Progress support
If you have not met your milestone requirements your Progress Committee may determine that your progress is at risk of not concluding on time. The committee may also decide that your progress is at risk at an ad hoc meeting between milestones. In either case, you and your committee will need to discuss and detail what you need to do and the support you will need get your research back on track for on time completion.
You will need to meet with your Progress Committee to discuss and agree on a Progress Support Plan, and set a date for your second attempt at the milestone (or after an ad hoc review, a date to meet with your Progress Committee at the end of the Progress Support Plan period to review its status).
There are many reasons you may experience difficulties throughout your candidature and the focus of a Progress Support Plan is to get your progress back on track. A Progress Support Plan is tailored to your individual needs and will give you
- The opportunity to receive formal support
- Clear expectations on agreed actions and timeframes to recover your progress.
Your Progress Support Plan will be recorded as part of the progress report form through the agreements system.
If you need to make a second attempt at a milestone, this must normally take place within the maximum postponement period, which for each milestone are
- eight weeks (full time equivalent) for Master’s by Research Degrees
- twelve weeks (full time equivalent) for Doctoral Degrees.
Once you have agreed on a date for a second milestone attempt or next review with your Progress Committee, the Chair of your Committee will enter this information in your progress report.
Helpful documents
Progress Support Plan template [DOC 55KB]
Quick Reference Guide: Progress Support Plans [PDF 80KB]
Record of Support Meetings [DOC 45KB]
Who can I contact for help?
You are encouraged to contact the Student Advocates on your campus who can provide advice and help when you need it.
Further information regarding the support provided by the Student Advocates can be found on the Student Association website. You can find the details of your Student Advocates by emailing the Student Union directly, calling +61 (03) 9479 2314, or visiting the Student Association Office on your campus.
All students are also eligible for free and confidential Wellbeing Support Services.
The University also offers a number of relevant support programs to offer study support and help you develop your research, learning and teaching skills. Programs are offered by
- the Research Education and Development Team
- Research support from the Library
- La Trobe Learning and Teaching.
Other student support services
If you are experiencing financial difficulties, personal hardship, or if you want further legal advice, you can receive support from
If you have any further questions, please get in touch with the Graduate Research School via Progress.grs@latrobe.edu.au.