Health Professions Division Dissertation Guide

12 Operation of the Committee After the committee has been formed, it shall operate under the leadership of the dissertation chair, who has the primary responsibility for advising and guiding the candidate. The chair will keep the committee informed about the candidate’s progress and will ensure that the committee provides guidance, evaluation, and consultation. The candidate must avoid taking or assuming direction from a committee member who might result in a change in approach or direction of the research without first coordinating with the advisor/chair. Each committee member will be required to indicate the approval of the formal dissertation proposal as well as the final dissertation report by his or her signature. Committee and Candidate’s Responsibilities Chair of the Committee • Serves as the candidate’s research advisor. • Assumes primary responsibility for supervising the candidate, including thefollowing: • Helps candidate and other members define their roles. • Helps candidate to narrow topic into a feasible and appropriate dissertation study. • Helps assure research is meaningful and will add to the body of knowledge and reflect the mission and educational outcomes of the program. • Collaborates with the candidate regarding the timeline the candidate has developed to facilitate continued progress on the dissertation. • Gives substantive feedback about the candidate’s research process (proposal, implementation, analysis, and report). • Has the final word in areas of disagreement among members and/or between members and the candidate. • Conducts the candidate’s oral defense. • Will be the approving authority (for the dissertation committee) of the final dissertation report prior to submissions. Members of the Committee Members serve on the candidate’s dissertation committee in which they offer expertise in methodology or topic area in the following roles: • Give substantive and organizational recommendations for sections or areas of their expertise (or strong interest). • Participate in the dissertation proposal development and approval process; participate in the dissertation report development and approval process. • Participate in the committee’s decision-making process. • Participates in the defenses (proposal and dissertation report) and approves both documents for those programs that require oral defense. The Candidate’s Responsibilities • Thoughtfully seeks out appropriate faculty for her/his committee. • Takes responsibility to develop and adhere to a feasible timeline for thedissertation milestones.