Interim Assessment

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Detailed rules for the interim assessment of doctoral students of the AGH Doctoral School

The document defines the interim assessment rules at the AGH Doctoral School based on §20-24 of the AGH Doctoral School Study Regulations.

Chapter I

Interim assessment

  1. The implementation of the doctoral student’s Individual Research Plan (IRP) is subject to interim assessment.
  2. The interim assessment includes the evaluation of:
  • the progress in the preparation of the doctoral dissertation and its compliance with the Individual Research Plan,
  • the manner in which the doctoral student conducts scientific research in the scope specified in the Individual Research Plan,
  • the degree of implementation of the scientific research plan indicated in the Individual Research Plan,
  • timeliness and quality of scientific research resulting from the plan and schedule of their implementation, indicated in the Individual Research Plan.
  1. An interim assessment is conducted midway through a doctoral student’s education period, as specified in the Programme of Study. For the 4-year mode of education, this occurs at the end of the 4th semester.
  2. The interim assessment is carried out using an electronic system called the Interim Assessment Service System (IASS), which is available at https://ocena.doktoranci.agh.edu.pl/Logowanie. This system is the basic form of contact with the doctoral student and the submission of all documents concerning the interim assessment by the doctoral student.
  3. The interim assessment of a doctoral student takes place before the Interim Assessment Committee.
  4. The interim assessment ends with a positive or negative result. The result of the assessment, along with the justification, is public.
  5. The AGH Doctoral School immediately publishes information on the interim assessment results and justification on the School’s website and on the Public Information Bulletin website.
  6. The result of the assessment is negative if:
  • the doctoral student did not submit his/her self-report within the deadline set by the Director of the School,
  • the self-report submitted by the doctoral student is incomplete and has not been completed within five working days of informing the doctoral student about the need to fill in the shortcomings,
  • the doctoral student did not take part in the assessment  interview (the exception is random events – then the Committee considers each case individually),
  • the Interim Assessment Committee negatively assessed the progress of the doctoral student in the implementation of the Individual Research Plan.
  1. According to Article 203(1)(1) of the Law on Higher Education and Science, a doctoral student who has obtained a negative result in the interim assessment is removed from the list of doctoral students.

Chapter II

Interim Assessment Committee

  1. The interim assessment is carried out by the Interim Assessment Committee competent for a given discipline, which consists of 3 persons holding the title of professor or the degree of habilitated doctor in the discipline in which the doctoral dissertation is being prepared, including 1 person employed at AGH University and 2 persons employed outside AGH University. A representative of doctoral students may be present at the meetings of the Commission as an observer without the right to vote, and in the case of a doctoral student with special needs resulting from their health condition, including a doctoral student with a disability – also a representative of the Accessibility Department can be present as an observer without the right to vote.
  2. The Interim Assessment Committee may not include a supervisor, assistant supervisor, PI of the grant in which the doctoral student is employed, or the Director or Deputy Director of the AGH Doctoral School.
  3. Committees with the Chairperson are appointed for a given academic year by the Director of the AGH Doctoral School, after the opinion of the Doctoral School Board and the relevant Chairperson of the Scientific Discipline Council, during the fourth semester of the education period.
  4. The Chairperson shall coordinate the work of the Committee during its meeting.
  5. The Director of the AGH Doctoral School may dismiss a member of the Committee for important reasons.
  6. In the event of circumstances preventing a member of the Committee from participating in the work of the Committee, the Director of the AGH Doctoral School appoints a new member of the Committee, in accordance with the procedure specified in point 3.
  7. A member of the Committee is obliged to maintain impartiality and objectivity in the assessment of doctoral students and to inform other members of the Committee and the Director of the AGH Doctoral School of any circumstances that may affect their impartiality and objectivity in making an assessment.
  8. A person who is a member of the Committee is entitled to a salary of 20% of the professor’s salary.
  9. A separate Committees are appointed for each scientific discipline in which a doctoral student is educated.

Chapter III

Procedure

  1. The interim assessment of a doctoral student is carried out at the end of the 4th semester.
  2. By 30 April of a given academic year, the Director of the AGH Doctoral School publishes the calendar of the interim assessment for a given academic year.
  3. The doctoral student prepares a Summary of Academic Accomplishments (Report) in accordance with the template developed by the School. The Report form is available on the website at  https://sd.agh.edu.pl/en/doctoral-students/interim-assessment
  4. The Report must be signed by the doctoral student and his/her supervisor, supervisors or the supervisor and assistant supervisor.
  5. A doctoral student, on the date specified in the calendar of the interim assessment, submits a Report with attachments using the Interim Assessment Service System (IASS):
  • Individual Research Plan,
  • list of publications and patents from the AGH UST Main Library,
  • published papers, papers accepted for publication (with confirmation), papers submitted for publication (with confirmation),
  • participation in conferences, symposia, scientific schools,
  • dissemination of research results in the media (if applicable),
  • others, concerning scientific and research activity,

          and then the original of the Report in the office of the AGH Doctoral School.

