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A Student’s Guide to Staffordshire University’s Personal Tutoring System

To help you get the best experience here at Staffordshire University.

www.staffs.ac.uk

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Staff in this university pride themselves on the professional and personal relationships they build up with students during their course and strive for students to have the best possible experience at Staffordshire University. One way of developing these relationships and helping you get the most out of your time here with us is through our personal tutoring system.

Your personal tutor plays a crucial role in your academic and personal development at university and is here to help and support you through each exciting stage of your university life. Make the most of the Staffs University Personal Tutoring system by reading the guide below and actively participating in the scheme – it really will help you achieve your goals and enhance your time here at Staffs.

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What To Expect From Your Personal Tutor…

• Guide you on how to take control of your learning !

• Assist you in understanding the university regulations !

• Help you get the most out of your assessment feedback so that you can do better in future assessments

• Assess your progress towards achieving the Staffordshire graduate attributes, which will make you ready for the world of work

• Keep records of meetings to act as a “memory jogger” for both of you. These will be confidential and kept in accordance with the University registration under the Data Protection Act.

• Listen to any issues or problems (big or small) which are affecting you or your ability to study !

• Help you adjust to university life by offering information, support and encouragement !

• Help you understand the culture of the university, the local area and if you are an overseas student; to help you understand cultural and social norms of the area

• Offer general academic guidance !• Help you to explore and plan your

personal development and help you to enhance your employability skills !

• Monitor and discuss your progress with you to help you reach your targets !

Your personal tutor is not expected to be an academic expert in everything you experience and study here at Staffordshire University but they are dedicated to your learning and university experience so will point you in the direction of one of Staffordshire University’s many support staff who knows how to help you further.

The role of the personal tutor is very varied but ultimately they are here to help you succeed on your programme of study, be a first point of contact for academic and personal support and help you access University services if and when they are needed. Depending on whether you are a undergraduate, postgraduate, full-time or part-time student, your contact with your personal tutor may differ, but regardless of this, your personal tutor will strive to;

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• Respond to communication from your personal tutor. To make this possible, you should check your University e-mail regularly. !

• Contact your personal tutor when you need help or guidance – don’t wait for the next scheduled meeting if it’s an emergency (either academic or personal) !

• Keep appointments with your personal tutor and give reasonable notice if you are unable to attend !

• Talk to them about problems, barriers to learning, and things you are unhappy with !

• Prepare for meetings !• Understand the relationship between

your personal tutor and other support services – i.e. where appropriate your tutor may refer you to other specialists in the University to get expert support !

• Respect office hours – i.e. when your tutor has said they will be available (except in an emergency) !

• Participate actively in group sessions, showing respect to other students and staff - this may include getting involved in the activities set by your personal tutor and answering questions when asked. !

What Is Expected Of You?

For you to get the most out of personal tutoring, you will need to take some responsibility in the personal tutoring system – the more your tutor knows about your university experience, the more they can help you.

Here are some things you can do:

How Do I Find Out Who Is My Personal Tutor?

You will be allocated a personal tutor prior to starting your studies, either before or during induction week, and this information will be available from the Student Information Systems and also from your award leader. Although your allocated personal tutor can be the same person throughout your time at university, circumstances can dictate that your personal tutor needs to change so as to make sure you get the correct support at the right time e.g. your level 6 dissertation tutors sometimes take on the role of your personal tutor in your final year or if you are completing a placement, your placement tutor may take over as your personal tutor.

How Do I Contact My Personal Tutor?

Your personal tutor will explain the personal tutoring system and how to contact them on your first meeting. Your personal tutor will explain to you their office hours when they can see students and also other methods of contact that may be more appropriate, e.g. email, telephone or online discussions. !How Often Will I Meet My Personal Tutor?

This all depends on you but there will be at least three scheduled meetings, also known as personal tutorials, throughout each academic year. In between these scheduled meetings you can organise additional meetings with your personal tutor or contact your tutor in other ways, such as by telephone or email. Your personal tutor may also organise additional meetings with you so keep checking your university email account.

Your first meeting with your personal tutor will take place in induction week or as soon as is possible afterwards (within first two weeks of course) – it’s really important to meet soon after arriving at University so you both can start to get to know each other and discuss your goals for time here at Staffordshire University.

Questions You Really Want To Ask Us About Personal Tutoring…

Do I Need to Prepare Before Meeting my Personal Tutor?

