Each college may have an admissions office that coordinates the admission and recruitment process for the college and individual departments and programs.

Coordination may involve—(a) finalizing the admission and interview process with program faculty—e.g. what the admission criteria are for each degree, how will the admission be conducted (e.g. by interviews, using a rubric that admissions office can use) (b) scheduling interview days and assigning faculty to interview the students, (c) responding to specific program related questions from future applicants.

The chair helps coordinates this effort of the admissions office with their faculty. In larger departments with many programs, the chair may assign a program faculty to oversee this process. 

Chairs may help with recruitment by reaching out to the community and the networks in their field to disseminate program information. In some departments, graduate student recruitment is done by faculty in the form of seminars at regional colleges or outreach at conferences.

Departments typically develop a handbook for incoming students for each degree program that includes course plans, program policies, procedures etc.

With the department’s academic services associate or graduate advisor, the chair will oversee that programs, faculty, and students comply with the policies and procedures are laid out in the handbooks.

The chair will ensure academic integrity as laid out in the program handbook.

Each program may consider the process for failure to comply with the academic policies that may result in student probation.

Chairs must consider the university graduate and undergraduate policies when making any decisions.