Post-viva procedures
Return of joint report form
At the end of the viva the Joint Report (RD4) form must be completed and signed by both examiners and returned immediately to the Postgraduate Research Education Team as an email attachment to pgresearch@essex.ac.uk.
In the case of a ‘referral’, ‘pass subject to minor corrections’ or ‘pass subject to major corrections’, a typed list of such corrections MUST be returned with the Joint Report (RD4) form. In addition, it’s advisable for notes to also be added to the electronic version of this thesis and sent to the student, to aid them whilst undertaking the correction/referral process.
The RD4 form and the examination outcome recommended by the examiners will have to be approved by the Dean. The Dean may require additional information when considering the recommendations. Examiners should respond to such requests accordingly. The candidate will be formally informed of the result of the examination by the Postgraduate Research Education Team, once it has been approved by the Dean.
When completing your reports, please bear in mind that it is University policy that research degree candidates are entitled to receive copies of the examiners’ pre- and post -viva reports on their thesis, upon request.
During the corrections period
The Internal Examiner (or a nominated External Examiner in the case of staff candidates) may be contacted by a member of the student's supervisory team, in the event that clarification is required for one or more of the corrections identified.
Once the corrections have been completed, the candidate will send the updated version of the thesis, showing tracked changes, along with a letter/statement explaining how they have addressed the corrections, to pgrsubmission@essex.ac.uk. The PGRE Team will send the updated thesis, along with an ‘Approval of Corrections’ form, for consideration by the internal examiner (or a nominated external examiner in the case of staff candidates).
If the corrections are not deemed to have been completed satisfactorily, a further corrections period may be recommended.
Referral for re-examination
If your recommended examination outcome was ‘referral’ and this is approved by the Dean, the candidate will be informed that they have not met the requirements for the award, and they have been permitted to undertake further substantive work on their thesis for submission for re-examination within 12 months.
You will provide a statement, as part of the Joint Report (RD4) form, describing the shortcomings of the thesis and the significant changes required which have resulted in referral for re-examination within 12 months. In most cases, the viva process will commence again, and you will be involved in the re-examined as part of the original examination team. Candidates given a resubmission deadline, by which to resubmit their thesis for re-examination, of 12 months after the notification of the outcome.
In some cases, following assessment of the resubmitted thesis, you may determine that a further viva is not needed because the student has sufficiently addressed all of the items raised in the joint report and referral statement. In such cases, following submission and sharing of your independent examiner reports, both examiners can recommend to the Dean (via the PGRE Team) that the viva be waived. It would not normally be permitted for a viva to be waived unless both examiners are recommending either ‘Pass subject to no corrections’ or ‘Pass subject to typographical/presentational corrections’.
