How can we make study plans more useful ?

Abstract

This paper presents the use of study plans at the faculty of engineering at Lund University. One
part of the paper is dedicated to making a summary of the criteria for writing study plans, the
other is a review of 45 individual study plans from five departments. They have been reviewed
according to the regulations on different levels, that govern the use of study plans. The Swedish
High School Ordinance (Högskoleförordningen), along with local rules at the University and the
faculty of Engineering have been the guidelines for the review.
According to our review, a majority (27 of 45) of the ISPs show some need of improvement if
they are to follow the law as we have interpreted it. The issue that was most commonly not
regulated by the study plan was the extent of the departmental duties that was expected of the
PhD student. This is unfortunate, as this creates an uncertainty in the relation between PhD
student and department. Additionally, we have tried to assess the quality of the content of the
ISPs, and found, for example, that only 13 study plans were rated “It is easy to understand the
requirements of the PhD student for his/her work until the dissertation”.
We conclude, that even if the writing and use of individual study plans is accepted by the
departments, more effort should be spent on motivating the use of them and to point out the
need for handling them according to the rule of law. We also suggest some points for improving
the process to enhance the usefulness and quality of ISPs.