The Personal Academic Tutoring scheme is designed to ensure that all students have regular opportunities to review their personal, academic and career development.
How does it work?
You will normally be assigned a Personal Academic Tutor at the beginning of your degree. Your personal tutor will be one of the academic staff in your school, usually someone who teaches on your course.
Your Personal Academic Tutor is there to keep an eye on your overall academic and personal welfare and to advise you about other sources of help in the university such as Student Services, the Academic Study Network on Studentcentral and the Students’ Union.
You will usually get a chance to meet your tutor during induction week or soon afterwards, and will then have one or two scheduled meetings a year to review your academic progress. You can also contact your tutor whenever you need advice on any matter, or to let them know about issues affecting your work or wellbeing.
General advice
However supportive your tutor may be, remember that it is your responsibility to use the tutorial system as effectively as possible.
- Get to know your tutor early on and discuss concerns before they turn into problems.
- Think about what you want to discuss and write it down. Your department may use a form to help you record issues.
- Try to agree a short list of actions by the end of the session – practical steps that you can take towards your goals. Writing them down will help you review your progress later.
Mitigating circumstances
If your academic performance is adversely affected by ill health or serious personal difficulties, then your tutor may suggest that you submit a Mitigating Circumstances form to the Course Examination Board. (You will find details of this procedure in your Student Handbook.)
