The Department of Mathematical Sciences is housed in DuSable Hall (DU) and Watson Hall (WH). A list of names, offices, and office telephone numbers for all faculty and graduate assistants will be distributed within approximately two weeks. Here are some of the people you may need to contact in the meantime.
Prof. William Blair (WH 320), the Department Chair
Prof. John Wolfskill (WH 320), the Assistant Chairman of the Department
Department Office Staff (WH 320): Elizabeth Buck (Head Secretary),
Erika Cervantes (Graduate Director *Prof. Harris* Secretary) 753-0568,
Debra Woolbright (Assistant Chair Secretary), Rodney Jacobson, and
Kari Larkin (Secretary)Prof. Bernard Harris(WH 368; 753-6775; gradprog@math.niu.edu) is the Director of Graduate Studies and person who last modified this document. We will be in continual interaction in terms of your graduate study and your assistantship responsibilities. Feel free to call upon me to discuss any aspect of your role as a graduate student and as a GTA. I am in a position to help you with many problems, but I can only do that if I know what the problems are.
Dr. Eric Behr (WH 323, behr@math.niu.edu) is the Computing Systems Manager for the Department
Prof. Hamid Bellout (WH 330) directs the Applications Involvement Component of the Ph.D. program. All Ph.D. students should register for one hour of MATH 692 until they have completed their AIC requirement. Ph.D. students should contact Prof. Bellout at least one year before the desired time of their AIC placement.
Prof. Rama T. Lingham (DU 366B) is the director of the Division of Statistics within the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
Ms. Cynthia Stecher (WH 364) is the Coordinator of Teacher Certification. Students seeking certification to teach mathematics in grades 6-12 should consult with Ms. Stecher early on for advice on their program of study and their eventual placement as a student teacher.
Prof. Zhuan Ye (WH 338) is the Director of Undergraduate Studies. All courses in which you will be assisting fall under his jurisdiction.
The main departmental office is Watson 320. The offices of the Department Chair, the Assistant Chair, and the office staff are located here. The main office is normally open from 8:00-4:30, Monday-Friday. The phone number for the main office is 753-0566.
Go to the main math office to:
The graduate student mailboxes are located near the main office, adjacent to Watson 324. Check your mailbox frequently (once a day, if possible) for messages. This is especially important during the next two weeks, when changes in your TA assignments may be necessary on very short notice.
Each graduate teaching assistant will have a desk in DuSable 374 (Phone 753-1723), DuSable 370 (Phone 753-1146), or DuSable 352 (Phone 753-6774). Obtain your desk assignment and keys from Erika in Watson 320. Please inform Prof. Harris if any complications arise in connection with your desk assignment.
It is essential that the GTA offices be locked when no TA is present. In the recent past we have had significant incidences of theft. Remember that the other TAs are counting on you to maintain the security of their possessions in the room.
Use your office to prepare your teaching materials and to study, but please do not schedule your office hours in a GTA office. Instead, use DuSable 326 (the MAC) to have scheduled meetings with your students.
This room contains computing resources for the use of the graduate students, including workstations, terminals, printers, and a PC. Your office key opens the door. The door to this room should remain closed and locked, even when someone is inside.
The Reading Room contains recent issues of mathematical journals. It is intended as a resource for research by faculty and advanced graduate students, and should not be used for group discussions, administration of make-up tests, or studying. A key to the Reading Room is kept in each TA Office. It is essential that the door to the Reading Room be locked at all times.
The Mathematics Assistance Center (MAC) is staffed by TAs to provide assistance to students in our lower-level courses who need extra help. The MAC usually opens the second week of the semester and is staffed Monday-Friday, 9-3.
The university requires the direct deposit of paychecks; there is a form in your orientation folder. If there has been any break in employment, it is necessary to fill out a new form. You will be paid on the 15th and the last day of the month. You will receive your first paycheck on August 30th.
The department provides resources for duplication jobs that GTAs need in connection with their teaching responsibilities. (For duplicating items for your personal use, including items relating to your role as a student, purchase a copy card at Founder's library. This card can be used with most of the photocopying machines on campus.)
There is a duplicating machine in DU 356 (Reading Room) that GTAs may use to duplicate quizzes and other small jobs. Please do not use this machine until you have received instructions on its proper use. Short training sessions will be held Thursday afternoon during orientation. If a problem arises while you are using the duplicating machine, immediately inform the math department office staff in WH 320.
