6.6 Personal Tutors

1. Every student is allocated a Personal Tutor. Personal Tutors have an important role within the overall framework for supporting students and their personal and academic development at the University. The role is crucial in helping students to identify where they might find support, how and where to seek advice and how to approach support to maximise their student experience.

2. The University understands that a student’s life experiences can have a major impact on their university experience and that relationships between staff and students can be an important influence on that experience. Personal tutors are in a position to observe when students are struggling to cope at university and may benefit from an offer of support from Student Services. Low engagement and/ or a change in performance provide suitable cues for opening a discussion on a student’s support needs and an in-person tutorial is an ideal opportunity to holistically assess a student’s wellbeing in addition to providing encouragement for accessing any relevant support. Personal tutors are well-placed to draw on their own life experiences to provide support for the common challenges of university life or to recognize when a referral for more specialist support may be needed. Student Services offers training and support which personal tutors and their colleagues who have a helping role are encouraged to access when developing a trauma-informed approach to their students. This can help them both support students directly and feel confident to decide on referrals or signposting for students.

3. The Personal Tutor should provide a regular point of contact between the student and the academic department, subject or Faculty and students are strongly encouraged to approach their tutor early if they are experiencing difficulties. Tutors will be available for consultation at reasonable times by appointment, and able to refer students for specialised advice elsewhere in the University.

4. Faculties will retain overall responsibility for allocating Personal Tutors but will delegate implementation to Departments or subject areas as appropriate. Personal tutors will be allocated before the academic year begins, and students will begin the personal tutorial process during induction week. When that is not possible – for instance where students are at the University on exchange – then arrangements for personal tutorials will be made on the start of their studies at the University to ensure that new students have guidance and support.

5. Full time undergraduate students will be given the opportunity to meet their Personal Tutor at least four times during the first year, at least three times in the second year, and at least two times in the third/fourth year. Full time postgraduate taught students will have a minimum of three meetings during the course of their studies. Some tutorial sessions may be group meetings. The University will provide additional guidance to Departments on the timing and content of the meetings.

6. A student may have the same Personal Tutor throughout their studies at Aberystwyth if this is deemed appropriate by the Department, but they may be allocated a new Personal Tutor each year if this better fits the pedagogy and course structure in that subject area. However, departments should take account of the importance of continuity of tutorial relationships for students who need more consistency as well as the impact of those tutorial relationships which show signs of being a poor relational fit. In the third year, reallocation of personal tutors to dissertation tutors, where that subject has a dissertation, may be appropriate to ensure regular contact with that student.

7. If either the student or a member of staff requests a change of tutor, Departments should have clear procedures for response.

8. The University recognises that some groups of students may face additional barriers to inclusion, so in allocating Personal Tutors, Departments should be sensitive to the needs of specific groups e.g. international students, mature students.

9. In allocating Personal Tutors, Departments are expected to identify Welsh speaking students in order to allocate a Welsh speaking Personal Tutor. If individual support cannot be provided from within a department or subject area, Departments should discuss with students before making alternative arrangements. This could mean an alternative Personal Tutor or the provision of a second member of staff to support the main tutor.

10. Every undergraduate student should have a Personal Tutor in their main department or subject area. For Joint Honours students the personal tutor will be allocated in the lead named subject, but there will also be a named contact for each student in the second subject.

11. All members of academic staff except Pro Vice-Chancellors, Faculty Pro Vice-Chancellors, Associate Deans and Heads of Departments should be expected to act as Personal Tutors. Staff in these roles may serve as Personal Tutors where this is not possible due to staffing or student numbers, but every effort should be made to reallocate personal tutees when staffing and student numbers allow.

12. Tutors should ensure that their students know how to contact them if necessary and encourage students to attend tutorials and access them early for support if needed. Departments should ensure that in the Personal Tutor’s absence, a student can see another member of staff during office hours or by appointment.

13. Appropriate tutorial provision should be made for Distance Learning students, Continuing Education students and part-time students.

14. Departments should maintain an up-to-date list of Personal Tutors and their tutees. Departments should also allocate students a new Personal Tutor whenever necessary (e.g. change of study scheme, staff movement or return after withdrawal from the University).

15. Each Department should ensure that one person is nominated within each of its departments/subject areas to be responsible for the organisation of its Personal Tutor system.

16. The Personal Tutor system will be monitored by the Student Experience Committee, reporting to Academic Board.