Instructions for departments
Upon completion of the final oral defense, the department must submit to Graduate Studies a completed "Defense Report Form" with the outcome of the defense and the final grade. Before the form is submitted fo graduate studies:
- ALL fields on the form must be populated, including the final grade in the "GRADE" field.
- ALL necessary signatures must be obtained on the form as outlined below.
Voting Outcome
Refer to page 2 of the Defense Report Form for details regarding voting outcome options. Note the following additional requirement for a voting outcome of "Pass with major changes", as specified on page 2 of the Defense Report Form:
"Pass with major changes:
In this case the committee shall decide how satisfactory completion is to be determined (e.g., full committee approval, a second opportunity to defend, or simply approval by the advisor). If the Committee recommends a Pass with major changes, a recommendation from the committee, by the Chair of the Defense, should be forwarded to the Dean of Graduate Studies outlining how satisfactory completion is to be determined. The Report Form should be retained by the advisor until all changes have been satisfactorily completed, after which time it may be forwarded to the Dean of Graduate Studies."
Signatures on the Defense Report Form
The Defense Report Form must be signed by the student's advisor(s), chair of defense, and AAU/program chair. Departments can use any preferred method to obtain signatures on the form, such inserting a photo or scanned image of handwritten signatures, or having each person in turn manually sign the form and return a scanned signed copy of the form to the next person. Alternatively, departments can use the following instructions for obtaining digital signatures on the Defense Report Form using Adobe Acrobat Reader.
- The graduate program secretary (or designate) downloads a copy of the Defense Report Form (.pdf) and fills in the information.
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The graduate program secretary sends the form to each person, in turn, for their signature. Note: do not send the form to everyone at once otherwise you will have multiple files returned to you instead of a single file signed by everyone. Alternatively, the form can be posted on OneDrive and shared with everyone who needs to sign.
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Each person will sign their form, following the instuctions below, and send it back to the graduate program secretary who will forward the final completed and signed form to Graduate Studies (svetlana@uwindsor.ca).
If an individual is unable to insert a digital or scanned handwritten signature, an email from them confirming approval will be acceptable in lieu of a signature. The graduate program secretary will forward the email along with the Report Form to Graduate Studies.
After the student has completed the final post-defense submission ("deposit") of their document, the Report Form will be processed by Graduate Studies and the final grade submitted to Registrar's for posting on UWinsite.
To add a digital signature to the Defense Report form:
- Refer to the step by step instructions for inserting a digital signature to a PDF form. After you have applied your digital signature, save the Form and return to the graduate program secretary.