For Advisors and Supervisors

Information for Advisors and Supervisors is included the Graduate Studies Handbook.  Additional information is included on the School of Graduate Studies website under For Faculty and Staff.  Additional useful links:

• Sessional Dates
• Graduate Calendar
• Education Section of the Graduate Calendar
• Guide to Graduate Supervision
• Guiding Students Through Their Degree
• Exchanges and Visiting Students
• Recognizing Students in Distress
• Degree Completion
• Degree List Deadlines 
• Academic Integrity
• Copyright Policy at Queen's University

Access to Student & Applicant Records

The Graduate Studies and Research Office abides by “The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act” (FIPPA).  Within the University, faculty and staff members are given access to information contained in student records on a NEED TO KNOW basis only, that is, if they require the information in order to perform their official duties.

Access to Applicant Records

Applicant records in their entirety are normally only available to staff of the Graduate Studies and Research Office, the Faculty's Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, the Admissions sub-committees, and the School of Graduate Studies. Applicant records, minus sensitive personal information, may also be made available to graduate faculty if necessary to aid in the admissions process.

If an applicant names a faculty member(s) as a potential advisor in their application,the applicant is considered to have given consent for the person(s) to have access to their applicant records for the purpose of admission and to help the faculty member decide whether or not he/she wishes to act as a supervisor/advisor.

Under no condition should applicant records be removed from the Graduate Studies and Research Office. 

Access to Student Records

Student records maintained in the Graduate Studies and Research Office are normally only available in their entirety to Graduate Studies and Research Office staff, the Faculty’s Graduate Studies and Research Associate Dean, and the School of Graduate Studies. The program advisor/supervisor is authorized to see their advisees’ student records.

Conducting Master's and Doctoral Oral Thesis Examinations - Absence of Examiners 

The School of Graduate Studies has provided a document to provide guidance for graduate departments and programs at Queen’s University when faced with an unexpected and last-minute illness by a faculty member scheduled to attend a Master ’ s or Doctoral Oral Thesis Examination. Please see Conducting Master’s and Doctorate Oral Thesis Examinations – Absence of Examiners (PDF*, 96 KB)

 

Release of Information

If a faculty member wants to view applicant/student records and they are not acting in the roles defined above, the student or applicant must complete and submit a “Release of Information Authorization” form available in the Graduate Studies and Research Office, where they can indicate if they wish to release their complete student/applicant file to the named faculty member or only parts of it, and for what reason.  Under no condition should student records be removed from the Graduate Studies and Research Office.

If you require additional information, please contact the Graduate Studies and Research Office. 

Graduate Supervision Units (GSU’s)

A Graduate Supervision Unit (GSU) is defined as the points earned for the successful supervision of (a) an Individual Study, (b) M.Ed. Project,(c) M.Ed. Thesis, and (d) a Ph.D. dissertation.

GSU’s are given the following points:

• successful completion of an Independent Study earns .25
• successful completion of a M.Ed. Project earns 0.5
• successful completion of a M.Ed. Thesis earns 1.0
• successful completion of a Ph.D. Dissertation earns 2.0

Student Vacation

Guidelines have been created by the School of Graduate Studies related to vacation for Queen’s graduate students, as the result of a request by the Society of Graduate and Professional Students and an examination of how the issue of vacation for graduate students is dealt with by other Canadian universities, particularly those with a similar level of research intensity as Queen’s. For further information see the Vacation Guidelines (PDF*, 57 KB) document.