Personal Tutoring

1
Personal Tutoring

• A CQSTL Seminar
• Presented by
• Simon Taylor (ISC)

2
Todays Goals

• What is a Personal Tutor?
• Support Facilities?
• Experiences
• How do we tutor effectively?

3

• Q. What are the duties and roles of a Personal
  Tutor?
• A. ???

4
Duties of a Personal Tutor (Handbook of
Procedures 7.1)

• The University requires that each undergraduate
  and postgraduate course student shall be assigned
  a Personal Tutor to provide support during the
  students period of registration

Senior Tutor (other) must brief new lecturers on
Personal Tutoring responsibilities Senior Tutor
(other) oversees departmental tutoring
effectiveness
5
Role of a Personal Tutor(Handbook of Procedures
7.2)

• The Personal Tutor should provide help and
  support on matters of personal development,
  social and other non-academic matters and on
  academic matters, independently of that provided
  by course leaders, when another point of
  reference and reassurance is needed

6
Role of a Personal Tutor (Handbook of Procedures
7.2)

• The Personal Tutor may not be the best person in
  the department to provide advice on academic
  matters. Some departments will have designated
  Senior Tutors/Course Directors to undertake this
  task. Each Personal Tutor should, however, be
  informed about the basic degree structures within
  the department, and has a role in advising on
  module choices, the consequences of academic
  failure or poor performance and on topics which
  the student finds difficult to understand

7
Role of a Personal Tutor (Handbook of Procedures
7.2)

• A good Personal Tutor will be sensitive,
  understanding and committed to helping his/her
  tutees. S/he will recognise that students face
  different problems at different stages in their
  academic careers. First year and mature students
  and those with non-traditional entry backgrounds
  face particular difficulties in adjusting to
  University life and it is probably unwise to
  assign them to new or inexperienced academic staff

8
Role of a Personal Tutor (Handbook of Procedures
7.2)

• Personal Tutors should play an important part in
  supporting postgraduate course students when they
  first register with the University. Postgraduate
  course students should see their Personal Tutor
  on arrival. Those who are new to Brunel and
  studying part-time often face particular problems
  in finding their way about the system, As the
  postgraduate course student starts work on their
  dissertation s/he will become more reliant on
  his/her supervisor, at least on academic matters.

9
Other Support for Students (Handbook of
Procedures 7.3)
The Personal Tutor should refer students with
personal or financial problems outside his/her
experience to other qualified staff

• Counselling Service (203268/2016)
• Geoff McNulty (Head of Counselling Service)
• Alison Jefferies (Senior Counsellor)
• Afra Cambridge (Counsellor)
• Other part time counsellors
• Appointment booking via Jaspal Bhamra
  (administrator)

10
Other Support for Students (Handbook of
Procedures 7.3)
The Personal Tutor should refer students with
personal or financial problems outside his/her
experience to other qualified staff

• Medical Centre (2066/234426)
• University Psychiatrist (Dr Cremona)
• Information and Advice Centre
• (Student loans, Grievances, Debt counselling,
  Visiting solicitor)
• Careers Office
• Dyslexia group

11
Other Support for Students (Handbook of
Procedures 7.3)
The Personal Tutor should refer students with
personal or financial problems outside his/her
experience to other qualified staff

• International Office
• Language Centre
• CAB
• Others?

12
Availability and Access (Handbook of Procedures
7.5)

• It is expected that, at minimum, a personal tutor
  will arrange to see each of his or her
  undergraduate or postgraduate tutees at least
  twice during a students first year (at least one
  of those occasions shall be on a one-to-one
  basis) and as often as the tutor or tutee
  believes necessary thereafter. Students in
  subsequent years should be encouraged to see
  their Personal Tutor at least once a semester.
  Departments may require more frequent meetings

13
Availability and Access (Handbook of Procedures
7.6)

• Personal Tutors should be available, by
  arrangement, at appropriate and reasonable hours
  convenient to, and notified to, students.
  Students who request a meeting with their Tutor
  should normally be seen within three working days
  of that request
• Office hours?
• Onus is on the student to take advantage of
  his/her Tutors availability and to make an
  appointment

14
Student Problems (Handbook of Procedures 7.8)

• The Personal Tutor should keep a record of
  meetings where difficult or sensitive issues or
  other matters affecting performance are raised
• Mitigating Circumstances
• Submission of such for consideration is always
  the students responsibility (HoP 6)
• Feedback?

15
Student Problems (Handbook of Procedures 7.9)

• Whilst the student has certain responsibilities
  for his/her conduct, the Tutor should reflect on
  the information s/he has received and consider
  whether it indicates a particular problem which
  s/he should raise with the student
• This does not mean that it is appropriate for
  Tutors to take responsibility for the student,
  e.g. by seeking him/her out in their place of
  residence.

16
Student Problems (Handbook of Procedures 7.10)

• The Tutor should at all times act in the
  students best interests, not necessarily those
  of the department or University (for example,
  care should be taken when trying to persuade an
  unhappy student to remain at the University

17
References (Handbook of Procedures 7.11)

• Personal Tutors should be the primary source of
  student reference written for employers and other
  institutions. References written by personal
  tutors should be held on file in the departmental
  office for future reference and should not be
  treated by tutors as personal correspondence.
• Students should be aware that references are most
  effective when the Tutor has personal knowledge
  of the student
• References will not normally be revealed to the
  student
• Without Legal Responsibility

18

• Q. How many different types of personal tutoring
  problems can you identify?
• A. ???

19
Tutoring Problems (Student!)

• Studying
• Money
• Family
• International
• Illness
• Tears
• Aggression
• Death
• Bereavement
• ???

20
Tutoring Problems (Tutor!)

• Time wasting/Manipulation
• Violence
• The Opposite Sex
• Soft/hard hearted
• Emotional Detachment
• Getting it wrong/No Experience
• Talking too much
• Work commitments/balance
• Having a life/leave it at work
• How many tutees/how many problems/your sanity
• Stress (your current level is?)

21
How do we tutor during a degree?

• Indoctrination, responsibility and respect
  (lecturers teaching, tutoring, research, admin,
  ....)
• Many students and missing students
• Tutor hours
• Enforced contact? (Progress Reports)
• Changing needs (Year one/two/three)
• Mitigating Circumstances

22
The End!

• We have attempted to cover
• What is a Personal Tutor?
• Support Facilities?
• Experiences
• How do we tutor effectively?