Policy Central

Purpose

These Guidelines provide additional information on the expected roles and responsibilities of supervisors of Higher Degree Research Candidates. The Principal Supervisor and Associate Supervisor will normally be located in the Department where the candidate is registered. If such supervision is not available within the Department, the Dean of Division or nominee may make a case to the DVC Research for approval to appoint an eligible staff member located in another Department. The case for such an appointment is to be forwarded to the Manager Higher Degree Research Office for action.

Guideline

The Principal Supervisor

The Principal Supervisor co-ordinates the supervisory team, is responsible for undertaking administrative roles associated with the candidate’s academic progression and is a mentor for any Co-Supervisors.

The administrative responsibilities include:

• completion of the supervisor’s section of the candidate’s Annual Report
• confirmation of completion of the divisional commencement program
• assessing commencement progress in early stage candidature
• approval of program changes such as Leave of Absence, thesis title and units of enrolment
• approval of transfers of degree, department or division
• approval of overseas research
• assessment and approval of other candidature items as determined from time to time.

In the absence of a Principal Supervisor, an Acting Supervisor may be delegated to undertake these roles and responsibilities

Associate Supervisor

An Associate Supervisor has a lesser fractional supervisory load compared to the Principal Supervisor. The Associate Supervisor may be located in another Division or Department and may have specific research expertise which is required by the candidate.

Adjunct Supervisor

Rule 5 (a) (iii) of the Doctoral and Master by Research Degree Rules provides for the appointment of an Adjunct Supervisor when a student is not located on campus. An Adjunct Supervisor may also have special expertise required for the candidate’s project (e.g. as an industry partner for an APAI candidate, or an overseas University partner). Adjunct Supervisors may be paid for their supervisory contribution.

The responsibilities of an Adjunct Supervisor are specified by the Principal Supervisor.  These may include:

• providing advice on the development and finalisation of the research proposal
• guidance on research methodology
• feedback on plans and drafts of the thesis
• assessment of progress and regular reporting to the Principal Supervisor.

In some instances, for example due to the nature of the discipline area or because of a prior supervisory association, the Adjunct Supervisor may have a greater or lesser academic role compared to a Principal or Associate Supervisor.