Good Practices for Supervisors

As a supervisor you should have a commitment to research and scholarship that informs your supervisory role: those who are not themselves active in research and scholarship can rarely supervise the work of others so engaged with success. Your responsibilities to your students also extend beyond ensuring that your students' research is conducted in a timely and professional manner: you also need to ensure that your students are imbued with a commitment to scholarly values and that they understand the need to enhance their own personal and professional growth.

Co-supervisors/Supervisory Panels

While the University permits a single supervisor to supervise the work of research students, there is much to be said for the adoption of the principle of co-supervision – one which has been adopted and operated successfully elsewhere in the world. One person must be the primary supervisor who has the ultimate responsibility for each student but they can be helped in their work by co-supervisors.

A co-supervisor should be appointed in cases where the proposed supervisor is a "first-time" supervisor. A "first-time" supervisor is defined as someone who has not had the experience of supervising any research postgraduate students through to successful completion of the thesis and graduation, in the same or a higher level degree programme.

Co-supervisors may have special knowledge or skills that are important to a student's research project and supplement those of the primary supervisor; they can also act in the place of the primary supervisor when he or she is away on periods of leave and thus provide continuity of advice and guidance. Co-supervisors may also provide students with an alternative source of support at times when a student's relationship with their primary supervisor may be suffering strain.

Some faculties have found it useful to establish a supervisory panel or committee for each student - a further extension of the principle of co-supervision: however, this arrangement should not be seen as absolving primary supervisors of their special responsibilities to their students or to the University. In this document supervisors are always referred to in the plural in recognition of the importance of co-supervision.

Your responsibilities as a supervisor are:

a) To read this and other guidelines on supervision so that you are aware of what the University expects of research students, supervisors and Departmental Research Postgraduate Committees.

It must be stressed, however, that these guides refer to the University's minimum expectations and describe them only in the broadest terms: good and successful supervisors will be able to bring much more to their supervisory relationships and practice.

The Supervisory Relationship

b) To ensure that newly registered students who do not know the department or the University are introduced to fellow research postgraduate students, members of the academic staff and those key members of the technical and secretarial staff whom they may need to interact with.

It is very difficult for someone new to a department to understand quickly how it works. Even if they have been an undergraduate taught in that department a new research postgraduate student may well have only the vaguest notion of who everyone is. Whilst few departments take in sufficient students over a short period to make a formal welcome or induction necessary it can be a great help to ask a fellow student who does understand the department and the University to provide a helping hand in the first few weeks. This is especially true for non-local students who are likely to encounter the greatest problems. Do encourage all new students to come to the Orientation programme, if they arrive in time, and also to make contact with the Postgraduate Student Association (PGSA).

c) To ensure that when students are jointly supervised, the supervisors mutually resolve any of their own differences of opinion so that students are not the subject of conflicting advice which supervisors themselves are unable to reconcile.

Co-supervision has advantages but its greatest potential disadvantage is the possibility of disagreement amongst the supervisors. However, academic research is about the resolution of conflicting advice and evidence and the supervision of research students should not be regarded as an exception to this general observation. Ensure that major areas of difference are discussed, and resolved, openly at meetings where your co-supervisors and the student are all present so that the latter can appreciate the cut and thrust of academic debate.

d) To ensure that the scheme of research undertaken by a studen0t is within that student's interests and capabilities and that the necessary facilities are already available.

You should be sure that the research to be undertaken by your students is appropriate in character and scope for the degree concerned, that it is feasible in terms of your own expertise and available time, and that the necessary facilities and other resources are available to students. You should not promise students access to facilities or resources that cannot be provided within a time scale appropriate to the research project.

e) To agree with each of your students a schedule of meetings which is sufficiently frequent to enable progress to be made towards the degree sought in the specified time and to identify problems which can then be resolved promptly.

The frequency of such meetings cannot be laid down by regulation but they will certainly need to occur more often at the beginning of students' candidatures since it cannot be stressed too strongly that the success of students in their studies depends to a large extent on the help and guidance that supervisors offer them in the early stages of their work. Meetings with part-time students may be somewhat less frequent. Telephone, facsimile or e-mail communication can be a particularly important mode of interaction, especially with part-time students, but you should not regard these as a complete substitute for face-to-face meetings.

f) To help your students to manage their time effectively by agreeing an agenda of work, and a timetable for its implementation, consistent with enabling students to submit for their degree in the time specified.

