Our GSA Education (Research) Officer, Monica Sestito has developed a submission to the Academic Board on the Academic Progress Review in Graduate Research Courses Policy in consultation with graduate students.
The main recommendations of this report are that the Academic Board should:
- Adopt a moratorium on any significant changes to policy, particularly those concerning graduate researchers, until stage two of the four-point national strategy on COVID-19 has been reached (at best, at the beginning of 2022).
- Conduct significant consultation with the graduate researcher cohort and consider their perspectives before establishing or enforcing a standalone policy on academic progress in graduate research degrees.
- Reconsider its decision to mandate bi-annual, formal progress reviews with the candidate’s entire advisory committee.
- Revise its design of the progress review stages to ensure that candidates are afforded flexibility in engaging with the process when they are facing compassionate or compelling circumstances.
- Strengthen support services for graduate researchers to encourage their research progress.
A detailed rationale for these recommendations is outlined in the full submission.
View the full submission (PDF)
For further discussion or comment, please contact Monica Sestito at research@gsa.unimelb.edu.au.