Tackling quality in HDR supervision – policy, programs, people and passion

The supervision of Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students is complex, requiring both research and teaching excellence, with many competing priorities and requirements. HDR supervisors are expected to provide academic and research guidance, as well as pastoral care and career development to help their students to develop not only their research, but also themselves. An important aspect of HDR supervision is ongoing professional development to provide best-practice supervision and quality in supervision. The Office of Graduate Research at Flinders University is developing an evidence-based approach for a HDR Supervisor Framework to support supervisor development and growth at Flinders, starting with a new and improved online Supervisor Development Program in Canvas.

The HDR Supervisor Development Program is a compulsory program for all academic staff wishing to supervise HDR students. The program consists of a core Flinders specific material and a range of elective topics on different supervision topics. These are completed through online modules and seminars, and supervisors are required to complete elective elements every two years to remain compliant with the Register of HDR Supervisors. The program is dynamic, responsive to supervisors' needs, can be done at anytime, anywhere, and consists of 16 different topics - so there is something for everyone.

In order to ensure continuous improvement in support for supervisory practice, the Office of Graduate Research has recently initiated a benchmarking project to identify novel and best practice across the Australian and New Zealand sector in policy, processes, frameworks and training related to supporting excellence in supervisory practice. Based on the findings of this project, the HDR Supervisor Development Program has been updated, and a number of policy and procedural changes have been implemented to improve the quality of supervision.

This presentation will detail how Flinders University ensures strict compliance with the training requirements at an institutional level through a scaffolded approach to training and an effective tracking system that connects training to the Register of HDR Supervisors quality and compliance requirements.