Communication with Faculty

All students are responsible for checking their OUHSC email accounts regularly. The Graduate College and College of Nursing use this channel of communication for announcements and important messages. Please respect individual Faculty member’s posted office hours in the syllabus and preferences about telephoning him or her outside of class. Individual appointments may be made to discuss concerns with Faculty. Regardless of the manner of communication, students are expected to be courteous and respectful. Communication about courses students are enrolled in should be done via OUHSC email (not the student’s regular email).

Academic Advisors/Research Faculty Mentors

Each student is assigned an academic advisor/research faculty mentor upon admission to the PhD program. The role of the advisor/mentor is to direct the student in the development of her/his plan of study and to provide academic counseling when needed. The academic advisor is expected to:

  • Advise, encourage, and act as an advocate for students from the first day a student is inthe program. This should include regularly scheduled meetings, at least monthly, with the student through the completion of the General Examination and until the dissertation advisor is selected.
  • Design an appropriate curriculum for each student.
  • Work with the student to complete and file with the Graduate College a plan of study (Report of the Doctoral Advisory Conference). This report should be filed no later than the end of the student's first year in the program. The Advisor should ensure the student understands that the program may need to be modified or additional work may be necessary, depending on the choice of the dissertation advisor and dissertation topic.
  • Review with students, their plan of study before registering for the next semester and report any incompletes and deviation from the students plan of study to the PhD director.
  • Coordinate the administration of the General Examination at the appropriate time.
  • Perform an annual evaluation of each student's progress toward the degree and communicate the results of the evaluation to the student and the Graduate Advisory Committee.
  • Help the student determine if a different dissertation advisor is needed.
  • Review and update Course Plan of Study form at the end of each semester.

Identification of research mentors occurs as the student develops the topic area for a program of research. The research faculty mentor will include the student in his/her own active research studies, enabling the student to gain a context for coursework. The research mentor will logically be a member (possibly even the chair) of the General Examination and/or Dissertation Committee, depending on the time at which the mentorship relationship began.

Dissertation Committee members for each student will be appointed following his/her successful completion of the General Examination. Students will not be permitted to pursue research topics in areas that are not supported by faculty research expertise at OUHSC. Students may enhance their dissertation topic by interdisciplinary mentorship from faculty in disciplines other than nursing.

Five faculty serve as members of the student’s general examination and dissertation committee. All must have at least a level 3 graduate college appointment. Three members, including the chair of the committee, must have a level 4 graduate college appointment.

Changing Advisors/Research Faculty Mentors

As student interests change and their dissertation topic becomes more focused, students may request a change in their academic advisor/mentor. Students must first discuss their request with their current advisor/mentor, then with the proposed advisor/mentor, and finally with the PhD Program Director. The student’s change in advisor/mentor is then forwarded to the Graduate Advisory Committee for Nursing for review and final approval.

Student Responsibilities for Maintaining Records in the Doctoral Program

Students are responsible for meeting with their academic advisor/mentor at least monthly for the purposes of academic and professional mentoring and to determine student progress according to program and Graduate College requirements.

Students are expected to take charge of their education which includes maintaining electronic copies of academic records (i.e., plan of studies, enrollment forms). Students are responsible to maintain dissertation related materials, including data collected (i.e., data sets, analysis files), IRB letters (approvals, modifications), manuscript drafts, research-related PowerPoint presentations, and regulatory records (i.e., HIPAA, CITI and RCR certificates) in individually assigned folders on the secure PhD office server.