Examination - Institute of Graduate Studies - USM

IPS Annual Report 2009 1

The Examination Unit is responsible for managing the academic affairs of the postgraduate students at USM.The functions of the unit are:1. managing the receipt of students’ thesis.2. appointing thesis examiners.3. appointing mixed mode external project assessors.4. scheduling viva voce sessions.5. secretariat of the MPSU(for examination matters).6. managing the postgraduate graduation list.SUBMISSION OF THESIS FOR EXAMINATIONWithin the duration of three years (2007-2009) the month to month trend in the submissions of theses for examinationincreased (Figure 9). The number of submissions that reached 500 by December 2009 posed a challenge to theExamination Unit to manage the process of the appointments of examiners, and to manage the delivery of the thesesto examiners in an efficient and systematic manner. Recognizing that the period between the acceptance of thestudent’s thesis and the sending out the thesis to the examiner is the key to this process, the Examination Unit set aduration of ten working days as its standard operating procedure.Figure 9: Monthly Trend in the Submission of Theses for Examination from 2007 to 20097060200720082009Number of Submission50403020100JanFeb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov DecMonthsExamination Unit2 IPS Annual Report 2009

VIVA VOCEEXAMINATIONSince the last three years, the efficient and systematic scheduling of the viva voce has been the main focus of theExamination Unit. In the process of achieving these objectives, multiple proactive measures and the implementationof more comprehensive policies have been undertaken to improve the efficiency of this service to the postgraduatestudents. During the year 2009, the viva voce scheduling frequency was successfully increased by 14% comparedto previous years.A total of 414 viva voce sessions were successfully conducted until December 2009 and average of 35 viva vocesessions were conducted each month throughout the year. The increasing frequency of viva voce sessions also contributedtowards the attainment of an important goal of USM as a research university i.e. to produce more researchersin all fields.Figure 10: Monthly Trend of the Viva Voce Sessions Conducted from 2007 to 20097060200720082009Number of Session Conducted50403020100COMPLETION TIMEJan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov DecMonthsData analysis of 2008-2009 PhD graduates revealed that the majority (32%) full time graduates successfully completedtheir studies in 4 years while 31% of the graduates successfully completed their studies in five years. IPS willcontinuously seek initiatives in increasing the number of postgraduates completing their studies on time.In order to achieve the objective of postgraduate students completing their studies on time, IPS will focus on severalissues such as the improvement of the quality of supervision, improvement on the effectiveness of the examinationprocess and consolidation of the viva voce process. Figures 11 and 12 show the breakdown in completion times forPhD graduates in 2008 and 2009 for full time and part time postgraduates, respectively.IPS Annual Report 2009 3

EXAMINATIONFigure 11 : Completion Times for Full Time 2008and 2009 PhD GraduatesFigure 12: Completion Times for Part Time2008 and 2009 PhD GraduatesNumber of GraduatesGRADUATION90Number of Graduates : 2558070817860504039 32% 31%3020 15%29201011%8% 803%3 4 5Years6 7 833%1921%1618%211223%13%Years910%67%55%Within three years (2007-2009) USM produced 3,382 Masters and PhD graduates in various disciplines of study. Inline with the vision of Ministry of Higher Education that public institutions of higher learning produce more PhD holdersand IPS has annually set increasing targets. In 2007, 117 postgraduates graduated with PhD, followed by 115in 2008 and 143 in 2009 (Table 22).Table 22: Three Year Graduation Figures for Masters and PhD from 2007-2009Degree 2007 2008 2009Doctor of Philosophy 117 115 143Doctor of Education 4 2 8Doctor of Business Administration 13 10 8Master of Pharmacy 21 25 27Master of Instructional Multimedia 24 22 25Master of International and Diplomacy Studies - 7 2Master of Social Works - 6 3Master of Public Health - - 2Master of Communication 14 11 11Master of Pathology 10 3 3Master of Education 110 146 125Master of Economic Management 10 18 9Master of Public Administration 20 16 16Master of Business Administration 51 72 73Master of Medicine 74 87 80Master of Public Health 10 5 5Master of Science 564 479 516Master of Social Sciences 6 4 3Master of Arts 68 62 100Master of Surgery 7 4 6Total 1123 1094 11654 IPS Annual Report 2009