Hi Natassia,

At my university, this type of review is called "transfer assessment", which aims to assess the progress of first year students after they have developed their research proposal in order to be "transferred" into the second step which is preforming their independent research. During the assessment the focus is to see the student has specific goals and objectives that are well laid out so as not to deviate away once they start their research. These objectives are called "SMART": S for specific, M for measurable, A for achievable, R for relevant, and T for being time-bound. The other focus is on transferable skills that the student has gained so far or is planning to gain. These are communication skills, career-oriented skills, team-working and leadership, and innovation. The assessment aims to seek whether the student has weaknesses in any of these and give recommendations on how the student can enhance such skills.

Overall, it's not about pass or fail. It's about making sure all is going well and will go well in the future. I don't know if it's the same at your university.

All the best and good luck :-)
Dima