Introduction: The Role of the Personal Tutor Tutoring is an essential part of student support, particularly in the current climate of increased student numbers and student diversity. Although their role may differ slightly from Faculty to Faculty, key aspects of the personal tutor role include: Tutors are expected to see their students at the beginning of each semester. Faculty and departmental timetables may incorporate additional formal arrangements, but tutors will also meet their students informally on other occasions. Tutors must also provide reports on a student's progress as requested by the Board of the Faculty concerned or by the Academic Registrar who will, where necessary, forward them to the appropriate Local Education authority. Tutors should not deal directly with LEAs, the Student Loans Company or any other sponsoring bodies (see Section 2.1 below).

As well as the essential need to develop academic and personal relations with the students, a tutor may be expected to give advice on the selection of courses and options. Tutors also have an important role to play in helping students develop effective study skills/habits.

Students are responsible for reporting absences through illness to their Departmental Office (the Faculty Offices in Law and Mathematical Studies), which will inform the Faculty Office and the tutor (see also Section 2.2, below) so that the necessary administrative action can be taken. This is most important since a student's loan can be affected by failure to report such absences.

An important aspect of the tutorial duties of academic staff is providing details of the specialised advisory services available to students and the appropriate area to contact in each instance. For example, grant or loan problems should be referred to the appropriate person in the Fees Office. Students with problems of a personal nature may be encouraged to consult their Hall Warden (if resident in hall), the Counselling Service, the Advice and Information Centre of the Students' Union, the University Chaplaincy, or their GP, as appropriate. Brief information about these is given in Section 4.2. International students may also consult one of the academic Advisers on the welfare of international students or the Adviser to International Students in the Students' Union Advice and Information Centre. Faculty Offices also have a good deal of experience in handling student enquiries and will often be able to offer valuable advice.

In summary: the University attaches great importance to the tutorial system and asks tutors to do everything possible to make it a success.

The responsibilities of supervisors of postgraduate research students are set out in the University's "Code of Practice on Research Candidature and Supervision" (Section V of the Calendar). Reference should also be made to Section 2.8.

The remainder of this website is organised as follows:

Section 1 outlines a variety of key contacts and procedures with which tutors should be familiar

Section 2 describes some specific responsibilities/obligations of tutors

Section 3 points tutors to guidance on supporting student learning - both for the general student body, and for specific groups (e.g., overseas students, students with disabilities, mature students)

Section 4 focuses on the range of student welfare services within the University.

One particularly useful reference tutors may wish to follow up on is:
Jaques, D. Being a Personal Tutor Oxford Brookes University 1990.

This is available for loan from the Centre for Learning and Teaching (Building 2, level 2 South), and is also handed out free to staff who attend the Personal Tutoring workshop - for details contact Ann Jeffrey (Ext. 25328).