Quality Assurance & Institutional Effectiveness
ACADEMIC JOINT COMMITTEE FOR POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMS
The Academic Joint Committee for Postgraduate Programs ensures the admission of competent students, maintains balance in admissions, oversees program implementation, assists students in research difficulties, evaluates PhD proposals, reviews program plans, monitors student progress, assigns external examiners, collaborates with curriculum and academic committees, and enhances program quality.
Purpose
Chair
Members
The program director
Three faculty members from Gulf Medical University
Three faculty members from the partner institution
All members of the committee shall have a significant record of active engagement in research and scholarship related to the discipline and have prior supervisory experience.
Term of office
Two years (Renewable)
Frequency of Meetings
Once every month
College Dean
Quorum
75%
Decision-Making & Voting Right
Responsibilities
The Joint Committee is assigned the following roles:
Coordinate interviews with applicants to ensure admission of competent students.
Ensure an approximate balance in admissions to the program from both institutions.
Oversee the program implementation and recommend curriculum changes to be approved by the College Curriculum Committee.
Follow-up on the implementation of curricular changes recommended by the QA&PE Committee after being approved by the College Curriculum Committee
Assign two academic advisors (one from Gulf Medical University and another from the partner institution) to every graduate student to closely monitor and follow the student progress.
Ensure that the assigned academic advisors have no conflict of interest with the student and with each other.
Assist students in overcoming scientific and research difficulties they may face during the period of their studies.
Evaluation and selection of PhD proposal based on:
Quality of the proposed research project (relevance to the discipline, originality, suitable methods, and feasibility
Qualifications of the researchers: track record of the co-supervisors
Complementarity of the two research environments, additionality for the student of being co-supervised.
Review and approve a plan for each student’s program, including the probable time and dates to be spent at each institution, research training arrangements and progression monitoring and reporting.
Examine and evaluate the reports presented by the supervisors on their student’s progress.
Assign external examiner(s) based on recommendation from the principal supervisor.
The relationship with the College Curriculum Committee and University Academic Committee
The JAC will recommend curricular changes for review and approval in the College Curriculum Committee. Curricular changes are shared with the university Academic Committee to determine if there is a substantive change that requires further approvals.
The relationship with the QA&PE Committee
The College QA&PE Committee will track and enhance the program quality in terms of reviewing the program effectiveness report and recommend changes that shall be approved by the Curriculum Committee and then implemented by the JAC.