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Research Degrees in Sponsoring Establishments Student Handbook

Code of practice for supervisors and research students

The Open University Research Degrees Committee, which includes representatives from the University’s academic units and full-time and part-time research students, is responsible for the formulation of the University’s research degree policy. The Committee takes decisions about the admission, registration and progress of individual students on the basis of recommendations from supervisors and heads of discipline, who have a general responsibility for the progress of research students in their areas.
The Research School is responsible for the implementation of research degree policy and for the administration of the research degree programme. It welcomes enquiries from students and supervisors who want advice about aspects of research degree policy or information about the services and support available. Please ask:
Research School
The Open University
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA
Phone 01908 653808
Email Research-school@open.ac.uk
The Open University Research Degrees Committee welcomes comments on the code of practice from students, supervisors and sponsoring establishments. They should be sent to the Research School.
The publications that contain information about supervision arrangements for research students are:
Research Degrees in Sponsoring Establishments Student Handbook, which includes the University’s student regulations and the research degree award regulations, and is sent to all registered students and to supervisors.
Research Degrees in Sponsoring Establishments Guidelines for Supervisors, which should be sent by the sponsoring establishment to all supervisors when they are offered appointment, gives information about supervisors’ duties and about monitoring students’ progress.
Annual Progress Report Exercise Guidelines, sent to sponsoring establishments each January, to explain the annual progress report procedures.

The code of practice

This code of practice sets out guidelines for the conduct of the relationship between research students and supervisors. It defines the responsibilities of students and supervisors, suggesting what each can reasonably expect of the other, and gives examples of good supervisory practice. If the code of practice is to be effective, there must be a continual process of negotiation between students and their supervisors. The code is intended to provide a framework for research in an atmosphere of scholarship and collegiality.
The code is designed to enable students to complete their degrees successfully within the time limits. Full-time PhD students should aim to complete their degrees within three years, which is the period of most studentship awards, and certainly within four. The maximum period of registration for part-time students is 6 years.
These maximum periods should not be regarded as the norm. Students should work towards completion times within these periods.

Responsibilities of the supervisors

Supervisors are responsible for the academic progress and pastoral or personal support of their students, and for dealing with administrative matters. They should provide the guidance and support necessary for successful completion of the research project.
Supervisors are responsible for:

• Establishing, at the beginning of the student’s research, a framework for supervision, including arrangements for regular supervisory meetings. The stages that the student will be expected to complete by certain points in the research should also be agreed.
• Defining the role of each supervisor.
• Meeting the student regularly and frequently, at the intervals agreed at the beginning of the research project.
• Giving assistance in defining the topic of research. It is important that this is agreed between the student and supervisors at an early stage.
• Making sure that the project:

• Falls within the supervisors’ area of expertise.
• Can be completed with the resources available.
• Can be completed within the prescribed period of study.
• Is suitable for the degree that the student intends to take.
• For full-time students, can be completed within the period of the studentship (usually three years).

• Making sure that students know about research training provided by the sponsoring establishment, and are aware of attendance requirements.
• Seeing that the safety policies of the sponsoring establishment are brought to students’ attention and explained.
• Discussing any hazards associated with the research work and how they can be dealt with, and ensuring that safety procedures are followed.
• Ensuring that adequate cover is arranged if the supervisors are going to be absent for a significant period.
• Responding promptly and constructively to written work, within the schedule agreed at the beginning of the project.
• Keeping to the monitoring and reporting timetable agreed at the beginning of the project. This will include the annual progress reports that are required by the Open University Research Degrees Committee.
• Ensuring that examiners are nominated in good time, so that the examination can go ahead as soon as possible after submission of the thesis.

Students can also reasonably expect their supervisors to:

• Treat them professionally, and see that they get proper credit for their work.
• Give advice about the proposed research project and the standard expected for the degree the student intends to take.
• Arrange a supervision meeting as soon as possible after registration. This would usually be within the first week for full-time students, but may take longer to arrange for part-time students.
• Make sure that the first meeting covers the areas set out in Good supervisory arrangements and practice below or, if that is not possible, that those areas are covered in another way.
• Suggest some directed reading before registration. This might be general background reading so that the student can discuss the topic with the supervisors soon after registration, or it might be the beginning of a literature review.
• Offer advice about literature sources and other research resources.
• Deal promptly with any research problems.
• Take an active role in introducing the student to meetings of learned societies, seminars and so on, and to other researchers in the field.
• Offer advice about the publication of research work, and make sure that attribution is discussed before publication.
• Provide support by encouragement and constructive advice, as well as criticism and adverse comment.

