The following is a set of recommendations for the successful completion of the duty's of the examination oral defence Chair.

• Title Changes: Please notify the Graduate Secretary if there is a thesis title change. To save time the documents can be computer generated with the revised title while the committee is still in the exam room.
  
  • The title cannot be changed after the examination takes place.
• The Chair will distribute copies of the abstract to attendees.
  

Prior to commencing defence the Chair is to remind the attendees to turn off all cellular devices.

• The Chair will introduce the committee to the audience and review with the committee the procedures to be followed, alluding to the possible outcome options described in Graduate General Regulation 1.10.2 of the SFU graduate calendar.
• The candidate will be invited to review the rationale for and justification of the study and to provide an assessment of its worth.
• The responsibility for critical questioning of the candidate’s work rests predominantly with the external examiner who is responsible for the maintenance of high but reasonable standards.
• The supervisory committee member(s) follow the external examiner’s session. They may wish to raise additional points or to probe further any points on which the candidate may not have responded as well as the examiner believes he/she could.
• The senior supervisor will be invited to question the candidate in a way that presents the positive features of the study. At the same time the senior supervisor should feel free to foresee points of weakness and question the candidate so as to provide an opportunity for the candidate to defend in a more relaxed context than when challenged by other examiners.
• Upon conclusion of the examining committee’s questioning another round of questions will be solicited at the committee’s discretion.
  • Prior to this the Chair may exercise the right to sum up the proceedings to that point.
• At the conclusion of all questioning, any guests attending the oral should be given the opportunity to ask any questions of the candidate that they may have.
• At the conclusion of all questioning, the candidate and any guests will be asked to leave the examination room. In the candidate’s absence a formal decision will be made by the examining committee in accordance with Graduate General Regulation 1.10.2.
  • Masters’ theses are passed by majority vote of the examining committee.
  • Theses of Ph.D. and Special Arrangements candidates require the assenting vote of the external examiner.
  • The Chair does not have a vote in these deliberations.
• When a decision has been reached, and duly recorded in all its particulars by the Chair, the candidate is invited back into the examination room, is advised (by the Chair) of the committee’s decision, and all necessary forms are signed.