Dissertation Supervision and Students Follow-Up

If the communication between the student and the Dissertation Supervisor has not been cut off, a conversation between both parties is recommended. The objective of this instance must be to reach an agreement on a solution that satisfies both of them, based on what is established in the Dissertation Supervision Agreement (See Dissertation Supervision Model Agreement).
If the conflict is a situation of sexual violence, the affected party may go to the Support Unit for Victims of Sexual Violence to request guidance (see point 3. Protocols to follow in the event of sexual violence).

If it has not been possible to reach an agreement, the first thing is to ensure that this situation does not affect the normal performance of the student or the development of their research. Based on the above, it is the Head of the Program who will ensure the current curriculum accomplishment. If the situation requires it, the Doctoral Committee, other intermediate officers and/or the students’ affairs team of the academic unit might intervene.
If the Head of the Program is also the Dissertation Supervisor, an intervention from the Postgraduate Director might be requested, or from an equivalent authority at the level of the Academic Unit. If the Dissertation Supervisor is another authority from the university (Dean, Vice-Chancellor, Director of the Institute/School, Director of the Graduate School, etc.), the resolution of the conflict will be in the hands of the Head of the Program.

If the situation has not yet been resolved, the case should be taken to the Director of the School/Institute or the Dean, so that they may contribute to adopting the measures they deem appropriate to the resolution of the matter. Interdisciplinary doctorates that comprise two or more different academic units will report the situation to the Director of the School/Institute or the Dean to which the Head of the Doctoral Program is affiliated, in order to collaborate in the resolution of the conflict[3].

If the advisor is also the authority of the unit, an intervention from other authorities may be requested as applicable:

• Director of the School/Institute: the intervention of the Dean of the Faculty may be requested.
• Dean: The situation may be brought to the Central Level for mediation, as indicated in point 4.

If the dissertation advisor has a position as Director of the Graduate School, Vice-Chancellor or Pro-Chancellor, the student must also bring the situation to this instance, so that they are supported in the search for a solution to the conflict.

In the event that local resolution instances have not been effective, the situation should be handled by intermediaries at the central level. It should be noted that if the dissertation supervisor is also the Director of the Graduate School, the situation will be referred to the Vice-Chancellor for Research. If the dissertation supervisor is the Vice-Chancellor, Pro-Chancellor or Dean, they must also resort to intermediaries at the central level to support the search for a solution to the conflict.

At the same time, the entity you resort to will depend on the type of conflict to be resolved:

• 4.a. Conflicts of academic nature: Intermediation from the Graduate School in the resolution of conflicts
  If no solution has been achieved with the previous instances, the Director of the Graduate School or whoever may have been designated should be contacted to propose possible resolutions, according to their role in the Graduate School and the Graduate School Council.
  As soon as the Director of the Graduate School -or whoever they designate- becomes familiar with the facts in which their intervention is needed, they must contact the person involved within the next five days and present the situation. After this, information must be gathered and the parties involved should be listened to in order to propose a solution – if the circumstances allow it- within a period of 20 academic business days from the moment the information was received.
• 4.b. Conflicts of coexistence: Mediation from the Ombudsman, Counselor or University Mediator
  If a solution is not reached through the previous recommendations, you can go to the University Ombudsman in order to request advice, guidance or direct intervention (mediation). In the event that the Ombudsman becomes aware of facts that may constitute infractions, they must disclose it to the person who informed the situation, so that the affected party can initiate an accountability process if necessary. In addition, the Ombudsman has the collaboration of a Student Mediator, who will be responsible for contributing to an adequate coexistence among students[8].

If the mediation from the Ombudsman fails in coexistence situations, the issue can be reported to the General Secretary Office to initiate a process of accountability if it constitutes an infraction according to points 2.2 and 2.3. (see point 2. Academic and Disciplinary Responsibility)

[1]Art. 35 letter a) General Regulations of Doctoral Studies. Available in: http://secretariageneral.uc.cl/documento/normas-generales/81-reglaciones-general-de-estudios-de-doctorado/file

[2] Art. 7th Regulation of Doctoral Students. Available in: http://secretariageneral.uc.cl/documento/normas-generales/79-reglamento-del-alumno-de-doctorado/file 

[3] Art. 20 General Regulations of Doctoral Studies: “The administration and management of interdisciplinary programs will correspond to the Academic Unit that the Head of the Program is affiliated to”.

[4] Same. Art. 37

[5] Art. 3 ° Internal Regulations of the UC Vice-Chancellor’s Office for Research.

[6] Academic business days, that is to say, Monday through Friday, not including legal or academic holidays.

[7] https://ombuds.uc.cl/images/Documentos/Reglamentos/DR_290_2013_Regdamientos_de_Ombuds_Consejero_o_Mediador_de_la_UC.pdf

[8] Art. 15 of the Regulation of Ombudsman, Counselor or University Mediator. Available at https://secretariageneral.uc.cl/documento/normas-generales/199-regntación-de-ombuds-consejero-o-mediador/file

Any member of the university community affected by a violation of these regulations can initiate a procedure to determine the responsibilities and pertinent sanctions through a complaint to the General Secretary Office.

