The Integrated Case Study Component
The supervisors play a key role in the research and Integrated Case Study process.
They are a specialist in the subject area chosen by the student and are experienced in the supervision of Masters Integrated Case Study Analysis. The student needs to have a close and continuing relationship with the supervisor and use him/her as a source of advice and support.
The Integrated Case Study seminars and student- supervisor meetings scheduled on a weekly basis in the third semester are aimed at supporting the development of this crucial relationship. Students will be assigned a Supervisor in the third semester..
They are assigned a supervisor with expertise in the research area that they have chosen. Each supervisor is given a group of 10 – 12 students approximately with a common area of interest. On release of semester 2 results, students will have one of two possible progress paths: Conditional or Unconditional Progress. Conditional Progress – Students with 2 or less re-sits may start MBA semester 3 on a ‘conditional’ basis.
This means that they commence the semester and attend classes. They then have the opportunity to re-sit the failed subjects during resist week.
Students who pass all re-sits will then go forward with Unconditional Progress. Students who fail any of their re-sits will no longer be able to continue MBA semester 3. They will be required to go back to semester 2 and retake the failed module. Once progress on to MBA semester 3 during the following semester. Unconditional Progress – Students who have passed all modules required for their Postgraduate Diploma will progress ‘unconditionally on to MBA semester 3. Students have 7 seminars and individual student-supervisor meetings during the third semester.
Each session is of three hours duration. Attendance at these sessions is compulsory and a pre-requisite for submission of an Integrated Case Study. Attendance is monitored by means of the standard attendance register errantly in use for all other courses. Students get to meet the course administrators twice in a semester. The final Integrated Case Study seminar is scheduled in such a way that 2 weeks before the submission deadline students are expected to provide their supervisor with a full draft of their Integrated Case Study for review at this point before the final submission. Their supervisor will then sign a Supervisor Declaration to verify that they have seen a final draft.
Students will be unable to submit their Integrated Case Study without this document. ) If supervisor is unavailable they need to get it from the Programmer Leader. The first hour of the Integrated Case Study Seminar should focus on discussing issues of common interest to the supervisory group (e. G. How to carry out and present the literature survey, how to present tables) and permit each student to present their research progress.
A presentation and report should be made every two or three weeks. This enables supervisors to monitor progress, provide objectives and motivation for students and minimize the risk of plagiarism. It will also create a feeling of group cohesion by making them aware of the progress of others.
The second two hours of the three hour session is devoted to individual supervisory tuition. These are scheduled so that each student knows the time at which they will meet their supervisor each week.
Because of numbers, each student will probably receive an individual meeting of a minimum of 30 minutes in length on a fortnightly basis. A record is kept by the student and supervisor of the content of the discussion of each meeting, the agreed actions to be taken by the student before the next meeting and the time of the next meeting. This form is completed at the end of each eating and signed by the supervisor. Students who fail to attend the seminars will receive a warning after missing the first seminar.
If a second seminar is missed the student will be called in for a disciplinary certificate is provided), the student may be suspended and required to repeat the semester or asked to leave the School.
Monitoring of progress. Students are required to submit written work for the supervisor’s approval in week 4 (2000 words) and week 8 (7000 words) of the Integrated Case Study phase and this should be recorded on their monitoring sheets in the Register. The staged submission of written work is an essential part of the strategy to reduce plagiarism. In addition to assessing and advising the student on the academic quality of their work, the supervisor is required to check for plagiarism and report any cases to the Programmer Leader. 5.
Integrated Case Study Seminar Content The content of the Integrated Case Study seminars in the third semester may follow the pattern below, although it may also vary depending on the needs of the particular group. Session 1 Review of the relevant University Integrated Case Study Guidelines with emphasis on Plagiarism, Citation and Referencing Guidelines. Students should be informed about the importance of case study analysis, introduction to case study analysis, discussion of mini cases, correct citation and referencing, and the consequences should their work be found to be plagiarisms. Details of the module and submission process should also be explained during this session. Session 2 Discussion on a sample case and the areas that can be undertaken by the students to analyses the case.
