Graduate Supervision Reporting (GSR)

Graduate Students are required to submit a reflective report on their progress each term. This should follow on from a supervision meeting where you have discussed your progress and next steps with your supervisor. Your supervisor is also expected to submit a termly report on your academic progress. Your reflective report should be submitted through the online Graduate Supervision Reporting (GSR). This captures information reported by both student and supervisor(s), with details relevant to each student being available to his or her supervisory team and the Director Of Graduate Studies. Your college advisor and University and college graduate studies administrators with designated access will also be able to view the report.

Submitting a report is mandatory for all MPLS students and if you do not submit a report either for two subsequent terms, or for two terms out of three (on a rolling basis) this will trigger your being invited to a meeting with the Director of Graduate Studies to discuss your progress

Further details on GSR reporting can be found in the Mathematical Institute Research Student Handbook.

Flagging concerns

If you have any concerns relating to your academic progress these should be flagged in your termly GSR report. These concerns can range from minor concerns to severe concerns:

• Minor concerns Satisfactory progress is being made, but minor issues have been identified where further action may be required to keep progress on track

• Major concerns One or more factors are significantly affecting your progress, and further action is required to keep progress on track

• Severe concerns Progress is being seriously affected by one or more factors, and a meeting with the Director of Graduate Studies should be held as soon as possible to discuss further action to get progress back on track.

Please note student concerns should relate directly to academic progress. If you are dissatisfied with any aspects of provision, eg. your supervisory relationship or your working environment you should raise these with the Director of Graduate Studies or the Graduate Studies Administrator in the first instance.

Your supervisor should discuss any concerns about your academic progress with you before flagging a concern in GSR

How will your concerns be dealt with by the Direcor of Graduate Studies?

Please note that all GSR reports with flagged concerns are reviewed by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS). The action taken by the DGS will depend on the nature and level of concern raised. The concerns are dealt with on a case by case basis however the concerns will typically be addressed as follows:

Minor concerns The DGS would not normally contact students who have raised minor concerns directly. Especially if the concerns are related to slow progress on your research due to the project itself, i.e. some results obtained were not as expected and a different avenue must be pursued.  In these instances it is expected that your supervisor will be able to assist you with the problem. However, should you wish to have a discussion with the DGS regarding these concerns then students are welcome to contact the DGS directly.

Major concerns If the concerns raised are related to the research itself, the DGS would not normally contact students regarding the concerns directly. In these cases it is expected that your supervisor will be able to assist you with the problem. In some cases (especially if major concerns have been raised over multiple GSR reports) the DGS will contact your supervisor in the first instance to discuss the concerns raised. After this discussion if it is deemed that your progress is significantly impacted arrangements will be made for you to meet with the DGS directly. If you are not contacted by the DGS but wish to discuss your concerns with them, students are welcome to make contact with the DGS.

Severe concerns All students who raise severe concerns should expect to be contacted by the DGS, either directly or via the Graduate Studies Administrator. You should expect that your supervisor will also have been contacted by the DGS to discuss the concerns raised with them.