Staff - Union
Job Category
CUPE 2950
Job Profile
CUPE 2950 Salaried - Classroom/Exam Coord 2 (Gr4)
Job Title
Doctoral Exams Clerk
Department
Support | Doctoral Exams | Student Academic Services | Dean's Office, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
Compensation Range
$4,281.00 - $4,386.00 CAD Monthly
Posting End Date
October 15, 2024
Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.
Job End Date
This position is part-time at 17.5 (0.5FTE) hours per week and the compensation range will be pro-rated to reflect this.
Please provide a cover letter as part of your application as applications without a cover letter will not be considered.
At UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in research, innovation, and learning for all faculty, staff and students. Our commitment to employment equity helps achieve inclusion and fairness, brings rich diversity to UBC as a workplace, and creates the necessary conditions for a rewarding career.
Job Summary
Provides assistance to the Assistant Doctoral Exams Coordinator in administering the external examination portion of final doctoral examinations (Ph.D., Ed.D. and D.M.A.). Also provides support to the Doctoral Exams Coordinator in scheduling and administering final oral examinations as required. There are more than 500 examinations per year. This is an extremely busy position dealing with continuous deadlines and handling of multiple tasks.
Organizational Status
Reports to and works under the general direction of the Assistant Doctoral Exams Coordinator. May also receive guidance and direction from the Doctoral Exams Coordinator. Liaises with G+PS team members, graduate advisors, graduate program staff, examination committee members, external examiners, chairpersons, research supervisors, and graduate students regarding doctoral exams procedures.
Work Performed
Doctoral External Examination Support (85%)
- Receives and processes Nominations for External Examiner for Doctoral Dissertation forms. Generates and helps to maintain an examination file for each doctoral candidate in a custom database as well as a shared electronic folder. Contacts departments, students, and/or faculty members regarding missing information or documentation.
- Verifies, enters, and updates all relevant student, thesis, examining committee information, exam dates, and results into a custom database.
- Receives and records receipt of incoming theses and associated forms and approvals. Reviews students' individual files to determine submission requirements and follows-up until all required documents have been received. In consultation with the Assistant Doctoral Exams Coordinator, sets a timeline for the external review. Transmits theses in electronic and/or paper format to external examiners for final examination. Generates relevant documentation to accompany thesis packages. Prepares courier packages for same-day shipping to external examiners. Prepares way bills and makes arrangements for courier pick-up and delivery.
- Sends routine correspondence regarding thesis submission, transmission and oral defence booking procedures to students, research supervisors, and graduate program staff.
- Sends reminders to students and their research supervisors two weeks in advance of anticipated thesis submission date. Follows-up with students, research supervisors, and graduate program staff when theses are not submitted as expected. Communicates submission delays to the Assistant Doctoral Exams Coordinator.
- Sends reminders to external examiners one week in advance of report due dates. Receives and processes submitted reports according to established procedures. Follows-up on overdue reports. Forwards a copy of all reports to the Doctoral Exams Coordinator for review. Receives and processes room booking requests for non-examination events according to established guidelines.
- Responds to general inquiries (telephone/e-mail/in person) from faculty, staff, and doctoral candidates relating to doctoral examinations policies and procedures, requirements, status, deadlines, and booking of examinations rooms. Interprets written policies and communicates them accurately. Exercises tact and diplomacy to compose correspondence and initiate replies to enquiries. Forwards complex or non-standard questions to Assistant Doctoral Exams Coordinator or Doctoral Exams Coordinator as appropriate.
- Maintains the Doctoral Unit's electronic and paper filing systems. Ensures candidates' files are accurate, complete, and up-to-date.
Doctoral Oral Defence Support (10%)
- Processes oral defence booking requests. Maintains schedule of exam bookings in the unit's shared electronic calendar.
- In consultation with the Doctoral Exams Coordinator, invites appropriate faculty members via e-mail to chair doctoral examinations, in accordance with established university policy. Ensures chairs are confirmed at least two weeks prior to exams. Transmits electronic theses to examination chairs.
