Conclusiones generales y específicas

I I

This chapter is aimed at university decision-makers. The success of doc- toral students, with its consequent reflection in the institution’s research ratings, is affected to an important extent by the context in which they have to work. Since a considerable proportion of university research is carried out by postgraduates, it is clearly incumbent on institutional authorities to ensure that they provide an environment which facilitates good work by research students.

In previous editions of this book we have argued for universities to devote greater consideration to the needs of research students, and in par- ticular that universities should take their responsibilities to their doctoral students as seriously as they take their responsibilities to their under- graduate students. Within the last decade, pressures from the Funding Councils, the Research Councils, the Quality Assurance Agency and other bodies have, to a considerable extent, brought this about. There is still more to be done, as we discuss below. But the issues of the appropriate education, professional development and practical support of PhD students are now taken seriously. So also is the concept of increasing the effectiveness of supervisors through training and guided experience.

The public policy shifts that are acting as drivers for change can be usefully summarized under four headings (Stainton-Rogers 2004):

1 The need to ensure that doctoral graduates are competent professionals. Instead of the objective being simply for the student to produce a thesis, the aim now is for the student to be developed into a competent profes- sional researcher. So there is the intention that in the course of carrying out the specific research project, the student not only learns discipline

based technical knowledge and skills, but also develops generic skills of, for example, computer literacy, communication and work planning. These skills are much more widely applicable and thus will improve the student’s postdoctoral employment prospects in industry and the public sector as well as in academia. The opportunity to learn and exercise them should be provided by the university.

2 The need to provide a high quality graduate community within a research-rich environment. It is now felt to be inadequate for an individual research student to be working in isolation, having one or two supervisors whose primary task is teaching. Having little or no contact with other academ- ics or students, the opportunity for important learning – both explicit and tacit – of values and skills that contribute to the education of an effective professional researcher who is proficient in state-of-the-art practices, will be limited. Universities should develop groups of researchers in an environment that values research highly, and that has the appropriate financial and other support to be productive. Doctoral students should primarily be recruited to be associated with such groups.

3 The need to adopt the principle of reflective learning. Students should be aware of their own learning and take responsibility for it. This is achieved by their undertaking personal development plans (PDP) which list their prior achievements, their aspirations and therefore the learning that they need to carry out. A progress file with evidence recording these achievements should be kept. The use of a system of documents to support reflective learning should be standard university practice. 4 The need to widen participation and establish equitable student support.

There has been a steady increase over the years in the proportion of part- time research students. Overall they are now in the majority, although there are large variations across faculties and disciplines. This trend should be encouraged as being economically more viable, with the cor- ollary that appropriate study, research and financial arrangements are made for such students. Those students that are full-time should receive grants or studentships which, when combined with payment for a limited amount of tutoring and demonstrating, provide realistic finan- cial support.

Clearly, not all of these policies are without controversy and there are bound to be tensions as the changes evolve. But the 2004 QAA Code of Practice for Research Degree Programmes sets out a number of clearly defined precepts (or commitments) which the university must undertake if it is to be supported by public funding. A capable supervisory team, an adequate research environment, success indicators such as targets for completion times and rates, effective monitoring and feedback mechan- isms, among other provisions, all have to be in place. These are considered

to form an agreement between the student and the university and should be set out in a letter of contract.

In this chapter we outline what we see as the present responsibilities of the university in providing structures, policies, regulations and resources in order to fulfill these guidelines. We then cover the responsibilities of the department in providing roles and practices to achieve a supportive environment for research students. Universities must ensure that their policies and practices in regard to PhD students continue to improve.

I University responsibilities

A university-wide graduate school for doctoral students

The conditions that universities are now required to provide when accepting research degree students are best satisfied by establishing a uni- versity-wide graduate school with which all such students are associated. This provides institutional recognition that PhD students are an integral component of the university for whom resources are available.

The graduate school has a number of tasks. The first is to provide sup- port for students, by helping faculties and departments carry out good doctoral education. This includes: providing facilities for departments to support doctoral research activities, mounting a university-wide struc- tured induction procedure, contributing an informative (and readable) university research student handbook, and supplying, where necessary, English language tuition.

The second task of the school is to provide support for supervisors, including provision of resources for training (particularly in the non- technical, relational aspects of the supervisor’s role) and in recognition for teaching credit of supervisory activity.

