Scenario B: Supervisory Commitments by Maydianne Andrade https://padlet.com/mcba139/OISEB A graduate student who you met at a departmental event stops by your office and asks for a confidential conversation. They share that they are struggling to prepare for their comprehensive exam and they ask for your advice. You ask them whether their supervisor has suggested ways to overcome the issues they describe with their research topic. They tell you that their supervisor has not shown much interest in their work to date, usually is too busy to meet with them, and has said several times that developing a proposal is their job. The student asks if you can help them informally as they work on their proposal. You are not sure what to say. You already have 10 mentees, several of whom have shared similar stories. In the end you say yes as you feel it would be unfair to turn down this student who is clearly having a crisis. en-us 2025-09-15 12:17:34 UTC 2025-09-15 17:37:53 UTC hello@padlet.com Problematic Issues https://padlet.com/mcba139/OISEB/wish/3585932332 -Tone of confidential/ informal discussion (no documentation, no follow-up, faculty agreeing to this conversation without context)

-Assumption that there is a crisis or that it is the new supervisor's responsibility to solve the problem

-Lack of communication between faculty members (former/ new supervisor)

-Lack of consideration for workload capacity/ professional boundaries on the part of the person agreeing to this

]]> 2025-09-15 17:29:11 UTC https://padlet.com/mcba139/OISEB/wish/3585932332 What can be done https://padlet.com/mcba139/OISEB/wish/3585938481 -Before agreeing to take on the student, the faculty member should reach out to a mentor (chair, more senior colleague) to ask for advice.

- Before agreeing to take on the student, the faculty member should get more information about the supervision situation. Has the student had a conversation with the existing supervisor to try and resolve these issues?

]]> 2025-09-15 17:33:36 UTC https://padlet.com/mcba139/OISEB/wish/3585938481 Thoughts https://padlet.com/mcba139/OISEB/wish/3585942269 Invite student to speak directly to the supervisor.

Have a conversation with the colleague

Be careful of being over-emotive and consider assumptions student may have.

Don't discuss colleagues with students.

Empathetic

Document

Refer them to the folks who just presented



]]> 2025-09-15 17:36:23 UTC https://padlet.com/mcba139/OISEB/wish/3585942269 Helpful practices https://padlet.com/mcba139/OISEB/wish/3585944290 -Strategic mentorship of/ professional development for junior faculty to address supervision issues, workload and conflict management

-Departmental/ faculty level professional development/ communication around best practices for effective supervision

-chair looking out for/ communicating with faculty who may need extra support

]]> 2025-09-15 17:37:52 UTC https://padlet.com/mcba139/OISEB/wish/3585944290