Reporter 17/7/02: Report of the Council and the General Board on the introduction of a part-time route to certain research degrees and certificates: Notice

Report of the Council and the General Board on the introduction of a part-time route to certain research degrees and certificates: Notice

15 July 2002

The Council have considered the remarks made by Dr G. R. Evans at the Discussion on 28 May 2002 (Reporter, p. 878) of the above Joint Report. They have consulted the General Board and the Board of Graduate Studies and have agreed to comment as follows.

The Council note that Dr Evans does not question the principle of providing a part-time route to research qualifications. The Council and the General Board's earlier Joint Report on the introduction of a part-time route to a doctoral degree (Reporter, 1999-2000, p. 398), of which Dr Evans as a member of the Council at the time was a signatory, recommended such provision and set out the principal features of the scheme. These were welcomed in discussion by Dr Evans and other speakers (Reporter, 1999-2000, p. 47) and were approved by the Regent House by Grace 11 of 14 June 2000. A number of Faculties and Departments have well advanced plans for the introduction of part-time provision, through local arrangements approved by the Board of Graduate Studies, as soon as possible.

Dr Evans queried the requirement for attendance, rather than residence, for part-time students; these arrangements were set out in the original Joint Report and accepted by the Regent House. Dr Evans also queried a number of the arrangements for formal supervision. The Board of Graduate Studies consider it good practice to make clear, for the benefit of both part-time students and their supervisors, their general expectations with respect to supervision, as they do for full-time students. The Board also consider the use of a log and handbook to be useful practical means by which the Board may discharge their duty of general responsibility for the monitoring and guidance of part-time students. The Board provide Memoranda and the Faculties and Departments of the University provide handbooks for the guidance of full-time students.

Finally, the Council and the General Board confirm that the published Report is the same version as that signed by these two bodies at their meetings of 24 April 2002 and 13 May 2002 respectively.

The Council, with the concurrence of the General Board, are submitting a Grace (Grace 4, p. 1224) to the Regent House for the approval of the recommendations in their Joint Report.

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