4a Status

A graduate school's highest priority is to ensure the quality of the doctoral education it offers. Quality can best be measured in terms of the quality of the candidates who complete the programme, both in terms of the quality of their theses, first and foremost with regard to the originality of the research results achieved, and also with regard to the competences acquired as a result of study activities (courses, communication skills, mobility, and so on). According to the University Act, responsibility for the quality of PhD programmes lies with the graduate schools and PhD committees. For example, the University Act requires that the head of a graduate school must undertake regular evaluations of the graduate school's activities with the involvement of the PhD committee.

On a day-to-day basis, the quality of a PhD programme is ensured by PhD supervisors, and therefore graduate schools have a special obligation to ensure the quality of the supervision available to their PhD students. The graduate schools at Aarhus University fulfil their quality assurance obligations in different ways, both with regard to formulating academic standards for supervisors, approving supervisors and monitoring the quality of supervision offered.

A number of the graduate schools currently offer their PhD students different types of supplementary supervision. For example, the graduate school of the Danish University School of Education (a faculty of Aarhus University) has implemented two mandatory 'work in progress seminars' on a trial basis. The first seminar is to take place six to nine months into the PhD study, the second six to eight months before submission of the thesis for assessment.

Pursuant to the PhD Order, periodic assessments of a student's progress are a mandatory aspect of quality assurance. Most graduate schools currently perform these evaluations semi-annually on the basis of standardised forms (with varying degrees of detail) which are signed by the parties involved (PhD student, supervisors, programme director, head of graduate school). It is generally held that this type of periodic evaluation is insufficient to fulfil the legal requirement with regard to effective quality assurance, and some graduate schools have thus chosen to supplement these standardised procedures with regular meetings between the PhD student, supervisors and an expert monitoring group.

In 2006, Aarhus University initiated the development of an online system for the administration of its PhD programmes. A central element is a portfolio system that coordinates the planning, registration, evaluation and approval of all elements of a PhD student’s educational progress. In other words, the portfolio system supports the periodic evaluation of individual progress, and thereby also the quality assurance of PhD education as a whole. The visions behind the online portfolio system are ambitious, and it will certainly become an indispensable tool for the graduate schools at Aarhus University.

Reporting to Statistics Denmark of the so-called key indicator figures is another quality assurance tool. Unfortunately, these key figures for the PhD area cannot be used as the basis for reliable Danish PhD statistics, as the definitions behind the key figures are interpreted quite differently, even across the main academic areas at Aarhus University. In addition, the general perception is that not even data collection is sufficiently reliable as the process is not yet adequately supported by available systems.

As a quality requirement for PhD programmes, the PhD Order stipulates that all PhD students must include a longer stay in another research environment. Here again, the graduate schools at Aarhus University differ with regard to their handling of this requirement, their interpretation of the PhD Order's phrasing, and the specific forms of support offered to encourage student mobility.The PhD Order’s additional requirements with regard to courses and teaching or other forms of knowledge dissemination will be treated separately in the next section.

In recent years, it has become accepted practice to earmark a significant proportion of national funding for doctoral training for ‘quality promotion’. Typically, local PhD education environments (which were formerly known as 'research schools') have been eligible to apply for these funds. In connection with the latest round of allocation of national funding for doctoral training, the Danish Research Coordination Committee decided to simplify the types of funding allocated to a single type: fully financed scholarships (with full overhead) granted to the graduate schools of the universities. The implicit consequence of this decision is that 'quality promotion' funding is to be provided by the universities themselves. Aarhus University has not yet developed a model which ensures that its graduate schools have access to the funds they require in order to fulfil the University Act’s requirement with regard to quality assurance of PhD programmes.

It is a well-established fact that modern PhD programmes make extremely high demands on students. The combination of time pressure with high academic ambitions can be burdensome, and a number of graduate schools have recently experienced an increase in stress-related problems among their students.

This has led to increased attention to the issue of stress among students on the part of the graduate schools. The primary focus is on preventative measures, although some treatment initiatives also exist. Some of the graduate schools have had a certain degree of success with Aarhus Unversity’s offer of short-term psychological treatment, while others have launched local initiatives aimed at discovering and relieving stress-related problems, conflict management, etc. For example, the Faculty of Health Sciences has had success with the introduction of a ‘PhD student counsellor’, and other graduate schools have followed this example.

The importance of a positive social environment at the doctoral programme level for the quality of a PhD programme cannot be emphasized enough. The majority of the graduate schools at Aarhus University now have PhD associations, which are associations for PhD students which arrange social activities such as lectures. 

4b Objectives

The general objective is to ensure the quality of the PhD education offered at Aarhus University, including both the quality of PhD theses submitted for assessment as well as the quality of the remaining components of modern, structured PhD education.

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Aarhus University’s objectives for initiatives regarding the quality of PhD education are

 

• to ensure the quality of PhD supervision;
• to ensure the quality of the remaining aspects of PhD education;
• to support the work of quality assurance by means of professional systems and tools.;
• to ensure that all PhD students complete a portion of their studies at another research environment; and
• to ensure that all PhD programmes include a professional, qualified strategy for addressing the stress-related problems PhD students experience.

