Supervision

Supervision Panels

All candidates at UWS have a supervisory panel of at least two supervisors. Panels are advantageous for students in a number of ways:

• provide a backup should the principal supervisor be absent for any reason
• introduce additional expertise, they mentor new supervisors in a co-supervisory role
• are used to involve experts who are external to UWS
• creates opportunities for academic staff in an environment of limited admissions of research candidates.

Co-supervision is part of academic workload at UWS. The candidate record system can register any combination of percentage of time amongst the panel. However, unless otherwise specified by the college, the default allocation of load is 60/40 for a panel of two and 50/25/25 for a panel of three.

Graduate Supervisor Register

Principal supervisors are registered on the Graduate Supervisor Register. Registration requires attendance at a supervisor forum once every three years and completion of an application form. Normally, a principal supervisor will hold qualifications at least at the level they are supervising.

Load Limits

The maximum load limit as a principal supervisor is three full-time candidates or the equivalent. There is no load limit on co-supervision but all supervision arrangements must be negotiated as part of workload agreements. Research-only appointed staff may have a higher load of candidates than three Equivalent Full Time Student Load (EFTSL).

The Principal Supervisor

The principal supervisor must be a non-casual member of UWS staff. The principal supervisor has a specific role in leading the panel and taking responsibility for a range of matters. Broadly these are:

• management of time
• monitoring of progress
• encouragement of candidate participation in UWS research culture
• ensuring that commitments made by the panel and candidate are met
• providing timely feedback
• ensuring that reporting milestones are met, i.e. measures of achievement, confirmation of candidature and annual progress reports
• arranging nomination of examiners, thesis lodgement and responding to examiners reports
• taking steps to address any problems that may arise
• advising candidates about Leave of Absence, if required
• ensuring that candidates are provided with resources
• advising candidates about the Research Candidate Misconduct in Research Policy, the Research Code of Practice and ensuring that they are aware of UWS policies on Intellectual Property (IP) and plagiarism.  

An Acting Principal Supervisor of the supervisory panel must be appointed during any significant absence of the principal supervisor, i.e. more than a month at a time, and always during periods of absence due to Personal Development Program (PDP) leave. It is never acceptable for a candidate to have their candidature disrupted by staff absences. Please see the Variation of Program for advice on changing panel membership.

^ Back to top

Also in this section:

• Responsibilities of the supervisor
• Variation of program
  

Related Documents

• Meetings of the Panel (PDF)
  
• Responsibilities of the Student (PDF)