PReSS Account Policy and Procedures

Doctoral candidates and those University staff members who administer and/or approve the use of PReSS accounts.

This document outlines the policy and procedures to be followed in relation to the use of PReSS accounts at the University.

1.

a) Postgraduate Research Student Support (PReSS) funding is provided by the University to assist with the provision of financial support for doctoral research that is not funded by other sources.

b) Access to PReSS funding is not an entitlement; it is available only to support required doctoral research and in accordance with this policy and procedures.

2. Candidates for the PhD, DocFA and MD and 480 point DClinPsy degrees will accrue PReSS funding in a PReSS account for each month of enrolment up to four years of full-time equivalent enrolment, subject to satisfactory reviews of candidature and timely payment of University tuition fees.

3. Candidates for the EdD, DHSc, DMA, DMus and 360 point DClinPsy degrees will accrue PReSS funding in a PReSS account for each month of enrolment up to three years of full-time equivalent enrolment, subject to satisfactory reviews of candidature and timely payment of University tuition fees.

4. The level of full-time equivalent annual funding is determined at the time of enrolment in accordance with the doctoral subject as categorised in TEC’s funding bands (see the Appendix below) and pro-rated in accordance with the candidate’s enrolment status.

5. In exceptional circumstances, the Dean of Graduate Studies may approve a different funding band.

6.

i) PReSS funding may be expended only in accordance with the procedures below.

ii) Candidate requests for expenditure (other than requests for Open Access charges, which must be submitted in accordance with clause 24 below) must be submitted through Wahapū.

Note: Where access to Wahapū has not been granted, requests must be submitted via email to the approver specified in the relevant clause(s) of the procedures below. In such cases:·     

• Where Dean of Graduate Studies approval is required, the supervisor should forward the request and their support to the School of Graduate Studies.·     
• Where Academic Head or Associate Dean (Postgraduate Research) approval is required, the supervisor should forward the request and their support to the relevant authority.

7. Doctoral candidates must budget PReSS funding to cover costs throughout their programme, and academic units must monitor local processes for compliance with this policy and associated procedures.

8. The School of Graduate Studies will oversee the use of the funds and will liaise with the Dean of Graduate Studies regarding their administration.

9. The academic unit in which the candidate is enrolled is responsible:

a) for any overspend of PReSS accounts inadvertently or otherwise approved by supervisors and/or the Academic Head

b) for reimbursement to candidates where a supervisor and/or Academic Head has approved advance expenditure (on a reimbursement basis) that is not compliant with the procedures below

c) for reimbursement to the University of any PReSS account deficit at the time of account closure (see clause 32).

d) for reimbursement to the University of any PReSS funds expended with the approval of a supervisor and/or Academic Head in breach of the procedures below.

General provisions

10. A PReSS account will be established for each doctoral candidate within one month of initial enrolment in the doctoral programme.

11. Funding will accrue in the account subject to clauses 2-5 of the above policy.

12. Except where fixed academic unit charges apply in accordance with clause 17 below, all PReSS expenditure requires the approval of the candidate’s main or joint supervisor and the consent of the candidate. Some expenditure is also subject to the approval of the Academic Head  and/or the Associate Dean/Director (Postgraduate Research) and/or the Dean of Graduate Studies or the Dean’s nominee, as stipulated in these procedures.

Note: Only positions within the School of Graduate Studies nominated by the Dean of Graduate Studies may serve as the Dean of Graduate Studies “nominee” for the purposes of these procedures.

13. All PReSS expenditure and reimbursement is subject to the availability of unexpended PReSS funding in the candidate’s PReSS account, except as approved in accordance with clause 14 below.

14. PReSS accounts may go into deficit only

a) in accordance with clause 24(vi) and/or as approved by the Academic Head in accordance with clauses 23 and/or 25 and/or 26

and

b) where the candidate has been enrolled for less than 36 months FTE

and

c) where the total expenditure for the account, including the proposed deficit amount, is less than 36 months FTE of PReSS funding for the account.

15. PReSS funding may be expended only towards the costs permitted under clauses 17-31.

16. Except as allowed under clause 31 below, all costs for which PReSS funding is sought must be incurred prior to submission of the thesis for examination.

Operational research costs

17. Academic units may establish fixed charges against PReSS accounts to cover research consumables and other operational research costs as approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies.

18.

a) PReSS funding may be expended towards the following operational costs of required doctoral research where approved by the supervisor:

• research equipment user charges and research software licences·      
• research consumables including animals (and their disposal costs)·      
• research travel and associated accommodation costs for the candidate only*

To avoid doubt:

• Travel costs include visa fees (other than New Zealand student visa fees) and reasonable food costs consistent with University travel policy and procedures.
• All Travel expenses must be compliant with University travel policy and procedures.