You may also submit duplication jobs (quizzes and handouts) to Rodney Jacobson in the main office. Attach a blue duplication request form to your job, and leave your duplication job in the box on the counter on the main math office. These jobs should be submitted at least two working days in advance of when they are needed. Pick up your duplication job at the main math office when it is ready. If you are teaching a class with full responsibility, you may submit exams for duplicating. Exams should be submitted four days in advance of when they are needed.
Keep in mind that Rodney Jacobson performs duplication jobs for the whole department, and that some times during the semester are particularly busy. It's therefore best to submit duplication jobs as early as you can, particularly during times that examinations are being given in several other undergraduate classes.
Teaching assistants all receive tuition waivers for the academic terms of their appointments. In addition, students who serve as teaching assistants during a spring semester are entitled to a tuition waiver for the following summer term, even those who do not hold an assistantship during that summer.
This is very important. The University offers medical insurance to graduate students and their families, in case they do not have other coverage. Please consult the Student Health Insurance office at 753-0122 for information about how to obtain this insurance.
The Student Center Bookstore offers a 10% discount on textbook purchases by graduate assistants. To take advantage of this opportunity, purchase your books at the service desk on the lower level of the bookstore. You will need to bring one of the following forms of identification: your appointment letter as a graduate assistant, or a Student Center charge card which indicates that you are a graduate student.
Unless specific arrangements have been made with the Director of Graduate Studies in advance and in writing, graduate teaching assistants are required to be present at 9:00 a.m. the Thursday before fall semester classes start in August, and at 9:00 a.m. the Friday before spring semester classes start in January.
The Department of Mathematical Sciences expects that each graduate assistant will work an average of 14 hours per week to fulfill their assignment. With the permission of the Department and the Graduate School, non-international graduate assistants may accept up to 6 hours of work each week with another office on campus.
Graduate Assistants may offer their services as tutors to other students. However, it is not appropriate to tutor for a fee in the same course that you are assisting, or to collect a fee from anyone you help in the MAC.
Normally, the Department of Mathematical Sciences will not provide teaching assistantship support for doctoral students who have been enrolled in the department's graduate program for more than 7 years (starting with a bachelor's degree), or for more than 6 years (starting with a master's degree). The Department generally will provide up to two years of assistantship support for students pursuing a master's degree.
Graduate assistants who are simultaneously pursuing the M.S. degree in mathematics and certification to teach mathematics in grades 6-12 will be considered, on a case-by-case basis, for a fifth semester of assistantship support. This reflects the reality that the M.S. degree with certification usually requires three full years of study, with the final semester set aside primarily for student teaching (and not to be supported by an assistantship).
Qualified TAs may be asked to teach their own section of a course with full responsibility and an enhanced stipend. There are a limited number of full responsibility assignments available. There are usually fewer such assignments than there are qualified TAs to fill them. Consequently, teaching assignments will be rotated among qualified TAs enrolled in the Ph.D. program in an attempt to guarantee that those qualified to teach with full responsibility have the opportunity to do so for at least three and at most six semesters. Doctoral students who hold fellowships and wish to teach with full responsibility are included in this policy, provided that they are qualified and that the terms of their fellowship allow this.
Under this policy, many doctoral students completing their program in five years will fulfill their assistantship responsibilities in one of the following ways: (a) two years as a teaching assistant plus three years teaching with full responsibility; or (b) three years as a teaching assistant plus two years teaching with full responsibility. There will, of course, be individual exceptions to these guidelines.
The Department presents Certificates of Teaching Excellence to advanced doctoral students who have demonstrated sustained teaching excellence and a strong record of academic achievement in the graduate program. In order to be considered for this award, a student must have successfully completed the written Ph.D. Qualifying Examination and served as a graduate teaching assistant for at least four fall or spring semesters, including at least two semesters of teaching with full responsibility. The awards are conferred at the departmental commencement ceremony in May.
All GTAs must be full-time students (carrying nine hours of courses each semester) in good academic standing. A graduate student whose cumulative GPA in graduate courses falls below 3.00 will be placed on academic probation. At the end of each subsequent term of enrollment, the cumulative graduate GPA is re-computed and if it rises to 3.00 or above, then the probation is removed. This must be achieved by the time 9 additional hours of graduate courses have been taken or within three terms of enrollment, otherwise the student is subject to academic dismissal.
