The Research Subsystem for the Specialist User.

This section of the user manual provides the specialist user with information required to establish and manage this subsystem. General use of this subsystem requires that relevant reference data and components of existing systems (configured appropriately for use in the Research subsystem) exist, before the subsystem can be used. Knowledge of the information in the introduction to the Research Subsystem is assumed.

Establishing and Maintaining Reference Data.

Configuring Research Calendars and Date Aliases.

Establishing Admission and Enrolment Processes.

Research Course Structures.

Research Units.

Research Grading Schema.

Establishing and Maintaining Reference Data.

General Research Reference Data:

The data established using the following forms allows institution-defined terminology to be used. In some cases (highlighted * in the lists below), these require linking to system-defined statuses or types. Refer to the relevant form documentation for detailed explanation, but note that if the data is not established and related to system values correctly, system functionality is affected.

Tracking Types and Steps

When Tracking Items are created for a particular thesis examination or panel member (refer to Understanding Research), the steps which have linked System Step Types will have the default recipient inserted.

Example: A tracking item is created for Student ID 98722771 (J. Gambetti) which includes (among others) the following steps. For this candidate the Principal Supervisor is Prof. M.Drake; Chair of the Thesis Panel is Dr. A. James; the research staff member who originated the Tracking Item is J.Kelley.

(For a general understanding of the Tracking subsystem, refer to Tracking,.)

Research Codes:

Configuring Research Calendars and Date Aliases.

A research student is usually able to start and stop their research without the penalties that generally apply to coursework students. Consequently appropriate administrative unit statuses and unit discontinuation date aliases allowing withdrawal (without a grading penalty) must be created. (Grading schema for use in Research should exist).

Accurate load and EFTSU calculations require the correct configuration of load calendar structures for research and relationships between load and research teaching calendars. EFTSU calculations also require accurate maintenance of a candidate's attendance, over the period of their research (refer to EFTSU in Special Topics; also RESF3211 for explanation about maintaining a candidate's attendance details).

The Calendars

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The Date Aliases

• Establish the required Administrative Unit Statuses, map these to the system-defined Unit Attempt Status of 'DISCONTIN' and link each to a Grading Schema Code and Result (using form ENRF0110). This assumes a Research Grading Schema has already been set up.

• Create the required date aliases, using formCALF0420. In particular:
• date aliases to represent the start and end of a research teaching period. In the configuration example above, these date aliases are 'RES-STRT' and 'RES-END'. These can only exist in a teaching calendar so must be of Date Alias and Calendar category types of 'TEACHING'. After these date aliases have been established they should be linked to the system Effective Start/End Date variables (using RESF31G0).
• Unit Discontinuation date aliases should be created and matched to either a delete indicator or an appropriate Administrative Unit Status. This mapping is done using form ENRF0170. The linking of a unit discontinuation date alias and an AUS determines whether withdrawal does or does not incur load.

• Set up research Teaching Calendar Types (e.g. 'SUM'; 'RES-1' and 'RES-2') and required instances of these Calendar Types (using CALF0220). Refer to the example configuration above.
• Establish instances of the date aliases within each research teaching calendar instance (using form CALF0512). There can be no overlap between sets of effective start/end date aliases. These date alias instances (e.g. 'RES-STRT' and 'RES-END') have implications for EFTSU calculation, which should be understood before establishing these instances.
  Where instances of 'RES-STRT' / 'RES-END' are in a teaching period calendar, the EFTSU calculation method used is determined by whether the associated load calendar has a Load Research % value or not.
  Calendar Quality Checks apply the following checks:
• The effective start and end date aliases (above) can only exist in a research teaching period with a single census date. The effective start date must be before the end date.
• Where a calendar instance has the effective start/end date alias instances, a single instance of each must exist for the teaching period calendar and one cannot exist without the other.
• Allocate default load apportionment by linking existing load calendars, research teaching calendars and Administrative Unit Status Load using form ENRF01K0. In this form, the Load Incurred indicator should be set as appropriate, for the Administrative Unit Statuses used.

• Set up the relationships between instances of the research teaching calendar and the applicable superior academic calendar; the applicable subordinate calendars (e.g. admission calendars).

Establishing Admission and Enrolment Processes.

Admissions Process

The creation of Admission Process Categories is explained further in the following documentation:
Admissions Overview; the form documentation Maintain Admission Category - ADMF2M20 and Maintain Admission Process Category Details - ADMF2M30

Enrolment Process

An Enrolment Category containing the Enrolment Procedure Step of 'RESEARCH' must be established, to allow display of the Candidature button on the Record Enrolments form (ENRF3000). The candidature fields (listed above) must exist before a Student Course Attempt (in a research course) can be confirmed. Where this data is not brought forward from an admission application or needs to be maintained at enrolment, access to RESF3211 is required in ENRF3000.

The creation of an Enrolment Category would usually be done by an Enrolments specialist. Further information is available in the following documentation:
Enrolments Subsystem Overview and the form Maintain Enrolment Category Procedure Detail - ENRF0192

Research Course Structures.

Course Types

Each course offered by an institution has a Course Type attribute. Course Types (and their associated Research Indicator) are maintained in the form Maintain Course Types CRSF1110. The setting of the Research Indicator does not determine whether the course is classified as a research course for government reporting purposes. However, the Research indicator should be selected for those course types where the institution requires that on admission/enrolment, a candidature record must be created.

