ÌÇÐÄlogoÈë¿Ú

1. Introduction

1.1 At ÌÇÐÄlogoÈë¿Ú, we are committed to ensuring that students are provided with effective and appropriate academic, personal and pastoral support during their studies. All students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught degree programmes are allocated a named personal tutor. The primary role of the personal tutor is to be a first point of contact for pastoral support and academic advice for tutees, referring them to specialist support from central student services when required. Personal tutors provide support in addition to the normal academic contact from teaching staff, which can improve student engagement, retention and success particularly in the early stages of study.

1.2 This policy outlines our approach to personal tutoring and the core responsibilities of schools, faculties, personal tutors, senior tutors, students and central teams within the Education and Student Experience Directorate, in ensuring that personal tutoring at ÌÇÐÄlogoÈë¿Ú takes place effectively and delivers a supportive and equitable experience.

1.3 Personal tutoring is a key part of the role played by all teaching staff, except where they are employed on Teaching and Scholarship contracts. This is to ensure consistent provision of personal tutoring and time allowed to complete and attend training and development opportunities. (Note: Some programmes and Schools may need to rely on sessional teachers to deliver personal tutoring responsibilities. Where this is the case, Teaching and Scholarship staff must be allocated time to undertake mandatory training and other related development opportunities.)

2. Responsibilities of the Personal Tutor

2.1 Core responsibilities of a personal tutor are to:

• Understand and follow the Personal Tutor role descriptor that reflects the following core responsibilities, and the policy on personal tutoring and associated duties.
• Engage with professional development and training opportunities that will support the delivery of personal tutoring, wherever possible.
  • Attend a mandatory start of term briefing for all personal tutors in Term One.
  • Undertake the mandatory safeguarding training prior to week one of Term One.
• Invite new students to meet in groups of up to ten tutees at least once termly.
• Act as a first point of contact for tutees during the academic year.
  • Tutors should communicate office hours to all tutees (minimum two hours per week), with information on how to book appointments.
  • Personal tutors should make clear in their first contact with students how to request meetings (e.g. book via MS Bookings link). Students should be encouraged to initiate contact with their personal tutor.
  • Be available to meet their students as requested, provided such requests are reasonable.
• Keep records of instances of tutorial contact, both group and individual.
• Provide advice, support and general guidance on academic issues.
  • Support students in their understanding of agreed ÌÇÐÄlogoÈë¿Ú regulations, policies and frameworks.
  • Provide students with the opportunity to review and reflect upon progress.
  • Recognise when the assistance required is beyond the competence or responsibility of the personal tutor and, in consultation with the student, refer the student to specialist academic or pastoral support services within ÌÇÐÄlogoÈë¿Ú or outside ÌÇÐÄlogoÈë¿Ú.
  • Facilitate liaison between the student and other student support services within ÌÇÐÄlogoÈë¿Ú.
• Where appropriate, provide an academic reference for the student.

3. Responsibilities of the Senior Tutor

3.1 Core responsibilities of the Senior Tutor are to:

• Work with the Head of School to have oversight of personal tutor allocation, ensuring students are allocated the most relevant personal tutors where possible and liaising with Student Engagement Officers to ensure allocation is completed before the start of Term 1 for September and January starters.
• Ensure students remain with the same personal tutor throughout their degree, wherever possible.
  • Where this is not possible, due to a staff member going on research leave or leaving their post, or a breakdown in the tutoring relationship, students should be reassigned a personal tutor either temporarily or permanently and should be notified of this change by the first week of the relevant term.
  • Consider requests from students and staff for reallocation of a named personal tutor for cases where there is a breakdown in the tutoring relationship.
• Coordinate and deliver mandatory briefings for personal tutors within their school at the beginning of the academic year.
  • Ensure any new personal tutors receive appropriate induction to the role.
• Act as a first point of contact for personal tutors who need advice or guidance on student issues such as non-attendance, academic performance or pastoral concerns.
• Chair regular Student Engagement and Attendance meetings within their School, working collaboratively with Student Support Services, Student Engagement Officers and School administrators, to make holistic, coordinated decisions around student support and escalate emerging issues to the relevant teams.
• Contribute to induction activities to ensure students understand:
  • The role of personal tutoring in their School
  • How to find out who their personal tutor is and how to make contact with them
  • The benefits of engaging with personal tutoring
• Ensure the above information provided at induction is also provided to students who have not been able to attend induction events, such as late enrollers.[

4. Responsibilities of the student

4.1 Core responsibilities of the student are to:

• Maintain contact with their personal tutor:
  • Ensure that their contact details on their student profiles are maintained with current information.
  • Check emails regularly for communications from personal tutors.
  • Be an active participant in student and personal tutor interactions.
  • Notify their personal tutor promptly if they are having any problems, such as academic, health or personal, that are affecting their academic performance.
• Understand the remit of the personal tutor:
  • Attend induction information sessions or engage with the shared resources if the session is missed for any reason.
  • Seek help and advice about the content of modules from the module academic lead.
• Inform the School's Senior Tutor if they do not get a response from their personal tutors in a timely manner.

5. Responsibilities of the Faculty/School

5.1 Core responsibilities of the Faculty or School are to:

• In coordination with the Student Engagement team, ensure that all students who have enrolled on time are allocated a tutor by the end of week one.
  • Notify personal tutors when tutees have been allocated, providing information on how to locate their list of tutees and a reminder of Term One requirements for tutors. This process should also be followed for January starts.
  • Students enrolling late will be allocated a personal tutor within two weeks of enrolment.
  • Conduct checks to ensure that all students covered by the Personal Tutoring Policy have been allocated a personal tutor.
  • Ensure that students under the age of 18 are allocated an appropriate personal tutor in line with the University's Policy on Admission of Students Under the Age of 18 Years.
• Ensure students remain with the same personal tutor throughout their degree.
  • Where this is not possible, due to a staff member going on research leave or leaving their post, or a breakdown in the tutoring relationship, students should be reassigned a personal tutor either temporarily or permanently and should be notified of this change by the first week of the relevant term.
  • Consider requests from students and staff for reallocation of a named personal tutor for cases where there is a breakdown in the tutoring relationship.

6. Responsibilities of the Education and Student Experience Directorate

6.1 Core responsibilities of the Education and Student Experience Directorate are to:

• Communicate information to staff and students about the role of the personal tutor and the support that they can provide through centralised Orientation activities.
• In coordination with Senior Tutors, promote, maintain and update central resources for personal tutors.
• In coordination with Senior Tutors, provide opportunities for personal tutors to feedback on experiences and training.
• Monitor student feedback on personal tutoring via student surveys and engagement with the Students' Union.

Policy review

• Created: June 2012
• Latest update: July 2026
• Date of next review: 2030-31 academic year
• Owner: Quality and Regulations Manager
• SLT owner: DVC Education and Student Experience
• Committee oversight: Education and Student Experience Committee for Academic Board