Without well-defined objectives students may get off to a slow start and thus be behind schedule almost as soon as they begin. These objectives should not only include those relating to the research itself but also all those other skills which students must develop if they do not already possess them e.g. writing skills, statistical skills, language skills etc. Failure of students to meet attainable objectives on time, or the repeated postponement of scheduled meetings, are among the first signs that they are in trouble and need extra help from you.

g) To ensure that the work being undertaken by students is relevant to their approved scheme of research and that the necessary resources are available to conduct the work.

You should not encourage, or require, your students to engage in work which is not related to their own research proposal or approved scheme of research unless they are working in some other capacity e.g. as a research assistant, and are studying on a part-time basis. Full-time study means just that; the definition of full-time and part-time student and the amount of work that they are permitted to undertake has been approved by the Senate - it is not appropriate for individual supervisors to redefine these provisions for their own convenience. It is also your responsibility to provide, or negotiate access to, the resources and facilities which turn out to be essential to the completion of your students' work even if the need for these had not been foreseen earlier.

h) To require students to make periodic, public presentations of their research or related work and provide them with advice on the most effective way of communicating their findings.

The Degree Regulations and Procedures strongly encourage students to give one or more seminars on the subject of their course of study and research during their candidature for their degree. Most students, to their surprise, seem to enjoy them once they have overcome their natural reluctance or shyness and have become familiar with the presentation techniques involved. There are seminars and personal development programmes in the University provided through the Graduate School which can help to develop the necessary skills. Perhaps one of the most important consequences of preparing for a public presentation of their work is that your students will be able to appreciate more clearly their own research objectives and the progress that they are making towards achieving them.

i) To stand down as a supervisor if the research work of one of your students has taken a direction that you no longer feel competent to supervise, but only after making the efforts necessary to identify and appoint an alternative supervisor.

Changes of supervisor, for whatever reason and at whatever time, are rarely free from stress on either side but neither you nor the student concerned should regard such a change as a failure: the most important consideration is that the University requires supervision to be effective and the attribution of blame when such effectiveness is in question will rarely be a constructive contribution to the success of future supervisory arrangements. An inescapable consequence of your desire to discontinue the supervision of a particular student is your moral responsibility to ensure that a suitable successor can be appointed before you stand down.

j) To recognize that non-local students may meet special problems in adjusting to life in Hong Kong.

Accommodation, financial difficulties, cultural differences and diet probably top the list of such problems. The Centre of Development and Resources for Students (CEDARS) can often provide you with much needed help through the weekly support group which provides a platform for the postgraduate students to meet, to discuss and to support each other; and the Postgraduate Student Association also provides a forum where students can help one another. You should ensure that your students are aware of these extra-departmental sources of support and encourage them to avail themselves of the organizations set up to help with such problems. In some cases the Counselling and Person Enrichment of CEDARS may be able to provide invaluable support.

Ethics and Safety

k) To ensure that students are aware of, and properly instructed in, the ethical execution of laboratory work, experiments or other practices.

You cannot expect your students to be automatically aware of the ethical context and practices which govern proper, well conducted work in your field; your department should consider preparing guidelines for the benefit of both students and novice supervisors if it has not already done so.

l) To ensure that students are aware of, and properly instructed in, the safe execution of laboratory work, experiments or other practices.

Safe working practice, and the avoidance of accidents, is not always self-evident to those who do not appreciate the hazards involved. Supervisors must not assume that students are aware of the potential hazards of the research work that they are to undertake; every effort must be made in the first few months of their candidature to ensure that students are educated, instructed and trained in safe and healthy methods of working. Supervision of the execution of working practices and techniques should not be relaxed until such time as you are certain that your students can perform them safely and to your satisfaction. The department should have a health and safety policy supported by a departmental code of practice whose provisions should be followed. However, not all hazards relevant to all research groups can be addressed in these documents and you should document those for which you are responsible and for which you have special knowledge. Prior to a new research programme, or during a continuing research programme when additional or different procedures with new hazards are to be introduced a careful assessment of the potential risks should be undertaken before the new work commences. Certain procedures cannot be undertaken without prior instruction, e.g. the use of radioisotopes and ionizing radiations, or prior permission, e.g. the use of live animals or experiments on humans or human material. You are responsible for ensuring that your students receive the necessary instruction or seek the necessary permission before embarking upon such work. Any incident, accident or dangerous occurrence which could result, or actually results, in injury should be reported immediately to the Safety Office (tel: 2859-2400).

Reporting and Progress

m) To keep a record of the frequency and subject matter of your meetings with your students so that accurate progress reports can be made.

