SLAT Second Language Acquisition and Teaching at the University of AZ

Background Information

Information for Applicants

Degree Requirements

Examinations and Forms Required by the Graduate College

Advising and Mentoring Policies and Procedure

Student Reports and Evaluations

Student Support

SLAT Program Bylaws

D. EXAMINATIONS

D1. Overview

Prospective Ph.D. candidates must normally pass a qualifying examination no later than one year after entry into the program. Before formal admittance to candidacy all students must satisfy second language proficiency requirements, and must pass a comprehensive examination with written and oral parts in both the major and minor fields of study. A final oral examination is required in defense of the dissertation.

D2. Qualifying Exercise

The nature of the qualifying exercise is determined by the SLAT Executive Council and may be revised at the discretion of that committee. The qualifying committee will include at least one member of the Executive Council.

The following revised format and procedures were approved by the Executive Council (with input from students) for implementation in 2003-04.

a. Purpose

The purpose of SLAT’s qualifying exercise, within the qualifying examination policy of the Graduate College, is to determine each student’s qualification for the SLAT doctoral program and to assist in planning each student’s program.

b. Timing

Each student will undertake the qualifying exercise within the first year of enrollment in the program, during the same academic year that the student participates in the SLAT Proseminar.

c. Format

The qualifying exercise will consist of faculty assessment of a portfolio based on multiple components of a student’s first year with SLAT:

Student performance in first semester classes, as reported by the professor for each class;

The student’s final paper for the SLAT Proseminar, which will be a critical literature review in a SLAT study area; and

Background of each student at matriculation, and areas of SLAT scholarship that need development, in context of each student’s proposed course of study

d. Components of the Qualifying Exercise

Assessment of first-semester course work. Students’ professors in the first semester will be asked to assess whether or not each student’s general performance in class was appropriate/adequate for a 1st year doctoral student. To this end, instructors will assess students’ oral, written, and on-line participation in class. Instructors will also be asked to assess whether or not each student’s level of acculturation to the current academic setting is sufficient to support success at the doctoral level.

Instructors’ assessments of each student will be summarized in a brief report which will be given to students in the spring semester after it has been approved by the Executive Council.

The Proseminar final paper. The final paper for the SLAT Proseminar will be a critical literature review in a SLAT study area. The paper will typically include not only a literature review, but also suggestions for further work in the field, such as an experiment that could be done or data that could be collected to advance knowledge in the area under review. The paper will be read by the Proseminar teacher and at least one member of the relevant SLAT curriculum committee. The Proseminar teacher will give a grade to the paper and to the student’s participation in the Proseminar. Subsequently, the relevant SLAT curriculum committee member(s) will do a blind reading of the paper and assign it either a High Pass, a Pass, or a Fail.

Assessment of student background and required course work. The Graduate Advisor, in consultation with the Program Chair and the Curriculum Committee Chairs, will work with each student to assess the academic and professional background they bring to the SLAT program, including but not limited to prerequisite course work, and make recommendations for future course work to strengthen any areas of weak preparation. Preliminary assessment of each student’s background will take place early in the fall semester of the first year. Students will be reassessed in the spring, and the Graduate Advisor will make final recommendations regarding course work by the end of the spring semester. Recommendations in this case will have the force of program requirements.

e. Requirements

To qualify the student must:

be assessed by all first-semester instructors as meeting minimal performance requirements of a 1st-year doctoral student;

receive a qualifying Pass from at least 2 readers on the Proseminar paper, and

prepare and have accepted a plan to meet any individual requirements imposed as a result of the background assessment.

Early in the spring semester, the Graduate Advisor will meet with each student and discuss the outcome of the qualifying exercise. Any area not passed may be satisfied during the following spring semester by completing additional coursework in that area, or by other means approved by the SLAT Advisor and the Executive Council in consultation with the student(s) involved.

If a student does not successfully complete the qualifying exercise as defined in this section by the end of the first year in the program, the SLAT faculty may recommend that the Dean of the Graduate College drop the student from the SLAT Program.

f. Responsibility for Questions and Grading

SLAT’s Senior Program Coordinator, under the guidance of the Graduate Advisor, will be responsible for coordinating the first phase of the Qualifying exercise. The Program Coordinator will be responsible for collecting the assessments of 1st-semester course work. The Graduate Advisor will coordinate the blind readings of the Proseminar papers, and prepare the final report of each student’s overall performance.