- Prepare chair's report and doctoral dissertation approval form templates and distributes these to examination chairs in advance of the defence.
- Sends exam reminder emails with accompanying exam documents to all examination committee members, graduate advisors, and graduate program staff one week prior to oral defence date.
- Ensures rooms are adequately prepared one half hour prior to each final exam and are cleaned up after each exam. Ensures that all required supplies for exam rooms are maintained and re-ordered when necessary.
- Provides basic AV support and guidance about policies and procedures to candidates and examining committee members in the exam rooms at the start of the examination. Assists with contacting examiners required for oral defences who do not arrive when expected. Communicates issues that may prevent an oral defence from moving ahead as scheduled to the Doctoral Exams Coordinator.
- Books Zoom meetings for Virtual Defences, and provides technical and administrative support in the Zoom meeting during set-up time for the defence.
- May provide technical support to the exam Chair in Zoom during Virtual Exams with an audience.
- Receives, processes, and distributes submitted chair's reports according to established procedures. Communicates with faculty members about missing information. Enters exam results into the SISC. Forwards complex or potentially problematic reports to the Doctoral Exams Coordinator.
Other duties as required (5%)
Consequence of Error
Incorrect actions, decisions, delays, or errors (processing forms, booking exam rooms, sending external examiner's/chair's copy of thesis, confirming chairs, establishing timeframes for external exams, sending notice of examination, receiving examiner's reports, verification of exam procedure completion) may result in a graduate student missing a deadline to meet graduation requirements. This may adversely affect employment opportunities or damage the careers of doctoral students, and may lead to appeals which could seriously undermine the roles, responsibilities and effectiveness of The Dean and/or The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
Decisions require thorough knowledge of the policies, procedures and regulations relating to doctoral examinations and the ability to accurately interpret and apply them. The incumbent will be required to exercise latitude in judgment in handling matters of a routine and non-routine nature and to work with conflicting demands and determine priorities. Interactions are largely unsupervised and judgment is required to determine when an issue needs to be referred to a more qualified staff person or to another UBC office. Errors or miscommunications can result in a negative relationship between graduate students/staff/faculty and the staff at the Dean's Office. Additionally any errors and/or omissions in judgment could seriously undermine the roles, responsibilities and effectiveness of The Dean and/or The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
Supervision Received
Reports to and works with minimal supervision under the general direction of the Assistant Doctoral Exams Coordinator. May also receive guidance and direction from the Doctoral Exams Coordinator. Receives detailed instructions on new assignments and has various resources to refer to (Job manual, Faculty of Graduate Studies website, and Policy and Procedures Manual). Has authority to act within policy boundaries. New or unusual matters, technical problems, and any issues outside policy boundaries are referred to Assistant Doctoral Exams Coordinator or Doctoral Exams Coordinator.
Supervision Given
None
Qualifications
- Willingness to respect diverse perspectives, including perspectives in conflict with one’s own
- Demonstrates a commitment to enhancing one’s own awareness, knowledge, and skills related to equity, diversity, and inclusion
High School graduation and one year of related training and 3 years of related experience or the equivalent combination of education and experience. Experience using the Student Information System (SIS) an asset. Experience organizing events and meetings an asset. Knowledge of UBC's Graduate program offerings preferred. Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing. Ability to effectively use MS Word, Excel, Internet browsers/search engines, Zoom, databases and electronic mail at an intermediate level. Ability to maintain accuracy and attention to detail. Ability to compose correspondence, reports, presentations, and other written materials using clear concise business English. Ability to maintain accuracy and attention to detail. Ability to prioritize and work effectively under pressure to meet deadlines. Ability to exercise tact and discretion when handling matters of a confidential nature. Ability to work effectively independently and in a team environment. Ability to plan and complete work assignments independently without ongoing direction. Ability to analyze problems, identify key information and issues, and effectively resolve. Flexible to work at the office and remotely at home.
