288/2011

1. This Guideline should be read in conjunction with the Research Award Rules (RAR), especially r4.6 and r4.7 - r4.9.

2. Current practice is that most research degree students are not required to be examined orally as part of the examination for the degree under the Research Awards Rules:

(i) Where all examiners recommend that the student should be admitted to the degree, with or without corrections or revisions to the thesis being required, the student will normally be exempted from an oral examination (except under 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4 below);

(ii) If the recommendation of the examiners is unanimous that the student be failed, no further examination will be held.

Students who commenced their program on or after 1 January 2008 are required to undertake an Oral Presentation about 3 months before the intended thesis submission date.  Details are published in the Higher Degree Research Guide at http://www.anu.edu.au/sas/hdr/researchguide.php  Submission and examination of the student's research thesis is independent of the oral presentation.  The report of the supervisory panel will not be provided to the examiners of the thesis.

3. An oral examination will normally be required only in one or more of the following circumstances:

• (i) Where the thesis is based on joint research (RAR sr4.7(3)).
• (ii) Where an examiner provisionally recommends revision and resubmission of the thesis or failure, an oral examination will normally be held in order to give all parties maximum opportunity to explore the body of work submitted for examination.
• (iii) Where the student is undertaking an approved co-tutelle program which requires an oral examination.
• (iv) Where a student was examined orally before being permitted to revise and resubmit the thesis, an oral examination may be held in relation to the revised thesis if an examiner requests a further oral.

4. The Division of Registrar and Student Services is responsible for arranging oral examinations (except for dual-award, which includes co-tutelle, PhD degree collaborations where the examination process, including the number of examiners and oral examination requirement, should be set out in the agreement between the ANU and the other institution).  The Examinations Office will contact the student if an oral examination is required.  Examiners will be requested to provide a copy of the draft reports, and/or specific questions and/or general matters to be addressed by the student.

5. Wherever possible, at least two examiners are to be present at an oral examination. One of them will be asked to act as chair of examiners.  An examiner who is unable to be present at an oral examination will be asked to correspond with the chair of examiners indicating any points to be raised at the oral. The chair will act on behalf of the absent examiner and will report the outcome of the discussion at the oral to that examiner and to the Registrar.

6. If only one examiner is available to conduct the oral examination, the University will appoint an assessor as observer (RAR sr4.8(2) and sr4.8(3)).  The sole function of the assessor is to ensure that the oral examination is properly and fairly conducted.  While the assessor must not adopt the role of an examiner, it is not the University's intention that an assessor must necessarily remain silent throughout the oral examination.

7. Examiners' recommendations on the outcome of the oral examination must not be communicated to the student under any circumstances, either during or after the examination. Examiners' recommendations and a report on the examination as a whole are submitted in confidence to the Registrar who will forward them for the consideration of the Delegated Authority.

8. The oral examination is undertaken on the substance of the student's thesis and on the student's knowledge of its subject background.  Examiners should not be too restricted in their questions, being free to cover the general background of the subject.  The oral examination should be sufficiently rigorous, but it is hoped that undue formality can be avoided.  As reports to any absent examiners need not be in great detail, the use of tape recorders or stenographers (as has occasionally been suggested by examiners) is not appropriate.  In other respects, the conduct of the oral examination will be at the discretion of the examiner(s) present, and no other persons apart from an assessor (see 6. above) may attend (unless approved as part of a co-tutelle program).

9. Where possible, oral examinations are held in Canberra.  An oral examination may be held elsewhere in Australia or overseas if it is expected that the student will be able to attend at the appropriate time.  Arrangements for attendance by examiners at an oral examination held in Canberra or at another location are made by the Examinations Office.

10. With the agreement of the student, the examiners and any assessor, an oral examination may be held in telephone conference or video conference format.  Arrangements for telephone or video conference formats are made by the Examinations Office.

11. If, in the opinion of the Delegated Authority, it is not practicable to hold an oral examination as specified in 9. or 10. above, and the student is not exempted from oral examination, the student will be required to take a written examination, set by the examiners of the thesis, covering the field which an oral examination would have covered.  The written examination will be invigilated.  The Examinations Office will make arrangements accordingly.  Examiners will be requested to provide a list of general matters or specific questions to be addressed by the student.  The student's answers to a written examination must be sent by the Registrar to the examiners of the thesis and be taken into account by them in the preparation of their reports.

12. The prohibited communications described in the Research Awards Rules (r4.5) are aimed at ensuring that the student receives independent decisions on the thesis under examination.

• Examiners of a thesis must not knowingly communicate directly with each other except in the course of an oral examination or when an examiner is unable to be present at an oral examination (see 5. above).
• An examiner must not knowingly communicate directly with a student whose work he or she is examining except in the course of an oral examination; or with a supervisor of the student.
• A student must not communicate directly with an examiner of his or her work except in the course of an oral examination.
• A supervisor must not communicate directly with an appointed examiner for the student concerned.

13. Where it is considered to be in the interests of the student, the Education Dean may, at the request of an examiner, nominate a person other than a student's supervisor to provide further information about the student's thesis (e.g. for clarification or contextual material), or, in the case of joint work, the student's contribution to the thesis (RAR sr4.4(9)).  The request from the examiner should be made to the Registrar and arrangements will be made by the Examinations Office.