Academic Quality Framework Chapter 17, Part H

Introduction

1. The Doctoral School (‘the DS’) is responsible for ensuring that all students have access to appropriate levels of supervision and support. This includes ensuring that an appropriate supervisory team is in place prior to the admission of any student. This section of Northeastern University London’s Academic Quality Framework Chapter 17: Research Programmes of Study (AQF17) sets out detailed requirements in relation to such supervision.

Team Supervision

2. Northeastern University London (‘the University’) operates a system of team supervision for its students. A supervisory team will have three members of faculty: Primary Supervisors from the University and the University of Kent, and a Secondary Supervisor from the University.
   1. The supervisory team must have a designated Chair of the supervisory team (‘the Supervisory Chair’) approved by the Programme Management Board, University of Kent and Northeastern University London (‘the PhD PMB’) to act in this capacity. Please see the responsibilities of the Supervisory Chair below;
   2. Where a supervisory team is appointed to a student, there must be a supervisor designated to act as the student’s main point of contact for support and advice (the Primary Supervisor at the University). Please see the responsibilities of the Primary Supervisor below;
   3. The appointment of a supervisor must take into consideration the overall workload of the individual and allow for sufficient time for adequate contact to fulfil the responsibilities as outlined in AQF17.

Supervisory Chair

3. The criteria for the approval of faculty as Supervisory Chairs are:
   1. Evidence of research activity relevant to the programme in the past five years;
   2. At least three years’ experience as a main supervisor and to have supervised a student from the start of a PhD through to successful completion;
   3. Note: In the case of programmes which incorporate practice research, the appropriateness of proposed Supervisory Chairs with regard to these criteria must be specifically in the context of the practice research;
   4. Attendance at University of Kent Graduate and Researcher College Supervisory Chair briefing.
4. In order to act in this capacity, members of faculty must be approved by the PhD PMB. A central register of approved Supervisory Chairs will be held by the PhD PMB.
5. The PhD PMB is responsible for ensuring that the status of Supervisory Chairs appointed to new students remains current in the light of these criteria.
6. Only members of the University or University of Kent faculty may be appointed as Supervisory Chairs.
7. Members of faculty wishing to be approved as Supervisory Chairs on programmes of study that rely in whole or in part on practice research must be approved specifically to act on these programmes, see AQF17, Part M: Practice Research.

Primary Supervisors

8. Criteria for acting as a Primary Supervisor:
   1. Must be research-active with relevant publications;
   2. Must hold a PhD or equivalent research experience;
   3. Must have attended the ‘Good Supervision’ training provided by the University of Kent’s Graduate and Researcher College or by the DS;
   4. Must be a full or part-time employee of Northeastern University London;
   5. Must be approved by the PhD PMB.

Supervisory Responsibilities

Supervisory Chairs

9. Supervisory Chairs are responsible for:
   1. Ensuring that the requirements of AQF17 are met with regard to students for whom they are appointed;
   2. Overseeing the operation of the supervisory team to ensure that supervisory and student responsibilities are being fulfilled, as outlined below;
   3. Providing support and guidance to members of the supervisory team as and when required;
   4. Participating in and preparing for student progress reviews as required by the DS and by AQF17 (see AQF17, Part J: Progression and Examination).

