PhD students prefer in-person supervision, but online persists

PhD students who interact mainly online with their supervisors enjoy lower satisfaction levels than those who join in-person meetings, although a hybrid model of support proved popular throughout the pandemic, a major survey has found.

While most undergraduate teaching returned to traditional campus-based classes at the start of 2021-22, the majority of interactions between postgraduate research students and staff stayed fully or mostly online throughout the year, the latest Advance HE Postgraduate Research Experience Survey has revealed. Of the nearly 14,000 postgraduate researchers at 62 institutions polled between February and May, 50 per cent say their usual contact with staff over the past six months was mostly or completely online, while 42 per cent experienced a mixture of online and offline support, according to the study published on 24 November.

Satisfaction levels are lowest among those whose contact with staff is mostly or completely online, with 77 per cent happy with their experience, as opposed to 84 per cent for those who experience in-person support from staff. However, 83 per cent who encountered a mix of online and offline contact are content with the support they received.

Jonathan Neves, head of business intelligence and surveys at Advance HE, said he was encouraged by the relatively high levels of satisfaction among postgraduate researchers, particularly among those who had received a hybrid method of support.

“It doesn’t work for everyone, but some postgraduates do prefer this kind of interaction as it can allow supervisors to become more accessible – having that blend of online and offline contact is ideal for many students,” said Mr Neves.

Overall, satisfaction among postgraduate research students held up well during the pandemic and in its later stages, with overall satisfaction rates rising from 79 per cent in 2021 to 80 per cent in 2022. Setting expectations about the level of in-person and online contact was important for maintaining high levels of satisfaction, the report’s findings suggest.

“Although the overall increase in satisfaction is just 1 percentage point, there has been an encouraging increase in strength of feeling, with many more postgraduate researchers in 2022 ‘definitely’ agreeing that they are satisfied compared to 2021,” said Mr Neves.

“Not everything has been perfect over the past few years, but there are some very positive messages from this report which suggest some very strong performance regarding postgraduate support as we come to what is hopefully the end of some very difficult times.”

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com