Expectations of the Supervisor

All PGR projects should have a main supervisor and one or more co-supervisors. The co-supervisors should be meaningfully involved in the supervision of the PGR, albeit not necessarily attending every meeting and at a level reflected in the credit split.

Because all PGR supervision at Manchester is undertaken by supervisory teams we recommend between 30-25% co-supervision. So even when you are a main supervisor you will need at least one co-supervisor, there are no exceptions. Further, all probationary lecturers have to be a substantive co-supervisor before they are able to be a main supervisor. We expect around a year of co-supervision before main supervision can commence. Typically probationers would discuss with thier group leader if you can co-supervisor (substantive) a PGR already on programme. Start that ASAP and then you will be able to be a main supervisor for the next Sept intake. Or advertise your own project without having been a co-supervisor, and expect to co-supervise it with a substantive main supervisor.

The main supervisor should schedule regular meetings with the PGR, normally weekly but at least fortnightly. These should involve only the supervisor(s) and the PGR. The PGRs should be expected to bring work and ideas to the meeting, but the supervisor should actively seek evidence of progress and should discuss reasons for lack of progress with the PGR. Whilst the supervisor should honestly assess progress and should inform the PGR if progress or work is not satisfactory, the supervisor should also make constructive suggestions to the PGR for future work.

eProg milestones (especially the annual/continuation review) are in place to safeguard PGRs and ensure they are coping with the workload and progressing well. They also provide an opportunity for PGRs to raise any serious issues they are experiencing with their research and workload (such as childcare - more on this via the PGR Parents toolkit) and are a chance to discuss / review whether a change to mode of attendance, or an adjustment to working arrangements would be appropriate.

If a PGR is unable to work for any length of time (> 1 month) then they should consider, alongside their supervisors, whether an interruption/extension is required. PGRs should note that school holidays would not be sufficient mitigating circumstances for an extension or interruption. PGRs are entitled to 8 weeks annual leave that could be used at these times.

Any PGR who finds they are unable to research due to a sudden but brief (less than 1 month) change to their personal circumstances (be it child-care, a sick dependent, a flooded apartment, the death of a close relative etc.) should let their supervisors and local PGR support team know as soon as possible so that potential short-term extensions to any immediate deadlines (eProg or otherwise) can be considered locally.

Group meetings or workshops are an excellent forum for PGRs to learn how to conduct research, and to see a wider view of the subject than their own project, which is an essential component of a research programme, but these cannot replace one to one progress meetings with PGRs.

PGRs are here to learn, and the main supervisor has the primary responsibility for ensuring that they are educated as well as assessed. In the case of research PGRs they are here to learn how to become independent researchers. Whilst the final evaluation (submission of the PGR’s thesis and its examination) must determine whether or not the PGR has attained the level of an independent researcher, the educational process, led by the main supervisor, must constructively guide them to that point throughout the programme.

Warning

Spirited Discourse Your meetings may well include many components we would categorise as spirited discourse, especially to get the PGR ready for the hard Q&A that will be expected in their end-of-year progressions, conference presentations, and in the defence of their final thesis. These may seem confrontational, and this is to be expect, they should not mistake these for bullying behaviour - which a loose consensus says is “a repetitive behaviour which is intended to hurt someone either emotionally or physically, through offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour. This is often aimed at certain people because of their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation or any other aspect such as appearance or disability”. As a supervisor make sure your behaviour cannot be mistaken for bullying, make sure you are open to hearing a PGRs worries about bullying by others or about your own behaviour, and be aware in a complaint culture you too may easily feel you are being bullied by the PGR or the PGR team. Find out more in our dedicated section on Bullying. And if in any doubt at all just contact Oliver Rhodes (HoPGR) 2 or the Head of Department directly.

The supervisor’s behaviour towards the PGR must at all times remain calm, professional and constructive, in both oral and written communications. Whilst deficiencies in PGRs’ work must be clearly explained to the PGR, derogatory comments should not be used. Whilst group meetings will inevitably discuss the work that PGRs present, and the analysis and questioning of work that would normally occur in conferences or other research meetings is essential, this should be conducted professionally and in a constructive manner. Deficiencies in progress should be discussed with the PGR individually and not in front of other PGRs or staff (except co-supervisors).

