Committe Chair Guidelines - Candidacy

A Brief Supplementary Explanation of the Role and Guidelines for Candidacy Examination Chairs

  • The examination chair is a non-voting member of the Examination Committee. 
  • The examination chair meets with the student one week prior to the Candidacy Exam to review exam procedures and student presentation. 
  • The role of the examination chair is to ensure that the exam is conducted in accordance with FGSR and departmental rules and standards, as well as to ensure that the objectives of the candidacy exam are met. 
  • The examination chair acts as a referee to ensure that fairness, balance and order have been maintained and that the interest of the student is adequately protected. 
  • The examination chair determines area to be questioned by each examiner to ensure all aspects of research area are covered. 
  • The examination chair moderates and directs the questioning and holds the examiners to the allotted time. 
  • At the end of the examination, the examination chair acts as a neutral member to guide the committee through the process of reaching a decision. 
  • The examination chair then drafts and signs the examination report and submits it to the Associate Chair, AFNS Graduate Programs. 
  • Comments on the quality of the research proposal document, the candidacy exam seminar presentation and oral examination can be included in the candidacy exam report under “Other remarks” where appropriate. 
  • The examination chair may ask questions if he/she feels that critical and pertinent questions have not been asked or addressed. Alternatively, the examination chair can request the Examination Committee to refocus or redirect questions to address areas as appropriate. 
  • If the examination chair feels that the examiners are either too hard or too easy on the candidate, he/she can call a recess to discuss this with the other examining committee members in the absence of the candidate. Likewise, any examiner can ask for a recess and raise concerns of this nature with the examination chair and other Examining Committee Members. 
  • If at the end of an exam, the chair or an examiner is unhappy with the resulting rigor of the exam or its process, they should inform the Associate Chair, AFNS Graduate Programs, of the details in a memo. The Associate Chair will then investigate the issue in question, and in consultation with the Departmental Chair and FGSR take specific actions where appropriate.