At all times interactions with the family must be dealt with sensitively and with discretion, avoiding the possibility of giving the family unreasonable or incorrect expectations as to the eventual outcome. The number of Monash staff contacting the family must be kept to a minimum. Conferral should take account the wishes of the immediate family.
Responsibility
Faculty
MRGS
Graduations
When the faculty, or in the case of doctoral and MPhil degrees- the RGSC is advised of a student’s death, it will assess the student’s eligibility for a posthumous award against university policy, following the procedures in Steps 3 or 4 below.
Responsibility
Faculty
RGSC
Coursework Awards
If it is not possible to confer the full award in which the student had been enrolled, the faculty will consider whether the student had fully qualified for an alternative exit award. In this case, the Associate Dean (Teaching) (title may vary according to faculty) will instruct faculty enrolment staff to arrange for the student to receive the alternative qualification as an exit award.
For a double-degree, it is the responsibility of each faculty to assess the eligibility of the deceased student for an award. The student may be eligible to receive only one award from a double degree, not both. Each faculty will record on Callista whether or not the student has met the requirements to be posthumously course completed. Once this has occurred:
If the student is eligible to receive both awards in a double degree, the managing faculty will enter the student as ‘completed’ on Callista.
If the student is eligible to receive only one award from a double degree, the managing faculty will record the student as having taken an alternative course exit.
In each case, the managing faculty will contact Secretary to Council to request the conferral of the award(s).
Responsibility
Faculty
Research Awards
Preliminary review
Two assessors, one of whom may have been the supervisor and one who may be external to the university, will review the available work in order to determine whether the primary requirement has been met. Both assessors cannot have been supervisors or associate supervisors for the student. Unanimous agreement must be reached in order to proceed.
Supervisor's role
The supervisor may be requested to insert supplementary and/or explanatory material to facilitate the examiners' understanding of the candidate's research contribution. A statement should then be appended to the thesis indicating the work undertaken by the supervisor on the student's behalf.
Examination
The 'thesis' should then be submitted for examination. Both examiners must give an unequivocal 'yes' or 'no' as to whether evidence exists to indicate that had the student lived, in the normal course of events requirements for the degree would have been satisfied.
Responsibility
MRGS
RGSC
Faculty
If the faculty recommends the posthumous conferral of the full award in which the student had been enrolled, the Dean will give approval for the student to be course completed.
If on the advice of the relevant faculty the RGSC recommends the posthumous conferral of the full doctoral or MPhil award in which the student has been enrolled, the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Research Training) will give approval for the student to be course completed.
Responsibility
Faculty
RGSC
The deceased student’s course record will be course completed and the date entered for course completion on Callista will be the date of approval by the Dean or in the case of doctoral or MPhil, the pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Research Training), for the student to be course completed.
Responsibility
Faculty
MRGS
Once course completion has been approved, the Dean or the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Research Training), as appropriate, will request that Council confer the posthumous award. The faculty must notify the Secretary to Council in writing by the submission due date.
Responsibility
Dean
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Research Training)
Once the award has been conferred by Council, the relevant extract of the Council minutes will be sent both to the faculty, to MRGS, if appropriate, and to the Manager Graduations.
Responsibility
Executive Services
The faculty, or MRGS, as appropriate, will contact the family to ascertain their wishes in terms of the deceased student’s graduation. There are several options available: graduating in absentia and posting out the testamur; graduating in attendance with a family member representing the deceased student or a faculty representative presenting the testamur to the family on a private occasion. It is solely the family’s choice as to the method of graduation. All requests for posthumous graduation must be submitted at least one month before the graduation ceremony.
Responsibility
Faculty
MRGS
The faculty, or MRGS, as appropriate, should then inform the Manager, Graduations of the family’s wishes regarding graduation. The Manager will then make all the appropriate arrangements regarding conferral and will handle the preparations for the ceremony.
Responsibility
Faculty
MRGS
Manager, Graduations