The Proseminar paper will be read initially by the Proseminar professor of record, and a grade awarded both for the paper and for the Proseminar course. After the course grade has been awarded, at least one faculty member from one of the SLAT curriculum subcommittees will also assess the Proseminar paper through a blind reading; the second reader will not know the student’s name or original grade until after s/he has assessed the paper. If the two readers agree that performance indicates a pass, no other readers will be used. If the initial readers disagree about the performance, a third reader will evaluate the same paper, also through a blind review.

D3. Doctoral Plan of Study

During their third semester, students must complete the Doctoral Plan of Study form , on which they list all of the courses that will count toward their degree. The form is signed by the SLAT Advisor and Director, and turned in to the Graduate College, with a copy to the SLAT Office. If the minor is outside of SLAT, additional signatures are necessary as well. Failure to turn in the form during the third semester can result in being judged as not making satisfactory progress toward the degree. For more information, please see “A Guide to the Doctoral Plan of Study” in Appendix E.

D4. Second Language Proficiency (revised December 1, 2005)

Before taking the Comprehensive Examination, all students must demonstrate significant oral and literacy skills in using one language other than English. Such skills may be demonstrated in one or more of the following ways:

successful completion of a secondary or post-secondary degree in a second language at an institution where that language is the native language of instruction;

for a language utilizing the Roman alphabet, scoring at the Intermediate Mid level of the ACTFL/ETS Proficiency Guidelines for speaking and reading;

for a language using a writing system other than the Roman alphabet, scoring at the Intermediate Mid level of the ACTFL/ETS Proficiency Guidelines for speaking and the Novice High level of the ACTFL/ETS Proficiency Guidelines for reading;

completing 24 units in one language; the last course in the sequence must have been taken within the last 5 years, and the student must have received a grade of A or B for the course;

completing 24 units in a combination of two or more languages, with a minimum of 16 hours in one language; the last language course must have been taken within the last 5 years, and the student must have received a grade of A or B for the course;

within the last five years, completing with a grade of A or B an upper-level (300 or above, and beyond the 4th semester/intermediate level) course conducted in another language, as attested by the course instructor; or

being a native speaker of and literate in one or more languages other than English.

Students who are likely to seek positions in teaching or directing the teaching of a language after completion of the doctorate should demonstrate proficiency in that language at the level of Superior on the ACTFL/ETS scale or the equivalent for the commonly taught Romance and Germanic languages. Students working with Slavic languages, the less commonly taught Asian and African languages, or Native American languages should rate a minimum of Advanced on the ACTFL/ETS scale or the equivalent.

D5. Comprehensive Examination
(Prior to 1997, this was called the Preliminary Examination)

The following format and procedures were adopted by the SLAT Executive Council 12/3/92 and revised 4/95 and 11/6/03.

a. Purpose

Both the written and oral portions of the Comprehensive Examination for the Ph.D. Program in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching have a three-fold purpose: to determine students' (1) competence in their major and minor areas of specialization; (2) ability to relate the interdisciplinary core of SLAT to their areas of specialization; and (3) readiness to undertake dissertation research. Specific questions will address all of these areas.

b. Timing

It is expected that the Comprehensive Examination will be completed within four years of enrollment in the program. Any exceptions must be requested in writing and approved by the Executive Council. Students must have completed all required coursework prior to taking the exam, or be in their last semester of classes. The language proficiency requirement must also be completed before the Comprehensive Examination is scheduled. A "Comprehensive Examination Approval Form" can be found by clicking this link.

No later than the semester before the Comprehensive Examination is to be taken (by November 1 or April 1), the candidate should have the SLAT Program Approval Form (Appendix B) signed by the chair of the appropriate SLAT curriculum subcommittee(s) and the SLAT Advisor. If the minor is outside SLAT, the candidate is responsible for getting approval for the minor course of study from the program advisor designated by the minor department.

c. Size and Composition of Comprehensive Examination Committees

i. The Major (Specialty Area) and Minor are both in SLAT:

1) The SLAT Comprehensive Examination Committee will consist of a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 5 faculty members.
2) The faculty members on the committee will be split between Major (Specialty) and Minor areas.

a) If there are 5 faculty members, then the composition of the committee will be: 3 for the Major and 2 for the Minor;
b) If there are 4 faculty members, then the composition of the committee will be: at least 2 will represent the Major, 1 of whom will be the Chair of the committee; and a minimum of 1 will represent the Minor area. The 4th member can represent either the Major or the Minor (or both, if the faculty member can represent both areas). A composition of 3-1 would be appropriate if the minor plays a relatively small role in the student's research work (e.g., in the student’s dissertation), and 2-2 would be reasonable if the major and minor work had closer to equal roles in the student’s research work. The choice of the 4th member of the committee should be made in consultation with the Chair of the Comprehensive Examination Committee.