These can be done through the online form on the website[8] of the General Secretary Office. After that, the General Secretary Office will initiate a background review to determine if it has jurisdiction in the case. If it does, the process may be initiated, going through t the following stages[9]:

1. Investigation (statements and other proceedings)
2. Formulation of charges
3. The defendant’s reply to the charges
4. Resolution (establishing responsibility and applying the sanction, or dismissing the case).

Sexual violence is considered a punishable offense by the Regulation of Sexual Violence in the University Context, and it is circumscribed to the investigation and sanction processes stipulated in the Regulations of Academic and Disciplinary Responsibility for the members of the University Community.

Any academic or university authority who is reported of an act of sexual violence involving members of the community will be obliged to speak up to the highest authority of their Unit within the second business day after being informed of the situation. On the other hand, the highest authority must inform the General Secretary Office no later than on the second business day after receiving the report.
This obligation will be done in writing and will not constitute a complaint. Once the General Secretary Office receives the report, the victim will be contacted as soon as possible to see if they wish to proceed with the complaint. If so, the corresponding process will begin. Otherwise, the denial of the complaint will be recorded in writing and it will be filed as a precedent of the case.

Protocols detailing the actions to be followed in the event of current or past sexual violence episodes, both within and outside university contexts, including social networks or activities carried out by the university and any organization directly linked to it (e.g.: Student Association, student centers, etc.), can be found on the website[10] of the Unit for Sexual Violence Prevention and Victim Services (UVS).

For free and confidential guidance and support, our students can approach the UVS through the helpline +56958145618, sending an email to unidadviolenciasexual@uc.cl, or heading to the third floor of the Mide UC building, San Joaquín Campus.

Whoever has rights over a work or invention and has not been considered in the disclosure document, may submit a written complaint to the Dean(s) of the Faculty(ies) of Villarrica Campus or the corresponding authority to which the authors, researchers or inventors belong to.

The decision taken by the authorities, based on the backgrounds received, must be notified by email to the claimant, the Director ofTransfer and Development Directorate and the authors, researchers or inventors, within a period of 20 business days after the information was received.

Once the resolution has been notified to the parties via email, an appeal may be filed to the Vice-Chancellor for Research within the following 10 business days to be resolved by the Intellectual Property Commission.

Finally, once the appeal has been submitted, the Intellectual Property Commission will summon a session in which the interested and affected parties must be heard, as well as the Dean of the Faculty or the corresponding Vice-Chancellor, whose presentations may be done orally or in writing. After this, the members of the Commission will deliberate and must issue a written and well-founded report immediately, or within the following 3business days, to resolve the controversy. Nevertheless, the Commission may still extend this period up to 15 business days if, in its opinion, it is necessary to obtain further information, summoning those it deems necessary for such purposes. No appeal shall proceed against the decision of the Commission.

The student -like any other member of the university community- who may find themselves involved in a situation of conflict of interest, must notify the Dean of the Faculty in writing. In the same way, the Directors of Schools or Institutes, and Heads of Program or Department, must notify the Dean as soon as possible of any conflict of interest that exists within their units.

In the event that the Dean is personally involved in a conflict of interest, they must notify the Academic Vice-Chancellor.

When the Dean or another competent authority (for example, the Academic Vice-Chancellor) becomes aware of possible conflicts of interest, such events must be resolved in the period of 5business days from the moment they become aware of them. To do this, they must ask the person involved the necessary background information for a better review of the case, in order to declare whether or not there is a conflict of interest. If there is one, the corresponding action[11 must be taken ].

If the Dean or a competent authority has a strong opinion on the seriousness of a determined situation, the case must be submitted to the General Secretary Office in order to see whether there is a conflict or not.

[1]Art. 35 section a) General Regulations of Doctoral Studies. Available at: http://secretariageneral.uc.cl/documento/normas-generales/81-reglaciones-general-de-estudios-de-doctorado/file

[2] Art. 7 Regulation of Doctoral Students. Available at: http://secretariageneral.uc.cl/documento/normas-generales/79-regdamientos-del-alumno-de-doctorado/file

[3] Art. 20 General Regulations of Doctoral Studies: “The administration and management of interdisciplinary programs will correspond to the Academic Unit that the Head of the Program is affiliated to”.

[4] Idem. Art. 37

[5] Art. 3 ° Internal Regulations of the Vice-Chancellor Office for Research of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

[6] Academic business days, not counting legal or academic holidays.

[7] https://ombuds.uc.cl/images/Documentos/Reglamentos/DR_290_2013_Regdamientos_de_Ombuds_Consejero_o_Mediador_de_la_UC.pdf

[8]

http://secretariageneral.uc.cl/realiza-una-denuncia

[9] The detail of the procedure is described in the Regulation of Academic and Disciplinary Responsibility of the University Community. It may also be consulted on the diagram with the stages of how to present a complaint to the General Secretary Office, available on the website: http://secretariageneral.uc.cl/documento/procesos

[10] https://www.uc.cl/no-a-la-violencia-sexual/#protocolos

[11] Art. 12 Regulation of Conflicts of Interest.