Withdrawal, Submission and Completion: The Frustrations and Dilemmas of Supervisors and Examiners

1. Withdrawal, Submission and Completion: The Frustrations and Dilemmas of Supervisors and Examiners Professor Pam Denicolo University of Surrey

2. Withdrawal Supporting a struggling student who might produce a good thesis in the end has consequences, good but challenging, for the student, supervisors, and the institution. Supporting a struggling student who produces a poor thesis in the end has unfortunate consequences for the student, supervisors, the institution and the examiners. Finding a balance - a delicate matter. For SUPERVISORS there is a tension between patient support and unkind, unproductive prolonging of the agony. Every examiner’s nightmare: The poor thesis produced by a candidate who should have been counselled out years before. INSTITUTIONS can’t have their cake (lots of registered doc researchers) And then let it grow mouldy on the shelf.

3. Timely Submission: Frustrations and dilemmas for supervisors The research process is NEVER problem-free, eg: • Physical and human resource availability and unpredictability. • Unexpected publications, interim results, breakdowns and natural disasters. • 3 to 6 years of adult life bring unanticipated and time-consuming joys and sorrows. • Candidates have unforeseeable struggles with new approaches, techniques and skills. Managing the people and the process in a supportive yet time-focussed way is always a challenge, And can lead to chronic indigestion for all.

4. Timely Submission: Frustrations and dilemmas for examiners The next biggest frustrations: Premature submission Enormous assessment task + concern about where the fault lies OR: Delayed submission How many times can you re-organise your diary to accommodate circa a week’s work?

5. Completion: Frustrations and dilemmas for supervisors and examiners For supervisors: • Delayed completions add to previously-predicted work load • Tension between providing support and recognising the autonomy of the researcher • Worry for the student and for reputations. • Pressure from funders. For examiners: • Re-examinations adds to previously-predicted work load • Tension in case revised version still doesn’t meet the standard. BUT • Cf our 3 to 4 years with Report of the (US) MLA Task Force on Doctoral Study in Modern Language and Literature “We are faced with an unsustainable reality: a median time to degree of around nine years for language and literature doctoral recipients and a long-term academic job market that provides tenure-track employment for only around [60] percent of doctorate recipients.”

6. A person can dream, can’t s/he? It is everyone’s goal that each registered doctorate results in successful completion witnessed by a non-trivial contribution to knowledge, well-communicated by a researcher, as a professional critical thinker with good generic skills. It is clear that some research topics require more or less time than others to reach that goal while some doc candidates have more or less than others: personal and supervisory support/life problems/need for carrots & sticks. Careful selection, induction and regular and constructive monitoring with feedback helps but are not infallible. We need a more humane system that responds flexibly to circumstance but has sector-agreed boundaries, implemented by appropriately trained staff.