University of Tasmania, Australia

Expectations of the Dean, Graduate Research from Primary Supervisors

The Primary Supervisor is responsible for coordinating, communicating and managing the candidature, for guiding, directing and advancing the thesis and for ensuring that the candidate is informed about the quality of the thesis. The primary responsibility for the overall project, research processes and the production of the thesis remains with the Primary Supervisor even where advice is sought from others about the thesis structure and content. The Primary Supervisor must be registered and hold a degree for which the candidate is enrolled or have other multidisciplinary qualifications suitable to the candidate's research project. In some cases, the supervisor may not hold a higher degree but still have an outstanding publication, research and/or academic record, particularly in supervision, which the Board of Graduate Research accepts as equivalent in standing. In rare cases where no supervisor is available for a brief period of time, the Head of School assumes direct responsibility for the supervision until a supervisor can be appointed.

The Primary Supervisor provides appropriate guidance and support about:

1. the nature of research and research culture;
2. the standard of performance expected;
3. the choice of the research topic;
4. the planning of the research program;
5. the presentation of the research proposal;
6. relevant literature and sources;
7. relevant research methodologies and research ethics;
8. the typical stages and management of the research project;
9. annual reviews and the candidate's progress towards completion;
10. the final stages of the thesis prior to submission;
11. authorship, intellectual property, publishing;
12. the final preparation and presentation of the thesis; and
13. academic freedom and the code of conduct of supervision.

The responsibilities of the Primary Supervisor include:

1. remaining sensitive to the needs of the candidate;
2. providing sound advice on all stages of work, presentation etc.;
3. ensuring a professional relationship at all times;
4. maintaining regular and frequent supervision sessions;
5. keeping retrievable records of meetings with candidates;
6. ensuring appropriate and productive use of the candidate's time;
7. providing detailed, timely feedback on written work;
8. seeking opportunities for candidates to meet other researchers; and
9. encouraging candidates to take a role in intellectual life.

The Primary Supervisor may attract most of the EFTSL of candidature load and in most cases is an academic member of staff. In some cases, a registered supervisor may be appointed who is not a member of academic staff. If the Primary Supervisor is not a University of Tasmania employee, or a member of academic staff, the EFTSL will be allocated to the school in which the candidature rests.