SUPERVISION TRAINING PROGRAM 2006

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SUPERVISION TRAINING PROGRAM 2006

• The UB Setting for Research Training
• 17 November 2006

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The UB Setting for Research Training

• Introduction
• This session on The UB Setting for Research
  Training is
• designed to familiarise supervisors with the
  important
• regulatory/ procedural requirements that shape
  the
• administration of research higher degrees at UB.

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The UB Setting for Research Training

• Higher Degree by Research Regulations
• Regulation 5.1 governs the Universitys research
  higher degrees programs (Masters, PhD and
  Professional Doctorates)
• The regulation describes
• Types of programs
• Duration of programs
• Enrolment
• Student Principal Supervisor Agreement on
  Candidature Arrangements
• Eligibility for admission
• Honours Equivalence Form
• Candidature
• Progress
• Supervisory arrangements
• Thesis/Portfolio
• Presentation of a Thesis/Portfolio
• Examination
• Admission to the degree

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The UB Setting for Research Training

• Responsibilities of Supervisors
• The University is a signatory to the
  AVCC-developed statement of supervisor
  responsibilities, which refer to
• Academic support
• Effective use a candidates time
• Maintaining close and regular contact
• Receipt of work from candidates
• Monitoring performance relative to standards
  required
• Undertaking reporting procedures established by
  the
• University
• Provision of feedback on drafts and making a
  judgement on the
• prima facie worthiness of work to be examined
• Provision of advice on suitable examiners

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The UB Setting for Research Training

• Joint NHMRC/AVCC Statement and Guidelines on
  Research Practice
• These guidelines provide a framework of minimum
  acceptable standards for research and research
  training. The Guidelines cover
• General principles
• Data storage and retention
• Authorship
• Publication
• Supervision of students/research trainees
• Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
• Research misconduct
• These Guidelines have been used to develop a Code
  of Good Practice
• for the Conduct of Research at the University of
  Ballarat.

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The UB Setting for Research Training

• Higher Degree by Research Administration
• All higher degree by research programs at UB are
  governed by University-
• wide legislation. Students are assigned to
  Schools (usually that of their
• Principal Supervisor) to undertake their research
  training.
• Candidature matters from application through to
  graduation are administered
• through the Research and Graduate Studies Office.
• The Dean of Graduate Studies chairs the Research
  Higher Degrees
• Sub-Committee, a standing committee of Academic
  Board, and has overall
• responsibility for the administration of higher
  degree by research programs.
• The Higher Degree by Research Handbook provides
  students (and
• supervisors!) with information on all candidature
  matters.

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The UB Setting for Research Training

• Ethics
• Supervisors have a responsibility to engage
  candidates in the consideration of any ethical
  issues associated with their research, including
  the possibility that ethics approval may be
  necessary.
• Applications for ethics approval are made to
  either the
• Human Research Ethics Committee
• or the
• Animal Ethics Experimentation Committee

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The UB Setting for Research Training

• Intellectual Property (IP)
• Supervisors should alert candidates to any issues
  that may arise in
• relation to intellectual property. This should be
  done in the very early
• stages of candidature. The Universitys
  legislation on IP can be found
• at
• Legislation Statute 8.2-Intellectual Property

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The UB Setting for Research Training

• Confirmation of Candidature
• All doctoral candidates (excepting some who have
  transferred from another university) are admitted
  on a probationary basis. The procedures,
  including the responsibilities of supervisors,
  for confirmation of candidature can be found at
• Application for Confirmation of Candidature PhD
• Application for Confirmation of Candidature
  Professional Doctorates
• Application to transfer from a Masters degree by
  research to a Phd

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The UB Setting for Research Training

• Progress Reports
• Each doctoral student, together with their
  Principal
• Supervisor, is required to complete an Annual
  Progress Report
• and an Interim Progress Report. These Reports are
  endorsed
• by Heads of School.
• For a candidates first progress report there is
  also a
• requirement to complete the Student Principal
  Supervisor
• Agreement on Candidature Arrangements
• Students are also asked to complete a Student
  Evaluation
• of the Postgraduate Program , which is an annual
  evaluation
• questionnaire.

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The UB Setting for Research Training

• Thesis/Portfolio Examination
• Supervisors have a number of responsibilities
  concerning
• examination. These include a determination of
  whether a
• thesis/portfolio is, prima facie, ready for
  examination. A
• useful resource is the examination guidelines
  provided to
• examiners of Masters, Doctor of Philosophy and
• Professional Doctorate programs. Principal
  Supervisors are
• also responsible for endorsing a candidates
  intention to
• submit their thesis/portfolio for examination and
  for
• recommending suitable examiners to the Dean of
  Graduate
• Studies.
• Release of Thesis/Portfolio for Examination

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The UB Setting for Research Training

• Scholarships/Awards
• A number of DEST, ARC and UB funded
  scholarships are available to
• higher degree by research students. Supervisors
  should make
• students aware of these scholarships.
• The following awards are also available to higher
  degree by research
• students
• Travel Awards
• Publication Awards

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The UB Setting for Research Training

• The Graduate Centre Program
• The Graduate Centre Program is available to all
  higher degree by
• research students (and to supervisors as they
  choose). Supervisors
• should alert their students to the program and
  encourage their
• participation. It is an important vehicle for
  the development of may
• of the attributes we desire UB research higher
  degree graduates to
• possess.