Playbook for Public Online Thesis Defenses

All thesis defenses are required to include a public presentation. For however long it will be necessary and advisable, the public part will be online on platforms like WebEx or Zoom. Below are some guidelines on how to do this efficiently.

  1. The event should be hosted by the Committee Chair or Advisor. The host address (e.g., WebEx/Zoom meeting ID) should be included in the public announcement of the defense.
  2. Upon entering the event, everyone connecting other than Student and Advisor should immediately kill their camera feed *and* mute their microphone. If the platform allows it (and the people involved know how to do it), the audience can also be muted and camera feeds turned off by the host. It would also be good for everyone to locate and open the chat feature of whatever system is being used (see 5 and 7).
  3. The Advisor will un-mute themselves to introduce the student and remind everyone of the “rules of engagement” (muting, using chat for questions, etc).
  4. The Student will then present, starting with a live feed to say hello if they like and then switch to slide delivery.
  5. OPTIONAL: If questions are invited during the talk, anyone who wants to ask one can type the word “Question” in the chat. The Committee Chair will be monitoring the chat, and can un-mute themselves and invite the questioner in at appropriate break. Otherwise, “all questions at the end”.
  6. At the conclusion of the talk, the Student presenter switches back to face view and everyone briefly un-mutes for applause. It will sound terrible but get the idea across!
  7. Everyone re-mutes except Student and Committee Chair. The Committee Chair moderates and calls for questions. In the same way as described above, those with questions type the word “Question” in the chat, and the Chair will call on them in turn by name. The questioner un-mutes for duration of question and response. As with live defenses, members of the Dissertation Committee should defer to others who want to ask questions, as they will get their turn later.
  8. After the public discussion, everyone un-mutes for a second round of applause, and at that time friends and well-wishers can put their cameras on if they want: generally a chaotic free for all for a few minutes prior to the transition to the closed portion of the defense.
  9. The Committee Chair will then ask everyone but the Student and Committee to leave, so the closed part of the defense can begin.