PURPOSE

This policy details the principles and processes for Higher Degree Research (HDR) and Masters capstone supervision at Global Leadership Institute (GLI).

SCOPE

All supervisors, HDR students, and Masters capstone students

PRINCIPLES

GLI ensures that supervisors, HDR students, and postgraduate capstone students:

• engage in research training activities that foster responsible conduct of research;
• abide by all relevant GLI policies, including the Code of Conduct Policy;
• adhere to the Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research;
• adhere to the Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research.
• discuss any supervision issues in a constructive and positive way;
• understand their obligations regarding academic integrity and responsible conduct of research;
• maintain equity, diversity, and inclusion in the supervisory relationship;
• declare any conflict of interest related to the supervisory team;
• undertake conflict resolution with all parties working together in good faith and with mutual respect;
• are given opportunities to publish and/or disseminate research;
• are mindful of authorship, intellectual property, and power imbalance issues;
• engage in consistent and proactive progress reporting;
• promote research safety and transparency;
• comply with legislative requirements for data management, ownership, privacy, confidentiality, access, and storage.

RESEARCH SUPERVISION

All research supervisors are approved by the Academic Dean and added to the GLI Academic Staff Register. The requirements for research supervision at GLI include:

• one supervisor for postgraduate capstone students;
• one research active principal supervisor and at least one associate supervisor for HDR students.

All supervisors have the right to withdraw from the supervisory team. Reasons can include, but are not limited to:

• changes to the research topic;
• changes to leave or employment arrangements;
• change in the level of appointment of a supervisor.

Research students have all relevant rights listed in policies and procedures. They also have the right to:

• access quality supervision;
• in extenuating circumstances, request a change to the supervisory team;
• negotiate their research topic within the constraints of GLI resources and expertise;
• negotiate the stages of their research degree;
• develop their own digital research profile.

STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES

It is the responsibility of HDR students and postgraduate capstone students to:

• meet regularly with the appointed supervisors and keep accurate records of meetings;
• submit material to supervisors within the agreed timeframes;
• consider carefully and respectfully feedback provided by the supervisors;
• submit the final project by the due date.

If a HDR student or postgraduate capstone student wishes to discuss any concerns about progress of supervision in confidence, they may directly contact the relevant Program Director.

HDR Student Additional Responsibilities

It is the additional responsibility of HDR students to:

• attend weekly supervision meetings (on campus or live via Teams) where their supervisors can provide ongoing structured advice, mentoring, and feedback;
• review and sign the Supervision Report as a record of supervision meetings;
• advise their supervisors of any potential delays in course progress;
• submit to the HDR Program Director the HDR End of Semester Progress Report signed by the student and principal supervisor.

The HDR End of Semester Progress Report provides an opportunity to:

• assess if the research project is viable and appropriate for the course;
• list of academic publications and activities for inclusion in the Annual Academic Report;
• confirm supervision arrangements;
• assess whether the HDR student’s progress is satisfactory, and the project is on track for completion within the required timeframe;
• identify if additional resources or training are required by the HDR student;
• ensure the HDR student’s skills are developing appropriately;
• ensure that the HDR student receives constructive written feedback by supervisors.

SUPERVISOR RESPONSIBILITIES

It is the responsibility of HDR and postgraduate capstone supervisors to:

• read any submitted material by the student ahead of scheduled supervision meetings;
• meet regularly with the student and keep accurate records of meetings;
• provide constructive and timely feedback and support to the student in all research requirements;
• record the outcomes of the supervision meeting on the Supervision Report;
• review and sign the Supervision Report as a record of the supervision meeting;
• discuss any potential risk to the student’s progress with the relevant Program Director;
• where possible, remain as supervisor for the duration of the research project;
• notify the relevant Program Director if the student is not meeting expected progress goals;
• organise alternate arrangements and inform the relevant Program Director if absent for more than four weeks in a semester;
• identify shortcomings in the research and provide written and oral feedback for improvements;
• mark the completed capstone project in a timely manner.

HDR Principal Supervisor Additional Responsibilities

It is the additional responsibility of the principal supervisor to:

• ensure that HDR research proposals are confined to the funding allocations of HDR students (excluding external research grants);
• complete the principal supervisor section of the HDR End of Semester Progress Report;
• advise the HDR student on any additional skills training required for the research;
• encourage the HDR student to present their research at a conference or in a publication;
• assist the HDR student in preparing for Confirmation of Candidature;
• identify and recommend external examiners.

HDR Associate Supervisor Responsibilities

It is the additional responsibility of the associate supervisor to:

• assist the principal supervisor and HDR student in research progress within the period of candidature;
• provide continuity of advice during periods of absence by the principal supervisor;
• provide input regarding confirmation of candidature and progress checks;
• perform additional duties as negotiated with the HDR Program Director, principal supervisor, and/or HDR student.

CRITERIA FOR POSTGRADUATE CAPSTONE SUPERVISORS

Supervisors of postgraduate capstone students must:

• be employed or contracted by GLI;
• hold a completed N+1 degree or equivalent professional qualifications;
• be current in required professional development.

