Student-supervisor-university expectation alignment in the undergraduate engineering thesis

Abstract

Given the lack of student research experience, the undergraduate thesis is necessarily focussed primarily on development of research skills (i.e. it is process oriented). Since postgraduate supervision is research output focussed, the lessons learnt from this field are not always directly transferable. In contrast to the vast body of work in the field of doctoral research supervision, there exists a dearth of literature on undergraduate dissertation supervision. To address this shortcoming, the present study examined the alignment of university, supervisor and student expectations regarding responsibilities in the undergraduate engineering thesis. University expectations, having undergone rigorous review, outline the sound pedagogical practice that should be applied to undergraduate supervision. Expectations of academic staff supervisors and thesis students were obtained through the use of survey tools and post-survey discussions. The surveys used in the present study were adapted from the Role Perceptions Rating Scale (RPRS). Alignment between student and university expectations regarding undergraduate thesis responsibilities in the present study was generally poor. The discrepancy between supervisor and university expectations was even greater, with academic staff generally assuming the bulk of the responsibility for many core thesis tasks. Post-survey discussion indicated that the driver for this behaviour were supervisor expectations that that undergraduate thesis research would contribute to publications. Taking primary responsibility for core thesis tasks away from the student, although improving the likelihood of successful research output, diminishes the ability for an accurate assessment of adequate academic performance. The learning that is intended to result from the undergraduate thesis is devalued when research outcomes are prioritised over research process.

Medical research: what to expect in a student–supervisor relationship

“…The Role Perceptions Rating Scale (RPRS) was used to collect data [ 31 ]. It is a validated scale that has been used in similar studies [ 19 , 32 ]. The survey was distributed online using Google Forms.…”

“…Hence, establishing expectations early and reassessing them as needed is considered one of the practices that contributes to a good supervisory relationship [ 17 ]. Moreover, regarding those essential to the success of student-supervisor relationships, other determinants have been investigated, such as students’ cognitive skills [ 18 ], sex role, level in their research program [ 19 ], and their supervisors’ level of expertise or knowledge [ 20 ].…”

The Academic Supervisor of Higher Education Students’ Final Projects: A Gatekeeper of Quality?

“…One of the central objectives to achieve through supervisory interaction is the creation and development of competences (Stappenbelt & Basu, 2019). These competences relate primarily to research competences and abilities but also to transversal competences, which will be vital for the student about to enter the labour market.…”

A Structured Process for Supervising Students’ Final Theses and Projects in Computer Science

“…Several authors discuss that the supervision process is highly influenced by the personal relationship between supervisors and students. In [2], the different responsibilities of students and supervisors are analyzed, and their match in expectations according to who is responsible for which task in the supervision process is evaluated. Their study shows that there exists a significant mismatch between students' and supervisors' expectations regarding who is primarily responsible for which elements in this process (e.g., topic selection, initiation of meetings, checking on progress, methodology discussion or requesting feedback).…”