Primary Supervisors

10. Primary Supervisors are responsible for:
    1. Offering guidance on the student’s research project (in consultation with other members of the supervisory team);
    2. Advising the student of the respective roles and responsibilities of each of the members of the supervisory team;
    3. Ensuring that the student is aware of their responsibilities during the period of research;
    4. Scheduling regular meetings with the student and setting aside adequate time to discuss progress and future work. The minimum requirement is one formal meeting per month (see the section on Supervisory Meetings for further explanation about meeting requirements);
    5. Ensuring that students are introduced to all the University’s facilities relevant to their research;
    6. Ensuring that their students’ training needs (both subject-specific and transferable) are reviewed regularly through consideration of the skills audit, and encouraging them to take up training opportunities;
    7. Ensuring that the particular needs of international students are taken into account fully during the early stages of research and advising on language problems and training where necessary;
    8. Advising students on academic matters including expected attendance, research standards, methodologies, academic writing, plagiarism, progression and examination;
    9. Approving a timetable of work and overseeing this to completion. Timely completion of research projects is expected by the University;
    10. Keeping the DS informed of any absences likely to impact upon time available for supervisory duties;
    11. Ensuring that students are made aware of inadequacy of progress or standards of work below that expected. This should be recorded formally in notes of supervisory meetings and progress reviews;
    12. Taking action to bring to the attention of the Supervisory Chair (where this is a different member of staff) and the DS any concerns about a student’s unsatisfactory progress;
    13. Ensuring that there are clear records of supervisory meetings and interactions with their students;
    14. Requesting written work as appropriate and returning such work with substantial constructive feedback within an agreed timetable;
    15. Participating in and preparing for student progress reviews as required by the DS and by AQF17, Part J: Progression and Examination;
    16. Advising students on the ethical implications of their research and appropriate routes for ethical approval where appropriate;
    17. Arranging, where appropriate, for students to make oral presentations about their work within the University and at conferences and to publish material from their research (ensuring proper credit is given for joint research);
    18. Recommending examiners for the student’s thesis to the PhD PMB in good time;
    19. In conjunction with the examiners where appropriate, providing advice to the student concerning the corrections and/or revisions required to the thesis following examination;
    20. Remaining familiar with and understanding the requirements of the University of Kent Regulations for Research Courses of Study and the Northeastern University London Academic Quality Framework Chapter 17: Research Programmes of Study;
    21. Considering the safety implications of their students’ research;
    22. Note: Supervisors are responsible for all aspects of safety that fall within their control and in particular for the safe conduct of experiments carried out in the course of their students’ research. Further information is available from the DS.

Second Primary Supervisor

11. The role of a Second Primary Supervisor is to ensure that the quality of supervisory provision is in accordance with this AQF17, Part H.
12. It may also include any of the responsibilities of the Primary Supervisor, although in most cases the role of the Second Supervisor will be to offer an alternative perspective on the research project and provide additional support to the student whenever this is required. The same individual may undertake the roles of both Supervisory Chair and Second Primary Supervisor in cases where the role of Primary Supervisor is being fulfilled by another member of staff. This AQF17, Part H specifies the minimum requirements for supervision. The Second Supervisor would be expected to temporarily undertake responsibility for the supervision of the student in cases where the Primary Supervisor becomes unavailable or leaves the University. In order to act as the Primary Supervisor, the Second Supervisor is required to have an appropriate level of expertise in the subject area.

Student Responsibilities

13. Students are responsible for:
    1. The content, completion and submission for examination of their thesis under the supervision of faculty. The student should take ultimate responsibility for their research;
    2. Ensuring that they are familiar with and comply with University regulations, subject guidelines and any other procedures relating to their degree;
    3. Attending a skills review workshop in their first year of registration;
    4. Completing a skills audit and discussing this and their training needs with their supervisors on a regular basis;
    5. Preparing adequately for formal progress reviews (as required by AQF17 Part J: Progression and Examination) and supervisory meetings;
    6. Ensuring work progresses in accordance with the stages agreed with the supervisor(s);
    7. Advising their supervisor(s) of any illness, holidays or other occasions when they will be absent from the University;
    8. Seeking advice from their supervisor(s) in an active manner and taking the initiative in raising problems or difficulties (including illness or other exceptional circumstances) with their supervisors;
    9. Agreeing a programme of work with their supervisor(s) at the beginning of their first year and reviewing this at appropriate intervals in each academic year in consultation with the supervisors, ensuring that any deviation from the programme is reported to supervisors as soon as possible;
    10. Agreeing a schedule of meetings with their supervisor(s);
    11. Devoting appropriate time and effort to their studies;
    12. Taking note of the guidance and feedback provided on their work by their supervisor(s);
    13. Keeping records of supervisory meetings;
    14. Complying with health and safety requirements;
    15. Complying with ethical requirements;
    16. Ensuring that they complete their registration and make payment of fees at the appropriate time;
    17. Assisting the University in keeping their records up to date by cooperating fully with administrative procedures;
    18. Contributing to the research environment of the academic research cluster, discipline, institute; wider university community and externally (as appropriate) by taking up opportunities to present work at seminars and by networking with other researchers;
    19. Providing feedback on their student experience through annual reports, postgraduate surveys, postgraduate representatives and Student Voice Forums (as appropriate);
    20. Reporting any concerns about their supervision to the Director of the Doctoral School or their nominee without delay. If the Director of the Doctoral School or nominee is a member of the supervisory team, concerns should be reported to the Associate Dean for Research and Knowledge Exchange.

