Supervisors, School and Chair of Examiners

Roles and Responsibilities

The Principal Supervisor is responsible for:
HDR Coordinator/Head of School is responsible for:

As the official School representative, they confirm all submissions adhere to university standards before proceeding.

Chair of Examiners is responsible for:

Forms and Process

Chair of Examiner Nomination Process

The Chair of Examiners is contacted and nominated by the Principal Supervisor and finalised during the candidate's Thesis Review Milestone or Annual Review (prior to submission).

If the Chair of Examiners has not be appointed during the Thesis Review Milestone or Annual Review.  The Chair of Examiners Nomination Form must be completed by the Principal Supervisor and approved by the Head of School/HDR Coordinator and sent through to grs-milestones@une.edu.au for processing prior to submission.

To qualify for this role, the nominee must hold a degree equivalent to or greater than the one under examination; have expertise in the relevant discipline or research area and have never served on the candidate's supervision team.

Replacement of Chair of Examiners

If for any reason the Chair of Examiners needs to be replaced for a candidate.  Then the Chair of Examiners  Nomination Form must be completed by the Principal Supervisor and approved by the Head of School/HDR Coordinator and sent through to grs-milestones@une.edu.au for processing and updating of the records.

Recommendation of Examiners Form

A diagram providing step by step information about the examiner and submission process

The Principal Supervisor nominates examiners in accordance with the HDR Thesis Submission and Examination Policy. They must assess all nominees for actual or perceived conflicts of interest and declare these on the Recommendation of Examiners Form (RoE).  The Principal Supervisor will then provide  the Recommendation of Examiners form to the Chair of Examiners.

The Chair of Examiners is responsible for endorsing the nominated examiners and is accountable for ensuring all nominees meet the requirements outlined in the HDR Thesis Submission and Examination Policy and have been assessed any conflicts of interest.

The University of New England uses The Australian Council of Graduate Research (ACGR) Conflict of Interest in Examination Guidelines and UNE Conflict of Interest Policy in assessing conflicts of interest.

The Recommendation of Examiners form must be submitted at least one month before the candidate submits their thesis. The final proposed list of examiners remain confidential from the candidate.

Process:

  1. The Principal Supervisor submits the Recommendation of Examiners Form directly to the Chair of Examiners for endorsement.
  2. The Chair of Examiners can request changes or additional information before endorsing the form if:
    • Nominees don't meet eligibility requirements outlined in policies
    • Nominees lack the required expertise in the research field
    • Potential or perceived conflicts of interest exist
    • Incomplete Recommendation of Examiners form
  3. After endorsement, the Chair of Examiners forwards the completed form to grs-exam@une.edu.au for assessment and outcome at the next Graduate Research Committee (GRC) meeting.
  4. The Graduate Research School will communicate the GRC's decision to both the Principal Supervisor and Chair of Examiners.
Cotutelle & Joint Degrees

The Principal Supervisor and School must ensure examiner nominations for cotutelle, industry or joint degree candidates comply with all requirements specified in the signed agreement between institutions.

When an examiner is selected to fulfill specific cotutelle or joint degree requirements, this must be clearly documented in the "Suitability of the Nominee" section of the Recommendation of Examiners Form.

Confidential Examinations/Agreements

Heightened confidentiality measures are available for theses containing:

  • Intellectual property considerations
  • Commercial-in-confidence information
  • Sensitive research or participant data (cultural or legal)
  • Pending patents

These special protections extend beyond standard examination confidentiality requirements and are used in the event that examiners are required to complete confidential agreements prior to commencing examination.

The Principal Supervisor is responsible for organising the confidential contracts to be signed by examiners with the Legal team.  UNE's Template agreements and legal documents can be found on the Legal Services webpage, which also provides information of the overall process.  Once all the documents are completed Legal Services arranges signing of the contracts by the examiners.  If you have any question related to confidential agreements please contact the Legal Team directly at legal@une.edu.au.

The Principal Supervisor is to advise the Graduate Research School once confirmation has been received from Legal that the confidentially agreements have be signed by the examiners and the examination can commence.

Primary Thesis Submission Form

The candidate submits their thesis to both the Principal Supervisor and the HDR Coordinator/Head of School for approval.  By signing the Primary Thesis Submission form, both parties certify that the thesis meets all requirements specified on the form.  Both the Principal Supervisor and HDR Coordinator may request revisions before providing their approval.

Chair of Examiners Outcome Recommendation Form

After reviewing the examiners' reports, the Chair of Examiners must complete and return the Outcome Recommendation Form to grs-exam@une.edu.au within two weeks of receiving the reports.

Please note: Available outcomes vary depending on the course rules of the candidate.

The form contains:

  • Confidential sections (including recommendations)
  • Candidate section (optional)

The Chair of Examiners Outcome Recommendation form will be provided to the Graduate Research Committee (GRC) as a whole document, including the optional comments to candidates' section.

If it is stated in the candidate section, it will not be required to repeat it in the Graduate Research Committee section, as mentioned above, the Graduate Research Committee get the whole document.

The optional candidate section allows the Chair to provide:

  • Specific examiner feedback requiring attention/focus
  • Additional guidance for thesis amendments

This section is purely optional and if completed will be provided to the candidate with the confidential sections removed.  It allows the opportunity for the Chair of Examiners as signatory on re-examinations and final thesis submissions to advise the candidate on feedback/comments from the examiners that need addressing or focusing on prior to submission of the re-examination/final thesis.

If examiner reports are significantly different or raise research integrity concerns, the Chair may consult with the HDR Coordinator/Head of School before making recommendations, though this is not mandatory.

Examiner reports must never be shared with the supervision team or candidate. Final outcome recommendations remain strictly confidential and are not disclosed to the candidate, supervision team, or school

Final Thesis Submission Form

The Principal Supervisor and the Chair of Examiners are the authorised approvers for the final thesis submission.  By signing the Final Thesis Submission form both parties are certifying that the candidates has satisfactorily meet the requirements outlined on the Final Thesis Submission Form.

Both the Principal Supervisor and the Chair of Examiners may request changes to the thesis before approval the final submission.

Re-Examination Thesis Examination Form

The Principal Supervisor, Chair of Examiners and HDR Coordinator/Head of School are the signatories for the re-examination thesis submission.  By signing the Re-Examination Thesis Submission form they are certifying that the revised thesis has addressed the requested amendments and is of a suitable quality for re-examination.