Policy Regarding the Satisfaction of the PhD Residency Requirement (2/27/2004)

In the Department of Computer Science listing in the University of Idaho Catalog it states:

"The student must satisfy the residency requirement by spending at least two terms at the Moscow campus or a University of Idaho Residence Center. The purpose of the residency requirement is to provide the student with access to facilities, faculty, and colleagues."

In all but extraordinary situations, the Computer Science Department will require the candidate to reside at the Moscow campus or a University of Idaho Residence Center for at least two terms. Terms do not need to be consecutive and may include the summer term. The residency terms must occur after the major professor is appointed and must be timed to facilitate active collaboration with the major professor and other members of the research team, as appropriate, to facilitate the candidate's research effort. At the request of a candidate's Major Professor an alternative to the expected residency may be considered by the Department if at least the following conditions are satisfied:

1. the Major Professor is willing to work with the candidate without the candidate being resident for the proscribed terms,

2. the Major Professor has reason to believe that the candidate will be successful in fulfilling his/her research responsibilities without the residency,

3. the Major Professor has reason to believe that his/her mentoring responsibility for the PhD candidate can be adequately accomplished without the residency requirement,

4. the candidate has access to an environment that supports and fosters research,

5. the candidate has access to technical and computing resources in his/her area of specialization that are at least comparable to those on the University of Idaho campus,

6. the candidate has local access to colleagues in his/her area of specialization for interaction, guidance and mentoring,

7. the candidate is able to make periodic visits to the Moscow campus to meet with the major professor, supervisory committee, other members of the research team, and to make seminar presentations, and

8. the candidate has regular and frequent communication with the major processor and others in the research team sufficient to create a collaborative association.

If agreed to by the Department, a letter or form will be completed and signed by the Department Chair approving waiver of the residency requirement. The form/letter will document the justification for the waiver and will be placed in the candidate's academic file.