Supervisory Meetings

14. While it is acknowledged that students may work closely with their supervisors and it is expected that they may have a great deal of informal supervision, it is a requirement of the University that students are also involved in regular formal supervision meetings. It is the expectation of the University that these meetings should normally take place every month during the calendar year. The meeting will be a substantial period of discussion focused on the research project in which substantive matters are raised and progressed between the student and supervisor. The meeting will be face to face. It may on occasion be necessary for the meeting to take the form of video conferencing, in which substantive matters are raised and progressed. This may be particularly appropriate if students are on field work, studying at another institution or are on placement. Variations on this timetable may take vacations into account.
15. There may be rare occasions where it is not possible for the regular monthly meetings to take place, for example when on field work due to lack of suitable facilities. In such cases the supervisor must indicate on the student records system that the student is on field work and a statement of how support will be provided during this time is required prior to the student’s departure;
16. Students should also be monitored monthly during their continuation year and during any approved subsequent writing-up period;
17. Following the viva examination, supervisors should be available for email contact with students for minor corrections. In the case of major corrections or resubmission, students should have monthly supervision meetings;
18. It is essential that both students and supervisors keep records of the outcomes of their regular monthly meetings. In order that a clear progression is agreed in a timely manner, students are expected to complete their report within one week of the meeting and supervisors are expected to provide written feedback within two weeks.

Absence of the Primary Supervisor

19. The Director of the Doctoral School should ensure that appropriate arrangements for supervision are made should a student’s Primary Supervisor be absent from the University for a period greater than four weeks. A new Primary Supervisor would be expected to undertake responsibility for the supervision of the student in cases where the Primary Supervisor becomes unavailable or leaves the University for a period. The University will undertake to employ an external supervisor with relevant subject expertise where alternative subject-specific supervision is unavailable within the University, should the Primary Supervisor, for whatever reason, be unable to continue to offer supervision. It would be expected that the external subject-specific supervisor would co-supervise the student in conjunction with a University staff member who would provide the student with general supervision.

Supervisor/Student Relationship

20. Supervisors and students are expected to treat one another with courtesy and discuss any problems at the earliest opportunity thus allowing any issues to be resolved quickly and effectively. In cases where there is a more serious breakdown in the main supervisor/student relationship, the matter should be brought to the attention of the Director of the Doctoral School, who will review the situation. In cases where there is an irreparable breakdown in the student/supervisor relationship, an alternative main supervisor will be provided. If such a situation occurs around the time of a progression review (see AQF17, Part J: Progression and Examination), the student may request a review panel independent from the supervisor or supervisory team.

External Supervisors

21. It may be beneficial or necessary under certain circumstances for the DS to arrange for the appointment of an external supervisor to assist with the supervision of a student. This may occur when:
    1. It is identified at the commencement of a research project that it would be beneficial for a student to receive external supervisory expertise from a partner university or non-HEI partner;
    2. The primary supervisor is absent for a period of time or leaves the University;
    3. When a research project takes an unexpected turn which ideally requires some input from an external subject specialist. The costs of the appointment of the external supervisor will be covered by the DS, except in cases where it is agreed that this will be part of a separate agreement.

Role of an External Supervisor

22. The role of an external supervisor is:
    1. To assist in the supervision of the research work of the student (including final preparation of the thesis up to the point of submission and successful completion of the research award);
    2. To contribute to any progression reviews as required by AQF17,
       Part J: Progression and Examination during the external supervision period;
    3. To maintain a comprehensive record of documents, emails and correspondence relating to the external supervision of the student. These records should meet the requirements of this AQF17, Part H;
    4. To respond with feedback to the student in a timely fashion following the submission of research work to the external supervisor for consideration.

Termination

23. The University reserves the right to terminate the appointment of an external supervisor without notice where the PhD PMB considers that the supervisor has not properly undertaken the duties set out above.

Appointment Process

24. The PhD PMB should consider the case made for the appointment of an external supervisor and determine whether the reasons outlined by the supervisory team for this appointment are justified.
25. The Director of the Doctoral School should liaise with the proposed external supervisor to explain the role and appointment process.
26. The Director of the Doctoral School should obtain a CV from the proposed external supervisor.
27. Right to work checks on the proposed external supervisor should be carried out by the University at this stage.
28. The DS should complete an Appointment of External Supervisor form, which will require the approval of the Director of the Doctoral School.
29. The appointment form (once approved by the PhD PMB) will be forwarded to Human Resources.

Payment of External Supervisors

30. The University will set up a timesheet paid staff contract for the external supervisor. The cost of the external supervisor will be covered by the University and the rate of pay should be agreed by the Associate Dean for Research and Knowledge Exchange. The external supervisor will be paid for time spent in supervisory contact and in the preparation and reviewing of student work. Completed timesheets for all such work must be returned to the DS for processing and payment.

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