Code of practice for the assurance of academic quality
and standards in higher education
produced by the UK Quality
Assurance Agency for Higher Education. (27 Precepts)
(Report from
the Lisbon Congress round table on supervision, September 2004. Convenor:
Andrew Chesterman)
Institutional
arrangements
1
Institutions will put in place effective arrangements to maintain appropriate
academic standards and enhance the quality of postgraduate research programmes.
2
Institutional regulations for postgraduate research degree programmes
will be clear and readily available to students and staff. Where appropriate,
regulations will be supplemented by similarly accessible, subject-specific
guidance at the level of the faculty, school or department.
3
Institutions will develop, implement and keep under review a code or codes of
practice applicable across the institution, which include(s) the areas covered
by this document. The code(s) should be readily available to all students and
staff involved in postgraduate research programmes.
4
Institutions will monitor the success of their postgraduate research programmes against appropriate internal and/or external
indicators and targets.
The
research environment
5
Institutions will only accept research students into an environment that
provides support for doing and learning about research and where high quality
research is occurring.
Selection,
admission and induction of students
6
Admissions procedures will be clear, consistently applied and will demonstrate
equality of opportunity.
7
Only appropriately qualified and prepared students will be admitted to research
programmes.
8
Admissions decisions will involve at least two members of the institution's
staff who will have received instruction, advice and guidance in respect of
selection and admissions procedures. The decision-making process will enable
the institution to assure itself that balanced and independent admissions decisions
have been made, that support its admissions policy.
9
The entitlements and responsibilities of a research student undertaking a
postgraduate research programme will be defined and
communicated clearly.
10
Institutions will provide research students with sufficient information to
enable them to begin their studies with an understanding of the academic and
social environment in which they will be working.
Supervision
11
Institutions will appoint supervisors who have the appropriate skills and
subject knowledge to support, encourage and monitor research students
effectively.
12
Each research student will have a minimum of one main supervisor. He or she
will normally be part of a supervisory team. There must always be one clearly
identified point of contact for the student.
13
Institutions will ensure that the responsibilities of all research student
supervisors are clearly communicated to supervisors and students through
written guidance.
14
Institutions will ensure that the quality of supervision is not put at risk as
a result of an excessive volume and range of responsibilities assigned to
individual supervisors.
Progress
and review arrangements
15
Institutions will put in place and bring to the attention of students and
relevant staff clearly defined mechanisms for monitoring and supporting student
progress.
16
Institutions will put in place and bring to the attention of students and
relevant staff clearly defined mechanisms for formal reviews of student
progress, including explicit review stages.
17
Institutions will provide guidance to students, supervisors and others involved
in progress monitoring and review processes about the importance of keeping
appropriate records of the outcomes of meetings and related activities.
Development
of research and other skills
18
Institutions will provide research students with appropriate opportunities for
personal and professional development.
19
Each student's development needs will be identified and agreed jointly by the
student and appropriate academic staff, initially during the student's
induction period; they will be regularly reviewed during the research programme and amended as appropriate.
20
Institutions will provide opportunities for research students to maintain a
record of personal progress, which includes reference to the development of
research and other skills.
Feedback
mechanisms
21
Institutions will put in place mechanisms to collect, review and, where
appropriate, respond to feedback from all concerned with postgraduate research programmes. They will make arrangements for feedback to be
considered openly and constructively and for the results to be communicated
appropriately.
Assessment
22
Institutions will use criteria for assessing research degrees that enable them
to define the academic standards of different research programmes
and the achievements of their graduates. The criteria used to assess research
degrees must be clear and readily available to students, staff and external
examiners.
23
Research degree assessment procedures must be clear; they must be operated
rigorously, fairly, and consistently; include input from an external examiner;
and carried out to a reasonable timescale.
24
Institutions will communicate their assessment procedures clearly to all the parties involved, ie
the students, the supervisor(s) and the examiners.
Student
representations
25
Institutions will put in place and publicise
procedures for dealing with student representations that are fair, clear to all
concerned, robust and applied consistently. Such procedures will allow all
students access to relevant information and an opportunity to present their
case.
Complaints
26
Independent and formal procedures will exist to resolve effectively complaints from
research students about the quality of the institution's learning and support
provision.
Appeals
27
Institutions will put in place formal procedures to deal with any appeals made
by research students. The acceptable grounds for appeals will be clearly
defined.
Appendix
2
Skills
training requirements for research students: joint statement by the research
councils/AHRB
(A)
Research skills and techniques - to be able to demonstrate:
1.
The ability to recognise and validate problems and to
formulate and test hypotheses.
2. Original, independent and critical thinking, and the ability to
develop theoretical concepts.
4.
An understanding of relevant research methodologies and techniques and their
appropriate application within one's research field.
5.
The ability to analyse critically and evaluate one's
findings and those of others.
6.
An ability to summarise, document, report and reflect
on progress.
(B)
Research environment - to be able to:
1.
Show a broad understanding of the context, at the national and international
level, in which research takes place.
2.
Demonstrate awareness of issues relating to the rights of other researchers, of
research subjects, and of others who may be affected by the research, eg confidentiality, ethical issues, attribution, copyright,
malpractice, ownership of data and the requirements of the Data Protection Act.
3.
Demonstrate appreciation of standards of good research practice in their
institution and/or discipline.
4.
Understand relevant health and safety issues and demonstrate responsible
working practices.
5.
Understand the processes for funding and evaluation of research.
6.
Justify the principles and experimental techniques used in one's own research.
7.
Understand the process of academic or commercial exploitation of research
results.
(C)
Research management - to be able to:
1.
Apply effective project management through the setting of research goals,
intermediate milestones and prioritisation of
activities.
2.
Design and execute systems for the acquisition and collation of information
through the effective use of appropriate resources and equipment.
3.
Identify and access appropriate bibliographical resources, archives, and other
sources of relevant information. Use information technology appropriately for
database management, recording and resenting information.
(D)
Personal effectiveness - to be able to:
1.
Demonstrate a willingness and ability to learn and acquire knowledge.
2.
Be creative, innovative and original in one's approach
to research.
3.
Demonstrate flexibility and open-mindedness.
4.
Demonstrate self-awareness and the ability to identify own training needs.
5.
Demonstrate self-discipline, motivation, and thoroughness.
6.
Recognise boundaries and draw upon/use sources of
support as appropriate.
7.
Show initiative, work independently and be self-reliant.
(E)
Communication skills - to be able to:
1.
Write clearly and in a style appropriate to purpose, eg
progress reports, published documents, thesis.
2.
Construct coherent arguments and articulate ideas clearly to a range of
audiences, formally and informally through a variety of techniques.
3.
Constructively defend research outcomes at seminars and viva examination.
4.
Contribute to promoting the public understanding of one's research field.
5.
Effectively support the learning of others when involved in teaching, mentoring
or demonstrating activities.
(F)
Networking and teamworking - to be able to:
1.
Develop and maintain co-operative networks and working relationships with
supervisors, colleagues and peers, within the institution and the wider
research community.
2.
Understand one's behaviours and impact on others when
working in and contributing to the success of formal and informal teams.
3.
Listen, give and receive feedback and respond perceptively to others.
(G)
Career management - to be able to:
1.
Appreciate the need for and show commitment to continued professional
development.
2.
Take ownership for and manage one's career progression, set realistic and
achievable career goals, and identify and develop ways to improve
employability.
3.
Demonstrate an insight into the transferable nature of research skills to other
work environments and the range of career opportunities within and outside
academia.
4.
Present one's skills, personal attributes and experiences through effective
CVs, applications and interviews.