Student-Supervisor Agreement

Introduction

At the WCA, we strive to help our graduate students achieve excellence so that they can operate at the highest levels in whatever path they choose.  This requires dedication, intensive work and an effective working relationship between supervisor and student.   The purpose of this agreement is to aid in the effective mentoring of students, to allow both students and supervisors to set limits and expectations on what they need from each other, and to help transition from a teacher-student relationship to that of scientific collaborators as studies progress.

  • This agreement is designed to provide a framework for discussions between students and their supervisors in the WCA regarding their working relationship. 
  • It is recommended that students and supervisors discuss this agreement at the start of their program and review approximately annually.
  • This is a voluntary agreement and is not a legal document.
  • This agreement may be edited by individual research groups to best fit their specific needs, and the desires of different supervisors.
  • This agreement was written collaboratively by students, postdocs, faculty and staff within the WCA, based on discussions during the WCA EDI coffee
  • For a pdf version of this document, please contact Carolyn

General Guidelines

These are statements describing a good supervisory relationship. We encourage students and supervisors to discuss these topics and how to implement them in practice

Student-supervisor relationship

  • Both parties agree to maintaining a standard of respectful, professional behaviour and  an inclusive environment
  • Both parties agree to providing notice of any problems or conflicts, and making a good faith attempt at resolution
  • Both parties agree to adhere to the WCA Code of Conduct
  • Supervisors will remember that their words carry weight for students. It is important to keep the power differential in mind and to avoid inadvertently undermining students.
  • Supervisors should be mindful of supervisee wellbeing and assist in finding resources where possible 
  • Students understand that supervisors have many duties and commitments on their time
  • Students should request any resources and equipment they need to be productive in their research from the supervisor (e.g. computing equipment, monitors, office supplies)

Work Commitments

  • All parties acknowledge the importance of the full breadth of graduate student activities, including but not limited to research, classes, outreach, TA duties, meetings, and professional development. Supervisors agree these are part of the graduate student experience and supervisors will be available to discuss how best to divide their total workload among these activities .
  • Both parties acknowledge their collaborative work will be shared openly within the research group (definition of “group” to be discussed). As such, students will be responsible for documentation, accessibility (e.g. instructions on file access), and transparency. 
  • All parties will, by default, treat the work of others within the same research group in a confidential manner. 
  • There is no officially accepted number of hours required to complete a graduate program. The time commitment varies by student and will fluctuate throughout the program. The time demands for the successful completion of a postgraduate degree, and particularly the time demands required to launch an academic career, can be considerable, and will vary person-to-person and project-to-project.
  • All parties should acknowledge that students are engaging in a full-time graduate program and a commitment to the research project by both parties is required to produce high-quality research and complete studies in the time funded. This means there may be periods of intensive work.
  • All parties should acknowledge the importance of maintaining a work-life balance and the flexibility allowed by academic work. Students should take the lead in apportioning their time as best they can to do their best work, while balancing workload and their own well-being. 
  • Both parties agree to discuss ways in which accommodations can be made to better suit the students' needs. There is no obligation to disclose disabilities or personal information.
  • All graduate students are entitled to vacation in addition to statutory holidays and university holiday closure.  When to take vacation should be discussed with the advisor (to avoid important dates) and both parties will inform each other in advance of any time away. The amount of time to take off is a balance between missed time at work and increased well-being. Students and supervisors should bear in mind that vacation may lead to increased subsequent productivity and better work overall.
  • Students should inform their supervisor if they feel TA work is impacting their research quality or is taking more time that was contracted. Supervisors will aim to advocate for the student in these circumstances.
  • Students should discuss course choice, load and timing with their supervisors.

Communication

  • All parties agree to inform each other about important aspects of their project. Supervisors should include their students in discussions about their research project. Students should inform the supervisor of developments in the project
  • Both parties agree to respond to online communication in a timely manner, but are not required/expected to respond outside of typical working hours or during vacations

Collaborative work

  • Graduate research often forms a continuous part of an ongoing project that includes significant contributions from others.
  • Research often involves work as part of a larger collaboration of scientists. Where appropriate, students will be encouraged to engage with these collaborations and students should inform their advisors of how they are interacting with the collaboration (telecons, projects with other collaborators, etc).
  • Many research projects are of considerable interest for other scientists and the public. Both methods and results should be treated in a confidential manner until all parties have agreed to share. 

