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Monitoring Progress and Resolving Problems of PhD Students

Some PhD students make rapid and steady progress throughout their studies and finish on time without having encountered problems of any kind. But research is not risk-free; for instance, there is no way to guarantee that the results you are working on will not be published by somebody else a few months before you finish writing them up. And learning to do research is not easy. So it is inevitable that some students will have difficulties and experience delays. Supervisors are responsible for keeping a close eye on progress and providing advice and assistance in such circumstances. But sometimes a supervisor does not recognise a problem or is not able to provide the right kind of assistance.

Tracking progress

All institutes in Informatics have mechanisms for monitoring PhD students' progress. The purpose of these is to ensure that problems are caught and resolved as early as possible. The names that are given to the various reports and meetings differ between institutes, but the structure is as follows:

1. Formal Progress Review (organised by Principal Supervisor)
   
   • A written report on progress is submitted every year by each PhD student - thesis proposal in year 1, progress report in all other years
   • The proposal/report is reviewed by a committee consisting of the student's supervisors plus at least one other member of staff in a meeting with the student.
     
   • A short written report on the outcome of this meeting, written by the supervisor and agreed by the other members of the committee, is sent to the student and to the Graduate School office.
     
   • A copy should be retained by the Institute for use at the Annual Review Meeting (see below).
     
2. Annual Review Meeting (organised by Institute)
   
   • Each institute has an annual meeting to review the progress of all PhD students in the institute.
     
   • The papers for this meeting include all reports on reviews since the previous meeting.
     
   • The people present include the institute PhD selector and director, all PhD supervisors, and the Head of the Graduate School.
     
   • Each PhD student is discussed at least briefly.
     
   • Minutes of this meeting record the situation including any action, a copy should be sent to the Graduate School office
     
   • The institute director is responsible for ensuring that these actions happen.
3. Formal Annual Report (organised by Graduate School)
   
   • Formal Annual Reports are sent to principal supervisors by the Graduate School office, at the request of the College office.
     
   • The principal supervisor completes the formal report and it is countersigned by the assistant supervisor(s).
   • A copy of the written report from the progess review should be attached to the annual report.
   • The report is returned to the Graduate School office and is countersigned by the Head of the Graduate School.
   • The Graduate School returns the formal reports to the College office.

Click here to see a PDF graphic representation of how these and other milestones relate to each other.

Seeking advice and resolving problems

The supervisor(s) should be the primary source of advice for PhD students. Most supervisors are very experienced and can advise on strategies for dealing with the kinds of problems that arise in the course of research. With the general lack of structure of PhD studies, lack of discipline can be a problem, and sometimes a bit of pressure is helpful.

The student-supervisor relationship requires a degree of patience on both sides. Sometimes the relationship begins to break down, and in such cases it can be helpful to seek outside advice or support. Sometimes students seek a change of supervisor, but there are situations in which no improvement is feasible, for instance due to lack of local specialist expertise. In any case, students should be aware that there are sources of help in case of difficulties with supervision. Start near the beginning of the following sequence and work your way down if required.

1. Your supervisor
2. Your second supervisor
3. Your institute director
4. Personal Tutor for Research Students (Keith Stenning)
5. Head of School
6. Dean of Research

There can be special difficulties when, for instance, your supervisor is the same as your institute director. In case of such difficulties, jump to the next level in the sequence. Female students who particularly prefer to talk to a female member of staff for advice or support should approach Alex Lascarides at point 4.

There are also various sources of help that are outside the usual academic "chain of command". These include the Student Counselling Service, the International Office, the Advice Place (EUSA), the Disability Office, the University Health Centre or your GP, and the Chaplaincy.

Most problems can be resolved through informal discussion. When this is unsuccessful, a formal complaint may be appropriate. The University's complaints procedure is explained here. Complaints should be submitted in the prescribed form to the Head of School who will generally ask the Head of Graduate School to investigate.