1.4 The Department

The term "department" applies both to a department and to a non-departmentalized Faculty or to an extra-departmental graduate program. The term "department" also refers to the chair, graduate coordinator (e.g., associate chair, associate dean, or director of the graduate program), or any other individual officially designated as being responsible for graduate programs.

The department must assure that supervisors are aware of and are meeting their supervisory or advisory obligations, and in turn, that students are performing satisfactorily.

The department's graduate coordinator is the official representative of the department to its graduate students.

The department oversees the supervision of all graduate students enrolled in its programs and serves as the chief liaison with the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies (GPS). It is responsible for ensuring that the student receives proper supervision and that the regulations and requirements of GPS are met.

The department is responsible for keeping the GPS informed of any development in or changes relating to the student's program, including the appointment of the supervisor and supervisory committee members (where applicable) and changes to that membership, course and program changes, scheduling of examination dates, and so on.

The department maintains open communication with its students concerning any problem; and in the event of a conflict in the supervisor-student or advisor-student relationship, the graduate coordinator discusses the issues with the student and supervisor or advisor in a timely fashion (see Resolving Conflicts in Supervisor-Student Relationships in the Calendar).