PGRs have a right to request and receive regular feedback on written work. Writing is a vital component of research training and the development of academic writing skills must be supported by the supervisor(s).

PGRs have a right to request a mock viva, and if they wish to do this the supervisor(s) should arrange one.

The thesis is the responsibility of the PGR, who must decide the final content of the thesis and when the thesis is ready to be submitted. The PGR must have ultimate responsibility for his/her own research activity, and in relation to the final thesis, the supervisor’s opinion is only advisory and the PGR has the right to decide when to submit and if to follow the advice of the supervisor. Thus the PGR takes responsibility for submitting his thesis for examination and for the consequences. The requirement that the PGR is able to correctly decide what research to present and is able to correctly judge the value of the research presented in the thesis at the time of submission is implicit in the nature of programme, the award of which is a statement that the PGR has become an independent researcher.

Whilst it is natural that supervisors will wish to support their PGRs, applications for special consideration and progress reports for internal purposes and for external sponsors must always be completed accurately, completely and honestly.

In exceptional circumstances (for example, the breakdown of the relationship between supervisor and PGR) a change of supervisor may be requested by either party through Oliver Rhodes (HoPGR) 2. Where a change of supervisor is requested or if a supervisor is unable to continue with their duties, Oliver Rhodes (HoPGR) 2 is responsible for identifying and allocating an appropriate permanent replacement in consultation with the PGR and the remaining supervisory team.

Where no appropriate alternative can be found at the University of Manchester Oliver Rhodes (HoPGR) 2 will support the student in exploring options for continuing their research through registration at other Higher Education Institutions or alternatively consideration will also be given to whether sufficient research has been completed to enable the student to submit their research for a lesser award.

Every effort will be made to find alternative provision for the PGR, but it may not always be possible to appoint a new supervisor and there may not be a successful outcome potentially resulting in the termination of the student’s registration. In this circumstance the PGR will be made aware of this as soon as reasonably possible.

Contact Hours

As a rough non-perscriptive guide - all supervisions are a unique interaction between supervisor and PGR. However, you should typically expect to provide supervision of at least:

  1. Weekly supervision should be around 1h per week for 52-6 weeks is 46h.

  2. Reading over reports/papers etc 12 h pa (1h a month) indeed some paper time should be with the supervsior as they get benefit; and in the first year very few publish at all so the 36/48h distributed over 3 or 4 years is asymetrically distributed.

  3. Assistance with 9m RPR and yearly progressions - asymetrically distributed so on average 2h per year.

  4. Final thesis reading and corrections 10h.

  5. Using 4 years as the norm which then accounts for additional duties such as internal examiner and external examiners of PhDs

This gives a total of 70h pa for 4 years per PGR.

Holidays / Vacations / Annual Leave

A PGR is entitled to 28 days holiday per year in accordance with the Official Leave of Absence Procedure for Postgraduate Research Students document. These days must be taken in consultation with you as the supervisor.

The annual leave year runs from 1 October to 30 September. In addition to annual leave you are entitled to eight Bank Holidays and four closure days.

PGRs may, “with the prior agreement of their supervisor, take up to eight weeks holiday in each year (pro rata for parts of year and for part-time students). All holiday allowance taken should first be discussed with and approved by the supervisor. PGRs receiving sponsorship are expected to bear in mind their obligations to the sponsor and consult the policy of their sponsor when planning leave.”

Research Supervision

Remember that keeping good records (of supervision, meetings, etc) is essential, and key to showing that decisions were reasonable in all the circumstances. There must be evidence that supervision took place.

A thorough induction to set expectations is key, with an appropriate and comparable replacement if the PGR misses induction for good reason.

It is important to provide clear information about who to contact if they are experiencing issues with their supervisor(s) that cannot be resolved via discussion _with_ the supervisor(s).

