GUIDELINES FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE EXAM

Responsibilities of the student

• Prepare reading list drafts several months in advance of the examination.
• Meet with the committee chair to discuss the list, come to agreement on what is appropriate for the student's interests, the expectations of the concentration, and the doctoral degree program.
• Arrange dates for the examination after consultation with the committee chair and the graduate staff assistant.
• Arrange with the graduate staff assistant to check the computer equipment two days prior to the exam.
• Arrive on time for each exam.
• Alert the graduate staff assistant immediately if there are any problems with the computer or the room.

Responsibilities of the committee chair

• Circulate the reading list to other members of the committee and solicit suggestions, either directly or via the graduate staff assistant.
• In consultation with the student, make the final decision on the reading list.
• Solicit questions from committee members, either directly or via the graduate staff assistant.
• Prepare the examination and submit the final version for all the exams to the graduate staff assistant two days before the first examination is scheduled to take place. Indicate the order in which the examinations are to be taken, the title of the exam, and the student's primary area (when appropriate).
• Arrange with the graduate staff assistant to be on call during the exam or designate a substitute to be on call to advise on how to solve any problems that may arise.
• Read and evaluate the answers to the questions as well as the evaluations of the members of the committee.
• Supervise the oral examination.
• Report to the student the results of both the written and the oral examinations.

Responsibilities of the committee

• Prepare questions no less than two weeks prior to the first examination date.
• Read the answers to the questions no less than two weeks after the last examination date and give evaluations of the written exam to the chair at least three days before the oral examination.
• Participate in the oral examination.
• Advise the committee chair on whether or not the student has passed the examination, or should take additional courses, or re-take part or all of the examination.

Responsibilities of the graduate staff assistant

• Notify the Graduate School of the date for the oral exam.
• Prepare copies of the examination questions in accordance with what the advisor has submitted.
• Reserve a room for the examination.
• Install or have installed a computer in the room at least two days in advance of the examination.
• Check to see if the computer is working properly.
• Arrange for the student to check the computer two days before the first examination.
• Ask the committee chair to approve the final version of the exam.
• Give the exam questions to the student on the day that each exam is scheduled.
• Call the committee chair or a previously designated substitute (graduate director or head of the department) for advice if problems occur during the administration of the examination.
• Collect and distribute copies of the answers to the committee and the student.

Responsibilities of the graduate director and/or department head

• Check with the graduate staff assistant each day that an examination is being administered to see if there are any problems.
• Resolve any problems that may occur during the preparation, administration, or evaluation of the examination.