Rotations – inclusive of the Exploration Period and group selection – are an opportunity to fully explore scientific opportunities at Emory and to join a group with confidence. However, the inherent uncertainty in this process can be stressful for both students and faculty. Based on feedback from both parties, clear and consistent “rules of engagement” are intended to help to ensure a positive rotation experience.
The following rules for rotation logistics and etiquette should guide faculty, current students, and rotating students:
All activities
- Scholars cannot be required or encouraged to miss TA commitments or classroom time; rotators should plan to engage in rotations in a manner that allows them to meet their TA commitments and attend classes. Faculty should ensure that rotation requirements account for these responsibilities.
- Faculty and students are asked to confine their discussions of other groups to issues related to scientific work rather than group placement. This means that students and faculty should not discuss rotation outcomes, real or projected, of individuals who are not active participants in a given conversation.
- In all communication about rotations, faculty, current students, and rotators are encouraged to remember that we are a part of a learning community. Feedback should be specific, growth-oriented, and constructive.
Exploration activities
- Events must be open to all eligible scholars
- Events must take place on campus between the hours of 7am-7pm
- Refreshments at events should be limited to light snacks and non-alcoholic beverages
- Scholars should make a request, either in person or via email, to any faculty member with whom they intend to request a rotation. In turn, faculty should make themselves available for these discussions and respond promptly to email correspondence. Faculty are asked not to accept rotators that they are not willing to consider for placement in their group.
Rotation activities
- Faculty have considerable flexibility in assigning rotation activities. This may include designing and implementing experiments, analyzing results, reading and summarizing literature, as well as proposing future directions. At a minimum, satisfactory completion of the rotation will require attendance at all group meetings, seminars, scholar seminars, and/or journal club activities scheduled during the rotation period. Faculty may set a minimum hour-per-week requirement for graduate scholar engagement.
- During the time a scholar is engaged in a rotation, the scholar’s total research effort should be focused on that rotation. Faculty cannot require that scholars participate in research activities in a group outside their current rotation assignment. With these requirements in mind, scholars should feel free to participate broadly in the intellectual life of the department.
- Existing lab members working with rotators may be asked to provide feedback to the primary research mentor regarding rotation performance. These discussions should, within reason, be considered confidential.
- Faculty are encouraged to provide clear feedback related to performance during the rotation but to remind rotators that group selections cannot be made until the rotation period has concluded. At the risk of being prescriptive, we suggest that the following language would be appropriate: “I would be happy to discuss group placement with you at the end of the full rotation period.” Rotators, in turn, should not press faculty for a commitment prior to the conclusion of the rotation experience.
Discernment
- To accommodate the need for in-depth discussion about group placement, faculty should plan time to meet with rotators after rotations conclude and before the group selection deadline. Students should be proactive in scheduling these discussions.
- Rotators are advised that they may be asked to share their “report card” for individual rotations with potential mentors. While scholars may refuse, they are advised that this request is considered reasonable and allows for open discussion of their success in relevant rotation experiences.