ioe guidelines: special progress review

Special progress review status

Special progress review status is for those occasions when doctoral students have been unable to make the progress expected. This may be due to personal, professional or academic reasons. The aim is to ensure that students are given support and assistance in a timely way when they run into difficulties, to assist them in completing their degree within the desired timescale and to identify at an appropriate stage those few students who are unlikely to complete their degree.

There are a number of circumstances under which students may benefit from having a special progress review:

Lack of progress may emerge during the course of the Annual Progress Review.

All research students are asked at the beginning of each academic year to produce a detailed work plan, which includes a clear outline of work to be undertaken with the dates for completion. This provides a means of assessing their progress. At the end of the year progress is discussed with the student and where the supervisor, Advisory panel and Research Tutor have cause for concern, the student may have a special progress review.
Failure to complete assignments in a timely way.
Consistent failure to meet negotiated deadlines.

How the review operates

The special progress review period is for three months.

The expectation is that during this time supervisor and student will negotiate clear and detailed objectives, in consultation with the Advisory panel and the Research Tutor. These objectives should be sufficient to constitute a resumption of satisfactory progress. The supervisor will then meet with the student on a regular basis, or be in regular email contact and will provide prompt written feedback to the student on completion of work. The intention is that the student, with support from the supervisor, should meet the negotiated objectives in a satisfactory way within the agreed timescale. At the end of the three-month period, the student and supervisor, in consultation with the Advisory panel and the Research Tutor, will review progress against the agreed objectives and where progress is satisfactory the student will no longer have “special progress review” status.

Where progress is still causing concern, the Advisory panel, the supervisor and the Research Tutor, in consultation with the student, should agree an appropriate course of action. Possible alternatives are:

that the student interrupts his/her registration with specific guidance on action to be taken during the period of interruption;
that the student ceases to be registered for a research degree;
that the student’s special progress review is extended for a further three
months.

Students will not be allowed more than two consecutive periods of special
progress review.

Registration status

The Research Tutor must inform the student in writing when it has been decided that he or she should be placed under “special progress review”. A copy of the letter must be sent to the student’s supervisor and to the Head of the Research Degrees Section of the Registry. This status does not affect the fees which the student has paid for the period of registration covered by this status. All parties must be informed in writing once the period of review has been successfully completed or if it needs to be extended.


	Monitoring Progress Special progress review status Special progress review status is for those occasions when doctoral students have been unable to make the progress expected. This may be due to personal, professional or academic reasons. The aim is to ensure that students are given support and assistance in a timely way when they run into difficulties, to assist them in completing their degree within the desired timescale and to identify at an appropriate stage those few students who are unlikely to complete their degree. There are a number of circumstances under which students may benefit from having a special progress review: Lack of progress may emerge during the course of the Annual Progress Review. All research students are asked at the beginning of each academic year to produce a detailed work plan, which includes a clear outline of work to be undertaken with the dates for completion. This provides a means of assessing their progress. At the end of the year progress is discussed with the student and where the supervisor, Advisory panel and Research Tutor have cause for concern, the student may have a special progress review. Failure to complete assignments in a timely way. Consistent failure to meet negotiated deadlines. How the review operates The special progress review period is for three months. The expectation is that during this time supervisor and student will negotiate clear and detailed objectives, in consultation with the Advisory panel and the Research Tutor. These objectives should be sufficient to constitute a resumption of satisfactory progress. The supervisor will then meet with the student on a regular basis, or be in regular email contact and will provide prompt written feedback to the student on completion of work. The intention is that the student, with support from the supervisor, should meet the negotiated objectives in a satisfactory way within the agreed timescale. At the end of the three-month period, the student and supervisor, in consultation with the Advisory panel and the Research Tutor, will review progress against the agreed objectives and where progress is satisfactory the student will no longer have “special progress review” status. Where progress is still causing concern, the Advisory panel, the supervisor and the Research Tutor, in consultation with the student, should agree an appropriate course of action. Possible alternatives are: that the student interrupts his/her registration with specific guidance on action to be taken during the period of interruption; that the student ceases to be registered for a research degree; that the student’s special progress review is extended for a further three months. Students will not be allowed more than two consecutive periods of special progress review. Registration status The Research Tutor must inform the student in writing when it has been decided that he or she should be placed under “special progress review”. A copy of the letter must be sent to the student’s supervisor and to the Head of the Research Degrees Section of the Registry. This status does not affect the fees which the student has paid for the period of registration covered by this status. All parties must be informed in writing once the period of review has been successfully completed or if it needs to be extended.