Code of Practice on Personal Tutors

PERSONAL TUTORS - A STATEMENT OF POLICY

1.         The personal tutor should provide a first point of contact between student and department, be available for consultation at reasonable times, and where appropriate refer the student for specialised advice.

2.         Departments are encouraged to allocate personal tutors to new students before the beginning of session, so that tutors and students can make contact early in the induction period. When that is not possible, departments should make temporary tutorial arrangements to ensure that new students have guidance and support.

3.         Students should be given the opportunity to meet their personal tutor at least three times during the first year, and at least twice a year after that. Some of these occasions may be group meetings.

4.         For the sake of continuity, a student should if possible have the same personal tutor throughout his/her career in AU.

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

6.         In allocating personal tutors, departments should be sensitive to the needs of specific groups e.g. Welsh-speaking students, international students, mature students.

7.         Every undergraduate should have a personal tutor in his or her main department (for Joint Honours students in both departments). The same applies to taught postgraduate students.

8.         All members of academic staff except Pro Vice- Chancellors, Deans and Heads of Department should be expected to act as personal tutors.

9.         1.         Tutors should ensure that their students know how to contact them when necessary.

              2.       Departments should ensure that in the personal tutor’s absence, a student can see another member of staff during office hours.

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

11.        Departments should:

             1.        maintain (in their own records and on AStRA) an up-to-date list of personal tutors and their tutees;

              2.       allocate students a new personal tutor whenever necessary (e.g. change of study scheme, staff movement or return after withdrawal from the University.

12.        Each department should nominate one person to be responsible for the organisation of its personal tutor system.

13.        The personal tutor system will be monitored by the Academic Affairs Committee.

14.         The University has approved a Supporting Students  Toolkit www.aber.ac.uk/en/toolkit/ to clarify for the benefit of staff the mutual  responsibilities of tutors and tutees in this regard.