Slow Ph.D.s to be retested

Doctoral candidates taking more than five years to finish their dissertations will find themselves with some extra work. The Graduate Council of the Faculties passed an amendment in December requiring all students who spend more than five years on their dissertations to retake their preliminary exams or pass an oral exam on their topic. Janice Madden, vice provost for graduate education, who presented the amendment at last week's Graduate Student Associations Council meeting, said the purpose of the new rule is to ensure that students are kept current with new advances in their fields. Students at last week's GSAC meeting said they are concerned by the new rule, which will affect students who matriculate after spring 1993. GSAC representative Jessica Neuwirth said the new rule may "penalize people who take longer because they have less money and have to work." Neuwirth later added that students "who don't have personal resources" will lose even more time because they will have to work while finishing their dissertations and preparing to retake exams. Madden said that financial issues will have to be taken into account when students and their advisors plan out dissertation topics and schedules. "If facing financial constraints, students and faculty should talk about not only the academic plan but the financial plan," she said. Nevertheless, many students said they feel the rule penalizes students for what may be the faculty advisor's fault. "There's no way to put pressure on faculty to try to make sure that these dissertations are set appropriately," said GSAC chairperson Michele Grimm after the meeting. Dissertation topics are decided during discussions between students and their advisors and "the advisor has the ability to direct the student toward a topic that can be done in a timely fashion," Grimm said. But advisors often guide their students toward topics "with unrealistic expectations," Grimm added. And students are sometimes delayed when advisors take a long time to review part of their work. "[There have] been cases where they have not provided support . . . . Sometimes the advisor takes several months to review the dissertation chapter," Grimm said. Other students said they are concerned that the review process may be abused by professors who no longer want to work with a student. "The review at that point could be used to get rid of students they don't like," said former Graduate and Professional Student Assembly chairperson Michael Goldstein. "This gives the faculty member one more chance to screw around with the student," Neuwirth said after the meeting. Madden disagreed with the students, saying that "if the department is that out to get that student, the student's not going to get a degree not matter what the rule is."

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