To ................... 

.SENATE                  

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From 

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JON WHEATLEY 

DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES 

CHANGE IN GRADUATE REGULATIONS, 8, 

Subject ......... 845: ... 

? 7-:11.4 ................................................. ............... 

.Date.. 

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SEPTEMBER 15, 1971 

MOTION: ? 

"That the sentence from paragraph 8, 'The Supervisory 

Committee will make a recommendation to the Departmental 

Graduate Studies Committee and the Chairman (of the 

Department) regarding the awarding of the degree,' and 

the parallel sentence in 8.15, 'The Supervisory Committee 

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may send to the Departmental Chairman on the appropriate 

form a recommendation for Award of the Degree," be struck, 

and the following sentence be inserted in both 8. and 

8.15 to replace them: 

'The Supervisory Committee will make a recommendation to 

the Departmental Graduate Studies Committee regarding the 

awarding of the degree."' 

REGULATIQNS, ? 

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MOTION: "That the sentence from paragraph 8. 

The Supervisory Committee will make a recommendation 

to the Departmental Graduate Studies Committee and the 

Chairman [of the Department] regarding the awarding of 

the degree 

and the parallel sentence in 8.15 

The Supervisory Committee may send to the Departmental 

Chairman on the appropriate form a recommendation for 

Award of the Degree 

be struck. And that the following sentence be inserted in 

both 8. and 8.15 to replace them 

The Supervisory Committee will make a recommendation to 

the Departmental Graduate Studies Committee regarding 

the awarding of the degree." 

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The proposed motion was passed by the Executive 

Committee of the Senate Graduate Studies Committee on August 2, 1971 

and the Senate Graduate Studies Committee on August 9, 1971. 

RATIONALE 

The role of Departmental bodies and functionaries in 

the awarding of higher degrees is variable in the regulations. Suppose 

a candidate has met all requirements for the degree. Then, in paragraph 

8, we have: "The Supervisory Committee will make a recommendation to 

the Departmental Graduate Studies Committee and the Chairman [of the 

Department] regarding the awarding of the degree." In paragraph 8.15 

we have: "The Supervisory Committee may send to the Departmental 

Chairman on the appropriate form a recommendation for Award of the 

Degree". 

The awarding of degrees is a faculty and Senate matter 

not an administrative matter (which is the reason the Dean has no role) 

so there seems to be no good reason why the Chairman of the Department 

should have a role at all. In addition, for interdepartmental degrees1 

there is no Chairman of the Department. Rather than insert someone into 

the interdepartmental structure with the function of the Chairman of the 

Department it seems simpler and better to cut the Departmental Chairman 

out of the formal process of the awarding of the degree altogether. I 

therefore suggest amending the quoted sentences from the regulations as 

follows: 

• ? 

The Supervisory Committee will make a recommendation 

to.the Departmental Graduate Studies Committee 

regarding the awarding of the degree. 

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There are still oddities (but not inconsistencies) between paragraph 

8 and 8.15 but I am not going to propose amendments to change these 

until I seek a general revision of the regulations. 

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