POLICIES & PROCEDURES

directory-98516__180The CIS Program Policies and Procedures document is the document of reference for program-specific policies and procedures. The documents are in PDF format (readable by Adobe Reader and other programs). Questions of interpretation should be referred to the CIS Program Chair, and may be appealed to the CIS Executive Board (consisting of the CIS Program Chair and the chairs of the five participating programs).

 

Current Version (effective August 2025)

The CIS PhD Policies and Procedures for academic year 2025-2026 and beyond until amended are effective August 1, 2025 and include the following changes from 2024:

  • Updates to history and governance of the program, including most notably that COM and COMG now each have their own representatives on the board (chosen by the respective program directors), while rotation of CIS chair remains between the four originating programs.
  • For continuity, future and outgoing CIS chairs are invited to participate as a non-voting member of the executive board for up to one year before or after their terms (respectively).
  • Minimum requirements to be considered for admissions are now included in the document (previously these were only on the web site).
  • Clarification of who is eligible to be regular, cooperating and affiliate CIS faculty, and various wording changes reflecting implications for dissertation committees.
  • Removal of the prose suggesting that ABDs can petition to participate in CIS 720 while only enrolling in CIS 800 to meet the CIS720  requirement, as we cannot require participation without enrollment.
  • Added requirement that the collaborating advisor approve the publication venue for the research paper.
  • Explicit statement of requirement to participate in CIS 720 each semester and to submit yearly progress report in order to remain in good standing. Modifications to student progress section requested by Graduate Division.
  • Added URLs for CIS and Graduate Division web sites that should also be consulted for questions concerning requirements and procedures.
  • Other minor wording changes to clarify policy.

You may view tracked changes in the following document, which compares the content of the present document to the 2024 version: CIS PhD Policies and Procedures 2025 Revisions

Graduate Division Regulations

Graduate division regulations also apply: students should be familiar with all policies and procedures on their web site.

University of Hawaiʻi EEO/AA Policies

The EEO/AA Office develops and maintains Executive, Systemwide and Mānoa policies and procedures. Please see more at the following link.

Previous CIS Program Policies and Procedures

August 2024 Version

Changes in this version  include minor clarifying edits to governance (1.0), special area exams (4.2), and defense scheduling (7.3.2). The description of exam formats in 4.8 is updated for current practice. 5.1 and 5.5 have been edited to clarify that a full paper must be reviewed. 7.1 has additional text specifying that the dissertation be original work.

July 2023 Version

Changes in the this version  include: updating publishable paper requirements to reflect current publishing practices; revisions to reflect use of the Kuali forms system instead of paper; clarifications to procedures for committee formation and defense scheduling; and other minor clarifications.

July 2022 Version

Changes to this version included: Student assessment (8.0) is only in the spring (rather than each semester). Section on program assessment was removed. Diagram summarizing focus area exams added to section 4.0, and section 4.7 notes the new policy that focus area exam committees post reading lists by the end of the fourth week of the semester.

June 2014 Version

This version clarifies existing policy, and adds time in residence requirements. Sections 1.0 through 5.4 of this version apply to students who entered the program in August 2011 or later. Sections 5.5 and onwards apply to all students currently in the program.

June 2013 Version

This version clarified existing policy and added Student Learning Outcomes and assessment information.

January 2012 Version

This version clarified existing policy. Sections 1.0 through 5.4 of this version apply to students who entered the program in August 2011 or later. Sections 5.5 and onwards apply to all students currently in the program.Graduate division regulations also apply: students should be familiar with all policies and procedures on their web site.

August 2011 Version

Sections 1.0 through 5.4 of this version apply to students who entered the program in August 2011 or later. (Students who entered earlier please see August 2010 Version under Prior Versions, below.) Sections 5.5 and onwards apply to all students currently in the program.