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4c Initiatives

Supervision

All graduate schools should develop and publish guidelines for requirements in connection with the approval process for principal supervisors and other supervisors. In addition, general requirements with regard to the duties and responsibilities of princial supervisors and other supervisors should be clarified. All graduate schools should develop efficient procedures for following up on evaluations of the quality of PhD supervision.

All graduate schools should work towards the establishment of a mandatory

basic course in PhD supervision, while the regular maintenance of supervisory skills and competencies should be made a criterion for the approval of principal supervisors. At the same time, all graduate schools should offer regular courses on supervision to their supervisors, possibly in collaboration with the Danish Network for Educational Development in Higher Education (DUN).

All PhD plans should detail the mutual responsibilities and expectations of both principal supervisor and PhD student (for example, with regard to frequency of meetings and practical details regarding communication and the logistics of the cooperation).

All PhD students should be offered at least two supervisors. In the event that it becomes necessary to replace a supervisor, the transition should be fast and flexible. In addition, all PhD students should have regular opportunities to discuss their programme and academic progress with representatives from their particular doctoral programme.

Agents: The graduate schools

Quality assurance instruments

All graduate schools should continuously develop instruments to ensure the quality of individual PhD students' studies. In particular, a concept based on the University Act's provisions with regard to periodic evaluation of the graduate schools' activities should be developed. This should be done to ensure that these evaluations contribute constructively to the quality assurance process.

Development of these instruments should occur through a close collaboration among graduate schools to promote the exchange of experiences with various instruments (online portfolio, monitoring groups, alternative types of semi-annual evaluation, midterm exams, etc.)

In addition, all graduate schools should collaborate closely on the performance of regular satisfaction surveys among their PhD students.

The online protfolio project should be allocated the resources necessary to deliver a system system as quickly as possible in a form that will enable all Aarhus University graduate schools to use it as an effective quality assurance tool. Rapid completion of the system is in fact absolutely necessary in order to handle the strong increases in the number of PhD students Aarhus University is currently experiencing.

A tool such as the online portfolio system can only perform its intended function if it is used by all the parties involved. Therefore, user-friendliness should have a high priority, including integration with related online systems such as the university’s research publication database (PURE).

Aarhus University should, in collaboration with Statistics Denmark and the other Danish universities, initiate a coordinated update and refinement of the key indicator figures relevant to the PhD area in order to achieve reliable Danish PhD statistics. In addition, the university should develop realistic models for concepts such as ‘drop-out rates’ and ‘completion times’.

Finally, the online portfolio system should support the reporting of future key figures directly.

Agents: The graduate schools, the electronic PhD administration system

Mobility

All Aarhus University graduate schools should offer their students attractive possibilities for studying at at least one other research environment in the course of their studies as a qualitative advantage for the student's academic career. Specifically, the graduate schools should make guidance and assistance available, in order to allow students to make exchange agreements with a broad range of external research environments, including foreign and Danish universities, research laboratories and businesses. In addition, such agreements should seek to take advantage of the possibilities offered by Aarhus University's participation in international networks.

A service to provide support in connection with the logistic challenges of exchange, especially foreign exchange, should be established, on the model of International Help Desk's activities for foreign PhD students at Aarhus University.

The PhD Order requires that PhD students “participate in active research environments, including stays at other, mainly foreign, research institutions”. The university should also formulate a complementary ‘residency requirement’ to ensure that Aarhus University PhD students experience an appropriate amount of continuous study at their home institution.

Agents: The graduate schools

Information for PhD students

An informative handbook for all PhD students should be made available by each graduate school (code of conduct, survival kit). The graduate schools should work closely together in preparing these guidebooks, as a large proportion of the material to be included is common to all.

All graduate schools should arrange regular, informative meetings for PhD students, especially semi-annual introductory meetings for new PhD students. These meetings should be coordinated and arranged in collaboration with International Help Desk, which has extensive experience in holding introductory meetings for foreign PhD students.

Agents: The graduate schools

Stress-related problems

All Aarhus University graduate schools should institute well-defined, visible mechanisms for discovering and addressing stress-related problems among their PhD students.

All of the graduate schools should institute well-defined, visible mechanisms for discovering and addressing other non-academic problems which hinder PhD students in performing to the best of their ability. In particular, it is recommended that 'PhD student counsellor' positions be established at each graduate school, on the background of the experiences of the Faculty of Health Sciences, where this has proved to be a useful and effective solution with a significant preventative effect.

Agents: The graduate schools               

Social activities

All graduate schools should establish local PhD associations in order to provide a good framework for doctoral student social life.

An umbrella organisation for the university’s PhD associations should be established in order to provide a framework for activities that span the university’s main academic areas.

Agents: The graduate schools

Quality promotion funding

The graduate schools should be allocated the resources necessary to enable their compliance with the requirements set out in the University Act and the PhD Order regarding the quality of their PhD education. This includes the resources necessary to perform many of the functions that this action plan recommends should be transferred to the the graduate schools, including some of the functions formerly funded by 'quality promotion funding’ from The Danish Research Coordination Committee (courses, PhD student exchanges, etc.). Responsibility for the quality of PhD education lies with the graduate schools pursuant to the University Act, and this responsibility can only be fulfilled if the graduate schools have access to the requisite 'quality promotion funding'.

Agents: University management, the main academic areas and the graduate schools