It is important, especially with students who turn out to be weak or who are otherwise making slow or unsatisfactory progress, that you can refer to documentary evidence of your efforts at supervision. Your oral and written warnings to such students will carry much more weight if they know that you do this and use such records to reveal to them the nature or scale of the problems that they face. The Departmental Research Postgraduate Committee (DRPC), the Faculty and other committees/boards involved might be unwilling to endorse drastic courses of action recommended to them, such as non-confirmation of candidature, extension of the probationary period or discontinuation unless there is adequate documentation.

n) To monitor the performance of your students and bring to their attention (and to that of others if appropriate or when requested) lack of progress or work of inadequate standard.

Supervisors have a responsibility to identify and report unsatisfactory progress as laid down in the Notes for Supervisors (see Appendix XVI of the Graduate School Handbook). Your students must be kept informed, in writing, of your opinions and intended actions.

o) To identify personal, medical, or financial problems that may impede the progress of students and seek ways in which they can be resolved or managed.

Supervisors are not expected to be parental substitutes but you should be concerned with the general welfare of your students especially when timely completion is in jeopardy. If you feel that you do not have the requisite counselling skills, or knowledge of the ways in which particular non-academic problems can be resolved, then you should refer your students to those services in the University which do have expertise in such matters e.g. the Counselling and Person Enrichment of CEDARS, the University Health Service or the CEDARS. The longer counselling is delayed the more difficult it becomes to solve problems.

Professional and Personal Development

p) To encourage students to take part in the intellectual life of the University and arrange that they meet other researchers in their field and attend meetings or conferences whenever possible.

Students need to experience more than just the intellectual discipline associated with their research work; they may be unwilling to venture out into the greater life beyond department, laboratory and library unless encouraged to do so and secure in the knowledge that you will not regard this as an inappropriate distraction. They should be made to understand that they can make valuable contributions to the research work and culture of the University. You should ensure that your students meet other researchers from outside this University whenever possible. This may entail introducing them to academic visitors, however distinguished, and encouraging them to apply for the travel support which the University, through the Committee on Research and Conference Grants, will consider awarding to full-time research students to attend national or international conferences. They should also be encouraged to participate in programmes or activities which the Graduate School supports for this purpose.

q) To introduce students to persons who can provide guidance or training in specific areas of their work or their personal and professional development even though these persons are not supervisors.

There is no reason why, as part of their general service to the University, academic staff who are not supervisors cannot be asked to help you with the development of specific skills in a student. Naturally, such approaches require tact and should not require the commitment of an unreasonable amount of time on the part of such informal advisers.

r) To advise on the appropriate manner, form or location of publication of research findings and reach a mutual agreement concerning authorship and the recognition of your respective contributions to publications.

Your students will sometimes need to be encouraged to make reports of their preliminary findings. This will be the case when completed parts of their own research, or related work in which they have been involved, are judged to be of general interest and importance or if precedence needs to be established. You will need to ensure that agreement is reached with students concerning authorship and the mutual acknowledgement of the contributions that each of you have both made to the work to be reported, whether during or after the students' candidature. Practices in different academic disciplines vary in this regard but it should not be assumed that the names of the supervisors or that of the student will automatically appear as authors on all such published work. The problem of the ownership of intellectual property is a delicate area of the rights of ownership in which the University will need to develop more detailed guidance.

s) To provide advice on the post-graduation development of students' careers.

Your responsibility as a supervisor extends beyond the immediate task of aiding your students in the submission of a successful thesis. You are their mentor and should know their strengths and weaknesses better than anyone else in the University. This knowledge should enable you to counsel them on a future career, academic or otherwise, in which they might expect to be successful and in which they have a reasonable expectation of securing a position. Sometimes this advice may not be well received, especially if it does not accord with students' own expectations or perceptions, but this should not deter you from offering it. The Careers and Placement of CEDARS does not just deal with undergraduates: postgraduate students can also benefit greatly from the service that it offers.

t) To provide informed assessments of students being considered for academic awards or employment while in the University and subsequent to their graduation.

Your unique and detailed knowledge of your students enables you to offer objective advice on their abilities to the University as well as to other organizations and potential employers. The University has a right to expect such advice from you when sought and its reputation, as well as your own, may be at risk if you do not offer it to others without fear or favour. Your students also have a right to expect you to offer such assessments, in confidence if necessary, should they request them.

Thesis Submission and Examination

u) To encourage students to commence preparations for the submission of their thesis at the outset of their candidature.