Responsibilties of the student

Students are expected to:

• Work conscientiously and independently within the guidance offered. While it is important to keep supervisors informed and to show work to them, students should be self-directed.
• Participate fully in research training provided by the sponsoring establishment.
• Come to supervisory meetings well prepared and with a clear agenda.
• Before the end of the first year (the first twenty-four months for part-time students), have the area of research defined, be acquainted with the necessary background knowledge, complete the literature review and have a provisional framework for the progress of the research, with a timetable for the rest of the research period.
• Maintain progress according to the timetable agreed with the supervisors at the outset.
• Present written material in time for comment and discussion before going on to the next stage. As groundwork for the thesis, students should write rough drafts of potential chapters as soon as possible. Those in the sciences should keep a systematic record of all experimental work attempted and accomplished.
• Ensure that their English is good enough for the presentation of a thesis. Those whose first language is not English should seek advice. (This does not apply to students who have permission to submit their theses in Welsh or Gaelic.)
• Write regular reports, as agreed at the outset, on the progress of the project.

Supervisors can also reasonably expect students to:

• Produce a substantial amount of written work, even if only in draft form, before the end of the first year (twenty-four months for part-time students). The interpretation of ‘substantial’ should be agreed between supervisors and students at the outset.
• Tell their supervisors about other people with whom they discuss their work.
• Discuss with their supervisors the form of guidance and kind of comment they find most helpful.
• Take the initiative in raising problems or difficulties, however elementary or trivial they seem. Students as well as supervisors have a responsibility to initiate contact and raise questions.
• Recognise that supervisors may have many other demands on their time. Students should hand in work in good time and give adequate notice if they ask supervisors for unscheduled meetings or to provide references.

Good supervisory arrangements and practice

The following points are recommended to students, supervisors and sponsoring establishments as good supervisory arrangements and practice.
Supervision
At their initial meeting the supervisors and the student should draw up a written agreement on the role of each supervisor and arrangements for supervisory support.
Supervision meetings
Students and supervisors should have regular meetings at which academic advice is given and through which progress is monitored. This is particularly important at the beginning of the research, so that the project makes a good start.
It cannot be too strongly stressed that the success of research projects depends largely on the help and guidance offered by supervisors, especially in the early stages of the work. Close contact at that time is essential if later difficulties are to be avoided.
Frequency of meetings
This will depend on the student’s circumstances (full-time or part-time) and the nature and stage of the research project. Meetings should be more frequent for full-time students and in the early stages of the research.
In the first term full-time students should normally meet their supervisors at least once a week. After that, monthly meetings could suffice. Part-time students should ideally meet their director of studies at least six times a year. At important stages in the project, particularly in the first year, meetings may be more frequent and should be supplemented by regular Phone calls, email or written correspondence. The student should meet all the supervisors together at least once a year.
Arrangements for supervisory support, including the frequency of meetings, must be agreed at the first meeting, and the schedule must be adhered to by students and supervisors.
The first meeting
The first meeting between student and supervisors is particularly important in establishing a provisional framework for future support and getting the student’s academic work off to a good start. The following areas should be covered in the first meeting:
Supervision
Role of each supervisor
Frequency of future meetings
Timetable for early meetings
Arrangements for seeing and commenting on written work
Monitoring arrangements and timetable
Safety
Academic support
Research facilities available
Sponsoring establishment training programmes and attendance requirements
General framework for the whole research project
Detailed plan for the early stages of the research project
Subsequent meetings
Regular meetings, in accordance with the agreed schedule, are essential to monitor progress and agree timetables for the future. The research timetable should be committed to paper so that supervisors can see whether deadlines have been met. Examples of supervisory schedules are given below.
The length of meetings will vary. For full-time students meetings of an hour or so are usual. For part-time students, whose meetings are less frequent, they will be longer.
Monitoring progress
Supervisors use different methods to monitor their students’ progress, and they should agree with the student at the initial meeting how it is to be done. Supervisors are required by the Open University Research Degrees Committee to submit an annual report to the sponsoring establishment contact on the progress of their students, and this should be taken into account when working out a monitoring schedule. Examples are given below.
The Open University Research Degrees Committee requires a substantial review of progress for full-time students shortly before the end of the first year, for part-time students before the end of the two-year probationary period. The timetables agreed at supervision meetings should be used to see whether deadlines are being met and progress is being made.
Students should prepare progress reports for their supervisors at regular agreed intervals. The timing should be linked to the annual report supervisors are required to make.
Contacts in sponsoring establishments also have responsibilities for monitoring students. They are required to ensure that students in their sponsoring establishments make adequate academic progress each year, and to take any action required to enable students to meet their submission dates. They are also responsible for making sure that students receive copies of their progress reports when they have been endorsed.
Examples of supervision and monitoring schedules
For a full-time student

For a part-time student

Changes in supervision
Students have the right to discuss and criticise the supervision they are receiving. Initially, any concerns should be raised with supervisors at the regular supervision meetings. If they cannot be resolved, the student should discuss the difficulties with the contact in the sponsoring establishment or the Assistant Registrar (Research Degrees).
If the problem cannot be resolved a new supervisor may be appointed, but there may be difficulties in finding a replacement supervisor who has experience of the thesis subject area.
Appeal procedures
Students have the right to appeal against decisions of the Open University Research Degrees Committee, such as an examination result or a decision not to continue registration. Appeals have to be lodged within one month of the decision, or two months for appeals against an examination result.