3) The student will write 50 pages (typed, double-spaced) for the written part of the examination.

a) If there are 5 faculty members, then the student will answer 5 questions, with 10 pages for each question;
b) If there are 4 faculty members, then the student will answer 4 questions:

i) The student will write 30 pages for the Major area and 20 for the Minor area;
ii) If there are 3 faculty for the Major area and 1 for the Minor, then there will be 3 questions with 10 pages each for the Major and 1 broad question with 20 pages for the Minor
iii) If there are 2 faculty each for the Major and the Minor, then there will be 2 broad questions with 15 pages each for the Major, and 2 questions with 10 pages each for the Minor

ii. The Minor is not in SLAT:

1) If only the Major is in SLAT, then there will be 3 faculty members representing the SLAT Major and either 1 or 2 faculty members representing the Minor, depending on the policy of the minor department.
2) The SLAT part of the examination will be 3 questions and 30 pages.

iii. Graduate College Reporter

One member of the examination committee will also serve as the "Graduate College's Reporter". This person (who cannot be the student’s advisor) ensures that the exam is administered fairly and files the report(s) with the Graduate College.

iv. Length of time for writing the written examination:

1) The student will have 7 calendar days to answer the questions if he/she takes both the Major and the Minor written exams at the same time.
2) If the student has an external Minor and does the Minor exam at a different time, then the student will have 5 calendar days for the written exam in the Major.

v. Length of time of the oral examination:

The oral examination will last no less than 2 and no more than 3 hours. In the case of an external Minor, the Minor portion of the exam may be done at a different time than the Major (SLAT) portion of the exam.

d. Student Responsibilities

Students are responsible for completion of the Comprehensive Examination Approval Form . This involves:

i. Obtaining the SLAT Advisor's signature, stipulating the prerequisite foreign language requirement has been satisfied.

ii. Having the SLAT Program Approval Form signed by the curriculum subcommittee chairs (or the major chair and the minor departmental advisor, if the minor is outside SLAT) and the SLAT Advisor. This step should be completed no later than the semester before the comprehensive exam is to be taken (by November 1 or April 1).

iii. Identifying and contacting four or five appropriate faculty members to serve on the examination committee (two or three in the major and one or two in the minor). Students should prepare a brief statement of interest for each member of the Committee, with a reading list of items they consider important in their area (or what they should have read before taking the exam). The reading list should reflect the purpose for the comprehensive exam as stated in the graduate college guidelines "to test the student's comprehensive knowledge of the major and minor subjects of study, both in breadth across the general field of study, and in depth within the area of specialization..." (found at http://grad.admin.arizona.edu/catalog/doctoral/index.html#Comprehensive%20Examination*) and is intended to provide a broad coverage of pertinent professional literature in the area of specialization and the minor. The student must obtain each member's signature to indicate willingness to be a committee member and approval of the reading list (Comprehensive Examination Approval Form). This input will be given consideration in preparation of the exam, but will not necessarily determine or limit its content.

iv. Scheduling tentative dates for the written and oral exam which are acceptable to all committee members.

v. Obtaining approval of the SLAT Program Director for committee membership and scheduling. This approval must be obtained at least 60 days before the proposed date(s) for the written exam. The reason for requiring 60 days is to insure that the candidate has had sufficient time to study the required readings. Once this form is approved and filed, comprehensive exam committee members can be changed only upon petition.

e. Written Comprehensive Exam - Format and Procedures

Students can choose one of two options for the written comprehensive examination. They may choose to write the exam on campus as a sit-down exam, or may opt for a take-home exam.