An applicant for admission to a course which has this Research Indicator set, cannot be offered a place (i.e. have their Admission Outcome Status set to 'OFFER' or 'COND-OFFER') without an existing Candidature and its mandatory fields (see RESF3211). Where a Student Course Attempt is not created through the pre-enrolment process (from Admissions), the same restriction applies and the SCA cannot be confirmed without mandatory candidature details.

Attendance Types

A Course Offering Option has an Attendance Type as one of its attributes (see CRSF1400). The Attendance Types defined by an institution are maintained in the form Maintain Attendance Types CRSF1170. Each Attendance Type should have a Research Percentage value defined, as one of the attributes of the type.

The default Attendance Percentage for a Candidature (see RESF3211) is derived from the Attendance Type Research Percentage value.

Min Submission Perc.

The research courses offered by an institution (see Course Type and Research Indicators above) must have a Min Submission Perc attribute value entered. This represents the minimum percentage of effective research days which must be completed before a thesis can be submitted. This field is defined using the form Maintain Basic Course Details CRSF1210.

The Min Submission Perc value is used in the system calculation of a candidate's Min Submission Date (refer to Special Topics and RESF3211).

Research Units

The Research subsystem requires the establishment of unique research units, designed for students undertaking either a research-only course or a course which combines a research unit with some coursework units. The EFTSU for a research candidate enrolled in one of these research units (in a research teaching period) is derived using a different method than would be used for a non-research unit. This calculation method is explained in detail in the Special Topics section of this documentation.

The other important consequence of enrolment in a research unit is that teaching responsibility (and therefore income distribution to organisational units within the institution) is derived from the candidate's supervision arrangements. For this reason it is suggested that both ownership (in form CRSF2210) and teaching responsibility (in form CRSF2220) be allocated to a non-academic organisational unit, such as the Research Office, when unit details are entered.

Example: An institution offers research studies at four levels - Higher Doctorate, PhD, Masters or Honours. For each discipline group offered at the institution, four research units are created, one at each research level. The unit codes indicate the research level (2 alphabet characters e.g. PD) and the discipline group (4 digits taken from the discipline group classifications CRSF2110)

The creation of these units and their associated detail is done through the Basic Unit Details form CRSF2210. Particular consideration should be given to certain attributes of the research units established.

The Research indicator: this must be set for the unit to be classified as a research unit.

The Repeatable indicator: setting this indicator means the credit points associated with the unit (Achievable Credit Points) are attributed to the student's academic record each time the unit is passed. If the indicator is not set, the credit points are achievable once only, regardless of the number of times the unit is passed.

Enrolled Credit Points: the value entered for Enrolled Credit Points is used to calculate EFTSU where a student enrols in the unit in a non- research teaching period (i.e. one which does not calculate EFTSU using the research calculation method). An Enrolled Credit Points value must exist to ensure the inclusion of the unit enrolments in statistical reports to government. Where an institution intends configuring calendars in a similar way to the example configuration, with research units offered in a 'SUM' teaching period (which uses the standard EFTSU calculation) then an appropriate Enrolled Credit Points value should be entered.

Achievable Credit Points: this value is the number of credit points awarded to a student on successful completion of a unit. If it is blank, it is assumed to be the same as the Enrolled Credit Points. Where 0 is recorded, no credit points are awarded on completion. This may be appropriate where an institution decides credit points are not to be awarded for research units at the end of a semester; instead a 'Satisfactory Progress' grade is to be awarded.

Override Credit Points: this indicator and associated detail, allows the overriding of either the calculated research EFTSU or the enrolled/achievable credit points for a specified student unit attempt. For example a full-time research student is enrolled in the research unit MRO405 for the following teaching periods. For the student unit attempt in the 'SUM' teaching period, it may be appropriate to override the Credit Points and use a lower credit point value. The maximum EFTSU for this student is generated by the student unit attempts in the RES-1 and RES-2 periods.

Override Title indicator: setting this indicator allows the unit title to be overriden for a student unit attempt. For example a student is enrolled in the unit titled 'Honours Research - Chemical Science' as part of a coursework honours course. The title is overriden for this student unit attempt and becomes 'Honours Minor Thesis - Chemical Science'.

All research units should be offered in all research teaching periods. This allows a candidate's research to continue from one teaching period to the next, through re-enrolling in the research unit. The creation of appropriate Unit Offerings is done in form CRSF2310, accessed from CRSF2210.

The grading schema to be used for research units is assigned in the Unit Offering Options form (CRSF2500, accessed from CRSF2310).

The creation of research teaching calendars is explained in Configuring Research Calendars.

Unit Discontinuation.

This process is explained fully in Managing Unit Discontinuation. The Research subsystem requires the creation of unit discontinuation date aliases and administrative unit statuses which allow withdrawal from research units without assessment penalty.

Refer to the section Configuring Research Calendars to understand how to establish unit discontinuation date aliases and appropriate administrative unit statuses for research units.

Research Grading Schema.

A research candidate, enrolled in a research unit is unlikely to complete their research and have their thesis examined in a single teaching period. For this reason, grading schema used in other areas of study may not provide the appropriate grades for use with research units. A grading schema appropriate for use in the research subsystem should be established. This would usually be established by an Assessment subsystem specialist, in consultation with Research specialists. Grading schema are maintained using form ASSF5110.

Updated 31 January 2002