Online Monthly Supervision Record information for PGRs

The University places great importance on helping you to submit your research degree thesis within your maximum period of registration. By regularly reviewing progress throughout your time at the University we are able to monitor your progress against milestones and identify any difficulties you are having and help support you to overcome these in order to achieve a high quality and timely submission.

The Code of Practice on Supervision and Monitoring Progress of Postgraduate Researchers states:

“It is important that, as part of the educational process, PGRs receive appropriate supervision, that their progress is carefully monitored, and that they receive feedback in good time to enable them to adjust their patterns of work as necessary.”

“A written record must be kept of supervisory meetings via the Monthly Supervision Record form. Reference should be made to the work undertaken since the last supervision meeting and planned work for the future. The lead and/or co-supervisor(s) and the PGR should confirm that the record contains an accurate summary of the supervision meeting”

In addition to monitoring your academic progress throughout your research degree registration, the monthly supervision meetings offer an opportunity for you to raise any areas or difficulties you may be experiencing and for you to be signposted to the relevant support services to help you overcome these.

Formal supervisory meetings between you and your supervisor should normally take place monthly for full time PGRs and pro rata for part time registration.  It is expected that supervision should continue throughout the different stages of the degree, including when you are writing up your thesis, undertaking any corrections following submission and examination, or during a resubmission year.

 A written record (MSR form) of the monthly supervision meeting should be made and this should be in English.  The record of the monthly supervisory meeting should be a concise summary and should record the progress made on your project, key points discussed and any agreed actions or objectives to be achieved before the next meeting.  This is essential, both for pedagogic reasons (i.e. to ensure your understanding of points made by your supervisor) and to provide an accurate summary of the supervisory meeting. 

An online version of the Monthly Supervision Record (MSR) form has been developed to support the recording of supervisory meetings through a single MSR submission each month. Use of the online MSR form has been mandatory since the 2026/27 academic year.

The MSR is divided into four parts:

• Part A – completed by the PGR: the PGR records what they would like to discuss, including progress made, work completed during the month, and any issues or support needed.
• Part B – completed by the supervisor: the supervisor records the meeting summary and any agreed actions.
• Part C – completed by the PGR: the PGR confirms whether they agree with the supervisor’s summary of the meeting.
• Part D – completed by administration: this section is for administrative use only and does not need to be completed by the PGR or supervisor.

The on-line MSR process provides the following functionality:

• A monthly form that opens at the start of each month and closes on the final day of the month.
• Automated notifications, reminders and confirmations for PGRs and supervisors throughout the completion process.
• An interactive form that supports dialogue between the PGR and the supervisor conducting the meeting.
• Access to current and completed forms for PGRs, supervisors and authorised University staff.
• Automatic updates to Attendance Monitoring to support the University's Home Office Sponsor Licence obligations for student route visa holders.

Students can access the Monthly Supervision Record (MSR) form through Self Service, where you will find a link titled Monthly Supervision Record (For Research Programmes only).

You will receive an email notification at the beginning of each month to advise that the MSR form for the month is open and ready for completion.  The form will close at the end of the last day of the month and it will then not be possible to make amendments to the form but you will be able to view the completed form.

 

The online MSR step-by-step guide (will be available shortly) explains in detail how to use the online MSR form.

The online MSR quick guide provides an at-a-glance overview of the process.

To supplement the above guides and to provide answers to questions that may arise when using the online MSR form, a list of potential questions and answers for postgraduate researchers has been drawn up.

Both supervisors and PGRs can access current and previously completed MSR forms through the MSR links. Previous MSR forms may be used as part of the annual progress review process and to support requests such as upgrades or downgrades of registration, extensions, or appeals. As a result, they may also be accessed by relevant College or School PGR academic leads, College or School administrators, and Registry staff responsible for postgraduate research matters.

All MSR forms are stored securely, and personal data is handled in accordance with the University's Data Protection Policy and Student Privacy Notice.

For Student visa holders, MSR forms may also be used as evidence of academic engagement in the event of a Home Office audit.

If you have any queries not answered in the guidance or FAQs please contact the relevant team below:

• Unable to access the form: If you are having issues accessing the MSR form, please check whether you have completed online registration and whether your registration status is normally registered (NR) or Thesis Awaited (T). If you have completed registration and believe you should have access, please contact IT Service (+44 (0)121 414 7171). If you cannot access the form because you have not yet been progressed to your next year of study, please contact your School PGR administrator for advice.
• Missed or closed form: If the form has now closed but you did have contact during the month, please contact your School PGR administrator, who can advise you on the next steps.
• Incorrect minimum and maximum periods of study as displayed on the online MSR form contact the Research Student Administration team via Student Help
• Incorrect lead and/or co-supervisor names displayed on the MSR form contact your School PGR administrator
• Other queries: If your query is not covered above, please contact your School PGR administrator in the first instance.

In addition to the supervision meetings that you have with your supervisor, the University has formal methods of tracking your progress through the Annual Progress Review process.