An Independent Chair makes sure the University’s procedures with regard to the examination of research degrees are followed. They take no part in the assessment process, but ensure that the examination process is conducted fairly and equitably. Graduate School Administrators maintain a list of approved Independent Chairs who can be appointed by Deans of Postgraduate Study, when required.
The Independent Chair will be present for the duration of the oral examination, normally also including the pre‐meeting and post oral discussions between examiners. An Independent Chair will not be required to take notes of the meeting for the external examiners, but will be required to provide a summary report on proceedings to the Graduate School Administrator following the oral examination.
When is an independent internal chair needed?
An Independent Chair MUST be appointed in the following circumstances:
- Where two External Examiners are appointed.
- Where the Internal examiner has no previous experience of examining a doctoral degree.
An Independent Chair MAY be appointed in the following circumstances:
- Where the Examiners of the thesis require the assistance of an independent authority to conduct the examination process.
- Where the Internal examiner has no previous experience of examining doctoral degrees at Newcastle University.
- When the Dean of Postgraduate Studies deems an independent authority is needed to ensure the examination process is conducted fairly.
Criteria that internal chairs must meet
An Independent Chair shall:
- Normally be an academic member of staff at the University, normally at Senior Lecturer / Reader level or above.
- Be familiar with Newcastle University examination processes for research degrees.
- Have substantial experience of postgraduate research and examination.
Criteria that may exclude internal chairs
An Independent Chair MUST NOT:
- Be a member of the supervisory team, or have played any part in the research under examination.
- Normally be from the student and/or supervisor’s home School/Institute. In practice, it is often difficult to identify a chair who isn’t from the ICM, and we may relax this criterion.
Practicalities of appointing an internal chair
While the postgraduate team are always happy to advise, it is of course more interesting for the chair if they understand the subject matter and the supervisory team can recommend an internal chair.
We will nevertheless need the chair to comply with the guidelines as above. In particular it is absolutely essential that the chair plays no part in the examination, or indeed has any previous relationship with the project. We know that all members of academic staff understand the need for objectivity, but in case the chair is called upon to help resolve a point of procedure, the process must appear objective to outside scrutiny.