Appendix B :

B(i) Guidelines for accreditation of centres for the purposes of enrolment of PhD candidates

1. Preamble

1.1  Enrolment is normally through academic departments of the University.

1.1.1  The Graduate Research Committee reaffirms its position that all PhD students shall normally be enrolled through a school/department, or in the case of a faculty without departments, through the faculty, on the recommendation of the head of department/dean. The Graduate Research Committee notes that “the University has a responsibility to underwrite the academic environment in which PhD studies will be undertaken. This guarantee is provided through departmental responsibility”.

1.1.2 The University has laid down a code of practice for the supervisors of doctoral candidates. The Graduate Research Committee believes that the implementation of this code of practice is most easily achieved when supervision is undertaken by a member of the academic staff of a University department. Such a member of staff can call on the breadth of facilities and wide intellectual environment available through a department.

1.1.3  It is recognised that many centres provide a multi/cross disciplinary perspective which may not always be available within the confines of a traditional academic department. Members of the academic staff of a department may therefore choose to work in a centre for this reason and the research candidates of such staff members may work closely with the centre. Nevertheless for the reasons stated in 1.1.1 and 1.1.2, it is appropriate that such candidates should normally be enrolled through the department of which their supervisor is a member.

1.1.4  It may also be noted that although national key centres carry a mandate to develop higher degree research programs, such national key centres were set up to capitalise on established strengths within the University. It may therefore be appropriate even for candidates who are working primarily in a national key centre that their enrolment be through a department.

1.2 The Graduate Research Committee has therefore determined that centres may only be approved for the purpose of enrolment of PhD candidates where the Committee believes that enrolment through a department is inappropriate.

The Committee must be assured that a centre provides both a suitable intellectual environment and facilities for research training and the pursuit of research by PhD candidates, which are at least comparable to those offered by a department of the University.

2. Criteria for satisfying the requirements of accreditation

2.1 In considering whether a centre will be authorised to enrol PhD candidates in its own right, the Graduate Research Committee will take account of the following:

• the nature of undergraduate and/or postgraduate teaching programs within the centre
• the number of fractional or full-time tenured staff formally appointed to the centre, and
• whether a permanent director has been appointed to the centre.

2.2  Centres approved for the purposes of PhD enrolment/candidature shall be required to report through a faculty.

2.3  The principal supervisors of candidates enrolled through centres, must be appointed strictly in accordance with section 14 of the PhD regulations and will be required to undertake all the responsibilities detailed in section C of the university’s Code of Practice for the Supervision of Doctoral Candidates.

2.4 A faculty must be able to assure the Graduate Research Committee that mechanisms are in place to promote regular consultation and involvement by a candidate enrolled in a centre, in the intellectual and social life of the faculty and wider University. Participation in appropriate seminar programs would be an example of such involvement.

2.5 It shall be the responsibility of the faculty to ensure that for the duration of candidature, the academic environment, supervision, and the standard of research activity and training within the centre, remain equivalent to those found in the University.

2.6 The faculty will therefore be required to certify to the Graduate Research Committee annually that the relevant centres continue to meet the accreditation criteria cited above.

3. Approval certification procedures

The following procedures shall be followed in the prospective approval of such centres for the purposes of PhD enrolment:

3.1  A faculty of the University, through its faculty board, may propose to the Graduate Research Committee that the particular centre fulfils the criteria above and that the faculty will be able to fulfil its responsibilities concerning the maintenance in the centre of a suitable intellectual environment and facilities for the supervision of research training and postgraduate research, which are at least comparable to those offered by the University.

3.2  The Graduate Research Committee will take appropriate steps to satisfy itself that the criteria and responsibilities above will be fulfilled.

3.3  The Graduate Research Committee will make a recommendation to the Academic Board in respect of all such proposals.

3.4  The Graduate Research Committee will also subsequently advise the Academic Board if it determines that the approved centre no longer fulfils the above criteria.

B(ii) Guidelines for accreditation of research sites for the purposes of enrolment of PhD candidates

Accreditation for single candidature only

Please note that accreditation of the site will only be considered in relation to the particular candidature detailed in a submission.

1. Accreditation criteria

The Graduate Research Committee requires that the following criteria should be met:

• The research site will be within daily travelling time of the appropriate Monash campus, so external candidature does not apply
• The research site offers specialist facilities or expertise which, for the particular project, are at least equal to those the university itself might offer
• The research site does not currently have an affiliation arrangement with Monash under Statute 10.1
• The research site and Monash have embarked or will embark upon a program of collaborative research to which the research being undertaken for doctoral candidature is connected.

2. Attendance and residency requirements

2.1 Attendance

Candidates will be required to:

• discuss progress with both their Monash and site-based supervisors in person, at least every two weeks (full-time candidates) and once every calendar month (part-time candidates)
• attend the University frequently and on a regular basis
• attend courses, seminars, workshops etc both on the research site and within the Monash department through which the candidate is enrolled, as deemed necessary by the head of that department (for example, in the case of a regular seminar or lecture series, a minimum of 80% attendance may be deemed adequate).

2.2 Residency

Candidates will be required to attend a Monash campus for a minimum of 20 days per year. Note that:

• apportionment of these days may be determined on a case-by-case basis (for example in certain instances it may be appropriate to take a single block of 20 days, while in others a few days at a time may be considered more effective), and
• a small portion of the attendance may be off-campus, provided the candidate is able to interact with the principal university supervisor during this time (for example where both are attending a conference).

2.3 Supervision arrangements

In addition to the candidate's university supervisor(s), a suitable research site supervisor must also be appointed. The appointment of supervisors must accord with section 14 of the University's Doctorate Regulations and the code of practice for the supervision of doctoral candidates.

2.4 Accreditation procedure

The 'Request for accreditation' form should be attached to the standard doctoral application for admission form - http://www.monash.edu/study/options/research-degrees.html.

 

print version