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Despite the complexity and diversity surrounding supervision of graduate students, the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies (CAGS) has identified and endorsed guiding principles for graduate student supervision at a national level. This includes a Guiding Principles document intended to identify, at a high level, principles which can apply to all graduate supervisors and students. These guiding principles have been adapted to the UNB context, as described below.
Expectations, roles and responsibilities of graduate students and supervisors should be made clear.
The School of Graduate Studies has developed a Student-Supervisor Checklist that should be reviewed early in the degree program. Each item should prompt reflection and discussion, so it may take several meetings to complete the checklist. Students and supervisors may wish to revisit the checklist during degree progress to reflect on potential changes in expectations.
Supervisors should be readily accessible to their students, and regular monitoring and feedback should be ensured.
It is important that supervisors are highly accessible to provide guidance and feedback to graduate students. This may be of particular importance to students for whom participating in graduate programs and/or living in Canada are new experiences. Often, international students must be introduced to the context and nature of research and knowledge production in a Canadian university, along with understandings about cultural differences in power and status, cultural differences in communication styles, gender norms, and many other issues. An excellent resource for mentoring graduate students across cultures is provided by Western University.
Frequent meetings with graduate students at which academic, research and other issues are addressed, progress is reviewed, evaluation is provided, and future activities are identified are extremely important for the success of students. At UNB, each department has a specific time during the year when these meetings can be recorded in the Graduate Student Annual Progress Report.
There are many issues that may arise in the supervisor-student relationship which are beyond the scope and expertise of the supervisor to address, whether it involves academic success, career planning or provision of physical/emotional support. Supervisors should be aware of student support services.
Certain students may experience multiple structural barriers when accessing support services on campus. They may require specialized support which is available through the International Student Advisor’s Office (racialized students) , the 203 Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity (LGBTQIAS+ students), or the Mi'kmaq-Wolastoqey Centre (Indigenous students).
Student-supervisor relationships should be professional.
The relationship between supervisors and students, however friendly and supportive it may become, should always be academic and professional. Romantic, intimate, or sexual relationships are unacceptable between supervisors and students, even when they are consensual, due to structural power imbalances. Intimate, financial and/or business relationships between a supervisor and graduate student are unethical and a conflict of interest.
Intellectual debate and challenge should be encouraged and supported.
Intellectual debate is a fundamental component of university activity. Every effort should be made by both the student and supervisor to recognize and acknowledge that a robust element of academic challenge and questioning is a normal, and indeed, healthy aspect of the student supervisor relationship. Fundamental to this debate is that it is undertaken in a respectful manner, in accordance with policies established by UNB’s Office of Human Rights and Positive Environment.
Supervisors should be mentors.
Supervisors have responsibilities beyond the academic supervision of research and writing. Although the mentoring role will vary across disciplines and will depend on the needs of the individual student, supervisors should be responsible for mentoring students in areas such as, but not limited to, the development of appropriate professional skills; applications for funding; networking opportunities with colleagues in academia and beyond; assistance with publications; and career development. Those that are new to supervision find useful counsel from experienced supervisors in this role.
Issues of intellectual property and authorship should be made clear.
Supervisors are responsible for informing students about university policies that govern intellectual property, and about any specific intellectual property issues that are likely to arise from their research. Even when issues are not clearly defined, it is important that students and supervisors have a discussion and reach an agreement early in their relationship regarding issues including rights of authorship, the order of authorship on multi-authored publications, and ownership of data. It is inappropriate for thesis supervisors to ask students to sign over their intellectual property rights as a condition of pursuing thesis research under their supervision.
Continuity is important in graduate supervision.
The relationship between the student and supervisor is critical to the student’s successful completion of the degree. Continuity of supervision is an integral component of this relationship, since it provides (or should provide) stability, security, an opportunity to establish sufficient mutual knowledge and trust to facilitate effective intellectual debate, and generally an environment that allows optimal focus on the goals of the graduate program. Therefore, a change in supervisor should be made only for strong and compelling reasons such as a mutually agreed major shift in academic direction of the research, major academic disagreements and/or irreconcilable interpersonal conflicts. Alternative supervision should be available in the case of a temporary or permanent absence of supervisor.
Students have substantial responsibilities for managing their own graduate education.
Students share in the responsibility for the goals that they successfully complete their program, and that the work be of high quality. They are responsible for knowing and conforming to the various policies and procedures that may concern academic and research conduct, intellectual property, human subjects, animal welfare, health, and safety, as well as degree and program requirements and timelines. They may need to be proactive and take responsibility for ensuring good communication with supervisory committee members, in the meeting of timelines and other program requirements, and in seeking effective advice on academic and other matters. If problems arise in the supervisory relationship, it may be the student who needs to act and seek advice and remedy from the department or the school. The university, graduate department and supervisor are responsible for providing an appropriate environment for high-quality graduate education, but success is ultimately in the hands of the student.