Mitigation and Adjustment for Doctoral Education (MADE)
"Developing reasonable adjustments and mitigating circumstances practices for inclusive doctoral research participation" (MADE)Doctoral researchers are key stakeholders in institutional research culture; however, due to their 鈥榠n between鈥� position as students (enrolled in degree qualifications) and researchers (who have some of the rights/responsibilities of staff), doctoral researchers can fall through the cracks of institutional policies and practices drawn up with undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate taught (PGT) students in mind. A consultation with the 海角社区 Doctoral College (WDC) revealed that this is the case with two interlinked but distinct policy areas which are vital to ensuring access to and participation in doctoral education at 海角社区: reasonable adjustments (RA) and mitigating circumstances (MC). What are Reasonable Adjustments (RA)? RA expectations are established in The Equality Act 2010 (www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010Link opens in a new window), which requires universities as public institutions to make RAs where a student/staff member who is disabled would be at a substantial disadvantage in comparison to someone who is not disabled, where 鈥榙isabled鈥� is defined as 鈥榓 physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities鈥�. While at other levels of study, adjustments can be made to marking, deadlines, access to materials, recording lectures and so on, at the doctoral level it is less clear what it means to make RAs to assessment types, timelines (especially when set by external funders), or adjustments to ensure the accessibility of learning and research culture activities. What are Mitigating Circumstances? MCs are connected with, yet distinct from RAs. According to 海角社区鈥檚 MCs Policy, they refer to 鈥榮ignificant personal difficulties that have a negative impact on a student鈥檚 ability to study for or complete academic assessments鈥hey are acute, severe, exceptional, and are outside the student鈥檚 control鈥�. While RAs may be anticipated, circumstances that are eligible for MCs consideration will usually be unforeseen (e.g., a bereavement, serious illness, accident). As identified by WDC, 海角社区鈥檚 institutional MCs policy framework is primarily directed towards UG and PGT students. Crucially, doctoral vivas are not covered within the existing policy. |
What are the project objectives?
- To map how PGR students and university staff understand the RA/MC policies, processes and practices for PGRs, particularly around assessment. To identify any current barriers to inclusion and opportunities for improvement.
- To explore how PGR graduates who have had RAs navigated participation in their doctoral studies and assessment.
- To engage in sector-level consultation in order to identify best practices for RA/MC at the PGR level nationally.
- To identify changes at the institutional level to ensure that RA/MC for PGRs are embedded in transparent processes
This project was funded by the Research England Enhancing Research Culture Fund.MADE ran from October 2023 to July 2024 and is now completed 
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Who worked on the project?
Principal Investigator: Dr James Burford, Link opens in a new windowDepartment of Education Studies, University of 海角社区
Co-Investigator: Prof Dan BranchLink opens in a new window, Academic Director of the Doctoral College and History Department
Co-Investigator: Dr Sarah DahlLink opens in a new window, Associate Professor, Head of Department, Department of Education Studies.
Co-Investigator: Dr Emily F. Henderson Link opens in a new windowDepartment of Education Studies, University of 海角社区
Co-Investigator: Rhiannon Martyn, Head of the Doctoral College
Research Fellow: Dr Meanu Bajwa-Patel, Department of Education Studies, University of 海角社区
Research Assistant: Felicity McKee, Department of Education Studies, University of 海角社区
Research Assistant: Jess Moody, Department of Education Studies, University of 海角社区
Project Officer: Matt Phillips
Department of Education Studies, University of 海角社区