Progress and attendance monitoring for postgraduate researchers
To help you complete your research degree on time, your attendance and your progress with your studies will be monitored.
Please see the Code of practice for research degree candidatures for a summary of the responsibilities of postgraduate researchers (PGRs).
The code of practice also provides a summary of the responsibilities of a supervisor.
Progression milestones
There are four main processes or events which we use to monitor your progress, all supported by the GRAD system:
- supervision meetings
- your first formal progress review
- for doctoral candidates: the transfer process, including transfer progress report
- your annual progress reviews.
These progress review points enable you and your supervisors to take stock of where you are in your research plan, your progress so far and what remains to be completed.
You and your supervisors will produce regular reports on your progress as part of the above processes.
Your progress will be reviewed against your training plan to identify skills that you would like or need to develop, and whether you have completed the training that you planned to. Your progress towards meeting the relevant criteria for award and learning outcomes for your programme of study will also be reviewed. You can find these set out in the programme of study entry for your degree.
At each stage you will provide a review of your progress and be able to comment on any issues which have affected your progress. If you need any additional support, it can be put in place.
You can review the deadlines for your own milestones on GRAD. Deadlines can vary depending on your programme and your school or faculty requirements.
Monitoring attendance
GRAD is the main method we use to monitor attendance and progress. It is vital that you use GRAD regularly so that your supervision meetings and other records are up to date. This is one of your responsibilities as outlined in the University’s Code of Practice for Research Degree Candidature.
Graduate Schools regularly monitor your GRAD records and will contact you and your supervisors if they are not up to date, escalating to the DPGRS when required. Prolonged and unexplained absence from your studies or failure to maintain your GRAD record may lead to formal procedures (including the presumed withdrawn process) and ultimately withdrawal, as well as reporting to UKVI for PGRs on a Student Visa.
Any absence from study must be recorded on GRAD and authorised by your Graduate School. A period of temporary leave from your studies can be supported through a suspension of study, authorised absence or annual leave. You can apply for these through the change request menu in GRAD. Your Graduate School can also provide further advice on these processes.
In person attendance
Your supervision meetings will normally take place in person at the University. In exceptional circumstances, they may take place online if you or a supervisor is away from the University on fieldwork, or for split-site, distance-learning or other collaborative programmes. Otherwise, you'll need to attend in person for your supervision meetings, and other activities as required for your programme of research. This could include induction events, training courses, research-specific activity (e.g. lab work, seminars, conferences) or any taught modules.
Reasonable adjustments may be agreed, please contact your Graduate School if you think this will be needed.
Additional progress support
As part of the normal supervisory process, your supervisors will provide feedback on your work and progress, and raise any concerns they have so that academic support, milestones, and plans can be agreed.
We understand that circumstances may arise that might impact your progress. If this happens you should let your Graduate School know as soon as possible. They can provide advice on the support available to you and options to take a short break from your studies. Read more on our Taking time out of your research page.
If there are serious concerns with your academic progress, the Progress support process (PSP) may be instigated as a supportive measure. The PSP will involve meetings between you, your supervisors and the Director of PGR Studies to understand any circumstances that are impacting your academic progress and agree the support and actions needed to help get you back on track.
The process can lead to a more formal review stage with the possibility of withdrawal or transfer to a lower degree, however the intention of the PSP is to provide additional academic and pastoral support to get you back on track before this happens. Read more about the Progress support process.