  1. The documents referred to in point 5 shall be submitted to the members of the Committee within the deadline specified in the calendar of the interim assessment.
  2. The interim assessment is carried out at a meeting of the Interim Assessment Committee organized on the date indicated in the calendar of the interim assessment, based on the Report and an assessment interview with the doctoral student, where the Committee members ask questions.
  3. A detailed schedule of the Committee’s meetings with doctoral students is made available to doctoral students via the IASS system on the date indicated in the calendar of the interim assessment.
  4. Meetings of the Committee with doctoral students are held at the AGH University or via electronic means of communication. They are conducted in Polish or English, depending on the language of communication and the doctoral student’s scientific work. The Chairperson of the Commission decides on the form of a meeting.

Chapter IV

Interim assessment  Committee meeting

  1. The Interim Assessment Committee shall meet as a whole.
  2. The date and place of the Committee’s meeting, after prior consultation with the other members of the Committee, is set by the Chairperson of the Committee in the Interim Assessment Service System (IASS).
  3. The doctoral student is notified via the IASS system of the date of the meeting with the Committee.
  4. The Committee’s meeting consists of an open and a classified part. The Chairperson informs those present about the commencement of the closed part of the meeting.
  5. The Committee draws up a report on the course of the interim assessment. The report contains the justification for the interim evaluation, indicating the method of assessment of the individual elements referred to in Chapter I, point 2 and the justification for the final assessment made by the Committee by voting.
  6. Voting of the members of the Committee takes place through the IASS system, which ensures the appropriate authorisation of persons entitled to vote. The decisions of the Committee shall be taken by a simple majority of votes by secret ballot in the presence of all the members of the Committee.
  7. All members of the Committee approve the report electronically via the IASS system.
  8. The Committee conducts the interim assessment by adopting a resolution based on the interim assessment results. The resolution and the report are signed by the Chairperson of the Committee and stored in paper form in the doctoral student’s personal file.
  9. The result of the interim assessment is available to the doctoral student in the IASS system. The doctoral student is notified of the result by e-mail, in the form of a notification sent through the system.
  10. The Chairperson of the Committee forwards the resolution, together with the report of the Committee’s meeting, to the AGH Doctoral School office on the date indicated in the calendar of the interim assessment.

Chapter V

Appeal procedurę

  1. The doctoral student may appeal against the interim assessment’s negative result to the Director of the AGH Doctoral School.
  2. The deadline for filing an appeal with justification is 14 days from the date of receipt of the notification of the result of the interim assessment in the IASS system referred to in Chapter IV, point 9.
  3. The doctoral student submits an appeal against the interim assessment’s negative result using the Interim Assessment Service System (IASS).
  4. After filing an appeal, the Director of the School, after consulting the Doctoral School Board and the relevant Chairperson of the Scientific Discipline Council, appoints the members of the Appeal Committee in accordance with the procedure specified in Chapter II to conduct an interim re-assessment.
  5. The interim assessment should be re-conducted and its results should be made public no later than 30 days from the date of filing the appeal referred to in point 1.
  6. The interim assessment is re-conducted based on a Report submitted by the doctoral student within the deadline referred to in Chapter III, point 5, without the possibility of supplementing it with additional documentation.
  7. The members of the Appeal Committee referred to in point 4 may not be persons who have already participated in the interim assessment of this doctoral student.
  8. The date and place of the meeting of the Appeal Committee, after prior consultation with the other members of the Committee, is set by the Chairperson of the Appeal Committee in the Interim Assessment Service System (IASS).
  9. The doctoral student is notified via the IASS system of the meeting date with the Appeal Committee.
  10. The Appeal Committee meeting is held per the rules set out in Chapter IV, points 4-10.

The result of the interim assessment adopted by the Appeal Committee is final, which means that after obtaining it, pursuant to Article 203(1)(1) of the Law on Higher Education and Science, the doctoral student is removed from the list of doctoral students, in accordance with the provisions of point 9 of Chapter I of this document.