1997 QUT Handbook

The Examination Committee consisting of at least two examiners (one of whom may be external to the
University) will be appointed by the Faculty academic Board upon recommendation from the Higher Degrees
Advisory Committee upon recommendation from the relevant Course Coordinator who will have consulted
the Principal Supervisor.
Examination Process
(i) Examiners must receive copies of the dissertation in reasonable time to permit its thorough consideration
and appraisal before the date by which assessments are required. Each examiner is required to submit
a written assessment of the dissertation within eight weeks of its receipt.
(ii) These written assessments will be presented on official forms forwarded with the dissertation. These
forms are available from the Faculty of Education Office and will deal with the general standard and
quality of the work and not with specific detail. Examiners are expected to return their assessment
within 8 weeks to the Faculty of Education Office. Each assessment is individual and confidential and
should not be made available to other examiners. Each examiner should make one of the following
recommendations:
(a) Pass:
• Implying that the dissertation be accepted without modification and the degree be awarded;
• Implying that the dissertation will be fully satisfactory except possibly for minor editorial
changes;
• Implying that the dissertation be accepted subject to major revisions, eg rewriting one of the
sections, with or without additional work (changes must be made to the satisfaction of the
Principal Supervisor or, if further work is required to develop additional evidence for the
rewrite, the certification of the Head of School is required.)
(b) Resubmit: Implying that the dissertation will be fully acceptable when certain necessary
corrections or modifications are made by the candidate and resubmitted to the examiners;
(c) Fail: Implying that the dissertation is not of an acceptable standard.
(iii) In the case of all of the above, an examiner should provide, along with the official assessment form, a
separate document indicating where corrections or modifications are required and as, appropriate,
providing any constructive criticism and comment helpful to the candidate. An examiner will refer to
any notably original contributions which the candidate has made and comment on the scope for further
research or postgraduate study.
(iv) The Student Affairs Officer will forward the set of examiners assessment forms and dissertation to the
Course Coordinator.
In the case of (a) above the Course Coordinator will determine the examination outcome and will
advise the Student Affairs Officer. The Student Affairs Officer will make the examiners requirements
available to the candidate and supervisor while maintaining the anonymity of the examiners. When the
student has made the required corrections, submitted three bound copies and the supervisor has certified
that corrections have been satisfactorily made, the Faculty Academic Board will sign an official record
indicating satisfaction of all dissertation requirements.
If a recommendation of type (b) is accepted, the Faculty Academic Board will ask the Course
Coordinator to ensure that the candidate is requested to resubmit the dissertation with any necessary
corrections or modifications. The revised dissertation is forwarded to the examiners for reassessment.
The Chairperson, HDAC will refer the matter to the Examination Sub-Committee of the Higher Degrees
Advisory Committee which has been established to make recommendations on areas of disputation
between examiners. The Chairperson, Higher Degrees Advisory Committee will then make formal
recommendation to the Faculty Academic Board. The Faculty Academic Board may confer and seek
further advice from the Higher Degrees Advisory Committee before making a ruling. The Faculty
Academic Board may then (i) not award the degree, or (ii) accept a majority recommendation with or
without the advice of a further external examiner.
If a recommendation of type (c) is accepted, the normal implication is that the candidate will be
excluded from the course. In exceptional circumstances, the Higher Degrees Advisory Committee
may grant the candidate an opportunity to submit a substantially new dissertation after a period of not
less than six months.
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