A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Enhancing academic and Practice

180 ❘
Teaching, supervising, learning
Case study 3: Doctoral supervision – a complaint
considered by the OIA
Student A was registered as a doctoral student for seven years. After two years
he transferred from M.Phil. to Ph.D. status. After eight extensions to the deadline
for his submission he withdrew voluntarily from the course and complained to
the university about his supervision. He sought compensation of £250,000; the
university identified defects in its procedures and offered £500. A complained to
the OIA about his supervisor’s failure to warn him that his work was not of the
required standard; that he did not receive annual appraisals; and that he was not
given appropriate support and communication by the university. The OIA found
the complaint justified on the grounds that there should have been earlier
warnings about the failure to progress and the failure to submit written work.
Although A did not complain about his supervision during the seven years, nor
did he complete a single chapter of his thesis, firmer control should have been
exercised by his supervisor, who should not have repeatedly supported requests
for extensions. The student also bore responsibility and should have taken steps
to ensure that his difficulties were being addressed. The OIA recommended that
the university offer £1,000 compensation, improve its appraisal and upgrade
procedures, and show how it would monitor those procedures to ensure
compliance in the future.
(Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education,
UK, with permission)
Building a culture of completion
The importance of timely and successful completion of postgraduate research
programmes is increasingly clear, both to students and to higher education institutions.
Students recognise that their employment prospects are considerably enhanced if they
have demonstrated their intellectual and professional abilities by gaining their
postgraduate research qualification within the expected timeframe. They also recognise
that funding opportunities to continue research beyond three years are scarce and
insecure. In 2005, the HEFCE published for the first time comparative qualification rates
for research degrees: these showed that 57 per cent of full-time students who started Ph.D.
programmes in 1996–7 completed within five years, rising to 72 per cent after seven years
and 76 per cent after ten years of beginning their research in English higher education
institutions. In doing this, HEFCE referred explicitly to the need for all research degree
programmes it supports to meet minimum standards as set out in the QAA Code of
Practice for postgraduate research programmes. HEFCE did not identify minimum