Another key role you play as a supervisor is in helping your students maintain good progress through to successful completion of their program. Students can lose momentum at any stage of their program and for a variety of reasons. Frequent and open communication will help you to identify when this occurs and what you can do to help the student to get back on track. Clearly defining expected progress and assessing the student’s progress during supervisory committee meetings or your more frequent meetings with the student can help you identify when students are becoming sidetracked or losing momentum. This should be followed by discussions between you and the student (and perhaps the supervisory committee) to determine the best approach to help the student get back on track.