Online Monthly Supervision Record information for supervisors

The University places great importance on supporting PGRs to submit their research degree thesis within the maximum period of registration for their programme of study.  Regular review of progress throughout their research degree registration provides an opportunity to monitor progress against milestones and identify any difficulties that arise and support the PGR to overcome these in order to achieve a high quality and timely submission of the thesis.

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 online Monthly Supervision Record (MSR). 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 academic progress throughout the research degree registration, the monthly supervision meetings offer an opportunity for you to discuss any difficulties that the PGR may be experiencing and for them to be signposted to the relevant support services to  them overcome these.

Formal supervisory meetings should normally take place monthly for full-time PGRs and on a pro rata basis for part-time PGRs. Supervision should continue throughout the PGR lifecycle, including during thesis write-up, completion of corrections following examination, and any resubmission period.

Following each supervision meeting, an MSR form must be completed in English. The record should provide a concise summary of progress, key points discussed, and any actions or objectives agreed for completion before the next meeting.

Accurate and timely completion of MSR forms is an important part of effective supervision. It helps ensure that PGRs have a clear understanding of feedback and expectations, while providing an auditable record of supervisory support and agreed outcomes.

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.

For supervisors, access to the Monthly Supervision Record (MSR) form is via Self Service. From this you will be able to access and complete a MSR form for each of the PGRs that you are recorded as lead supervisor for the current month.  It is expected that the lead supervisor will be the supervisor who normally completed the MSR form and the e-mails generated from the system will therefore only be sent to the lead supervisor.

You can access this gateway page on-campus only. If working off-campus you will need to be using the Staff VPN. You will need to login using your University email and password (similar to logging into the intranet).

PGRs 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.

Administrators can also view completed forms through the Administrator Portal that can be found in Self Service, where they can add comments to submitted forms, including notes related to attendance monitoring

The MSR step-by-step guide explains in detail how to use the online MSR form.

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

Please visit the PGR Managment Monthly Supervison Record Canvas page for full guidance, glossary of terms and recorded content

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 supervisors has been drawn up.

Where you have not had any contact with a PGR, you can record this on the online MSR form and provide a brief explanation of the circumstances.

For example:

• If a PGR has not responded to requests to attend a meeting, this can be recorded on the form.
• If a part-time PGR is not due a supervision meeting that month, select "PGR is part-time" after confirming that no supervision meeting took place and that there has been no other form of face-to-face contact.

The MSR step-by-step guide explains in detail how to use the online MSR form.

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 contact IT Services (+44 (0)121 414 7171)
• Missed or closed form: If the form has now closed but you did have contact with your PGR during the month, please contact your school School PGR administrator, who can advise you on the next steps.
• If any PGRs appear in your MSR list for whom you are not the lead supervisor or co-supervisor, please notify your School PGR administrator
• Other queries: If your query is not covered above, please contact your School PGR administrator in the first instance.

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.

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