Town Hall Meeting Actions 24 April 2024

Graduate School Update

Updates since December’s Town Hall

Read March’s PRES 23 update and summary here https://shorturl.at/fwyDV

• Discussion of UKVI monitoring and in-person contact points at VCE.
• Faculties working on plans for all-in days.
• Cranfield Accommodation offer https://shorturl.at/krEGQ. 
• We’re also asking for interest in a new cohort of the PGR Wellbeing support group https://forms.office.com/e/WzxZ7qDED5

People news

• New Graduate School advisers: Mate, Ellie D, Gabby and Lindsay Orchard.
• Welcome to Mark Walker as OU Student Association Deputy President.
• Paid Graduate School positions currently being advertised, send Expressions of Interest in by 28 April https://shorturl.at/GLX01; especially interested in community organisers!
• Congratulations to Rebecca Davis, PGR liaison group rep, for an amazing marathon victory!

Faculty questions

WELS

“I submitted my doctoral thesis in September last year, having also given the required 3 months’ notice of submission. However, I still do not even have a date for my viva nearly 7 months later. Can you explain why 4 years of my work is being put at risk and also explain what is being done to ensure this does not happen to any other PGRs at the OU?”

WELS’ answer “Delays are caused by multiple factors, including changes in exam panels due, for instance, to conflicts of interests, incomplete or inaccurate information regarding the panel, glitches in PGR Manager, lack of availability of convenient dates for the whole panel, lack of response from external examiners (they need to return a contract), and support staff shortages … until the panel is approved and the external accepts the contract, a date cannot be arranged and then finding a suitable time for all, including the student and their observer, could be really tricky. Could you express our sincere apology to all students who are experiencing excessive delays with their viva dates?”

Note from Jane Wilson: These are not 'glitches' in PGR Manager.

Action: Lindsay to pick this up outside of the meeting with PGR and Faculty.

Action: PGRS to note that Progress Board takes place every 3rd Thursday of the month.

Action:  PGRS who have issues with their thesis submission should contact the Director of Research Degrees in their Faculty, or via Liaison Group.  If PGRS are comfortable telling us who they are, rather than remaining anonymous, it’s easier to resolve for them.

Action: Lindsay/Emily to look at Comms to supervisor about setting up exam panels.

Action: PGRS to note that there are reminders for exam panel nomination on PGRM.  If you click on a workflow, it will tell you who it is with and will say ‘approved’ when it is done.

Action: PGRS to send any queries to [email protected] email address and we can prompt people for you.

STEM

“Do all schools and faculties give the same RSTG? What should students do if all their RSTG is used on costs of consumables, limiting travel and training funds?”

STEM’s answer “RTSG funding varies depending on the funding source. External funders provide varying levels of funds and faculty budgets also determine funds available to students so there are not consistencies across the university or even across faculty/schools. Please see the ‘budget limits’ section on STEM RTSG Guidance.pdf https://shorturl.at/dIRT3 to find out more about what to do if your RTSG is not enough to cover your desired activity. If you wish to discuss further, or ask about a particular budget, please contact [email protected].”

Lindsay answer: Each funder has its own criteria about what funding can be spent on which individuals have signed up to.  The funder wouldn’t expect it to be used on travel to campus.  PGRS can go to their faculty if you have concerns, however, broadly, it’s used for conference attendance, fieldwork etc. 

PGR follow-up: A lab-based PGRS’ training grant all goes on Lab work/consumables and is wiped out by mid-October.  This student receives the same funding as a desk-based PGR. 

Action: Lindsay to pick up with STEM Director of Research Degrees – Sarah Sherlock.

Lindsay: PGRS to note that they should not feel any embarrassment about asking for things. Applying for extra funding is an additional burden but it does look good on your CV, so always ask. 

“Is there an option for a part time student to use their allocated training and travel fund for travel to the PGR conference.”

STEM’s answer “We don’t fund travel to campus for staff or students. It’s an expectation that they attend campus for training events.”

Action: PGRS to check what Faculties are planning for the summer conferences.  FASS has supported this with funding travel to particular events in the past using RTSG in the context of best managing funding.

PGR Follow-up: What happens to the rest of the money if I don’t spend it?  Does it roll-over? (No).  In accounting terms it’s an annual allowance.

FASS

“Looking at the profile of most faculty members in FASS at the OU, almost none of them gained their PhDs from the OU. The majority of them come from outside the OU and are appointed, presumably, because they have gained teaching as well as research skills from their respective universities.

In the latter stage of any PhD programme at the OU we are indeed encouraged to teach – but only to school students or on a ‘teaching shadowing’ scheme which does not lead to any actual teaching but is said to fulfil a ‘training need’.  As we know this is abnormal within British or US academic institutions where PhD students are, by default, included in the teaching life of the university.

Talking to fellow OU PhD students informally, I gather that they often feel isolated if not shunned within the OU system as there is no chance to engage with the teaching and learning life of the university outside the tiny circle of their supervision team.

The result is that most OU FASS PhD students will graduate with little or no teaching and presentational skills unless they have careers in education elsewhere.

What plans are there to integrate OU PhDs into the life of FASS to both utilize their gifts and experience as well as to enhance the possibility of them actually gaining an academic career (presuming that they want one) – at the OU or elsewhere.”

FASS' answer “The OU has a different teaching system to other Universities and as such opportunities for direct face to face teaching are not available in the same way, however PGRs are welcome to apply for Associate Lecturer (AL) roles as appropriate.  We have considered ways to join up AL recruitment and PGRs more formally but there are certain issues that need to be addressed to effect this.  The FASS teaching scheme does provide a route to gain some teaching experience and this can be done several years in a row and has resulted in past students getting academic jobs. 

We can also support students who are participating in the teaching scheme to apply for Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy  (AFHEA), a teaching qualification that is crucial on early-career CVs when applying for academic posts and tends to be seen as evidence that the holder has teaching experience. 

We have also pursued establishing an official OU route to AFHEA accreditation like we do for ALs and staff members (i.e. APPLAUD). Further support from the PGR student community would be helpful in support of this initiative and comments or feedback on this can be shared via Faculty contacts or Graduate School.  

Other training opportunities are also offered by Graduate School and Faculty in support of future career and skills development and PGRs can feedback ideas into Faculty so we can ensure that needs are met wherever possible.”

Answered by Claire Cooper.  Claire is happy to look at what more we can do.

Helen Bowes-Catton advised that there are 2 day schools on teaching to build a portfolio towards AFHEA.  Training is listed on word document and training programme – Postgraduate Research Students Core Training and PACE Programmes 2023-24.docx (live.com).

Question: would The Open University consider linking up with other universities to create opportunities to develop teaching skills? 

Answer: Lindsay advised that we haven’t considered other Universities.  She would expect that their own PhD students would do the teaching. 

Action: Lindsay will consider options here. 

Action: Lindsay to talk to training team and report back.

Any other questions?

Viva examiner - does PGR need external examiners if they are also an employee – does being an A/L count? 

Answer: a PGR who is now an A/L would be classed as a student not an AL.

Can it be clarified in the Regs? 

Answer: progress board approves things by exception, which if they become common, they are no longer excepti.ons.

If PGR feels that requirement doesn’t apply – check early on and we can note that there may be a conflict of interest.  Send an email and GS can check whether you have an exception.