If a graduate assistant with a contract for an academic year is placed on academic probation after the fall semester, then they may appeal to retain their assistantship for the spring semester. However, no new contract for an assistantship will be initiated by the Graduate School until the probation has been removed. This provision is also subject to appeal, so you should consult with Prof. Harris as soon as possible if you are placed on academic probation.
Master's students may use the non-penalty repeat option to remove themselves from academic probation. Under this option, a course in which a master's student has received grade lower than B may be re-taken, and if a higher grade is received on the second try, then the cumulative GPA is re-computed using the higher grade. This option requires prior notification of the Graduate School (i.e., before the course is re-taken), so let Prof. Harris know before the beginning of the term if you wish to exercise this option. The non-penalty repeat option may be applied to at most six semester hours; that is, it can be applied to at most two three-hour courses. The non-penalty repeat option is not available to doctoral students.
Many freshman-sophomore mathematics courses at NIU are taught using the lecture/recitation method. A faculty member gives lectures to a class of 100-300 students three times each week. The class is divided into smaller recitation sections (about 30 students each) for which the teaching assistant is responsible. During the recitations, questions are taken and answered, detailed solutions to problems are presented, homework may be collected, quizzes administered, and homework and quizzes returned to the students. As a teaching assistant, you play a vital role in this program, because you are in a position to address the needs of each student individually. Moreover, since you are both a student and a teacher, you can bring a perspective to your teaching role and an appreciation of the students' difficulties that many professors cannot.
In most cases your duties will require an average of 14 hours per week. You will attend the class lectures given by your faculty supervisor (3 hours per week) and will conduct scheduled recitation sections (3 or 4 hours per week). The remainder of your time is split between office hours, preparation, writing quizzes, and grading papers. The time distribution depends on the course and will be explained by the course coordinator.
Your attendance at lectures serves two purposes. First, you are able to follow the methods and point of view of your faculty supervisor. This allows recitation sections to run more smoothly and greatly increases the amount of material that can be covered. It also avoids any confusion that would arise if you approached a problem differently than the lecturer did. Second, your ability to provide reliable feedback is enhanced by your attendance at lectures. If a student has a question on something the lecturer said, you will know what the student is referring to, since you were also present at the lecture. It is your responsibility not only to assist the students with their difficulties, but also to point out to the lecturer if there is widespread misunderstanding of a problem or technique among the students. Since substantial feedback from the students is generally not possible in the large lectures--it is your responsibility to receive this feedback, organize it, and pass the information back to the lecturer.
If you are unable to perform one of your regularly scheduled duties, due to illness or other unforeseeable reason, notify your faculty supervisor as early as possible. If you are unable to reach your supervisor, contact the Assistant Chair or the Director of Graduate Studies.
Each TA will be evaluated by their faculty supervisor. Your performance as a student naturally is of primary importance; this is your reason for being here. Nevertheless, in questions of reappointment, your performance as a teacher does play a role. In fairness to our undergraduate students, we cannot reappoint TAs whose teaching is unsatisfactory. Moreover, TAs are always expected to carry out their duties reliably and responsibly.
The Mathematics Assistance Center is located in DuSable 326. TAs who are assisting in 110, 155, 210, and 211 will be assigned two office hours per week in the MAC. You are responsible for helping all students who come to the MAC, not just the ones in your own recitation sections. You will be also select a third office hour in the MAC each week for the benefit of students in your own recitation sections.
In any situation where a student must use some thought and ingenuity to solve a problem it is not enough to simply present a solution. The students' understanding is greatly increased if someone can look at their work, indicate the point where they started to go wrong, and propose an alternative direction. It is very difficult to provide this service in the recitation sections. For this reason the Department maintains the Mathematics Assistance Center. The Center also permits students to meet and work together, getting help when they need it. This aspect should be actively encouraged. It gives the students a chance to meet others in the same course and with the same difficulties.
The technique for handling the sessions will vary with the number of students present. The emphasis should be on individual help and hence recitation session techniques will not apply. The following are a few suggestions. Work individually or with small groups of students. Keep moving; don't permit one student to monopolize all your time. An amazing number of students are too timid to ask for help. They will attend the session and sit quietly at a table, waiting for you to approach them. Keep an eye out for these people. They frequently need the most help.