*Note: Where candidate disability would otherwise preclude travel, a candidate may request dispensation from a University Executive Committee member (via their Academic Head) to also have their companion’s travel expenses reimbursed.

• reimbursement of reasonable expenses for research participants and/or gift vouchers/koha for participants  and/or cultural adviser fees
• specialist computing peripherals as approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee)

Note: re-usable specialist computing peripherals remain the property of the University

b) Subject to the restrictions at clauses 20-22, PReSS funding may be expended towards required operational research costs approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee) as equivalent to those listed at clause 18(a).

19. Equivalency under clause 18 is determined by the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee) in accordance with clauses 20-22. Where a candidate wishes to expend PReSS funding towards operational research costs under the equivalency provision of clause 18(b), the candidate must confirm the eligibility of the spend with the School of Graduate Studies (as the nominee of the Dean of Graduate Studies) in advance of expenditure.

• Details of the proposed expenditure, including the rationale for the necessity of the research cost, must be submitted to the School of Graduate Studies by the candidate and endorsed by the supervisor.

20. PReSS funding may not be used to fund the conduct (by a party other than the candidate) of research-related tasks that the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee) determines should be undertaken by the doctoral candidate, or to cover operational costs that the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee) considers should be funded from another source, or where the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee) is not satisfied with the rationale submitted under clause 19.

21. PReSS fund expenditure on the purchase of research equipment requires the approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee) and is limited to the purchase of minor items of equipment, which are essential and specific to the research and not available through academic unit funds, standard ITS support or research grants.

Note: any such equipment remains the property of the University; “minor” is subject to determination by the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee).

22. PReSS funding is not permitted to fund the following operational research costs:

• books, DVDs (or equivalent), digital and journal subscriptions and other material to which access may be arranged by the University Library
• University tuition fees
• publishing subventions (excluding open access charges approved in accordance with clause 24)
• travel to meet with supervisors
• travel for required campus attendance
• travel to meet with a confirmation or provisional year review committee
• general office running costs
• depreciation

To avoid doubt: New Zealand student visa fees and professional registration fees are not operational research costs and are not payable through PReSS funds.

23. Any expenditure approved in accordance with clause 17-22, which would result in the account going into deficit, is subject to final approval by the Academic Head. The Academic Head may grant approval only where:

a) the requirements of clause 14 are met

and

b) the proposed operational research costs are essential, cannot be met through any other means, and are specific to one or more of the following:

• project set-up requirements
• research that must be conducted at the start of the programme
• research that is time-dependent or seasonal in nature
• research necessary for timely progress

and

c) the Academic Head undertakes to reimburse the University for any account deficit at the time of account closure (see clause 32).

24. a) The use of PReSS funds for open access charges may be approved by the Associate Dean (Postgraduate Research) where all of the following conditions are satisfied:

i)      The charges must be limited to the costs of making a work open access. This may include article processing charges (APCs) and Open Access fees but does not include rapid publication fees, colour plate fees, etc.

ii)     The publication must meet the requirements for inclusion in the thesis as stipulated by the Doctoral Thesis Policy and Procedures.

iii)   The publication must be included in the thesis.

iv)   Funding is not available for publications covered by existing Open Access Publishing Agreements.

v)     The candidate (via their supervisor) must have applied for, and been unsuccessful in securing, funding from the University Open Access Support Fund.

 vi)   Where the proposed expenditure would result in a PReSS account deficit, the requirements of clause 14 b and c must be satisfied, and the Academic Head must undertake to reimburse the University for any account deficit at the time of account closure (see clause 32).

vii)  The Associate Dean (Postgraduate Research) must be satisfied that the use of PReSS funds for open access charges for the individual publication:

•   is consistent with the strategic objectives of the Open Access Support Fund.
• will not adversely affect the candidate’s research plan.

b) The following material must be submitted to the Associate Dean (Postgraduate Research) to facilitate consideration under this clause 24:

i)     copies of the Open Access Support Fund application material (and the notification of unsuccessful outcome)

ii)   the candidate’s plan for research funding for the remainder of the degree and a declaration that use of PReSS monies for open access charges will not adversely affect the candidate’s research plan

iii) a copy of the statement of contribution (for the thesis), detailing the inclusion of the publicationiv) where expenditure would result in a PReSS account deficit: a statement from the Academic Head undertaking to reimburse the University for any account deficit at the time of account closure (see clause 32) and attesting that the total expenditure for the account, including the proposed deficit amount, is less than 36 months FTE of PReSS funding for the account.

