Committees of Three

From the second semester through the successful presentation of their thesis proposal, graduate students are advised by their "Committee of Three".

The committee consists of the research mentor + 2 faculty members, senior scientists, or emeritus faculty.
Members are chosen by the grad advising committee in consultation with the student regarding their interests.
Committee members transition as appropriate prior to the thesis proposal. After the thesis proposal, the Committee of Three morphs into the Thesis Committee.
First and second year students meet with their committees in Nov/Dec and Apr/May. All other students meet with their committees in Apr/May.
The meeting should be scheduled for 1 hour. The research mentor should attend only the second half of the meeting, since he/she does not need as much updating as the other committee members.
Students are responsible for scheduling the meetings. A best faith effort must be made to have all members present - a minimum of 2 committee members is required. Remote participation via skype or telecon is fine when necessary.
Prior to the meeting, the student sends a completed form to the committee outlining his/her progress over the past year. This acts as a starting point for discussion.
After the meeting, the student adds the advice from the committee to the form and sends it to the chair of the graduate advising committee.
The grad advising chair will send reminders about the meetings and has oversight responsibility. (Students are not required to have a Committee of Three meeting, but they are strongly encouraged to do so.)