Trainee Evaluation

The progress of the trainees will be reviewed by their individual committees every six months. The trainee then submits a written progress report to the Internal Advisory Committee (IAC), which is shared with the External Advisory Committee (EAC). The trainee's report summarizes the progress made and its significance and outlines goals for the next 12 months.

The trainee’s advisor must also submit a written evaluation of the trainee’s progress and achievement of initially stated goals.

Trainees are evaluated on the basis of progress reports, coursework, presentations at the weekly research meetings and laboratory meetings, and daily interactions with their advisors and with other members of the research community, and papers published.

All predoctoral trainees are also formally evaluated every six months by their own departmental thesis committee, which usually contains some members of our training faculty, forming the basis for strong continuity in mentorship and a more reliable evaluation process. The advisor's evaluation is also given considerable weight.

All trainees are required to publish in peer-reviewed journals, present their research at national meetings and participate in the poster competitions of the various events targeted to trainees at the University of Cincinnati. These activities contribute significantly to the evaluation process.

All forms and materials are submitted to the program directors, who add their comments and forward the dossiers to the IAC and EAC for their approval. The program directors then communicate the evaluations to the advisor and trainee followed by a written report. If a trainee's progress is judged to be unsatisfactory, the directors speak in person with the advisor to discuss corrective strategies.

Generally a probationary period of six months is recommended. This recommendation, including constructive suggestions for improvement, is made at a meeting with the trainee, program directors and the trainee’s advisor. If the situation has not improved within six months, a joint meeting of the program directors, IAC, trainee and advisor is called to discuss the trainee's future in the program, which could be terminated.