Conflict Resolution Guide

The Department of Geosciences has a well-deserved reputation for being a cordial environment. Unfortunately, disagreements between student and their advisors sometimes occur. The following is an attempt to clarify the procedure that should be followed in these circumstances. Please note that all parties involved in a conflict have an obligation to communicate about problems or potential problems early on and to actively work toward their resolution.

1. Issues of concern must be discussed by the student and the student’s advisor and then, if necessary, with the student’s thesis committee. Advisors and the thesis committees are likely to be in the best position to evaluate the technical aspects of the research project.
2. If problems still exist after discussions with their advisor and committee, the student should speak with the Faculty Graduate Committee. In this capacity, the Faculty Graduate Committee will try to be fair and listen (separately) to both sides of the disagreement and will then try to mediate an agreement between both parties.
3. If the Faculty Graduate Committee is unsuccessful in mediating the situation, the issues go to the Department Head, who will make a recommendation to both student and advisor/committee.
4. As a last resort, a student can go to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies and request his/her intervention, as outlined in the “Code of Policies and Procedures for Students at Utah State University”. Hopefully, any situation that develops within our department can be resolved before this step is called for.