Updates to iGRad functionality
During September 2013, iGRad will undergo some changes in preparation for future system upgrades. This has resulted in iGrad providing three new functionalities to assist in project and candidature management.
These changes will affect Candidates, Supervisors and GRCs. Please see the relevant sections marked as
NEW to view how these changes will assist you.
These are:
Candidates: Login to iGRad
The candidature overview provides general information - such as elapsed time, maximum candidature expiry date, enrolment status, supervision details etc.
Note: Information relating to Ethics Approval is derived from a candidate’s application for candidature and/or the research plan. It is currently not updated when Ethics approval is granted. Once Ethics Approval is granted a Primary Supervisor can sign-off the action as complete via the Action Date Schedule – see information below.
The Action Dates screen provides the blueprint for a candidate’s timeline and pre-determined milestones.
Note: For the initial roll-out of Stage 2 only candidates who commenced their HDR after 1 January 2009 will have an Action Date schedule. Action Date information will gradually be added to other candidates.
The following headings appear under Action Dates:
Each action date is required to be signed-off as complete by either the Primary Supervisor[1] Graduate Research Co-ordinator[2] or the Graduate Research Office. More information on completion of action dates can be found at Information for Supervisors - Completion of Action Dates.
Completed actions are displayed at the bottom of the screen.
[1] Primary Supervisor - is the supervisor in the supervisory team who is the primary point of contact, they would normally be the supervisor with the largest responsibility and must be in the School in which the candidate is enrolled; they are the first listed in the Overview screen. If the supervisor listed first is not the Primary Supervisor a change to supervision arrangements should be submitted to the GRO.
[2] Graduate Research Co-ordinator - must be in the School in which the candidate is enrolled.
NEW The upgrades to iGrad will provide candidates with greater ability to self-manage starting from the creation of a research plan right through to creating milestones.
Candidates are required to develop a research plan in their first six months of candidature. They must work toward completing this and revise the details as necessary to be delivered at Confirmation of candidature and every annual review.
The Research Plan tab located in the iGrad section eStudent Centre will assist candidates in developing and maintaining their Research Plan over the course of their candidature. Login to eStudent and scroll down to find the Research Plan under the iGrad menu:
Candidates can add content and comments to the plan and Supervisors are able to view the content and add text in the comments tab.
Below are some screengrabs of the Research plan contents. Click on the links to view:
The scholarship screen provides basic information about a candidate's scholarship (inlcluding top-up scholarship details).
Note: currently the scholarship expiry date may not be accurate if the candidate has undertaken any part of their candidature on a part-time basis or has suspended their candidature for any period. Extensions to scholarships will also not appear. Please contact the Graduate Research Office to confirm scholarship expiry dates.
NEW From Mid-August 2013, candidates will have the option of completing the examination process through iGRad. There will be a transition period of 6 months during which the Graduate Research Office will accept submissions via either the current or new method.
The new method will allow candidates to upload their abstract, thesis and all relevant documents to iGRad to allow the Graduate Research Office to conduct the examination process.
More information about:
An unofficial copy of the candidate’s academic transcript at UTAS.
Supervisors: Login to iGRad
Registered supervisors (who are UTAS employees) and Heads of Schools are able to access iGRad via inSite, the University’s online student management system.
To be able to access inSite, users must first apply for access to USRS (the University’s Unified Student Record System). Graduate Research Co-ordinators and registered Supervisors with USRS access already have access to inSite.
If you have previously had access to USRS but have not logged in for:
Information on applying for USRS access is available from the Student Management Systems website
Please request access to USRS, General Access: ORD.
Following receipt of the application, Student Management Systems will email a USRS login and password. As soon as this login and password is received (ie the same day) users will need to login to iGrad to activate their account.
Note: All UTAS computers should have USRS installed. If you need assistance locating the USRS please contact your School IT support.
NEW Supervisors can now view their profile and a summary of supervised students using the View Candidate link in iGRad, view more here.
Supervisors can view a list of their Higher Degree Research (HDR) candidates. The initial view displays only current candidates. Supervisors can view ALL candidates by deselecting the “Show only current candidates” option.
Columns headings shown in blue can be used to sort the data.
Supervisors can search for individual candidates using the “Keyword” option and by selecting a specific Student Id can see more information about the candidate selected.
Note: Currently only candidates who commenced their HDR in 2009 or 2010 will have information displayed under the Next Action and Action Due columns. This information is reliant upon an Action Date template being pre-applied by the Graduate Research Office – see Info for Candidates - Action Dates.
NEW The Action Dates Screen advises the due dates of mandatory supervisory meetings and other candidature requirements.
NEW Supervisors are now able to add a comment to action dates. View the PDF: Add comment to action date.
Primary Supervisors are required to log-in to iGRad and "mark as complete" the following actions:
Note: Graduate Research Co-ordinators have been given permission to sign-off any action intended for sign-off by the Supervisor to cater for the unavailability of the Supervisor, should it occur.