The two basic challenges you will encounter during these help sessions are to encourage substantial student participation and to provide a sufficiently high quality help to all students that attend. Both the faculty and the teaching assistants must continually remind their classes and individual students of the availability of these sessions. A schedule of the TAs assigned times which lists the course to which the TA is assigned will be provided for all students. The second difficulty hinges more than anything else on the sincerity and enthusiasm of the TAs. If students are not satisfied with their treatment at just one session, they are not likely to be back. This is (unfortunately) the nature of a voluntary program.
Be sure to announce your MAC office hours to your class and to encourage your students to come to the MAC if they desire assistance. Suggest that your students try to go to the assistance center when there is an assistant there who is assigned to their course. Stress that all questions concerning requirements, examinations, grading, etc. should be directed to their own teaching assistant or professor.
Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind is that most courses in which you assist will be largely populated by freshmen who have not yet adjusted to college life or to this university. They may be somewhat bewildered and intimidated by the academic life at NIU. The following suggestions can help to develop a positive relationship with your students through which effective learning can take place.
Knowing and using students' names helps establish a comfortable atmosphere in class and demonstrates an interest in your students as individuals. You can quickly learn names by making a seating chart (let them choose their own seats if you like) and then memorizing names from it. Returning quizzes to your students individually also helps to quickly learn their names. Another helpful device is taking attendance several times early in the semester. When a student complains of difficulty in the class, a record of attendance at the recitations can provide a useful gauge of the student's attitude and sincerity.
Clearly state your name, location of Math Assistance Center (DU 326), and office hours. In order to convince students that you are willing to help, it is necessary to repeatedly invite them to make use of your office hours; many TAs announce their office hours at the beginning of each recitation session. Also make it clear that you are available by appointment if your hours are inconvenient for the students.
Early in the semester, identify people who do poorly on quizzes or indicate lack of preparation. Ask them to talk with you and try to discover the difficulty. Sometimes a little encouragement or a suggestion for studying will help immensely. Also, compliment students for good work.
Questions are never stupid; no one intentionally asks a ridiculous question . Questions can indicate a lack of understanding (at times an incredible lack of understanding), but the successful teacher develops the ability to use a student's question to isolate their underlying difficulty. It is acceptable to delay a question and speak to the student after class, especially when the question appears to be too superficial or too time-consuming. However, never criticize a student in front of the class, or you will have alienated a non-negligible portion of the class for the rest of the semester.
Don't be embarrassed about mistakes you make. Admit the mistake, correct the mistake, and continue. If a student catches the mistake, make the correction and thank them. Try to maintain an attitude of working together instead of trying to find mistakes in each other's work. If you can't answer a question, admit it and promise to answer the question at the next session. Don't waste class time Be sincere. Be honest in your interactions with your students and supportive of their efforts, regardless of their proficiency in the class.
Some useful phrases:
Follow the lead of your faculty supervisor. Try to present the material from the same point of view. Solve problems or present material using techniques familiar to your students. You may occasionally introduce alternative methods so long as you are sure they don't undermine the purpose of the lecture. Never present material or make comments that appear to be a criticism of your faculty supervisor or your supervisor's techniques. This confuses the students and undermines the morale of the class. If you need further convincing on this point, consider what effect such criticism would have when your faculty supervisor learns of it.
Begin each class by spending several minutes reminding students what has been covered in lecture and how this relates to previous work. Solid contact with new concepts grows out of an association with older and more familiar material.
A large amount of material must be covered, particularly in those courses for which a student has only one recitation per week. The content of the three previous lectures should be covered. You will develop your own techniques for handling this challenge. One possibility is to choose several (three or four) of the most important problems from each assignment to receive first priority in the recitation session. You could have solutions and complete explanations for these problems prepared in advance. Instead of asking generally, ``Are there any questions?", ask for questions on each of these problems individually. After covering these key problems for the entire week, the discussion could then be opened to other questions. The key problems could be chosen by the instructor, the TA or the two working together. In order to focus attention on these problems, they might be announced to the students in advance.
Be well prepared beginning with the first class period. If you're unprepared, you'll look like you don't know what you're doing and you'll lose important credibility with your students. You're also wasting your students' time. The ability to gradually ``beat a problem to death" without previous preparation is not good teaching (nor are the students seeing a ``keen mathematical mind at work"-as the standard excuse for lack of preparation goes). By knowing in advance how a problem is worked, you will naturally point out the key to the solution, rather than leaving the students to hunt for it in a jumbled mess containing the solution as a (proper) subset. Prepare for each recitation by working out at least one problem of each type before class. Some time should also be spent in second guessing; try to determine before class what questions will be asked. (This is easy with a little practice.) If you prepare questions about the material before your recitation, you can encourage student participation.