Reminder: PReSS accounts cannot go into deficit where the enrolment is ≥ 36 months FTE (see clause 14).

Note: Candidates, supervisors and Academic Heads should note that the scale of open access charges are often incompatible with the scale of PReSS funding, and that careful consideration should be given to the larger research needs of the doctoral project when considering an application under this clause 24.

Conference costs

25. PReSS funding may be expended on conference costs (including travel, accommodation, registration fees and visas) up to a maximum of $4800 over the total period of eligibility for PReSS expenditure.

Notes:

• Conference travel expenses may include reasonable food costs and must be compliant with University travel policy and procedures.
• *Where candidate disability would otherwise preclude travel, a candidate may request dispensation from a University Executive Committee member (via their Academic Head) to also have their companion’s travel expenses reimbursed.

b) Expenditure that would result in the account going into deficit is subject to final approval by the Academic Head. The Academic Head may grant approval only where
i) the requirements of clause 14 are satisfied
and
ii) the Academic Head is satisfied that exceptional research circumstances apply
and
iii) the Academic Head undertakes to reimburse the University for any account deficit at the time of account closure (see clause 32)

Training costs

26. PReSS funding may be expended towards tuition costs for required research-related training that is either not available at the University or not available without charge at the University. Expenditure that would result in the account going into deficit is subject to final approval by the Academic Head. The Academic Head may grant approval only where

a) the requirements of clause 14 are satisfied

and

b) the Academic Head is satisfied that exceptional research circumstances apply

and

c) the Academic Head undertakes to reimburse the University for any account deficit at the time of account closure (see clause 32)

Research Society/Association Membership Subscriptions

27. PReSS account funding may be used to pay for Research Society/Association Membership Subscriptions relevant to the candidate’s research area.

For the avoidance of doubt: this clause does not permit expenditure for professional registration fees.

Carer responsibilities

28. The Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee) may give approval for the use of up to $4800 of PReSS account funding towards the cost of cover for carer responsibilities (for pre-school and/or school-aged children; care of an ill or disabled family/whānau member or eldercare) incurred through a GST-registered service to:

i) facilitate conference attendance during the candidate’s enrolment, provided the candidate is presenting on their doctoral research at the conference

and/or

ii) facilitate submission of the thesis, provided that the candidate is no more than three months away from submitting the thesis for examination.

• To be approved, applications must include a satisfactory statement from the candidate, endorsed by the supervisor, as to the candidate’s circumstances and timeline for submission of the thesis, and (where the candidate is applying under 28(i)) as to the relevance of the conference presentation to the advancement of the research.

Proofreading (exceptional circumstances required)

29. In exceptional circumstances only, and subject to approval by the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee), up to $1000 of PReSS funding in total may be expended towards the cost of proof-reading of the final draft(s) of i) the thesis and/or ii) parts of the thesis that have been accepted for publication. Applications must include a statement from the supervisor as to why the proof-reading is considered necessary and the case for exceptional circumstances. Approval may be granted only where:

• the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee) is satisfied that the proof-reading is necessary and that exceptional circumstances apply
• the candidate is responsible for ensuring that the selected proof-reader meets the requirements to be an approved supplier of goods and services to the University of Auckland under the University’s Procurement Policy.
• there is strict adherence to the Doctoral Thesis Third Party Editing and Proofreading Policy

University writing retreats

30. The Associate Dean/Director (Postgraduate Research) may approve the expenditure of available PReSS funds to facilitate the candidate’s participation in a formal writing retreat organised by the academic unit (including Faculty or LSRI), where the Associate Dean/Director (Postgraduate Research) is satisfied, on review of material submitted by the candidate, supervisor and Academic Head to the Associate Dean (Postgraduate Research), that attendance at the retreat will expedite the writing of the candidate’s thesis, that sufficient PReSS funds are available, and that the following requirements are satisfied:

The writing retreat must:
i) be attended by at least 3 postgraduate research students
ii) facilitated by at least one staff member from a relevant academic unit*
iii) have the support of the relevant Academic Head(s)
iv) include a satisfactory programme of writing activity.
* PReSS funds cannot be used to facilitate staff member attendance at the writing retreat.