To make sure that you get the most out of your meetings and they run smoothly, a little preparation can go a long way. Before your first meeting, think about what you want from your time here and ask yourself these questions; !Why did you choose to come to university? Why did you choose this course? What motivates you? What degree classification are you aiming for? (1st, 2:1, 2:2…etc) What career path do you want to take? Where do you see yourself in 5, 10 or even 20 years time? Do you need any additional support to reach your goals? Do you have any questions or concerns about university? !As you can ask your personal tutor for a reference, you need to make sure they know about you and your achievements, so keep them informed and provide them with an up-to-date CV. !You may be set some work to do in preparation for your personal tutor session. If this occurs, make sure you understand what is expected of you and complete the tasks set. Before each meeting, make a list of questions you want to ask or areas of concern and think about how you feel you are progressing as this will be discussed at many meetings. !Will Personal Tutor Meetings Always be on a One to One Basis? !Not necessarily. Some of your meetings will be just you and your personal tutor, especially if there is anything confidential to be discussed, but some scheduled tutorials may be group meetings. Group meetings will allow you meet other students, share experiences and participate in activities to improve your academic and life skills.

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• Your performance in assessments and overall progress on your course

• Your attendance and participation in sessions

• University regulations and procedures such as Emergency Evacuation Procedures

• Health, financial, accommodation or other personal issues

• Feedback on your assessments, exam revision strategies and assignment planning

• Your Learning Support Agreement (if you have one) and the adjustments that are being made in accordance with the agreement

• The extenuating circumstances process and how to apply

• Any activities and opportunities available at the university that you might want to be involved in

• How to develop your Staffordshire graduate attributes such as team working and technical skills

• Study skills, such as report writing, referencing and how to avoid plagiarism

• Your employability skills including CV writing skills.

• Career opportunities and getting a part-time job whilst at university

• Student surveys and how to get your views on your course heard

• What to do if you are feeling stressed at University.

What Kinds of Things Will I Discuss With My Personal Tutor?

The different topics that you will discuss will be extremely varied and partially depend upon you, your course and your university experience. Some areas that you might discuss include:

Will My Personal Tutor Meetings be Recorded in Any Way?

Yes, for 1:1 sessions personal tutors will document the date and provide an overview of the topics discussed. This will normally be recorded electronically. These records will be help both you and your personal tutor to keep track of what you have discussed and will be useful if you request a reference. Any sensitive information that you do not wish to be recorded will be treated appropriately. Tutors will record that there are personal circumstances involved and what referrals have been suggested for you but not any detail of the issues.

What Happens If I Want To Change Personal Tutors?

We hope that your relationship with your tutor will be supportive and help you in your academic and personal development at University.

Occasionally, despite everyone’s best efforts, there can be problems in the relationship. For example, this may be due to a personality clash, misunderstandings or an inability to connect.

If this should happen, try to talk to your tutor about it first – it could be that you can resolve the issue between you. However, you can request a change of personal tutor. To do this, contact your Award Leader to discuss this in confidence.

Is There Anyone Else to Also Support Me At Staffs Uni?

As well as your personal tutor, there are many other people and departments to help support you here at Staffs University – think of us as one big happy family!

Student Guidance Officers offer a wide range of support and also help you get connected to other support services around the university. To find out who your student guidance officer is, see the below link.

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/support_depts/studentguidance/advisors/index.jsp

The Student Enabling Centre who can offer assistance with disability issues, specific learning disabilities, e.g. dyslexia, counselling and mental wellbeing.

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/study/disabled/index.jsp

The Careers Centre is an excellent source of information about future jobs and provides lots of advice and opportunities to improve your employability skills, such as CV writing and interview skills.

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/careers !For academic study skills advice, see a member of the Academic Skills Know-How Team, contact them via the below link: !http://www.staffs.ac.uk/support_depts/infoservices/learning_support/academic_skills/study_skills/

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Other Useful Links

The university website provides lots of information to help support you in your studies and time here at Staffs. Below are some links that you will find useful.

For a list of all of the university services available to you, see a2z4U:

www.staffs.ac.uk/a2z4u !For a comprehensive list of all of Staffordshire University’s sources of support, please see the following link;

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/support_depts/counselling/support/index.jsp

For advice on accommodation options at Staffordshire University, please contact the Accommodation Office;

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/support_depts/accommodation/

For information on funding and finance:

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/support_depts/info_centre/finance/index.jsp

Advice for if you are a care leaver:

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/study/careleavers/

Mental Wellbeing Policy:

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/assets/mental_wellbeing_policy_tcm44-26793.pdf !!The Student’s Union offers lots of student support, for information on this go to; Students’ Union Advice Centre: http://www.staffsunion.com/advice/ !There are also some very important documents that you should become familiar with to ensure that you understand Staffordshire University Regulations. These regulations have been put in place to make this university a fair, safe and reputable place to study. All of the award regulations can be found on the following link;

http://www.staffs.ac.uk/legal/policies/awardregs/index.jsp