In the present period of considerable change, a third key task of the graduate school is to provide a forum in which policies and practices for the maintenance and improvement of the educational experience of all PhD students in the university can be established. This should include providing guidelines for supportive research environments, developing supervisory arrangements that provide access to experienced supervisors, and establishing good feedback mechanisms. All these tasks are expanded on below.

I Participation in a regional hub

In previous editions of this book we have advocated the advantages of universities participating in collaborative relationships with others in the same region. In the past few years, with the support of the UK GRAD

programme, such a series of regional networks, referred to as ‘hubs’, has been set up. They cover the whole country as listed on the UK GRAD website <www.gradschools.ac.uk>.

The hubs are a collaborative effort between the participating uni- versities, with some support from the research councils. For students, they aim to provide advice on access to materials and to facilitate linking between institutions to increase the provision and quality of programmes offered. The hubs also offer assistance in encouraging networking between academia and regional employers as a contribution to increasing the career options of doctoral graduates.

For staff, they host ‘training the trainer’ courses and ‘good practice workshops’ which provide opportunities for both new and experienced supervisors to develop their skills, as we advocate below (pp. 187ff ). For those responsible for the design of doctoral education, they offer meetings on a number of topics such as ‘stretching your postgraduate skills training budget’. The Yorkshire and NE Hub workshop ‘showcases a variety of post- graduate skills training options available to suit all budgets’. Universities should make resources available for their members to participate in hub activities.

As part of the future development of hub activities universities might also engage in more collaborative research and coordination so that stu- dents from other universities can attend relevant seminars at their local university. This could be extended to include lectures and access to computers and other technical equipment on campus. During the long summer vacation, when university facilities are underutilized by more conventional students, study rooms and libraries could be made accessible to additional postgraduates. It would involve little or no expense to offer these facilities on a reciprocal basis, always provided that a good relation- ship had been developed between the home and the local university.

I Support for students

Facilities for departments to support doctoral research activity

Every department should have the space and resources to provide a room with desks, available for the use of research students. This would serve as a common room that postgraduates in other faculties and departments would be able to use as a location point for contacting people in related but different areas. The institution should ensure that there are adequate facilities for research students including, for example, laboratory space and apparatus, access to a technician, as well as the more general resources of adequate library and computing services.

In order to encourage successful research and a feeling of belonging to an academic community, universities must set aside financial resources for

research students’ use. These would be relatively modest, probably not more than would be required to support such activities as the occasional postal survey for social science or business students, additional cultures for biology students, microfiches for history students, conference fees, photocopying and travel costs.

It is also important that facilities and resources available for full-time students are at the disposal of the increasing numbers of part-time students. Library hours, for example, may need to be extended so that students who are not on campus during usual working hours can still gain access to books and journals. The availability of computer facilities and specialist statistical help may similarly need to be extended.

A university-wide structured induction procedure

All institutions should adopt a university-wide structured induction pro- cedure for newly registered research students. After an induction confer- ence, every new research student should be required to attend a regular series of meetings (weekly, fortnightly) led by members of staff from the university research school. It is important that new students know that there are identifiable academics who have a major responsibility for them. The meetings should continue over the first six months. In the begin- ning they should cover informative topics about the university: how to make the best use of the library services or the academic computing services; where to find relevant academics or research students in other departments. If we are members of universities, we forget how hard it is to join such large institutions and how easy it is to become lost. ‘Leave them to their own devices to settle down’ is a most inefficient and punitive strategy for this stage of the proceedings.

As Phillips (2001) advocates, later meetings should cover such process topics as the relationship between students and their supervisors, expect- ations and fears of the research student’s role, the importance of working to deadlines – in fact most of the issues with which this book has been concerned. As recommended by the research councils, sessions encouraging the development of the generic skills of communication, per- sonal effectiveness, team working and career management, should be part of this programme. As well as helping the student at the time, these skills will increase employability on graduation.

Such a programme achieves, at the very beginning, the raising of aware- ness of the processes involved in undertaking a three-year period of research training. Students may be told about the different stages through which they can expect to pass. This will not protect them from experi- encing boredom, depression and the rest but at least they will be able to recognize what is happening to them when it does happen and this will be valuable. Invited speakers to the group could include a newly successful