Writing

  • The writing of a graduate thesis should in general be the student’s own work.  In the case where others have contributed to the parts of the content, this must be explicitly noted and explained (e.g. if material from a research paper is included in the thesis).
  • However, research papers are often collaborative works with many authors listed and supervisors directly assist in the writing of these papers. 

Conferences, Travel and Scholarships

  • Students are encouraged to apply for scholarships they may be eligible for. Supervisors will discuss these opportunities with students and provide feedback on scholarship applications
  • Supervisors will encourage students to attend conferences, workshops and meetings that will benefit the student, and will discuss how to fund travel for in-person events

Discussion Points

These are discussion items that are expected to change as the program develops and can vary between different supervisor-student pairs. All parties are encouraged to revisit this part of the agreement on an approximately annual basis. You can write any outcomes in the space provided if useful.

Discussion points in the WCA grad student-supervisor agreement
Discussion item Details Example Outcome
Balancing student commitments Discuss research, classes, outreach, TA duties, and professional development.

e.g. 

50% Research, 

20% Classes, 

10% Outreach, 

15% TA, 

5%  Professional development

  
Future Career plans

Direction of graduate projects can be tweaked to better suit the future career goals of students (e.g. postdocs, industry)

 Students don’t have to give an answer, but it can be beneficial to discuss this in some circumstances (the answer can always be “I’m keeping my options open”)

e.g. 

If a student is aiming to move into science communication, give more time to outreach

If a student is aiming for postdocs, focus on  papers + conferences

If a student is aiming for data science, incorporate data skills to the project

etc

  
Meetings How will meetings work? Who will be there? How often will they be?

e.g. 

X time per week

Student+supervisor+postdoc

Student leads discussion

  
Attendance at seminars and journal clubs Which seminars and journal clubs is the student expected to attend?  What is the expected degree of participation?

e.g.

Attending astro-seminars

Present a paper at the journal club after X months

  
Physical presence in the office How many days per week in the office?

e.g.

Supervisor works in a different location on certain days

Student should be in the office days X, Y, Z for certain commitments

  
Workplace requirements

Are the necessary accommodations being met? 

(No obligation to disclose personal information)

e.g. 

  • Additional monitors
  • Items to help with organisation
  • Monitor stand 
  • Chair with additional lumbar support…
  
Writing the thesis

When to start?

Required research content?

Connecting papers to thesis

e.g. 

Start writing intro/lit review in month A

Paper B makes up C chapters of thesis

  
Research progression Discuss how the research is generally progressing

e.g. 

Focus on broadening scope

Focus on certain deliverables?

  
Supervisory team Are there multiple supervisors? What are their roles?

e.g. 

Additional faculty

Postdocs

  
Other topics Anything the student and supervisor wish to understand about how to work together that is not covered here!    

NSERC Privacy Statement

NSERC requires grant applicants to obtain consent from the individuals they have supervised before providing personal data about them in applications. We include the standard text here for convenience. Please see full NSERC form linked here for more details

Name of Trainee:

Name of Applicant: 

I hereby allow the above-named applicant to include limited personal data about me in grant applications submitted for consideration to NSERC for the next six years. This limited data will only include my name, type of HQP training and status, years supervised or co-supervised, title of the project or thesis and, to the best of the applicant's knowledge, my position title and company or organization at the time the application is submitted. I understand that NSERC will protect this data in accordance with the Privacy Act, and that it will only be used in processes that assess the applicant's contributions to the training of highly qualified personnel (HQP), including confidential peer review

_________________________

Trainee’s signature

_______________________

Date


 

End of Program

As the student nears the end of their program, other discussions are required:

  • How much notice should the student give for letters of reference?
  • How much will the supervisor help with finding a new position?
  • Who has ownership of code and tools developed over the course of the program?
  • Who has ownership over data collected during the course of the program?  
  • How will transfer of data and codes from WCA accounts happen (if necessary)?
  • Will the student and supervisor continue to collaborate?
  • Will collaborations between other WCA members (faculty, postdocs and grad students) continue?

Additional Resources