Rethinking online dissertation supervision in higher education: Supervisor–student interaction, feedback, and digital pedagogy

This study examines online master’s dissertation supervision as a form of digital pedagogy in a UK business school, focusing on how supervisors managed feedback, interaction, student research development, and supervisory relationships during the shift from emergency remote practices to more sustainable digital models. Using a qualitative online ethnographic design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 31 postgraduate dissertation supervisors during the COVID-19 period. The findings identified four key themes: supervisor training and experience, procedural challenges, supervisor–student relationships, and supervisors’ role perceptions. Key issues include reduced social presence, delayed feedback, uneven student research skills, and the complexities of cross-cultural and online engagement. At the same time, supervisors adopted adaptive pedagogical strategies such as structured feedback practices, flexible communication tools, clearer expectations and emerging hybrid supervision approaches. The study contributes to the literature on digital pedagogy and higher education supervision by extending the concept of the “imaginary campus,” demonstrating how online dissertation supervision can evolve move beyond emergency response toward intentional, inclusive, and pedagogically effective supervision practice.