Encourage participation. One method, without taking the time to have students go to the board, is to ask them for suggestions on how to proceed and then do the work yourself at the board. This allows the student to do some work, but you can save time by correcting errors immediately. If you can establish a helpful attitude from the beginning, participation should follow. If all else fails, have students do two problems (easy and moderate) to be handed in, graded, and returned. But remember that recitation sessions are help sessions, not punishment.
You will spend most of the recitation time working problems. Begin by writing the problem number, its page in the text, and (except in the case of lengthy word problems) the full statement of the problem. Make the notes self-contained. For example, when assigning letters to quantities in application problems write out clearly what each letter means. A more complicated problem can be broken into a sequence of steps; begin each step by a written statement of what you are trying to accomplish.
Omitting details. It is important not to spend an entire class on just a few problems, unless they are really important and illustrate all the techniques of the past week's lecture. If a question does not appear to be of general interest or promises to take too much time, ask the student to stop after class. If you get stuck on a problem postpone it until the next class, but do not forget about it in the meantime. Be sure you can solve it the next time around. It is also permissible to omit routine computation-but be sure that it truly is routine computation and clearly indicate where you are making omissions. Time is frequently saved by ``setting a problem up" and leaving the rest to the student. This should never be done on key problems. It is permissible if a similar problem has already been solved in the same period.
Duplicated solutions to quizzes might help save time. Hand out the solutions first; then the students can look at them while you pass back the quizzes. This is not a good technique to use on the key problem described above. Students gain something from actually seeing the problem worked.
Vary the type of students you call on. Continually calling on good students discourages the rest; while continually calling on poor students bores the good and gives the average a false sense of security.
Recitations are extensions of the lecture, not merely problem sessions. When appropriate, or in difficult sections, devote some time to a summary of the material covered in the lecture. Outline the most important techniques and results. If a lack of understanding of a basic concept becomes evident, several minutes reviewing essential theory is well spent.
Most students' notes are an exact copy of what you write on the chalkboard. When you do a problem at the board, students not only see the solution, but how to organize a solution. Effective board work provides a model for writing and doing mathematics problems. The following tips should help you structure your board work.
Some faculty supervisors will give regular quizzes during their large lectures while others will prefer to use the recitation sessions. In either case, you will probably be involved in writing these quizzes. Writing good questions requires practice. Perhaps the following will give you a point from which to start.
Quizzes should be used primarily as a teaching mechanism; evaluation is a secondary purpose. When writing a question, write out a detailed solution. This will help you avoid giving questions which are mechanically more complicated than you desire, and will also give you an idea of how long it will take students to write a solution once they know how to proceed.
GTAs are assigned proctoring duties at several mass examination time periods during finals week. It is a good idea to check that these do not conflict with your own final exams.
This document is provided for the information and general advice for students nearing the completion of their dissertations. The general rules regarding dissertations and defenses are set by the Graduate School, and are outlined in the NIU Graduate Catalog. Contact Eric Behr for LaTeX macro files that will aid you if you are typing the dissertation yourself.
Overview
Deadlines for items 1, 5, and 7 are set by the Graduate School, and they are firm unless the student has obtained a written exception to the deadline directly from the Graduate School.
1. Application to Graduate
You must file an Application to Graduate form and pay the graduation fee by the published deadline in order to graduate in any particular term. This form must be signed by the Director of Graduate Studies or by the chair of the Department of Mathematical Sciences. The deadlines for applying for graduation for the coming academic terms are:
SEPTEMBER 28, 2007 (FRIDAY) for DECEMBER 2007 graduation
NOVEMBER 1, 2007 (TUESDAY) for MAY 2008 graduation *(Commencement is MAY 10, 2008)*
This needs to be done only once. If you do not graduate in the term applied for, the application is automatically re-activated for the next term. After that, you must inform the graduate school in writing by the deadline to re-activate your application to graduate.
2. External Examiner
The external examiner is someone external to NIU with expertise in the area of the dissertation. This person is nominated by the department chair and appointed by the dean of the Graduate School. The doctoral candidate is generally not directly involved in choosing or contacting the external examiner. Typically, the external examiner is suggested by the dissertation advisor, who may informally contact the person to see if they are agreeable to do the job. The department chair subsequently contacts the external examiner to formally ask for their participation. The external examiner must submit a written report on the dissertation to the department chair and the dean of the Graduate School prior to the defense of the dissertation. The external examiner is also invited to come to DeKalb to hear the dissertation defense, but it is not required that the external examiner be present at the defense.