Other actions require sign-off by the Graduate Research Co-ordinator or the Graduate Research Office. The following actions will appear in the Action Date Schedule:
| Action | Authority for Sign-off | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting | Primary Supervisor | All supervisors are expected to participate in at least one supervisory meeting with the candidate approximately every two months. These meetings should involve an ongoing evaluation of progress in relation to stated milestones. Any issues/problems that have arisen should be documented and addressed. |
| Supervision Agreement | GRO | International candidates only. Completed agreements are submitted to GRO. |
| IP Deeds of Assignment | GRO | If applicable. Completed deeds are submitted to GRO. |
| Research Plan | Primary Supervisor | Completed plans should be submitted to GRO. |
| Ethics Approval | Primary Supervisor | If applicable. This action should not be "completed" until approval is granted from the relevant Ethics Committee. |
| Confirmation of Progression | GRC | Completed Confirmation of Progression documentation should be submitted to GRO. |
| Review of Progress | GRC | Candidates are required to complete a Review of Progress every year. Completed Review documentation is submitted to GRO. |
| Milestone Check | GRC | Required in the last 6 months of candidature. |
| Abstract Due | GRO | Thesis abstract is submitted to GRO. |
| Thesis Submission | GRO | Thesis is submitted to GRO. |
| Extension Meeting & Milestone Check | GRC | Only applies to candidates with approval from the Dean of Graduate Resarch for an extension to their candidature. |
It is acknowledged (and encouraged) that actions may occur before the due date. Actions may be signed off as they occur; however, restrictions are in place to prevent sign-off occurring too early. The following time limits apply:
| Type of Action | Earliest Sign-off before Due Date |
|---|---|
| Task | - |
| Meeting | 30 days |
| Review | 2 months |
| Milestone | 14 days |
| Examination | - |
NEW The upgrades to iGRad will provide candidates with greater ability to self-manage starting from the creation of a research management plan right through to creating milestones.
Candidates are required to develop a research plan in their first six months of candidature. They must work toward completing this and revise the details as necessary to be delivered at Confirmation of candidature and every annual review.
The Research Plan tab located in the iGRad section of inSite will assist candidates in developing and maintaining their Research Plan over the course of their candidature. Go to inSite and search for the student, then click on the Research Plan tab:
Candidates can add content and comments to the plan and Supervisors are able to view the content and add text in the comments tab.
Below are some screengrabs of the Research plan contents. Click on the links to view:
NEW The examination tab provides information on the progress of a candidate’s examination.
From Mid-August 2013, candidates will have the option of completing the examination process through iGRad. There will be a transition period of 6 months during which the Graduate Research Office will accept submissions via either the current or new method.
The new method will allow candidates to upload their abstract, thesis and all relevant documents to iGRad to allow the Graduate Research Office to conduct the examination process.
More information about:
Note: the information provided to supervisors is slightly different to the information provided to candidates.
Graduate Research Co-ordinators: Login to iGRad
Graduate Research Co-ordinators have full access to information regarding candidates and supervisors in their School and, if required, are able to sign-off all actions intended to be signed-off by the candidate's Primary Supervisor.
All schools are required to have an Alternate Graduate Research Co-ordinator to avoid any conflict of interest where the "primary" Graduate Research Co-ordinator is part of a candidate’s supervisory team.
In the absence of a nomination, the default Alternate Graduate Research Co-ordinator will be the Head of School.
The Alternate Graduate Research Co-ordinator will have full access to information relating to all candidates and registered supervisors within their School. In situations where the Graduate Research Co-ordinator is part of a candidate's supervisory team they will also be able to sign-off actions requiring Graduate Research Co-ordinator sign-off.
Where both the "primary" Graduate Research Co-ordinator and the Alternate Graduate Research Co-ordinator are part of a candidate's supervisory team, iGRad will notify the Graduate Research Office that the action cannot be finalised. In these circumstances the Graduate Research Office will contact the Head of School to nominate an independent person in their School to act as the Graduate Research Co-ordinator for that candidate.
When a Graduate Research Co-ordinator logs in, the initial iGRad view will be of their own candidates (i.e. candidates that they personally supervise).
A Graduate Research Coordinator can alter this view using the Search Scope function and may select:
Graduate Research Co-ordinators have access to information regarding registered UTAS supervisors in their School by selecting View Supervisors.
By selecting View under the "Candidates" column, a list of candidates for a given supervisor will be displayed.
Graduate Research Co-ordinators are responsible for signing off as complete the following actions:
Note: Reminder emails will be sent to the Graduate Research Coordinator in relation to the above actions.
NEW Heads of Schools can now approve thesis submission electronically through inSite, for more click here.
Heads of Schools can now view all candidates in their School by supervisor using various search scopes, for more click here.