Postgraduate Research Quality Committee

PRQC

Terms of reference

  • To advise the Quality Assurance & Enhancement Committee (QAEC) and where appropriate the College Education Committee and/or Research Committee on all matters relating to the development of postgraduate education and research as regards PhD, MPhil, EngD and MD(Res) degrees, including any impact on MRes degrees, including collaborative programmes
  • To advise the QAEC and where appropriate the College Education Committee and/or Research Committee on developments  in  UK  and  international  policy  on  postgraduate  education  and research
  • To advise the QAEC and where appropriate the College Education Committee and/or Research Committee on the College's research culture and the research enviroment, from a student perspective
  • To support and promote innovations in postgraduate research quality, including where requested by QAEC and/or the College Research Committee
  • To determine the standards and framework by which departments operate for postgraduate education and research
  • To propose and advise on modifications to College regulations and procedures that affect postgraduate research students
  • To oversee the processes of quality assurance for postgraduate research degrees (including those for collaborative programmes) including the development and dissemination of precepts for postgraduate research programmes and the sharing of good practice
  • To oversee precept and periodic reviews of existing research degree programmes, including collaborative programmes, and to provide an annual summary of outcomes arising from the reviews to QAEC/Senate
  • To consider proposals for new research degree programmes, major changes to research degree programmes, the suspension and withdrawal of research degree programmes, including those for collaborative programmes, and make recommendations to QAEC as appropriate
  • To receive minutes from each of the Joint Postgraduate Research Degree Programme Committees
  • To receive minutes of Graduate School committees, including the CDT/DTP Governance Committee and the Postgraduate Professional Development Committee
  • To oversee processes relating to the appointment of postgraduate research examiners and to consider matters arising from their reports
  • To appoint the Special Cases Panel for research programmes and to oversee all special cases, for example for registration, extensions, appointment of examiners and restriction of access to theses
  • To advise on the format and presentation of theses
  • To advise on matters relating to the recruitment and registration of postgraduate research students
  • To oversee the professional skills development programme for postgraduate research students
  • To engage with and recommend action as appropriate to address key themes emerging from internal and external surveys of students, including annual review of Faculty action plans for the Postgraduate Research Experience Survey (PRES) and College summary reports
  • To receive and consider statistics for research students on admissions, completion rates, withdrawals, referral and failure rates, destination statistics, examination irregularities (including cases of plagiarism), student appeals and disciplinaries, making recommendations for action as appropriate.
  • To report regularly to QAEC

Constitution and membership

Constitution

  • Graduate School Director (Chair)
  • Graduate School Deputy Director (Deputy Chair)
  • Vice Provost (Education and Student Experience)
  • Academic Registrar (or nominee)
  • One College Consul
  • Graduate School Deputy Director (Professional Skills)
  • Graduate School Head of Strategy and Operations
  • One Faculty Senior Tutor (PGR) representative
  • One representative from each department (normally the Director of Postgraduate Studies)
  • One representative from the Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication/Centre for Higher Education Research and Scholarship 
  • One representative from the Business School
  • ICU Deputy President (Education), GSU President (or nominee) plus up to 3 student representatives as agreed by the ICU & GSU; with the power to co- opt. 
  • An Assistant Registrar (Secretary)

The Heads of collaborative research degree programmes will be invited to attend for relevant items.

Membership (Academic year 2021/22)
NameRole
Professor Xiao Yun Xu Director of the Graduate School as Chair
Professor Laki Buluwela Deputy Director of the Graduate School (Deputy Chair)
Professor Emma McCoy Vice Provost (Education and Student Experience)
David Ashton Academic Registrar (or nominee)
TBC College Consul
Professor John Seddon Faculty Senior Tutor (PGR) representative
Laura Lane Graduate School Head of Strategy and Operations
Dr Matthew Santer Aeronautics
Dr Angela Kedgley Bioengineering
Professor Cleo Kontoravdi Chemical Engineering
Professor Ahmer Wadee Civil and Environmental Engineering
Professor Antonio Filieri Computing
Dr Hamed Haddadi Dyson School of Design Engineering
Dr Saskia Goes Earth Science and Engineering
Professor Piers Luigi Dragotti Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Professor Christopher Gourlay Materials
Dr Salvador Navarro-Martinez Mechanical Engineering
Dr Enrique Martinez-Perez Institute of Clinical Sciences
Professor Kevin Murphy Departments of Brain Sciences; Immunology and Inflammation; Infectious Disease; Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction
Professor Mike Lovett National Heart and Lung Institute
Dr Abbas Dehghan School of Public Health
Professor Michael Seckl Surgery and Cancer
Dr Jem Woods Centre for Environmental Policy
Dr James Wilton-Ely Chemistry
Dr Sally Leevers Crick Doctoral Centre
Dr David Mann Life Sciences
Dr Ryan Barnett Mathematics
Professor Ben Sauer Physics
Professor Carol Propper Imperial College Business School
Dr Jo Horsburgh Centre for Higher Education research and Scholarship / Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication
Robin Mowat Centre for Academic English
Daniel Lo ICU Deputy President (Education)
Dr Lloyd James ICU President
Ceire Wincott Student Representative
Tin Hang Un Student Representative
Aryan Niknam Maleki Student Representative
Emma Rabin Assistant Registrar as Secretary
 Heads of Joint Programmes: To be invited to attend for relevant items
Summary of the table's contents

Meeting dates and deadlines

 
Committee dates 2021/22Submission deadlines 2021/22
Wednesday 3 November 2021, 14:10-16:30 20 October 2021
Wednesday 16 February 2022, 14:10-16:30 2 February 2022
Tuesday 10 May 2022, 14:10-16:30 26 April 2022
 
Summary of the table's contents

Agenda items (including papers) should be submitted to the committee secretary two weeks prior to the committee meeting. Papers will normally be circulated to members one week prior to the committee meeting. 

Minutes

‌Minutes

Academic year 2020-21

Academic year 2019-20

Academic year 2018-19

Academic year 2017-18

Academic year 2016-17

Academic year 2015-16

Academic year 2014-15

Academic year 2013-14

Academic year 2012-13

For committee minutes prior to 2012/13, please contact the committee secretary. 

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