Annual Progress Reports

Information for Schools

PGR Reviewer Report

Each year, for every Postgraduate Research student, schools should carry out a review to be submitted to the institution. This review will be informed by the Student Progress Report and the Supervisor Progress Report. Reviewer reports can be created via MMS. Each student will have a ‘RESEARCH’ module corresponding to their course of study, and it is in this module that PGR administration can take place. The Reviewer Progress Report can be created and viewed from the Postgraduate Administration tool in on the ‘Annual Progress Reports’ tab. The module will have prefix representing the subject followed by '-RESEARCH'. So for example those associated with Computer Science will have access to COMPSC-RESEARCH.

To create an Annual Progress Report for a PGR student log into MMS, click the 'Postgraduate Administration' link in the Research module and select the 'Annual Progress Reports' tab. Click on the ‘New Review’ link in the row associated with the reviewee to generate a new Reviewers progress report.

The report generated will comprise of two sections: the top section will be automatically populated with details about the student, the supervision and review teams, and the lower section is comprised of eight questions. Questions one through seven are compulsory, as indicated by the pale red border. Once a form has been saved, questions that have been completed will update to have a green border, and questions for which answers are still required will be bordered in bright red. All borders must be green before a form can be submitted.

The Reviewer progress report may be saved at any stage, using the ‘Save’ button at the bottom of the report. Once saved the user can navigate away and will be able to access the report again from the ‘New Review’ column on the ‘Annual Progress Reports’ tab. A PDF of the report can also be downloaded using the ‘Download PDF preview’ icon in the top right of the report.

Once the report is ready for submission to the DoPG the reviewer should save and check the PDF preview to ensure the accuracy of the review. Once the reviewer is happy to submit the report they should click the ‘Submit Review’ button (or ‘Resubmit Review’ button if the review has been returned) at the bottom of the report. This will auto-save the report, change the report status to ‘submitted’ and ping the DoPG to inform them that the report is ready. The report will only be submitted if all the required fields have been completed, any that are uncompleted will appear highlighted in red.

If the user does not have permission to accept the report, the report will be frozen and no further edits can be made. The reviewer can then use the ‘Module Overview’ icon at the top or bottom of the page to return to the RESEARCH module.

If the user does have the permission to accept the report, once the report has been submitted then the majority of the form will be frozen to further edits however the buttons at the bottom of the report will change ‘Accept Review’ and ‘Return to Reviewer’.

More information regarding compleating the PGR Reviewer Progress report can be found in the GUIDE - PGR Reviewer Report (PDF, 735 KB), or for technical assistance please contact the IT Service desk.

Information for Research Postgraduate Students

PGR Students are to submit a Student Self-Assessment Form, which can be found on the Academic Policies and Regulations page, for each progress review. The self-assessment is designed to:

  • Gage the student’s own feelings about their progress.
  • Check that students have all the resources and support required for their Research Degree.
  • Ensure that any problems are addressed in a timely manner.

The annual progress review is the one of the main methods for students to report issues and address anything they are having difficulties with. It is highly recommended that students take their time and complete the form as accurately as possible, as failure to report concerns through appropriate routes may be taken into account in any subsequent complaint or appeal.

Students should feel encouraged to discuss any concerns they have with the review team but should remember that the progress review is an information sharing activity. If students have any issues that they would like to discuss in confidence they may contact their DoPG, the Associate Provost (PGR) or the Registry Student Support Officer at any time.