The School of Graduate Studies is seeking feedback on the draft Graduate Supervision Policy. 

The purpose of the policy is to outline the roles and responsibilities of graduate students and faculty members, leave procedures, and conflict resolution process related to academic supervision. It pertains to all members of the Queen’s graduate community who are stakeholders in graduate supervision including: graduate students registered in research-based graduate programs, graduate academic supervisors, members of supervisory committees, graduate programs, and the School of Graduate Studies (SGS). Note, the policy focuses exclusively on supervision of graduate students’ academic activities (e.g., thesis/dissertation research) in relation to program degree completion and not employment related supervision.

Rationale

In response to a joint board and senate retreat in March 2018, the Working Group on Graduate Student Success was established to investigate the state of graduate training and current graduate student environment across the university. The working group released a final report in 2019, which provided a number of recommendations, one of which included the development of “a graduate supervisory policy based on current School of Graduate Studies (SGS) guidelines, keeping in-line with U15 policies on supervision.” The report found that while the majority of graduate students are satisfied with their supervision, there are also areas of inconsistency and challenge. Both graduate students and supervisors have advocated for the creation of a formal policy given the central role supervision plays in graduate student learning. It is vital that both students and faculty members are well supported in this key area of graduate education.

In Fall 2020, the SGS constructed the draft Graduate Supervision Policy after broad consultation with university partners. This policy is intended to set university-wide expectations for supervision in order to facilitate supervisory success. The SGS now seeks feedback on the draft policy from the Queen’s graduate community: students, faculty, and staff.

Feedback on the draft Graduate Supervision Policy can be provided through this anonymous survey.

The feedback period has been extended to Friday, May 28 at 4 pm.