Page 56 - Unified Bylaws

10. After the Executive Management unit approves the formation
of the Defense Committee, the department chairperson shall
send the thesis to the committee members. A minimum of one
week shall be provided between the Executive Management unit
approval and the scheduled defense date.
11. The period between the Executive Management unit approval of
the Defense Committee and the thesis/dissertation defense shall
not exceed four months, and shall be counted within the regular
degree completion timeframe.
12. The thesis/dissertation defense shall be public. However, the
College Council may decide, based on the recommendation of the
related department, to make it confidential in exceptional cases if
necessary.
13. The Committee’s decision shall be issued immediately after the
defense.
14. If at least two-thirds of the Defense Committee members consider
the thesis/dissertation to be invalid for defense, they shall prepare
a detailed report of the justifications and reasoning. This report
shall be submitted to the Executive Mangament unit to terminate
the student’s enrollment, in accordance with paragraph 2-c of
Article 26 of the Graduate Studies Bylaw.
15. The defense discussion shall not take place in the absence of
one of the committee members. If this situation occurs, the
committee’s rapporteur shall inform the Department Chairperson
to set a new date for the defense. The request to set a new date
must be completed, approved by the Department chair and the
College Dean, and sent to the Executive Management unit with
the justifications for the absent committee member.
16. If one of the Defense Committee members withdraw from the
committee, he/ she shall be replaced by another member. This
replacement shall be based on the proposal of the Department
Council, the recommendation of the College Council, and the
approval of the Executive Management unit. The request for
replacement shall be accompanied by justifications for the original
committee member’s withdrawal.

56 Organizational Bylaws of Graduate Studies
in Saudi Universities And The Rules of
Implementation at Prince Sultan University