Where progress is not satisfactory, this should be made very clear to the PGR (and recorded).

Clear information about supervisory support during the writing-up period should be provided.

The Department expects all supervisors to be familiar with and abide by the University’s Supervision Policy 3.

Recording Attendance & Engagement

You must fill out the attendance and engagement forms on eProg for each PGR when the system reminds you. Also, when you fill out these forms, the choices you make should be accurate. If these records are blank, or not accurate, then there can be implications for the University from the UKVI (and, by implication, for you).

You can bookmark the summary page at: https://app.manchester.ac.uk/myprofile/eprog/attendance.aspx

Oliver Rhodes (HoPGR) 2 reads the comments of each PGR and look at their attendance and engagement record every month or so and follow up with PGRs and Supervisors to understand and fix problems before they escalate.

You can always elaborate on anything you tick in the comments and we can take these comments into account. You can also signal that they are attending but progress is slow, or things are not going as you hope, or the quantity or quality of work is not to standard. It is really an audit trail of your supervision experiences so that we can take remedial action if required (even at a later stage). It might be that you feel the student is attending and engaging but you want to flag something which is becoming a problem, in this case, you can always raise concerns/seek advice regarding students’ progress at any time via Oliver Rhodes (HoPGR) 2 or Faculty Doctoral Academy Support 1.

Danger

Extensions and Interuptions eProg records might be ‘consulted’ when approving formal extension and interruption requests - these comments can be used as (part of) documented evidence. On the other hand, a reasonable PhD interruption request was recently questioned by the visa team because relevant eprog/attendance/census records showed that the student was engaging and attending as expected at the time.

Finally, don’t worry about decisions being taken out of your hands. We don’t do anything, or make any changes to a PGRs programme or progression, without first contacting you, as the supervisor, and coming up with a plan of action.

On Commencement of PGR’s Research

  1. Ensure induction is carried out; both mandatory University and local induction

  2. Ensure suitable training which may be formal and/or ‘on-the-job’ is provided for all tasks including research group/collaborator-specific training

  3. Decide on the amount and level of supervision that will be required until the PGR can work independently

  4. Ensure there is an assessment of risk for the actual work to be undertaken by the PGR

  5. Advance preparation for end of work - share expectations of what will be needed at the end of their research (for example; handover of data, disposal of material)

Throughout the PGR’s Project

  1. As part of the regular feedback meetings on research output, include safety issues in order to evaluate whether any change in the nature and level of supervision is required

  2. Ensure assessment of risks is reviewed in response to planned changes in research scope and training requirements re-evaluated in response.

Towards the end of a research project

  1. Set time aside to ensure handover of all relevant information and materials are transferred or disposed of before the PGR leaves.

Some Additional Resources

Postgraduate Researcher Supervisor Toolkit

In consultation with academic and PS colleagues across the University, Manchester Doctoral College Strategy Group has developed a Manchester-focussed online Postgraduate Researcher Supervisor Toolkit, based on the UKCGE good supervisory practice framework (https://supervision.ukcge.ac.uk/good-supervisory-practice-framework/), to support supervisors in their role. The resource brings together information and guidance about all aspects of research supervision from recruitment through to completion, with the aim of quickly signposting you to useful services, enabling you to navigate policies and regulations, and facilitating your interactions with postgraduate researchers. The resource is a source of information for supervisors from all academic areas and all levels of experience and will be reviewed and updated biannually; please use the form within the resource to send us your feedback and help ensure the resource continues to be useful and relevant.

To access the toolkit click Postgraduate Researcher Supervisor Toolkit (http://man.ac.uk/Pfb9Nt) and follow the steps below:

  1. When logged in to Blackboard, click the Enrol button with the green + symbol

  2. Click Submit in the bottom right corner of the window

  3. Click OK in the bottom right corner of the window

  4. When you click on the link within Blackboard to launch the toolkit, ensure that pop ups are enabled

If you have issues accessing Blackboard, please contact IT Support. If you can access Blackboard but have trouble with the toolkit, please contact staffLD@manchester.ac.uk.