The external examiner should be identified and contacted by the department chair at least four to six weeks before the anticipated defense date.
3. Defense Committee
The student and dissertation advisor prepare a list of people they suggest for the dissertation committee. This should include a proposed external examiner for the defense. Bring this list to the Director of Graduate Studies, who may ask for additions or changes to the committee, based on Graduate School rules or other concerns. This should be done three to four weeks before the anticipated defense date.
The defense committee is separate from the candidacy examination committee. A member of one need not be a member of the other.
Often members of the defense committee will not see a copy of the dissertation until the defensible version is distributed. However, it is perfectly fine for expected defense committee members to receive preliminary copies of the dissertation well before the defense, particularly if the student and dissertation advisor seek advice from the committee during the preparation of the dissertation.
4. Defensible Draft to the Defense Committee
A defensible copy of the dissertation should be distributed to the dissertation committee and the external examiner about three weeks before the anticipated defense date. At this time, a time and date for the defense should be found that is agreeable to every committee member, including the external examiner, if they will be present at the defense. Give the date and time to the Director of Graduate Studies, who will determine a location for the defense and will coordinate the announcements of the defense.
5. Committee nomination and pre-defense version to the Graduate School
After the committee members have had time (several days at least) to read over the defensible copy of the dissertation, and a suitable date and time for the defense is determined, the student, the advisor, or the Director of Graduate Studies will circulate a Request for Oral Dissertation Defense form that all committee members except the external examiner must sign. This form is for the official nomination of the committee to the Graduate School. In signing this form, each committee member certifies that they have read the dissertation and that they agree to the scheduling of the defense. The completed Request for Oral Dissertation Defense form, together with a defensible copy of the dissertation, must be received by the Dean of the Graduate School at least two weeks before the defense. This is a firm deadline. It is the student's responsibility to deliver the necessary items to the Graduate School at least two weeks prior to the defense.
In the period between the defensible copy of the dissertation being distributed to the committee and the Graduate School and the dissertation defense, it is fine for the student to make further minor revisions of the dissertation as appropriate. If all changes are minor ones, then the student should just keep a list of these changes, which can be distributed to the committee a day or two before the defense. However, if any change is not so minor, it would be a good idea to distribute a new copy of the dissertation to the committee as soon as possible before the defense.
6. Dissertation Defense
First you make an oral presentation of your dissertation research (up to 50 minutes) that is open to the public. After a brief session of questions from the general audience, the audience is excused and the defense committee remains to question the student further on the dissertation.
7. Post-defense version to the Graduate School
The defense committee may approve the dissertation defense subject to certain revisions being made in the dissertation. There usually is at least several minor changes to be made in the dissertation after the defense. It is the responsibility of the dissertation advisor to see that the student carries out these changes satisfactorily.
Once these changes have been made, the dissertation is in its post-defense form. At this point, the Department of Mathematical Sciences has fully approved the dissertation, and the dissertation advisor signs a goldenrod form to certify that the changes in the dissertation asked for by the defense committee have been carried out.
The student will then submit the post-defense copy of the dissertation, together with the goldenrod form signed by the dissertation advisor, to the Graduate School. This must be done by a specific deadline each academic term in order to receive the doctoral degree that term. The deadlines for the coming academic term are:
NOVEMBER 2, 2007 (FRIDAY) for DECEMBER 2007 graduation
APRIL 11, 2008 for MAY 2008 graduation
Students are advised to defend their dissertations at least one week before the deadline, to allow time for making the changes called for by the defense committee.
Students should consult with the Director of Graduate Studies as soon as practicable regarding their anticipated defense date. Since the Director is generally a member of every dissertation defense committee, he may be constrained by other obligations which may force a change in the defense date that the student desires.
8. Final Version
The Graduate School will review the post-defense version of the dissertation, and will indicate any changes it wants. These are the generally cosmetic changes, such as changes in margins, language, and bibliography style.
Make the changes and do whatever else the Graduate School asks. You will then have the FINAL VERSION of the dissertation! I believe that you will need to submit three copies of the final version, on an appropriate paper stock, and with the *original* signature of your dissertation advisor on each of the three copies submitted to the Graduate School.