In one sense it is never too soon for students to commence work on their thesis. This preparatory work might involve drafting partial literature or technical reviews which, when later updated and further polished, can be incorporated into the final draft of the thesis. Such an approach may also enable you to diagnose problems that students may have with writing in English with style and clear, concise and accurate expression. If you do not feel competent to provide more than the most general instruction in this regard, encourage or require students to take advantage of the Writing Workshops I and II or the Graduate Student Writing Support Service organized by the Graduate School. Students may also need greater familiarity with word-processing or other computer software packages than you can provide: refer students to the computer induction courses organized by the Computer Centre. If your students have especially intractable problems in statistics they should approach the Statistical Advice Centre for Students (STACS), which is one of the support services provided by the Graduate School. All students should be fully familiar with the operation of the facilities offered by the University libraries; there are frequent courses run by the Library to explain these facilities and how to use them.

v) To provide students with timely, critical and constructive comment on the content and drafts of their thesis and other written matter.

You will need to spend time dealing with early drafts of theses or other written matter giving advice, guidance and instruction (see above) in order to ensure that your students become able to express themselves clearly and accurately in their chosen field. The University explicitly expects you to read the whole of the final draft of the theses of your students before they are submitted, but this minimal expectation does not absolve you of the need to deal with earlier versions of your students' writings. You are required, under the Degree Procedures, to complete a ‘Thesis Submission Form” before your student can submit his/her thesis for examination. You are not responsible for the contents of your students' theses but you should make sure that your students are clearly aware of the related problems of plagiarism and copyright dealt with in another section of this Handbook (see page ) and in the University's Notes for Guidance of Candidates (see Appendix XIV).

The Policy Board of Postgraduate Education has approved that all MPhil and PhD theses submitted from January 1, 2011 and thereafter are required to go through a compulsory plagiarism check via the software Turnitin before submission for examination. Students should submit their draft theses to Turnitin for self-checking, and refinement where appropriate, in consultation with their supervisor(s) if necessary, before a formal submission for examination. As the supervisor who has the relevant expertise, you are responsible for interpreting and making judgment on the final Turnitin report and for giving advice to your students on refinement, where appropriate. You also have a duty to report to the Chairman of the Thesis Examining Committee (TEC) if plagiarized materials are identified in the thesis submitted for examination, and the TEC may request to read the Turnitin originality report when necessary. In the ‘Thesis Submission From’, you will be asked to confirm that the thesis has gone through a Turnitin check before submission for examination.

w) To propose the appointment of examiners as soon as the subject and content of the thesis can be readily identified so that the examining process can be fairly conducted and will not be unduly delayed.

Since you will be the person most familiar with the field in which each of your students is working you should be responsible for suggesting to the Chairman of your Departmental Research Postgraduate Committee the names of examiners, internal and external, who are both expert in the field and likely to be available, so that he or she can nominate them for the consideration of the Faculty*. You will need to be sure that the nominated examiners are likely to accept such appointment by approaching them informally beforehand; the more expert and distinguished the prospective examiner, the more likely it is that their name will occur to others and thus they may simply to be too busy to act for this University. Since it is unlikely that any examiner will accept appointment until they know the title of the thesis that they will be expected to examine, you should encourage your students to draft a title, in consultation with you, as soon as is reasonably possible; this can be done at any time after confirmation of candidature and should not necessarily be left until just three months before the expected submission of the thesis. If this title is accompanied by a draft abstract the identification of suitable examiners can be much easier. Much time can be saved if the list of nominated examiners is submitted to the Faculty for approval at the same time as the Notice of Intention to Submit a Thesis and the thesis title are submitted. In addition to determining their availability you should ensure that the nominated examiners have no undue or unreasonable bias towards you, the student concerned or the methodology or content of their thesis. Academic differences of opinion are legitimate, but the success or failure of your students' theses and their future career prospects should not be consequent upon the whim of biased or otherwise inappropriate examiners.

* The student concerned, however, should not be consulted on the selection of examiners. The student may be asked if there has been a personal conflict between him/her and anyone on a list of possible examiners but under no circumstances should the student be consulted on who should be nominated. For the student’s own sake, any situation potentially giving rise to a conflict of interest should be avoided, and be seen to be avoided.

x) To refrain from and to advise students to refrain from communicating with the External Examiners during the examination process.

In order not to compromise the examination process and to enable it to be conducted in a fair manner, neither you nor your students should communicate with the External Examiners during the examination process until the Board of Graduate Studies (BoGS) has made a final decision on the examination. The BoGS has laid down a guideline that under normal circumstances, if the student is not required to revise and resubmit the thesis for re-examination, the External Examiner will not be involved in overseeing the final corrections and amendments of a thesis, provided that the supervisor(s) or the Internal Examiners are available to do the job.

September 2010