The Evaluation Process

The Faculty of the Department of Physics has charged the Departmental Graduate Studies Committee with the task of reviewing annually in the Spring Quarter the record of achievement and rate of progress of each graduate student to determine if he/she is "in good standing" in the department and eligible for continuing financial aid. In the case of students during their first two years, the term "in good standing" is applied to eligibility for the fourth quarter appointment and for students beyond the second year, the term "in good standing" is required for continuing financial support from any source . On the basis of this review the Graduate Studies Committee makes recommendations about the student's progress to the student, to the advisor, and to the Chairperson of the Department. In order to carry out this function in a fair and responsible manner, the Committee requires detailed and accurate information from various sources. In particular, it obtains information from the student, from the faculty advisory Committee, from course grades and, in those cases in which the student holds a teaching associateship, from the faculty course supervisor and from student course evaluation forms. Each source of information plays a role as indicated in the following sections:

The Student:

Students are asked to complete a questionnaire which provides a statement of their academic goals, their estimate of their progress toward them, and any special circumstances which they wish considered.

The Advisor:

The student's advisor is asked to complete a questionnaire giving her/his evaluation of the student's progress and potential. Since the advisor is ordinarily the person who has had the largest amount of personal interaction with the student, this evaluation is extremely important. It is the mutual responsibility of the student and the advisor to discuss and evaluate the student's progress on a continuing basis.

Advisory Committee:

Students who have passed the General Examination shall have an annual meeting with their Advisory Committee to review the progress over the past year. A copy of their report shall be submitted to the Graduate Studies Committee for their use in the annual review.

Academic Program and Course Grades:

The program of courses selected by the student is useful as an indicator of the level of work being undertaken and of the progress during the year. The Committee will translate these grades as follows:

A(4.O), A-(3.7) B+(3.3) B(3.O) B-(2.7) C+ or lower grade      Superior performance in the course Good performance in the course Adequate performance in the course Inadequate performance in the course Performance not at graduate leve

Non-physics courses will not be considered in determining the grade point average to be used by the Graduate Studies Committee in evaluating the progress of the student. During the first two years, "satisfactory progress" includes the enrollment in and successful completion of a combination of three core, contemporary physics and/or advanced courses per quarter for Fellows and seven such courses per academic year for GTAs, and maintaining a GPA of 3.25 or better.

Teaching Performance:

Normally, graduate students hold a teaching associateship at some time during their graduate career. It provides both valuable experience and an opportunity for students to explore their interests and abilities in this area. While it is rather difficult to evaluate a teacher if fine gradations in a performance scale are required, it is relatively easy to distinguish excellent, average, and poor performance. Reports from the faculty course supervisor and the statistical results from students' course evaluation forms provide useful indicators to the Committee.

Academic Probation:

While the Physics Department uses the Physics courses for their evaluation of satisfactory progress in the annual review, the graduate school includes all courses in the evaluation of its "Probation" standing. A student on probation is not considered to be in good standing with the physics department and is not normally eligible for continuing financial support from the department.

Committee Recommendations

Master's Program.

If the Committee's review of the work of a student who wishes to obtain the Master's degree indicates that he/she is making satisfactory progress it will ordinarily be recommended that he/she take the Qualifying Exam as the written portion of the Master's Examination by some indicated future date. If the student successfully passes this examination it is expected that he/she will complete the requirements for the Plan A or Plan B Master's Degree during the following year.

If the review indicates that the student's work is unsatisfactory the Committee will ordinarily recommend that he/she not continue graduate work in physics at O.S.U.

Ph.D. Program.

For a student who enters with a B.S. degree,

Proceed to take the Qualifying Examination by an indicated date or

Proceed to take the Qualifying Examination as the written portion of the Master's Examination the following Winter quarter and plan to complete the master's Degree and then apply for continuation in the Ph.D. program.

Proceed to take the Qualifying Examination as the written portion of the Master's Examination the following quarter and plan to complete graduate work in physics at O.S.U. with the Master's degree, or

Discontinue graduate work in physics at O.S.U.

For a student who enters with an M.S. degree,

Proceed to take the Qualifying Examination by an indicated date,

Discontinue graduate work in physics at O.S.U.

After the second year of graduate work the Committee may recommend:

For a student who has not taken the Qualifying Examination

Proceed to take the Qualifying Exam by the following Summer.

Proceed to take the Qualifying Exam as the written portion of the Master's Exam at the next opportunity and plan to complete the Master's Degree and to apply for continuation in the Ph.D. program.

Proceed to take the Qualifying Exam as the written portion of the Master's Exam at the next opportunity and plan to complete graduate work in physics at O.S.U. with the Master's Degree.

Discontinue graduate work in physics at O.S.U.

For a student who has taken the Qualifying Examination and passed at the Ph.D. level,

Develop the Advisory Committee, define the required advanced courses and proceed to the General Examination.

Repeat the Qualifying Examination at the next opportunity.

Plan to complete the Master's degree and then apply for continuation in the Ph.D. program.

Plan to complete graduate work in physics at O.S.U. with the Master's Degree.

For a student who has taken the Qualifying Examination and has not passed at the Master's level,

Repeat the Qualifying Examination at the next opportunity.

Discontinue graduate work in physics at O.S.U.

For a student who has performed unsatisfactorily on the General Examination,

On the recommendation of the student's examining committee, repeat the General Examination, or

Proceed to complete the requirements for a Master's Degree, or

Discontinue graduate work in physics at O.S.U.

For a student in her/his sixth year and beyond,

The student shall meet with her/his Advisory Committee early in the spring quarter to review her/his progress toward the PhD. The Advisory Committee will make recommendations to the student regarding steps necessary to complete her/his dissertation work as soon as possible. If the Committee concludes that there is merit in continuing financial support beyond the sixth year it must be delineated in its annual review report. These recommendations shall be submitted to the Graduate Studies Office and will be included in the departmental annual review process.

The annual reviews occurring after the student has passed the Qualifying Examination at the masters level or the General Examination will serve principally to monitor the student's progress toward the completion of the requirements for the respective degrees.

Communications and Follow Up

The results of the annual review are communicated to the student by letter with a copy to the advisor. When specific information and counsel is included in the annual review letter, the Graduate Studies Committee will expect the student to follow through. Thus, for example, if the letter contains a reference to the time at which the student will take the Qualifying Examination, the Graduate Studies Committee expects the student to comply. Failure to do so may affect judgments regarding future academic standing and/or financial support.

 

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