independent study 590 & 690 courses
- Students who register for a School of Education independent study 590 or 690 courses will need to work with the faculty member supervising their independent study to complete a course agreement form to outline the parameters and expectations of the independent study. Generally, 590 is used for master’s level, or initial study of a topic, while 690 is used for doctoral level, or advanced work. A copy of this course agreement form should be shared with the graduate support specialist for your file.
- School of Education transfer course and expired course policy
- Institutional Review Board (IRB)
- The IRB reviews any research involving human participants, including proposals to gather data from participants for theses, dissertations, and other student projects. Connect with them on their website. Students should work with their major professor to complete the IRB application. The major professor must review, approve, and sign off on the IRB application. After the major professor approves the application, it will be sent to the SOE IRB representative who will review the application on behalf of the school. Please note that students should allow at least 72 hours for this review process. Once any concerns at the school level have been resolved, the SOE IRB representative will forward the application to the IRB office.
- University communications via ISU email
- It is the policy of Iowa State University that the official means of communication is email. As stated in the policy: “It is expected that the email will be received and read by the recipient within a reasonable amount of time, as email communications may be time-sensitive. This includes communications intended to meet the academic and administrative needs of the university, including business that is critical to the operation and function of Iowa State University.” For any questions or clarifications, please review the University communications policy in full.
- Graduate student printing policy
- Graduate students should only use School of Education copiers in Lago if the work is directly related to the business of the School, such as copies that might be needed when teaching an SoE class, or for ISU-sponsored research that is part of one’s position (e.g., if you’re working on a CHS-funded grant, then running copies on these printers would be fine). For personal business, including items related to your coursework or your own research (such as thesis and dissertation work), printing or copies should be done through Papercut through any networked printer on campus, through ISU’s Printing and Copy Services, or through a private vendor, such as Copyworks or Kinkos. Inappropriate use of these printers leads to a burden on the SoE budget and is not something that we can support for all graduate students who have access to the SoE copiers. If you have any questions regarding this policy, please contact the graduate support specialist.