Project Charter

The university expects all members of its community to treat each other with respect. On the project module you are asked to demonstrate professionalism in the way you organise your time, manage your project, and communicate with your supervisor. Professionalism is one of the assessment marking criteria. We also expect supervisors and markers to meet standards that will give students the best experience during the project.

• Students
• Regularly check emails (ideally every day) for project communications
• Turn up on time to scheduled meetings
• Email with sufficient notice to cancel or rearrange a scheduled meeting
• Demonstrate progress with the project at each meeting

• Supervisors
• Respond promptly to emails from students (within two working days)
• Arrange an initial project meeting within the second week of semester one
• Meet at least every two weeks throughout the project (excluding vacations)
• Agree regular meeting times and email in advance if any must be cancelled

• Markers
• Follow the marking criteria and associated guidance
• Complete marking with sufficient time to discuss an agreed mark
• Provide detailed written feedback of at least one paragraph
• Deliver an agreed mark and written feedback within two weeks of any deadline

Meetings

Regular meetings with your supervisor are the main way to ensure your project stays on track. They help to give structure to the project and allow you to set small goals to complete as you go along. There is an expectation that you will meet with your supervisor every two weeks. If possible, you should agree a fixed time (ie. the same time every fortnight) and put it in your calendar so you don't forget. Make sure your supervisor puts it in their calendar too!

Every project is different, and your working style might be more relaxed. If you know what you're doing and you don't need to meet as often, this is fine as long as it's agreed in advance. It's important to use email to schedule meetings (or agree to meet less often) so both you and your supervisor have a written record. In the event of any complaint about the quality of supervision, it's your responsibility to show an email trail of what was agreed. Microsoft Teams chats are not as reliable as evidence.

Marking

We expect markers to complete their marking within two weeks of each assessment deadline, or within two weeks of submission if a student uses the additional considerations policy or a support plan extension to submit later. Please note that this does not mean that feedback will be released exactly after two weeks, though we try to release it as soon as it's ready. You can find out more about this in the marking overview.

How to Complain

If you feel that your supervisor is not following the project charter, either because they do not reply promptly to emails or because they do not meet with you, please forward email evidence to the project coordinator. The email trail should clearly show dates and times, plus any meeting agreements that you think were broken. We will chase supervisors on your behalf. All complaints will be logged so we can build a picture of the overall student experience.

Please don't leave complaints until the end of the module. If your supervisor is not following the charter, or if you have any other reason to be unhappy, it's better to tell us as soon as the problem arises. If you wait to complain until your final mark is known, it will be too late to address the issue. In the very unlikely event that you want to submit a formal assessment appeal, it will be important to show that you tried to resolve issues early.

Note that this works both ways! If your supervisor feels that you are not following the student charter, perhaps because you miss meetings or you ignore your email, this can impact the mark you get for professionalism. To be clear, this mark is based on the way you approach meetings, communicate with your supervisor, manage your time, and conduct yourself during the Q&A session.