Transcript Document

Postgraduate Administrative Arrangements
Brief for Supervisors
Rick Kiralfy
Head of the College Postgraduate Office
1st Floor David Hume Tower
George Square
Format….
 Management Information Flow
 Key Admin Processes
 University Level Support
 Useful References
 Reminder “Do’s and Don’ts”
The timelines shown in the presentation refer
to full-time PhD study, and are different for
MPhil or part-time study
x3
College PGSC
x11
School PGS
Issues and Proposals
Regulations & Guidance
Senate PGSC
•The University has a
Senatus PG Studies
Committee structure
•Each College has a Dean of
PG Studies, a College PG
Studies Committee, and a PG
Office
•Each School has a PG
Director and a School PG
structure
Your School admin focus is through your PG Office,
but the College PG Office is also here to help
Regulations? Guidance?
Regs
Guidance
Regs
“Playing Space”
Mandatory
Discretionary
Mandatory
• Regulations tell us what is required – no discretion
• inc: DRPS, Exam Regulations
• Guidance inform us about best practice based on experience
Admissions
Applications come via EUCLID
Communication with student is electronic
At least one supervisor appointed pre-offer
 2nd no later than 2 months in
Nurturing during lead-up to matriculation
Induction phase very important
The applicant phase is the start of getting to
know your student
Interruptions/Extensions
 Interruptions “stop the clock”; fees “stop” too
 Extensions add extra time; extra fee
 Both require a case to be made, with evidence
 Cannot be made retrospective
 IoS cumulative maximum for PhD is 60 months
 Approval authority: College PG Dean ONLY
 Request does NOT equal automatic approval
 Must have Research Council support if
applicable
Be alert to your student’s potential lack of progress
in good time. Get students to keep you in the
picture. Monitor and document progress.
Leave of Absence
 Leave = work away, NOT a holiday!
 Students to be in Edinburgh during PPoS, unless
granted leave; PG Director can recommend up to 15
months
 Supervisor applies on student’s behalf
 Appropriate supervision/facilities must be available to
the student whilst on leave
 Tell the College Office (standard form), as we need to
confirm to student and to Registry
Be alert to absence of student from Edinburgh
Withdrawals/Terminations
 Supervisor can apply on student’s behalf:
 Reason for withdrawal must be given
 Independent letter from student will be sought if not
provided
 If as a result of student deciding career choice was
wrong, best if happens in first year
 Initiated by College Office when:
 Student has gone away (ie no contact), fails to
submit, fails to make corrections, or fails to resubmit
Be alert to lack of expected contact, try to get in
touch, tell PG Director and College if none
forthcoming
Annual Reports
 Done towards end of 1st, 2nd and 3rd year
 Timeliness is essential
 Need to identify:
 Whether on track or with shortfalls
 Plan way ahead
 Comment on shortfalls mentioned in previous report
 Tell the student - feedback
Timely annual reports are vital to monitoring progress and
managing remedial actions.
Writing Up Year – The Thesis
 Expectation is that student will submit well before the 12 month point
 Student should aim to complete in 3 years, but with the 4th year being a
contingency period
 Supervisor must keep in contact
 Arrange how, before writing up period starts
 NITS
 Before submitting, student should consult with supervisor about adequacy of
thesis, BUT this is not compulsory
 Student tells college 2 months before submission
 College initiates getting examiners and sending thesis.
 Head of school nominates examiners, in consultation with supervisors (1
Internal, 1 External
Encourage student to submit thesis on time
Examination
 Student has no right to veto examiners
 Examiners review thesis (Part 1 report); and then
conduct Viva (Part 2 report)
 Internal examiner usually makes arrangements for oral
 Supervisor(s) can attend oral as ‘observer’ if student
agrees
 Non-Examining Chair preferred
 College exam committee decides result
 Student and supervisor informed
College authorises exam result. Do not assume
viva recommendations will be final
Appeals and Complaints
 Students may appeal when they:



Alert UoE about personal difficulties previously not known
Feel they lacked the resources to complete the project
Feel they have had inadequate supervision
Feel they were not fairly examined
Students may complain when they:




Would otherwise appeal, but lack the grounds
Miss milestones, fall behind and submit poor work
Fall out with their supervisor
Have a grievance (eg plagiarism)
Have paid money but not got a degree
This does not mean that all students must pass, but
supervisors must demonstrate due diligence and
schools must provide appropriate resources
University Level Support:
Disability Office
Careers
Chaplaincy
Health Service
International Office
Scholarships & Student Finance Office
Student’s Association (EUSA)
Advice Place
Student Counselling
PGR SUPERVISOR DO’s and Don’ts
Please see Handout
These tips help you to help
the student, and help both of you to
steer away from problem areas
Guide to PG Administration
Essential information is on the web
Hard to know where they are
Indexed College “links” Page
 Alphabetical order
 Easy to navigate, links to “Golden Copy”
 Routine updates
 Can add topics quickly
 Available from PG Office Home Page
http://www.hss.ed.ac.uk/Postgraduate/infostaff/PraticalGuide/guide.html#c
Click Here
Click Here
Click on letter
to go there
Click on the
Links as
required
The Last Word
Although your first point of contact will usually
be your own school PG Office,
please seek our advice
when you need to
The College PG Office is here to help
College PG Office Web Page: www.hss.ed.ac.uk/Postgraduate/
PG Admin Index Page:
http://www.hss.ed.ac.uk/Postgraduate/infostaff/PraticalGuide/guide.
html