CRITERIA FOR HDR PRINCIPAL SUPERVISORS

HDR principal supervisors of HDR students must:

• be employed or contracted by GLI;
• hold a completed doctorate in a relevant field;
• be current in required HDR supervision training and professional development;
• be research active in a relevant field;
• have appropriate time available to perform the duties of principal supervisor.

CRITERIA FOR HDR ASSOCIATE SUPERVISORS

HDR associate supervisors of HDR students must:

• have relevant qualifications and/or experience to inform the HDR student’s research;
• have appropriate time available to perform the duties of associate supervisor;
• be current in required HDR supervision training and professional development.

Academic staff who have no prior experience with HDR supervision are expected to serve as associate supervisor under the mentorship of an experienced principal supervisor at least once before they are eligible to be a principal supervisor.

SUPERVISORY RELATIONSHIPS

Supervisors, HDR students, and postgraduate capstone students are expected to maintain professional and ethical supervisory relationships according to GLI’s Code of Conduct Policy. The supervisory role is inherently hierarchical with an imbalance of power between supervisors and research students. Relationships of a sexual or romantic nature between a supervisor and research student are inappropriate.

As noted in the Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct Policy, GLI has no tolerance for sexual misconduct.

First-Time HDR Supervisors
Academic staff who have no prior experience with HDR supervision are expected to serve as associate supervisor under the mentorship of an experienced principal supervisor at least once before they are eligible to be a principal supervisor on their own.

If this is not possible (for example if a mentor is not available within the relevant discipline), a first-time supervisor may apply in writing to the HDR Program Director to be considered for eligibility as principal supervisor, stating reasons for this consideration. These reasons may include one or more of the following:

• significant experience with principal supervision of research projects within Masters coursework degrees;
• substantive participation in supervision training;
• demonstrable ongoing mentorship relationship with an internal or external senior academic (who can be outside of the person’s discipline).

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

In the event of a conflict of interest, the relevant Program Director will intervene to provide a satisfactory solution (such as appointing an alternative supervisor).

AUTHORSHIP

GLI adopts the principles embodied in the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research for the attribution of authorship in research publications. Agreement should be reached between the student and supervisor(s) concerning authorship of publications. Co-authorship is usually appropriate when the student and supervisor(s) have both made a substantial contribution.

Supervisors should be particularly mindful of the power imbalance that exists between supervisors and research students. Supervisors are expected to actively work to ensure that this is not abused, and that all research students are provided with an appropriate and supportive professional environment in which to undertake their research.

PROCEDURES

APPOINTMENT OF SUPERVISORS

Prior to course enrolment, HDR students and postgraduate capstone students should approach a possible GLI supervisor based on the area of interest and the supervisor’s area of expertise. Supervision arrangements are approved by the relevant Program Director, taking workload allocations into consideration.

Upon formal appointment, supervisors must complete the research supervision induction process to ensure thorough understanding of GLI’s relevant policies and supervisory responsibilities. All supervisors are also expected to attend regular research training and professional development workshops conducted by the Institute to ensure currency in supervision best practice.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

A supervisor having trouble with any aspect of supervision of a HDR student or postgraduate capstone student should discuss the problem with the student and other supervisor (if appropriate). Where the issue cannot be resolved within the supervisory team, the matter should be brought to the relevant Program Director for informal resolution. If conflict between supervisors continues, a supervisor may follow the Staff Grievance Policy.

A HDR student or postgraduate capstone student who has a grievance concerning any action or decision of a supervisor, and is unable to reach a satisfactory resolution through informal discussions, may follow the Student Grievance and Appeals Policy.

AUTHORSHIP

GLI adheres to the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research to ensure that authorship is an honest and fair reflection of contributions to the research output. Supervisors must be particularly mindful of the power imbalance that exists between supervisors and research students. Supervisors are expected to actively work to ensure that this is not abused, and that all research students are provided with an appropriate and supportive professional environment in which to undertake their research.

Criteria for authorship includes one or more of the following:

• conception and design;
• acquisition of data;
• analysis and interpretation of the data;
• contribution to knowledge, where justified, including First Nations Peoples knowledge;
• drafting or critically revising significant parts of the research output.

A person who qualifies as an author must not be included or excluded without their written agreement. A record of this agreement must be kept by the collaborating researchers.

Unacceptable authorship inclusions

Authorship is not attributed based on:

• provision of funding, data, or resources;
• routine technical support or advice;
• the author’s supervisor or head of department (‘gift authorship’).

Authors must disclose any use Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools and are fully responsible for the content produced.

The HDR or Masters capstone student is typically identified as the first author on any work arising from their research assessment. Variation to this principle would require a strong justification approved by the relevant Program Director. If the student has not published the research six months after the research was completed, the supervisor may request the student’s approval, in writing, to take the lead in preparing a manuscript for publication.

CHANGES TO SUPERVISORY TEAM

HDR students and postgraduate capstone students may apply to change supervision arrangements at any time. The student should first discuss proposed changes with the current supervisory team or with the relevant Program Director. Requests for changes to the supervisory team should be submitted in writing to the relevant Program Director.