Academic Policies

Progress Reports

At the end of each term, graduate students and their supervisors are required to complete a Student Progress Report Form, filled in online in the Snow system.

Review Of Academic Decisions

A student who wishes to question an examination grade received in the School should request a review of the grade by the instructor or examining committee. This request must be made, in writing, as soon as possible and within two weeks of the time of the grade's being announced. The written request should explain the reasons for appealing the grade. The instructor, or examining committee, should reach a decision and communicate it to the student and the Coordinator of Graduate Studies, in writing, within two weeks of receiving the student's request.

A student who is not satisfied by (1) should request a review of the grade by the Coordinator of Graduate Studies. The request should be made in writing within one week of receiving a reply from the instructor or examining committee. It should explain the reasons for appealing the decision.

The Coordinator of Graduate Studies in conjunction with the Head establishes a committee to review the grade. The committee shall consist of three professors from the School, one of whom may be nominated by the student. The committee submits a written report to the Coordinator of Graduate Studies within two weeks. The report may recommend that:

the previous grade stand
the grade be modified
the student be reexamined

No further appeals in the matter can be made in the School. The candidate may elect to invoke the general University appeal procedure as stated in the Calendar of the School of Graduate Studies and Research.

Review Of Requirement to Withdraw

In the event that a student is required to withdraw from the graduate program of the School of Computing, the student may appeal.

The request to appeal must be made to the Coordinator of Graduate Studies, in writing, within two weeks of the student being informed of the requirement to withdraw. The written request should explain the reasons for the appeal.

The Coordinator of Graduate Studies, in conjunction with the Director or Director's Designate, shall establish a committee to review the requirement to withdraw. The committee shall consist of three professors from the School, one of whom may be nominated by the student. The committee shall submit a written report to the Coordinator of Graduate Studies within two weeks of the student's written appeal. The report may recommend that:

the student be required to withdraw; or
the student not be required to withdraw; or
the student be required to accomplish particular milestones of their graduate program within a specified time and that, failing the accomplishment of these milestones within that time, the student shall be required to withdraw with no further possibility of appeal within the School of Computing.

If the student does not appeal, or appeals unsuccessfully, or fails to accomplish required milestones, the Coordinator of Graduate Studies shall recommend withdrawal of the student to the Chair of the Faculty Graduate Council and shall inform the student in writing that such a recommendation is being made and the grounds for this recommendation.

At this stage, the student may invoke the general University appeal procedure as stated in the Calendar of the School of Graduate Studies and Research.

Policy On Publication Of Thesis Work

The School strongly encourages students to present the results of their graduate work in both journals and conferences. Since the results of such work is usually through a collaborative effort involving the student and supervisor, some form of joint authorship is usually appropriate. The following policies represent the approved practice in this School:

The graduate student is normally the principal (first) author on publications derived directly from work carried out and described by the student, as for example in a thesis.
Where a significant amount of additional research or analysis is required to produce publishable results or where the student does not contribute directly to the writing of the paper, the supervisor might be expected to claim principal authorship.
If a student expects to be the sole author of work carried out in the School, this should be discussed in advance of any supervision or guidance provided by the supervisor or any other faculty member.
Students who are working on "mechanical" tasks, such as the implementation of well defined designs or data collection, should not expect joint authorship unless they have made additional significant contributions to the research program.

There have been no problems in the past regarding collaborative research and, to avoid any possible future misunderstandings, students are encouraged to discuss possible publication arrangements with their supervisors at the outset of any joint work.