Establishing & Communicating with Your Committee

In consultation with their advisor the student is responsible for establishing and maintaining an advisory committee. WSU faculty have the right to decline to serve on any specific student’s advisory committee.

All advisory committee members and the graduate program director must sign the Program of Study. Once the Program of Study has been filed with the Graduate School, changes may be made to the advisory committee composition by completing the Committee Change form. 

The vice provost for graduate and professional education has final approval for all advisory committees. The vice provost also has the authority to remove a faculty member from a student’s advisory committee after consultation with the program/department chair, the dean of the college, and the provost, when it is in the best interest of the student and the program.

Master’s Advisory Committee Requirements 

The master’s advisory committee guides the student through the master’s program, advises the student on required coursework, oversees the student’s scholarly activities or research, reviews progress toward degree, and conducts the final exam. The master’s advisory committee is officially approved using the program of study form. 

Master’s advisory committee composition must meet the following minimum requirements: 

• All members of the advisory committee must hold a degree of comparable level to the degree sought by the student (i.e., Master of Science). 
• The advisory committee must include at least three current WSU faculty members of any track (career, adjoint, adjunct, etc.).
• Two of the members of the advisory committee must be current members of the Faculty of the Graduate School. 
• Two of the members of the advisory committee must be SOE Faculty. 
• One member of the committee must be tenure-track or tenured. Career track faculty can be chair with director approval and a 5-year renewable faculty of the graduate school appointment, but another member of the committee must be tenured/tenure-track.
• Advisory committees may have more than three members; however, the majority must be members of the Faculty of the Graduate School. 

Non-faculty advisory committee member requirements

Individuals who are not WSU faculty may be considered as additional (beyond three) advisory committee members on an ad hoc basis. 

• External advisory committee members must hold a degree comparable to that sought by the student and have specific expertise that is particularly important to the student’s proposed program. 
• Examples of external advisory committee members would include faculty from another university or individuals from an appropriate government, business, or industry organization. 
• Such an individual must be nominated to serve on an advisory committee by the associate director to the vice provost for graduate and professional education, who makes the final decision. A current curriculum vitae and nomination memo must be included with the request, which is submitted through the GRM along with the Program of Study or Change of Committee form. 
• Submit the external member form (found on the grad school website) before the end of your second semester. So, the school has time to process the form before your program of study is due at the beginning of your third semester.

PhD Advisory Committee Requirements

The doctoral advisory committee is officially approved using the program of study.  

All doctoral advisory committee members are normally expected to hold a PhD. On a case-by-case basis, the vice provost for graduate and professional education may approve research active faculty, with other doctoral or equivalent degrees, to serve on a PhD advisory committee. 

• Each doctoral advisory committee must include at least three members of the current Faculty of the Graduate School. 
• At least two of the members must be graduate program faculty in the WSU School of the Environment (SOE). 
• Two committee members must be tenure-track or tenured.  Career track faculty can chair committees with nomination from the director of the school and a five-year appointment, which can be renewed. If the chair is a Career-track faculty, 2 other members of the committee must be tenure track.
• Advisory committees may have more than three members; however, the majority must be members of the Faculty of the Graduate School. 
• Individuals who are not WSU faculty may be considered as additional (beyond three) advisory committee members on an ad hoc basis. 
• External advisory committee members must hold a degree comparable to that sought by the student and have special knowledge that is particularly important to the student’s proposed program. 
• Examples of external advisory committee members would include faculty from another university or individuals from an appropriate government, business, or industry organization. 
• Such an individual must be nominated to serve on an advisory committee by the chair or director (in the academic program, department, or school) to the vice provost for graduate and professional education, who makes the final decision. A current curriculum vitae and nomination form must be included with the request, which is submitted through the GRM by the graduate academic coordinator (along with the Program of Study or Change of Committee form. 

Conflicts of Interest 

Potential conflicts of interest should be acknowledged when forming a graduate student’s advisory committee. Examples of potential perceived or real conflicts of interest include:  

1. a new faculty member who was a former graduate school peer
2. a faculty member who is the employer or supervisor of a staff member pursuing a degree
3. faculty members whose impartiality may be impacted because of close professional or personal relationships that are separate from their WSU faculty roles

Faculty who were SOE grad students will need to wait at least two years from their graduation, per Graduate School recommendation, to serve on an SOE student’s committee to negate potential conflicts of interest. 

