HDR Nomination of Examiners Procedure

Intent

This Procedure has been established to outline the process to be followed in nominating examiners of theses and other examinable outputs of the research produced by a candidate for a Higher Degree by Research (HDR).

This Procedure addresses HESF Standards 1.4.5-7, and 4.2: Research Training.

Scope

This procedure applies to HDR candidates of JCU, their Candidature Committee, and other JCU staff required to carry out the procedure.

Definitions

Terms mentioned in this document and not defined here are defined in the Policy Glossary in the Learning and Teaching domain of the University Policy Library, and in the Higher Degree by Research (HDR) Requirements.

Procedure

1. At least three months before thesis submission the Candidature Committee should discuss the names of a pool of 4-5 examiners with the HDR candidate.  In the case of HDR candidates whose examination involves the examination of creative outputs as well as a thesis, the examiners should be nominated prior to the examination of the creative outputs, which will normally precede the examination of the thesis.  In cases where the HDR candidate will be required to complete an oral examination, please refer to the Guidelines for Conducting an Oral Examination.

2. At least two months before thesis submission the Primary Advisor should approach the preferred external examiners informally (see Appendix 1) to ascertain their willingness to examine the thesis.  In the case of HDR candidates whose examination involves the examination of creative outputs as well as a thesis, each examiner should be available for the examination of both the creative outputs and the thesis and should be advised of the intended timing of both when approached informally by the Primary Advisor.

3. At least one month before thesis submission the Advisory Panel must complete and submit NEX-FORM-01 HDR Nomination of Examiners Form to the Graduate Research School (GRS) for the examiners to be approved by the Dean, Graduate Research.

4. For a Research Masters degree the advisory panel may select either one external and one internal examiner, or two external examiners. For a doctoral degree at least two external examiners are required, but up to three examiners may be used.  A replacement examiner should also be nominated at the same time as the other examiners but their availability need not be confirmed at this time.

5. Nominated examiners must have demonstrated research activity in the previous five years in a field of study relevant to the subject of the thesis.

6. At least one examiner should be a person with experience in examining Australian theses at the appropriate level.

7. No examiner should be chosen about whom the HDR candidate has expressed concerns in writing to their College Dean or the GRS. Such concerns must be placed on the candidate’s file at the GGRS.

8. Conflicts of Interest

8.1 Conflicts of interest in thesis examination must be explicitly addressed in order to ensure that a thesis may be assessed independently and free from any perceived or actual bias.

8.2 Conflicts of Interest concerning examiners may be with:

• the University;
• any other involved institution;
• a member of the Advisory Panel;
• the candidate;
• another examiner;

and may include:

• working relationships;
• personal relationships;
• legal relationships;
• business/professional/social relationships.

8.3 Conflicts of interest may be major, which would disallow the examiner from being nominated.  Conflicts of interest may also be minor.  Minor conflicts must be recorded on NEX-FORM-01 HDR Nomination of Examiners Form and may disallow the approval of the nominated examiner if several conflicts exist in combination. Please refer to Table 1 and Appendix 2 for examples of major/minor conflicts of interest.

8.4 If there is any doubt as to whether a conflict of interest exists, the matter should be referred to the Dean, Graduate Research.

Related policy instruments

HDR Requirements

Guidelines for Conducting an Oral Examination

NEX-FORM-01 HDR Nomination of Examiners Form

Schedules/Appendices

Appendix 1 Sample Approach Letter from Primary Advisor to External Examiners

Appendix 2 Examples of Conflicts of Interest (HDR Examiners)

Administration

NOTE: Printed copies of this procedure are uncontrolled, and currency can only be assured at the time of printing.

Approval Details

Modification History