Doctoral Candidates - Resources Policy

Doctoral candidates who are based on a University of Auckland campus. 

This policy replaces the Doctoral Candidates – Resources and Support Guidelines effective 1 May 2023.

To outline the resources which the University aims to make available to on-campus doctoral candidates for a period of up to 48 months of full-time equivalent enrolment.

The University enrols doctoral candidates on the basis that adequate research resources and facilities are available.

• Precepts
• PReSS accounts
• Libraries and Learning Services
• Academic unit support
• Monitoring

Precepts

1. The academic head must be satisfied, at the time of programme admission, with the availability of research resources for the proposed doctoral research. The academic head’s assessment will be based on the information supplied by the candidate and the University’s responsibilities under this policy.

2. The University carries no responsibility where anticipated research resources, other than those explicitly identified at clauses 4-6 of this policy, do not materialise.

3. There are no circumstances in which the University is responsible for the provision of research funding and/or specialist equipment in excess of the PReSS Account Policy and Procedures.

PReSS accounts

4. The University provides each doctoral student with a Postgraduate Research Student Support (PReSS) account in accordance with and subject to the PReSS Account Policy and Procedures.

Libraries and Learning services

5. The University Libraries and Learning Services supports doctoral candidates with a full range of library services including:

a) access to Library resources on the same basis as academic staff
b) advice on research resources and all Library-related matters
c) access to non-University collections available via the inter-library loan and document delivery service

Academic unit support

6. Subject to clauses 2-3, the academic unit in which the candidate is enrolled is charged with providing the local facilities deemed appropriate for the candidate and their project by the academic head. These include:

a) access to an appropriately equipped work space/desk, including a computer loaded with appropriate standard software for the research and access to standard IT support.
b) access to e-mail and appropriate internet (including tele) communications
c) an allowance towards copying/printing
d) after-hours access to the workspace and related facilities, consistent with the Access to University Facilities Policy
e) access to communal meeting space, including tea and coffee making facilities

and, in the case of laboratory and experimental subjects:

f) adequate bench space as determined by the academic head
g) routine/basic consumables needed for the research
Note: Academic units may establish fixed charges against student PReSS accounts to cover research consumables and other operational research costs as approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies.
h) technical support and supervision for the use and maintenance of routine instrumentation

and, in the case of creative practice subjects:

i) access to adequate studio space as determined by the academic head.

Monitoring

7. The availability and quality of facilities and resources for doctoral candidates is monitored on an ongoing basis in the doctoral exit survey.

Complaints

8. Doctoral candidates with concerns regarding access to the resources identified at clause 6 above should contact their supervisor/s in the first instance.

a) Complaints are subject to the Resolution of Student Academic Complaints Statute and the Resolution of Student Academic Complaints Procedures.

b) Informal complaint resolution should be pursued through the academic head and Associate Dean/Director (Postgraduate Research).

The following definitions apply to this document:

Academic head refers to the head of the relevant academic unit or their nominee(s) for the purposes of doctoral matters.

Academic unit includes faculties, schools, departments and institutes in which the candidate is enrolled. This information is recorded on the candidate’s enrolment summary.

Associate Dean/Director (Postgraduate Research) normally refers to the person holding that role (or equivalent) in the faculty or Large Scale Research Institute (LSRI) in which the candidate is enrolled, or to that person’s nominee in the case of an LSRI or one-department faculty, but the role may also be carried out by the person holding that role in another faculty or LSRI or by a person holding another associate dean/director role within the same faculty or LSRI.

Doctoral candidate, for the purposes of this policy, refers to a student enrolled in a doctoral degree at the University.

Doctoral exit survey is the survey doctoral candidates are asked to complete at the time of first submission of their thesis to the School of Graduate Studies.

On-campus doctoral candidates refers to candidates who are predominantly based at the University as opposed to those candidates who have been granted long-term or permanent off-campus enrolment.

Supervisor/s means main supervisor, or one or both joint supervisor(s), or co- supervisor.

University means means Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland and includes all subsidiaries.

Include the following:

• Access to University Facilities Policy
• PReSS Account Policy and Procedures
• Libraries and Learning Services Website
• Doctoral Off-Campus Research Policy and Procedures
• Resolution of Student Academic Complaints Statute
• Resolution of Student Academic Complaints Procedures

• Owner: Dean of Graduate Studies
• Content manager: School of Graduate Studies
• Approved by: Board of Graduate Studies, Senate and Council
• Date approved: April 2023
• Review date: February 2028