UAL Poilicy on Personal Tutoring

Access to Personal Tutoring (APT)

Tutorial Entitlement

  • Every student (full and part time) to receive a minimum of 20 minutes individually per term and one group tutorial per academic year.
  • Some students may require more than this at certain times.
  • Tutorial co-ordination should be managed by a named individual in each School / Faculty or College. (the Tutorial Co-ordinator).1
  • Tutorials should be timetabled – students are expected to attend and should be followed up if they do not.2
  • The system for personal tutoring and the role of the Personal Tutor should be communicated to students.
  • Personal tutoring should be recorded in a standardised way.
  • Personal tutoring should be evaluated on an annual basis by Tutorial Co-ordinators.
  • Tutorials should be conducted in private, interruption free environment whenever possible.
  • Tutorials should always be conducted in the context of the University’s approach to diversity and equality of opportunity.
  1. The tutorial co-ordinator role can be provided in a variety of ways. It is envisaged that College L&T Co-ordinators will have a role in ensuring implementation.
  2. For some constituencies of students ‘virtual tutorials’ may well be an appropriate option.

What do we tell students ?

We will ensure that students receive information about:

  • The purpose of the tutorial
  • Entitlement and timetabling details
  • Name of personal tutor
  • How and when to contact tutor
  • Role of related support services and the importance of disclosure (see below)
  • Responsibilities of the student (see below)

What do we expect from students ?

  • Respect normal working hours.
  • Attend scheduled sessions (or notify non-attendance if unavoidable).
  • Respond to communications from tutor and undertake preparatory work for tutorials as requested by tutor.
  • Participate actively in sessions.
  • Understand role and boundaries of personal tutoring.
  • Keep tutor informed of anything that may significantly impact on their academic functioning and progression (including disclosure about disability support needs or issues that may relate to extenuating circumstances).
  • Regularly check University email account and Blackboard.

What do we record ?

A record should be kept to log and ‘sign off’ a personal tutorial. A tutorial form has been developed for cross-University use (available from the downloads section of this site). This form can be adapted by adding sections into it, or other College standard forms can be used. At the end of the 2010/11 academic year, a review of the variations of forms in use will be conducted, and the standard UAL form revised on that basis.

A copy of the tutorial record form should be given (or electronically sent) to the student, including action points and completion dates if appropriate. Unless there is good reason to do so, information should only be released to other UAL staff, (or anyone outside UAL), with the consent of the student.

See UAL confidentiality guidelines