The vice provost for graduate and professional education has the final approval for all advisory committees. The vice provost also has the authority to remove a faculty member from a student’s advisory committee after consultation with the program/department chair, the dean of the college, and the provost, when it is in the best interest of the student and the program. 

Graduate Committee Membership Requirement Table

Committee Member	Must be WSU Graduate School faculty?	Must be SOE Approved Member of the Faculty of the Graduate School?	Must be Tenure-track?	Degree must be equal or greater than that sought by student
1st member (not necessarily advisor)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
2nd member	Yes	Yes	Yes (PhD only)	Yes
3rd member	Yes	No	No	Yes
Optional additional members	No	At least 50% of all members must be faculty of the Graduate School	No	Yes (and is approved by the SoE Associate Director of Graduate Studies)

Meetings With Advisor & Committee 

Regular meetings with advisors are important for communication and success as a graduate student. In a student’s first meeting with their advisor, they should establish a plan for regular meetings. Many students & advisors meet weekly to once every two weeks when possible.

Full committee meetings may be less frequent due to committee availability and scheduling constraints but should be at least once per year per graduate policy. See page 54 of the Graduate School Policies and Procedures manual for more information.  

Annual Review of Graduate Students

The annual review is a yearly performance process completed by a graduate student and their advisor each year. All parts of the annual review are mandatory, per WSU graduate school policy, for all graduate students, including those on leave.

All currently enrolled graduate students, including those graduating in the spring semester, and their advisors must complete the following: 

1. A performance review of academic progress towards the degree, to be completed independently by the student’s major advisor.  
2. A performance review of the student’s work as a research or graduate assistant (if applicable). This review is completed by the student’s assistantship supervisor.  
3. A Microsoft Form documenting student activity through the year, used mainly for data collection for graduate school reports. This should be completed independently by graduate students. 
4. An updated (within the past year) CV or Resume. 

The review form is distributed to students by the graduate coordinator in January of each year.  These reviews cover the previous calendar year (January through December) rather than the current academic year. 

The results of each section are to be discussed in a meeting between the students and their advisor. Addendums may be added separately after the review in addition to the independently completed sections. The review process is outlined in Chapter 6, Part B, of the Graduate School Policies and Procedures Handbook (Academic Evaluation of Students). 

All completed advisor/supervisor annual reviews should be signed by students & advisors. The graduate coordinator will pull a copy from Canvas to keep on record.

Separate assessment of academic performance & employment duties

The student’s academic research performance will be assessed independently from their performance of assigned RA duties. Academic research performance is measured by SOE 700 or 800 research credits during the regular academic year and overall academic progress during the summer. 

Each year, the student’s academic progress will be evaluated, at minimum, by their advisory committee based on factors such as academic milestones, quality of work, and overall progress toward completion of the thesis or dissertation. At least annually, the Academic Student Employee (ASE)’s performance is to be assessed separately by their assistantship supervisor, as described in the WSU/UAW Contract Article 33.4.2. This assessment focuses on fulfilling assigned duties, quality of work, professionalism, and other relevant factors outlined in the appointment letter and job description. 

Communication & Oversight

Regular communication between the student, RA supervisor, major professor/advisor (if different than RA supervisor), and graduate program leadership is crucial to ensure an appropriate balance between employment duties and academic progress. Students are to raise any questions they have about distinguishing between their RA duties and their academic research and training (including but not limited to their thesis or dissertation) to their supervisor or program director. Supervisors and program directors are to periodically review the RA’s responsibilities and adjust as needed to optimize the student’s overall academic and professional development. 

Grievances

Graduate students are entitled to file formal grievances of fellow students, staff, and faculty members following the guidelines set forth beginning on page 104 of the WSU Graduate School Policies & Procedures manual.  

Students also have a right to grievance representation under the UAW/WSU mutual agreement. For more information, please see Article 37 of the UAW/WSU 2024-2026 agreement.