Master of Social Health supervision
Under normal circumstances a single supervisor is recommended for Master of Social Health supervision and this person should be a full-time or fractional full-time member of CHS. However, if there are appropriate academic grounds for appointing more than one supervisor (as opposed to suggesting other people whom the student might talk to informally), it should be clear who is the principal supervisor. Supervisors should not be employed on a sessional basis nor should they be on extended leave (more than a month).If you have a highly specialised topic that has been approved by the Postgraduate co-ordinator, it will sometimes be appropriate to appoint a supervisor outside the CHS. Normally a supervisor would not be provided from outside the University. Where the supervisor is not a member of CHS, the program coordinator (or nominee) should act as the departmental supervisor to make sure the student is aware of any departmental-specific procedures or requirements.
The exact arrangements for supervision should be negotiated between student and supervisor, depending on individual requirements. Supervision ranges from advising on choice of topic and direction of research, to suggestions of appropriate reading, discussion of problems that arise, and reading and commenting on written work.
Supervisory needs vary from student to student, and they also vary for the individual student at various times in their course. However, students should consult regularly with their supervisors. As a general rule of thumb, a student should meet with their supervisor at least every two weeks for a full-time candidate and every four weeks for a part-time candidate. It is the responsibility of both student and supervisor to ensure that regular contact with one's supervisor is maintained. It is recommended that both the student and the supervisor maintain a record of supervision meetings. These records can be kept on paper or on computer. They need to consist of just a few sentences, noting the date of the supervision, the issues considered and the decisions reaching. Such records can be useful memoranda in preparing for a supervisory meeting. Where difficulties arise, the supervision journal is especially important; the absence of any record of supervision presents us with a serious difficulty.