We understand that your ability to work remotely and progress your research degree may have been impacted by previous travel restrictions, access to facilities as well as the health of you and your family members, any additional caring responsibilities due to school and childcare closures, etc.
The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) has noted that it is standard practice for research degree students to exhibit flexibility by progressively adjusting, adapting and otherwise refining their projects. Those of you who have had to replan or rethink your projects to work around obstacles created by the pandemic are likely to have displayed these wider abilities, and this is being recognised.
In addition, the QAA has noted that the standard of research is more important than its volume. Theses submitted during the pandemic may have smaller datasets than originally planned but, provided they meet the national standards as set out in the descriptors, are as valid as PhDs awarded at any other time.
Please continue to communicate with your supervisors, to recognise and record any such barriers to your work which you experienced and the adjustments you made to research plans, where possible. Changes to your research plans can still be recorded on the PGR Covid-19: Record of Changes to Research Plan Form. The rationale is to enable the university to record the mitigating circumstances and provide support. In such circumstances, your Department’s PGR Lead (or equivalent), Deputy Dean for Research & Professional Practice, and ultimately the Faculty Research Degree Committee (FRDC), will be ready to approve extensions to the period of study if necessary, on an individual basis.
It is important to record any aspects, which have affected either you or your research, in particular where adjustments are extensive.
These might, include, for example:
- Extension requests to individual milestones (these can be requested at any time prior to the event)
- Interruption requests (these can be requested at any time)
- Extension requests to maximum enrolments (these will not be considered until 6 months prior to maximum enrolment date)
- Extension requests to studentships (these will not be considered until 6 months prior to the end of the stipend period)
- Fee waiver requests (these can be requested at any time).
Should the impact on your research be such that you submit one of the above requests, you should complete that appropriate form (available from your PGRAs) and submit these together with the relevant supporting evidence, including the PGR Covid-19 Record of Changes to Research Plan Form for consideration and action by your faculty or the relevant area.