Post submission of the thesis for examination

31. After submission of the thesis for examination and prior to the closure of PReSS accounts under clause 32, expenditure from the PReSS account is restricted to the following:

a) Where the provisions for PReSS expenditure under clause 28 have not previously been exhausted, the Dean of Graduate Studies (or nominee) may approve the expenditure of PReSS funding towards the cost of carer responsibilities (for pre-school and/or school-aged children; care of an ill or disabled family/whānau member or eldercare) incurred through a GST-registered service, where warranted by:

i) conference presentation within four months of submission of the thesis for examination

or

ii) the scale of thesis revisions required by the Board of Graduate Studies (or delegate).

For the avoidance of doubt, the maximum combined PReSS expenditure that may be approved under this clause and clause 28 is $4800.

b) Proofreading approved under clause 29, except that no expenditure on proof-reading parts of the thesis that have been accepted for publication will be approved after the thesis has been submitted for examination. For the avoidance of doubt, the $1000 limit at clause 29 applies to the total cost of all proofreading of final drafts pre and post submission of the thesis for examination and regardless of whether a candidate has been required to revise and resubmit the thesis for examination.

c) The cost of printing and binding of the thesis post-examination may only be covered by PReSS funds where there is an existing research obligation to provide a printed copy to a third party within a research relationship. For avoidance of doubt, PReSS accounts may not be used to print or bind copies of the thesis for academic unit or personal use.

d) PReSS funds may be expended for costs associated with conference presentations that take place within four months of submission of the thesis for examination, provided that the provisions for PReSS expenditure for conference costs under clause 24 have not already been exhausted.

For the avoidance of doubt, the maximum combined PReSS expenditure that may be approved under this clause and clause 22 is $4800.

Notes:

• primary expenditure (e.g. payment of travel costs) should have occurred prior to submission of the thesis for examination.

Closure of PReSS accounts

32.

a) Accounts will close one month after the date specified by the Board of Graduate Studies (or delegate) for the final submission of the thesis post examination, except where one of the following occurs prior to final submission of the thesis:

i) termination of candidature or registration

ii) withdrawal from the programme

iii) expiration of candidature

Accounts will close one month after the date on which confirmation of i, ii or iii occurs.

b) All claims for reimbursement must have been completed within the timeframe for account closure specified at (a).

Reimbursement

33. Expenses already incurred may, subject to the requirements of this policy and procedures, be retrospectively approved and reimbursed until one month after the date specified by the Board of Graduate Studies (or delegate) for final submission of the thesis post examination.

34. All claims for reimbursement for New Zealand goods and services must be accompanied by the official GST receipt.

35. Expenditure incurred or claimed after the date specified by the Board of Graduate Studies (or delegate) for final submission of the thesis post examination, or after the date of termination of candidature/registration or programme withdrawal or expiration of candidature, will not be reimbursed.

36. PReSS funds may not be used to reimburse any expenditure that does not comply with the requirements of the above policy and these procedures.

37. Failure to fully comply with this policy may amount to misconduct or serious misconduct, which may result in the University taking disciplinary action.

Reports

38. Candidates are required to submit their Provisional/Confirmation or Annual/Continuation report each year, which:

• must be approved as satisfactory before funds will continue to be credited to PReSS accounts. Failure to lodge such a report, or lodging a report that fails to be approved, will result in a freeze on PReSS funding availability
• must include an indicative budget each year. The budget must indicate planned expenditure for the balance of the research and be developed in consultation with, and have the support of, the main or joint supervisor.

The following definitions apply to this document:

Academic unit may refer to a faculty, school, department or institute.

Candidates are students who are enrolled in a doctoral degree at the University.

Joint Supervisor refers to the joint supervisor with primary responsibility for administrative requirements.

Koha is an unconditional gift where the recipient has neither stipulated that it be given, nor has an expectation of receiving it. It is distinct from expenditure for services supplied. The giving of koha is an integral part of Māori culture.

Main Supervisor refers to the lead supervisor with primary responsibility for the supervision of the candidate and primary responsibility for administrative requirements.

PReSS accounts are Postgraduate Research Student Support (PReSS) accounts provided by the University to assist with the provision of financial support for doctoral research that is not funded by other sources.

Reasonable food costs are food costs as delimited by University travel policy and procedures.

Research consumables are essential materials consumed through the research process and thus not re-usable by other candidates.

Subject area is the official subject area in which the candidate is enrolled.

Supervisor refers to Main, Joint or Co-supervisor.

TEC is the Tertiary Education Commission/Te Amorangi Mātaurange Matua, the Crown Agency that leads the government’s relationship with the University.

University means the University of Auckland and includes all subsidiaries.

Include the following:

• Doctoral Off-Campus Research Policy and Procedures 
• Third Party Editing and Proofreading of Theses and Dissertations Guidelines
• Travel Policy
• Travel Booking Procedures
• Travel Expenses Procedures
  

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