OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
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The Graduate Council Representative (GCR) is a full voting member of the graduate student's committee, participating in all examinations, deliberations, and decisions. In addition, the GCR is responsible for the following: (1) assuring that the conduct of all committee meetings and actions are in compliance with policies and procedures of the Graduate Council; (2) safeguarding the fair and appropriate treatment of the student and committee members; and (3) providing general oversight over the integrity of the degree.
The GCR is a member of the graduate faculty outside the student’s major and minor areas. Faculty approved to serve as a GCR may select areas of interest by clicking the Area of Interest Form.
A GCR is required for all doctoral committees, all MAIS committees, and all master's degrees involving a thesis. Students pursuing a non-thesis master’s degree may choose a GCR for their committee, but one is not required.
Students must use the GCR generator tool to obtain a list of faculty willing to serve in this capacity.
As the GCR, you are required to attend the following meetings:
Other meetings (e.g., thesis proposal meetings, meetings to assess written examinations or to evaluate student progress) may be held at the discretion of the student's committee or major department. The GCR, along with all other committee members, should attend all such meetings if at all possible.
At the preliminary and final oral exam, the GCR must verify that all committee members, or their approved substitutes, are present before the meeting is allowed to proceed. If one or more committee members are absent, the GCR should inform the committee and the student that the exam must be rescheduled.
The GCR should check their email at least a few days prior to the scheduled preliminary/final oral exam for receipt of the paperwork showing confirmation that the exam can proceed. The receipt of the paperwork is dependent on how far in advance the student schedules the exam with the Graduate School. If the student does not schedule their exams within the required time frame, there is a chance that the paperwork will not be ready in time for their exam, and the exam must be postponed.
Once the exams have been approved to proceed by the Graduate School, the GCR will receive an email from the Graduate School containing the following:
The checklists and examination reports are to be returned promptly to the Graduate School after any program of study meeting or examination. Learn the different methods for collecting signatures and submitting exam documents to the Graduate School.
The GCR should not hesitate to contact the Graduate School for advice on matters of institutional policy and procedure.
The student's major professor will chair this meeting. There is no minimum length of time for this meeting, although it is recommended that the meeting is scheduled for one hour. The purpose of this meeting is to ensure that the proposed program of study meets the minimum university and programmatic requirements and to discuss how the proposed program aligns with the student's short- and long-term goals. The program of study meeting should be held early enough in the student's academic journey to permit all committee members to contribute to the program of study.
The major professor chairs the examination and the GCR chairs the discussion of the student's performance. If a prior written examination was conducted by the major department, the GCR should confirm that the examination and results were made available to all members of the student's doctoral committee prior to the preliminary oral examination.
The purpose of the preliminary oral examination is to determine the student's understanding of his or her major and minor fields and also to assess the student's capability for research. The exam may cover the student's proposed research topic, although no more than one-half the time should be devoted to specific aspects of the proposal. This examination is taken near the completion of all course work on the student's program of study. The examination should be scheduled for at least two hours.
This examination is traditionally attended only by the student's committee. All committee members, including the GCR, are expected to participate in examining the student. No committee member should be allowed to dominate the examination, and the student must be given an adequate and fair opportunity to respond to the questions.
If more than one negative vote is recorded by the examining committee, the candidate will have failed the oral preliminary examination. No more than two re-examinations are permitted by the Graduate School, although academic units may allow fewer than two re-examinations.
This examination should be scheduled for a minimum of two hours. The major professor chairs the examination and the GCR chairs the discussion of the student's performance.
The first part of the examination is the presentation by the student of their research or project. This is often presented as a seminar open to all interested parties. This portion should last no longer than one hour. All individuals except the student's committee are then excused, and the committee continues with the examination of the student's knowledge related to the field of study and their research/project.
All members, including the GCR, are expected and encouraged to participate in examining the student. No committee member should be allowed to monopolize the examination, and the student must be given an adequate and fair opportunity to respond to the questions.
If more than one negative vote is recorded by the examining committee, the candidate will have failed the final oral examination. No more than two re-examinations are permitted by the Graduate School, although academic units may allow fewer than two re-examinations.