Your Rights as a Post-Graduate at UTAS under Common Law
What rights? Basically, you have no recourse in law in the event you're not happy (ie ripped-off) with your postgrad experience.
The University has a handbook that details many rules that apply to your research and dealings with your supervisor and such-like. Take a closer look though and you'll find that they don't detail any "outcomes".
So you might claim your supervisor left on holiday without informing you, just when your Thesis was due to be submitted. Despite clearly worded regulations stating that your supervisor should let you know when they're going away and that they should read and comment on the final draft, the Complaints Committee will say "So what?"
And when the Complaints Committee say "so what" that's it. There are three levels of complaint at UTAS and they exist only to give you an impression of a thorough and rigorous examination of your concerns.
Don't bother with a Lawyer. The University of Tasmania is quite literally a law unto itself.
UTAS.WS paid a renown Senior Counsel to examine this issue and they were painfully clear. There are no grounds under Common Law to litigate against the University on any basis of poor supervision. So if you get a poor supervisor it's "tough love baby!".
The University has a handbook that details many rules that apply to your research and dealings with your supervisor and such-like. Take a closer look though and you'll find that they don't detail any "outcomes".
So you might claim your supervisor left on holiday without informing you, just when your Thesis was due to be submitted. Despite clearly worded regulations stating that your supervisor should let you know when they're going away and that they should read and comment on the final draft, the Complaints Committee will say "So what?"
And when the Complaints Committee say "so what" that's it. There are three levels of complaint at UTAS and they exist only to give you an impression of a thorough and rigorous examination of your concerns.
Don't bother with a Lawyer. The University of Tasmania is quite literally a law unto itself.
UTAS.WS paid a renown Senior Counsel to examine this issue and they were painfully clear. There are no grounds under Common Law to litigate against the University on any basis of poor supervision. So if you get a poor supervisor it's "tough love baby!".
I've had it with UTas, when i had a problem it was all "sunshine & smiles". Literally, you could hear the change in voices of the people you were talking too. At first it was lovely and nice then when you'ld talk to them later it was all" your some sort of leper"
I hate Utas
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I found Pro-Vice Chancellor of Research Prof Carey Denholm to be of less than use to me.
I never had any impression that he was concerned with my complaints at all. Except to "sweep them under the carpet" as it were.
We've got a fair amount of documentation to support this position and if you're interested contact admin@utas.ws.
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I agree with the leper statement - I know a former-PhD student who took her supervisor through the complains procedure. Although they found she had some grounds for a grievance the main outcome was that she became a total pariah in the department and could never work there again - this is big deal in a small place like Tas.
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