SIT-DOWN EXAM OPTION:
The purpose of the sit-down exam is for students to show they can synthesize information, based on their preparation, without access to reference works. Only a dictionary will be permitted. Eight hours will be devoted to the major and four hours to the minor. Both major and minor parts must be completed within five working days. Students may choose the days and time slots during which they wish to be examined. Questions are to be broad and integrative, but require less detail than the take-home option. It is recommended that there be at least four questions for the major and two to four for the minor, with some choices allowed. The chair, with the approval of the Program Director will be responsible to make arrangements for testing facilities and a proctor.

TAKE-HOME EXAM OPTION:
The take-home exam is to be completed within seven days (five days if the student's minor is outside of SLAT and will be examined separately). It should consist of 50 pages, as described above. The candidate may use books and notes but may not discuss the questions with anyone.

If procedural questions arise, the candidate should address these to the chair of the committee or to the program director.

If the student is majoring and minoring in SLAT, the chair of the committee is responsible for eliciting and compiling questions from other committee members (both major and minor committees) for the written portion of the exam, taking into account the student's input. Then the chair will distribute the whole exam to all members of the committee for approval. The chair may also consult with the chair of the curriculum committee(s), if questions arise.

The committee chair will coordinate and administer both parts of the exam. If the minor is outside of SLAT, the chair will request questions from the representatives of the minor department. The minor department is, however, free to determine its own administration procedures and may decide to administer the minor portion of the exam separately.

The original and four or five copies (depending on committee size) of the completed examination are to be submitted by the student to the SLAT office on the day specified by the committee chair. The SLAT office will distribute the copies of the examination to committee members for their evaluation. These evaluations are to be submitted to the chair of the committee within two weeks of receipt of the exam.

If the student has requested and received approval to use the e-mail version of the take home exam the following procedures should be followed:

The student must have received permission to use the e-mail method from the SLAT Director and the Chair of their Comprehensive Exam committee.
The student must send all sections of the exam to the entire exam committee by 10 a.m. on the due date.
The student should “CC:” the SLAT office (azslat@u.arizona.edu and shaun@u.arizona.edu) with all sections of the examination.
The student is responsible for also bringing 1 printed copy of the exam to the SLAT office by 4 p.m. on the due date. Should any committee remember require a printed version of the exam, the student will also provide that member with hard copy on the same business day.

f. Oral Comprehensive Examination: Format and Procedures

Both the major and minor areas of the written examination must generally be passed before the oral examination is scheduled. The student is responsible for submitting the "Application for Comprehensive Oral Exam" (the form can be obtained by clicking this link) signed by all committee members, to the SLAT office no later than ten (10) working days before the date of the oral exam. SLAT staff will schedule a room and the student will then submit the form to the Graduate College no later than seven (7) working days before the date of the exam, as required by the Graduate College.

The oral portion of the Comprehensive Examination is to be scheduled no sooner than three weeks and no later than six months after the completion of the written portion. The oral examination lasts a minimum of two hours but no longer than three. Committee members usually base their questions on the written portions of the exam and on the reading lists (again keeping in mind the purposes of the comprehensive exam listed above). No notes or reference materials are permitted during the oral comprehensive exam unless expressly authorized by all members of the comprehensive committee. The Graduate College requires that a committee member other than the chair record the results of the exam, and to ensure that the student is treated fairly and that all Graduate College requirements are met.

g. Evaluation

It is desirable that all members of the comprehensive committee read all parts of the exam. At least, all members of the major committee will read the portion devoted to the major, and both members of the minor committee will read the questions devoted to the minor. Members of the committee will submit their evaluation and recommendation to the chair within two weeks, and the chair will send a written report notifying the candidate of the committee members' recommendations no later than two days after receipt, with a copy to the SLAT office. Evaluation categories are high pass, pass, or fail. More than one vote to fail a candidate on either the major or minor parts of the exam constitutes a fail on the exam. The committee can recommend that a student who fails retake a part or all of the written exam.

Students who pass the written portion of the exam may take the oral portion. Students are notified of the results of the comprehensive exam immediately after the oral. As specified by the Graduate College, no student will be permitted a second attempt to pass the comprehensive examination except upon recommendation of the examining committee, endorsed by the SLAT Executive Council, and approved by the Graduate Council. A second examination, if approved, may not take place until four months from the date of the first. If the examining committee does not recommend a retake or if a student fails an approved second examination, recommendations will be made to the Dean of the Graduate College that the student be dropped from the SLAT program.